The Relationship between Experiences of Different Types of Intimate Partner Violence and Child Protective Services Involvement Among Black Women in Community Supervision

Background and Purpose: Women who experience physical intimate partner violence (IPV) are more likely to be involved with child protective services (CPS) than women who do not experience physical IPV. Little is known about the relationship between other IPV types and CPS involvement, especially among Black women in the U.S. criminal legal system. This gap in the literature is reflected in practices and policies that may jeopardize family safety. Guided by ecological theory and intersecting forms of oppression, this paper aims to describe and examine associations between IPV types and CPS involvement among Black mothers in community supervision in New York City. We hypothesized that mothers in community supervision who have experienced psychological IPV, physical IPV, sexual IPV, or all three types of IPV by male partners are more likely to be involved with CPS than mothers who have not experienced such types of IPV by male partners.

Methods: We used baseline data from the E-WORTH (Empowering African-American Women on the Road to Health) study, which tested the effectiveness of an HIV/STI and IPV prevention intervention among Black, drug-involved women in community supervision in Manhattan and Queens between 2015 and 2018. Women were recruited to the study using convenience and voluntary response sampling. We limited the analysis to women with children. Using computerized assessments, women responded to (1) questions from the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) regarding lifetime experiences with psychological IPV, physical IPV, sexual IPV, or all three types of IPV by a male partner and (2) “Have you ever had an open or active case with the Administration for Children Services (ACS)?”. We used logistic regression models (CI: 95%) to test our hypothesis.

Results: Within this sample of 247 Black, drug-involved mothers in community supervision, over half (55.9%) reported ever having an open or active case with ACS. A substantial percent of women reported ever experiencing psychological IPV (70.9%) or physical IPV (70.0%) by a male partner. Nearly half of the mothers (48.6%) reported experiencing sexual IPV by a male partner. Experiencing all three types of IPV by male partners were reported by 40.9% of mothers.

Regression results revealed that mothers who had experienced sexual IPV had significantly higher odds of being involved with ACS than mothers who had not experienced sexual IPV (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.0). Similarly, mothers who experienced psychological, physical, and sexual IPV also had significantly higher odds of being involved with ACS (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.0), compared to mothers with no IPV history. No significant associations were found for psychological IPV, physical IPV, or models adjusting for age, food security, mental health history, and social support.

Conclusions: Findings reveal that drug-involved Black mothers in community supervision in New York City experience high rates of psychological, physical, and sexual IPV by male partners and high rates of ACS (or CPS) involvement. Results suggest that experiencing sexual IPV may play a role in CPS involvement; however, a multitude of intersecting issues across ecological levels may overshadow the effects of IPV on CPS involvement.