Unmet Early Care and Education Needs Among Families Reported for Child Maltreatment: Recognition and Response By the U.S. Child Welfare System

Background and Purpose: Research indicates that early care and education (ECE) (e.g., child care, preschool) can benefit children in, or at risk of entering, the U.S. child welfare system (CWS), by helping prevent maltreatment and foster placement, and by improving maltreated children’s developmental outcomes. Yet it remains unclear whether CWS caseworkers understand the value of ECE for maltreated children or prioritize linking families to this valuable service. This study uses a nationally representative child welfare sample to explore: 1) whether unmet ECE needs are a common concern for families of young children entering the U.S. CWS, 2) whether family’s ECE needs are addressed following CWS involvement, and 3) what factors (e.g., child welfare case characteristics; child and household socio-demographics) predict their ECE needs being addressed.

Methods: We use data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II on 0-5 year olds who were living with permanent caregivers at baseline, and whose parents did not regularly receive ECE services (n = 497). We calculate the weighted percentage whose parents reported an unmet ECE need upon CWS entry and the frequency with which, 18 months later, that need was: 1) met or recognized (child received ECE or it was included in their CWS case plan), 2) resolved (child did not receive ECE but caregivers reported ECE was no longer needed), or 3) remained unmet (child did not receive ECE, nor was it included in their case plan). Weighted, multinomial regression was also used to identify factors that predict whether ECE needs of families entering the CWS are met/recognized by caseworkers.

Results:  Unmet ECE need is a common experience affecting more than a third of young children entering the U.S. CWS; yet, this need is rarely recognized or met after CWS becomes involved. Thirty-eight percent of 0-5 year olds who had an unmet ECE need when they entered the CWS continued to experience this need 18 months later without any mention of it in their child welfare case plans; yet, inclusion of ECE services in children’s case plans predicted children getting their ECE needs met. Child/family demographics were also predictive of families getting their ECE needs met. Specifically, boys, white non-Hispanics, and children with employed parents were more likely to have their ECE needs met than girls, Black non-Hispanics, and children with unemployed parents.

Conclusions: Many families of young children enter the U.S. CWS with an unmet need for ECE services, yet these needs often go unmet despite evidence that ECE is a protective resource for maltreated children. Inclusion of ECE services in the case plans of families with unmet ECE needs may encourage CWS caseworkers to prioritize linking these families to ECE services. As such, child welfare practice and policies should work to assess ECE involvement when young children first enter the CWS and promote access to ECE for families who express unmet ECE needs.