Children with chronic health conditions and maltreatment re-report

Abstract

BackgroundTo better protect children from chronic maltreatment, it is vital to understand characteristics of families most at-risk for ongoing child protective service (CPS) investigations. Families of children with chronic health conditions that require hospitalization may be at an increased risk of a subsequent report shortly after the close of an investigation. ObjectiveThis study compares the length of time to a new maltreatment investigation – both any investigation and substantiated – following an initial investigation for families of children with different chronic health conditions, including asthma, life-threatening allergic reactions, and other conditions requiring hospitalization. MethodsData on families of children 2 months to 17 years of age (n = 2414) following an index CPS investigation from a merger of the 2010 cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) are used. ResultsUsing cox regression models, families of children with chronic health conditions requiring hospitalization were investigated for any allegation more quickly than families of children without such chronic conditions (hazard ratio = 1.60, p < .05), but were not reported more quickly for a substantiated investigation. Families of children with vision or hearing impairments were at a decreased hazard of substantiated re-reports (HR = 0.19, p < .05) compared to other families. ConclusionThe results suggests that the risk for re-reporting for families of children with different chronic health problems depend on type of chronic health condition. Investigations may be triggered for families of children with complex conditions unrelated to maltreatment, but potentially due to contact with multiple service systems.