Does the Expansion of Poverty-Related Policies Reduce Child Maltreatment: A Scoping Review

Background/Purpose:

Given the strong link between poverty and child maltreatment, this study explores the impact of nine policies aimed at reducing poverty—Childcare Subsidies, Child Tax Credits (CTC), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Minimum Wage, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—on child maltreatment outcomes. By reviewing experimental and quasi-experimental studies, we aim to provide evidence beyond mere correlation on how policy expansions (i.e., generous eligibility and increased benefit) affect child maltreatment outcomes.

Methods:

Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive review of studies on nine poverty-related policies and child maltreatment. We reviewed studies published through November 2024 across five databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed), focused on articles that assess policy expansions in relation to child maltreatment. After screening, 30 studies met our inclusion criteria. All used experimental or quasi-experimental designs to assess the policies’ impact.

Results:

Our review found varying degrees of effectiveness across policies, often depending on the size and type of policy expansion. Increases in EITC benefits significantly reduced child maltreatment reports and substantiations, particularly neglect. Higher state minimum wages reduced child maltreatment reports and substantiations, as well as self-reported neglect among young children. Expanding eligibility for childcare subsidies reduced both neglect and physical abuse across all age groups, whereas increasing redetermination generosity alone had no impact unless paired with broader eligibility. Setting a maximum copayment for childcare had no effect on maltreatment. Expanding SNAP eligibility, particularly under the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, was highly effective in reducing child maltreatment, especially neglect and physical abuse. TANF expansion had no significant national impact but reduced self-reported physical abuse among mothers with lower education attainment. Raising Medicaid eligibility reduced neglect across all age groups but had no effect on physical or sexual abuse. Continuous eligibility and increased coverage rates also reduced maltreatment reports and substantiations. However, an unexpected increase in neglect reports and substantiations was observed for children aged 0-2 following Medicaid expansion. While no studies directly explored CTC expansion, states with CTC programs experienced greater reductions in maltreatment compared to those without. No studies were found on the effects of HCV or CDCTC expansion. Finally, studies examining multiple concurrent policy expansions as integrated policy packages consistently reported significant reductions in maltreatment.

Conclusions/Implications

This review demonstrates that expanding poverty-related policies can reduce child maltreatment—particularly neglect—and underscores the broader role of social safety net programs in promoting child well-being. Programs such as EITC, minimum wage, SNAP, Medicaid, and childcare subsidies show positive impacts when eligibility is expanded or benefits increased, though more research is needed on under-studied programs like CTC, HCV, and CDCTC. The consistent effectiveness of combined policy efforts highlights the value of multi-pronged poverty reduction strategies in advancing child protection. Coordinated efforts across public health, economic, and social service sections may offer a cost-effective path to reducing maltreatment by ensuring families have stable income, food security, healthcare access, and affordable childcare.