State support policies and children's living arrangements

Abstract

BackgroundMany children in the United States live apart from their parents, in either formal or informal foster care, due to concerns about child abuse and neglect. Prior research has established a connection between poverty and child maltreatment, but many aspects of state support to families remain unexamined in relation to child living arrangements. ObjectiveWe test welfare access, welfare generosity, work supports, and family supports indicators as predictors of foster care removal rates and nonparental care rates. Participants and settingWe use a population of 51 states, including the District of Columbia, for years 2008 to 2018, totaling 561 state-years. MethodsWe utilize negative binomial regression models with state and year fixed effects. ResultsWe find that one-dollar higher minimum wages are negatively associated with both foster care removal rates (IRR = 0.947, p < 0.001) and nonparental care rates (IRR = 0.975, p < 0.01), but that other state policies are not consistently beneficial. ConclusionsOur results have implications for policies to assist families and reduce child maltreatment.