The Effect of Material Hardship on Child Protective Service Involvement

This study used four waves of survey data on 1, 135 families from the Illinois Families Study. Utilizing a longitudinal and prospective study design, this study explores the following issues within low-income populations: (1) whether material hardships are associated with child protective services (CPS) investigation; (2) whether the effect of material hardship on child maltreatment differs by the type of child maltreatment; and (3) whether psychological distress mediates the association between material hardship and child maltreatment. Pooled logistic regressions and fixed effects logistic regressions were used. Although results from pooled logistic regressions suggested that caregivers who experienced material hardship are more likely to be involved in CPS, estimates from fixed effect models that adjust for selection bias indicated that changes in material hardship status has a strong effect on CPS investigation. In general, neglect investigations are responsive to types of hardship such as housing and food, while physical abuse investigations are responsive to levels of hardship regardless of specific type of hardship. The association between material hardship and CPS involvement are not fully explained by depressive symptoms or parenting stress. The study results suggest that to prevent child maltreatment, it might be more effective to address the family's unmet material needs by offering economic support programs.