Predicting Risk of Placement: A Population-based Study of Out-of-Home Placement, Child Maltreatment, and Emergency Housing

Abstract

Guided by a developmental epidemiology framework, this study examines the extent to which first experiences of child maltreatment and use of emergency housing are predictive of out-of-home placement in early childhood. The study sample is a population of 12,045 second-grade students in a large, urban school district. Information on birth, maternal, and social risk factors was obtained and linked through an integrated data system. Life table analyses were used to develop a descriptive picture of the timing of first out-of-home placement experience. Findings demonstrate that children are most likely to experience a first out-of-home placement during their first year of life. Cox regression analyses are used to examine the extent to which variables for risk factors (specifically child maltreatment and use of emergency housing) predict the first out-of-home placement experience while controlling for demographics, birth risks, and maternal risks. Results demonstrate that children with histories of child maltreatment or emergency housing use are more likely than peers without such histories to be placed in out-of-home care. Further, children with histories of both child maltreatment and emergency housing use are less likely to be placed in out-of-home care than children who have experienced either child maltreatment or emergency housing use (but not both). Findings point to the importance of interagency collaboration and a focus on young children for addressing the needs of vulnerable young children and their families.