Navigating Service Needs, Referrals, and Receipts for Latino Families in Child Protective Services

Abstract

Background/Purpose:

The rising involvement of Latino families in the U.S. child welfare system prompts inquiries into the adequacy of services rendered. Prior studies highlight significant variations in services for Latino families based on country of origin and immigration status. However, the specific unmet needs of these families and the impact on their children’s journeys through the child welfare system remain underexplored. This study aims to investigate potential disparities in service needs, referrals, and utilization among families involved with Child Protective Services (CPS) based on ethnicity and nativity.

Methods:

The National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-being II furnished data on service needs, referrals, and utilization across various domains for a nationally representative sample of children reported to CPS and their caregivers. Caregiver services encompassed housing, employment, domestic violence, legal aid, substance misuse, mental health, serious health conditions, income assistance, and Medicaid. Children’s services included support for learning/developmental challenges, special education, emotional/behavioral issues, health, routine checkups, dental, hearing, and vision screenings. Across these services, we examined the likelihoods of service needs (among all families), service referrals (among families with relevant needs), and service utilization (among families with referrals), with a focus on differences in these likelihoods between U.S.-born Latino, foreign-born Latino, and White families (N=5,872), using logistic regression.

Results: Compared to White families, both U.S.-born and foreign-born Latino families exhibited significantly lower service needs for substance abuse (OR=0.77-0.35), mental health (OR=0.57-0.65), serious health problems (OR=0.56-0.34), emotional/behavioral/attention (OR=0.59-0.49), routine checkups (OR=0.62-0.48), and dental care (OR=0.73-0.62). Additionally, foreign-born Latino families showed significantly lower service needs for housing and employment (OR=0.72-0.71) than White families. Regarding referrals, both U.S.-born and foreign-born Latino families demonstrated significantly higher likelihoods of referral compared to White families for dental care (OR=1.76-1.93), learning/developmental, and emotional/behavioral/attention (OR=1.74-2.06 specifically for foreign-born Latino families). However, compared to White families, the likelihood of service utilization was lower for U.S.-born Latino families and even lower for foreign-born Latino families for learning and developmental problems (OR=0.47 for U.S.-born Latino families; OR=0.28 for foreign-born Latino families).

Conclusions/Implications: This study revealed that Latino families, regardless of nativity, generally reported fewer service needs, consistent with prior findings on cultural protective factors among Latino families. However, when needs were reported, Latino families, especially foreign-born Latino families, were more likely to be referred but less likely to receive services compared to White families, suggesting potential disparities in service utilization by ethnicity and nativity. These findings, while preliminary due to the moderate sample sizes for some services and groups, underscore the need for further investigation into this topic. In terms of clinical implications, clinicians must adopt a culturally responsive approach and consider how immigration status may impact service accessibility and provision, particularly when serving Latino families within the child welfare system. In addition, further research is warranted to explore potential resource disparities for Latino families.