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The relationship between child welfare financing, screening, and substantiation

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  • McLaughlin, Michael
  • Jonson-Reid, Melissa

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between state-level child welfare spending and two important decision points in the child welfare system: the decision to screen out a referral and the decision to substantiate. The model is estimated using a pooled fractional probit estimator that controls for year effects and state-level clustering. The findings suggest that decreases in state-level child welfare expenditures predict increases in the proportion of referrals that are screened out and decreases in the proportion of maltreatment claims that are substantiated. The results are robust to the inclusion of caseload and federal spending as control variables, to the exclusion of states known to have changed their screening or funding practices during the sample period, and to the use of combined state and local child welfare expenditures as an explanatory variable in lieu of state-level child welfare expenditures. The findings imply that the amount of money a state spends on child welfare may influence important decisions in the child welfare process.

Suggested Citation

  • McLaughlin, Michael & Jonson-Reid, Melissa, 2017. "The relationship between child welfare financing, screening, and substantiation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 407-412.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:82:y:2017:i:c:p:407-412
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Schnitzer, P.G. & Covington, T.M. & Wirtz, S.J. & Verhoek-Oftedahl, W. & Palusci, V.J., 2008. "Public health surveillance of fatal child maltreatment: Analysis of 3 state programs," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(2), pages 296-303.
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    3. Wells, Susan J. & Fluke, John D. & Brown, C. Hendricks, 1995. "The decision to investigate: Child protection practice in 12 local agencies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 523-546.
    4. Font, Sarah A. & Berger, Lawrence M. & Slack, Kristen S., 2012. "Examining racial disproportionality in child protective services case decisions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 2188-2200.
    5. Michael Malcolm, 2012. "Can buy me love: the effect of child welfare expenditures on maltreatment outcomes," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(28), pages 3725-3736, October.
    6. Dettlaff, Alan J. & Rivaux, Stephanie L. & Baumann, Donald J. & Fluke, John D. & Rycraft, Joan R. & James, Joyce, 2011. "Disentangling substantiation: The influence of race, income, and risk on the substantiation decision in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1630-1637, September.
    7. Jonson-Reid, Melissa & Drake, Brett & Kohl, Patricia L., 2009. "Is the overrepresentation of the poor in child welfare caseloads due to bias or need?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 422-427, March.
    8. Wells, Susan J. & Lyons, Peter & Doueck, Howard J. & Brown, C. Hendricks & Thomas, Judy, 2004. "Ecological factors and screening in child protective services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 981-997, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Emily Keddell, 2019. "Algorithmic Justice in Child Protection: Statistical Fairness, Social Justice and the Implications for Practice," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-22, October.
    2. Emily Keddell & Gabrielle Davie, 2018. "Inequalities and Child Protection System Contact in Aotearoa New Zealand: Developing a Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Keddell, Emily & Davie, Gabrielle & Barson, Dave, 2019. "Child protection inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand: Social gradient and the ‘inverse intervention law’," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Smith, Brenda D. & Pressley, Tracy D., 2019. "Do surprisingly low child maltreatment rates in rural southern counties reflect lower rates of substantiation?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Bywaters, Paul & Scourfield, Jonathan & Webb, Calum & Morris, Kate & Featherstone, Brid & Brady, Geraldine & Jones, Chantel & Sparks, Tim, 2019. "Paradoxical evidence on ethnic inequities in child welfare: Towards a research agenda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 145-154.
    6. Yi, Youngmin & Edwards, Frank & Emanuel, Natalia & Lee, Hedwig & Leventhal, John M. & Waldfogel, Jane & Wildeman, Christopher, 2023. "State-level variation in the cumulative prevalence of child welfare system contact, 2015–2019," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).

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