Session: Exploring Decision-Making at the Front-End of the Child Protection System (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

Approximately one in three U.S. children will experience an investigation by child protective services (CPS) for allegations of child maltreatment before age 18. An estimated 650,000 abuse and neglect victims are reported annually. CPS involves a series of complex decision-making processes with critical implications for the intimate lives of children and families; such processes are influenced by numerous factors, including family circumstances, child characteristics, agency and geographic contexts, and federal and state policies. This symposium considers decision-making at the front-end of CPS systems. Each of the papers draws upon longitudinal administrative data from a large, diverse state to examine this decision-making, including patterns of reporting to CPS, the confirmation or substantiation of maltreatment, and the impact of policy changes on CPS responses.

Paper 1 documents the prevalence, timing, and frequency of maternal CPS involvement across multiple children and examines variances in those estimates by parity, public insurance use, and race/ethnicity. Using linked birth and CPS records from California, the study follows a cohort of first-time mothers and their children over two decades. One-third of mothers were reported to CPS, increasing from 18.5% for mothers with one child to 63.1% for those with four or more. For mothers with multiple children, more than three-quarters of mothers had their first CPS contact after the birth of their second child. These findings highlight potential gaps in prevention programs and underscore the need for tailored, sustained support services for multiparous mothers facing unique challenges.

Paper 2 investigates heterogeneity within the decision to confirm allegations of child maltreatment. Using administrative records from California's child welfare data collection system for reports involving children aged five and under, this study uses model-based clustering to categorize substantiated reports into homogeneous typologies based on child, report, and neighborhood characteristics. Model-based clustering identified 13 distinct typologies of substantiated reports, highlighting the complex nature of the substantiation decision. Clusters were driven by factors like infant status, family violence, and neglect as well as by the race and ethnicity of the child. The study highlights the importance of addressing noise in CPS decision-making and speaks to equity concerns about differential surveillance of families by state agencies.

Paper 3 examines the impact of a state policy change on CPS responses in California. In 2012, the state revised its Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) registry policy, limiting reports to only substantiated allegations and excluding inconclusive allegations. Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference analysis, this study evaluates the effects of the policy change on the probability of inconclusive dispositions. A significant increase appeared in inconclusive dispositions for general neglect allegations following the policy change. These findings underscore the unintended consequences of registry policy reforms and suggest a need for careful consideration of how changes to registry rules may influence child protection practices.

Taken together, these papers contribute to our understanding of decision-making at the front-end of CPS. The findings can inform strategies, interventions, and policies that are better tailored to the needs of children and families in contact with CPS, promoting more equitable and supportive outcomes.