Session: Administrative Data and the Life Course Perspective (Society for Social Work and Research 26th Annual Conference - Social Work Science for Racial, Social, and Political Justice)

This symposium will highlight research which follows children through Child Protective Services (CPS) and lifetime risks associated with CPS involvement. These studies leverage the complete history of children from birth through age 18 within CPS. Paper 1 identified maltreatment classifications through childhood and distal outcomes such as teen pregnancy and adolescent arrests. Paper 2 linked CPS records with birth records to identify characteristics associated with neglect allegations. Paper 3 looked at the lifetime risk for juvenile justice involvement for children with CPS interactions and Paper 4 focused on the timing of juvenile justice involvement for youth who enter foster care.

Paper 1 identified latent maltreatment classes and transitions between these classes for a cohort of females born in California in 1999. Children were then assigned classifications based on the pattern of allegations reported to CPS and distal outcomes estimated for each classification. Significantly more females were identified as mothers from the multiple allegations class during adolescence, as well as the sexual abuse and neglect classes. Discussion to include supports for chronically maltreated females and the need for earlier intervention, as indicated by reduced risk for females with no maltreatment reported later in childhood.

Paper 2 followed a cohort of children born in 2000 in California and probabilistically linked these records to California CPS records through age 18. This study aimed to identify demographic differences related to children never reported, reported for neglect only, reported for abuse allegations only, and reported for neglect and abuse allegations. Neglect was most associated with lower education, public insurance status, and lack of established paternity. Identifying the needs of families most likely to be reported for neglect will aid in providing services for these families prior to CPS contact.

Paper 3 explores the overlap of CPS with the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles County. The CPS interactions of youth are not understood by juvenile justice system because involvement in both systems is not concurrent. This study probabilistically linked CPS and juvenile justice records for youth born in 1998 to determine which youth had a juvenile justice petition by age 18. Youth with a foster care placement were four times as likely to have a petition (versus those with a report only) and youth with a neglect allegation were twice as likely (versus those without). These findings indicate that increasing severity for dual system youth and experiences were varied across race/ethnicity.

Paper 4 identified a subset of the 1998 cohort of youth to those with foster care placements and examines the timing of placements and juvenile justice. Dual system involvement was evidenced an associate with race/ethnicity and placement factors. Dual system involvement was associated with more mental health issues, placement instability, and group home placement. The increased needs and instability of youth with dual system involvement provide insight into the maltreatment-delinquency relationship. Discussion to include utility of tracking dual system involvement.