Child Protection Investigation Research Articles

Distinguishing profiles of adversity among child protection investigations in Ontario, Canada: A latent class analysis

BackgroundChild welfare-involved families have diverse and multi-faceted needs. Families who experience poverty and are investigated by the child protection system may represent a particularly vulnerable group. ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the unique profiles of need that exist for families who experience poverty and are investigated by the Ontario child protection system. Participants and settingData from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (OIS-2018) was used. The OIS-2018 is a cross-sectional study which collected information on investigations conducted in Ontario, Canada in 2018. MethodsA latent class analysis was conducted to identify and describe distinct classes of adversity among a representative sample of child protection investigations. Indicators of child, caregiver and economic adversity were used. ResultsThis study found evidence for eight distinct classes of adversity. With the exception of a low adversity class which emerged, the identified classes were characterized by distinct profiles of cooccurring adversities and there were several classes where indicators of poverty were probable. Investigation dispositions varied greatly by class. ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of ensuring an optimal fit between the distinct needs of investigated families and the child welfare interventions provided. Services and supports that are tailored to the specific constellations of cooccurring adversities that families face may be more effective in reducing the need for future child welfare involvement and/or more intrusive child protection responses. It is likely that investigated families who experience poverty would benefit from a range of economic and concrete supports.

Comparative analysis of child protection investigations in Ontario and Quebec, Canada

BackgroundThe Canadian child protection system is a network of provincial, territorial, and federal systems. Each province and territory has unique child protection legislation and service delivery practices. There is significant variation between the legislations and processes which inevitably determines which children and families are investigated. ObjectiveThis study examines the clinical case characteristics to understand the drivers related to the significant difference in child protection investigation rates occurring in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Relevant legislations and policies are also examined. Participant and settingThe study uses data from four provincial Incidences Studies: 1) the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2013 (OIS-2013), 2) the Quebec Incidence Study on Investigations of Child Protection-2014 (EIQ-2014); 3) OIS-2018); and 4) EIQ-2019. These studies are cross-sectional and collect de-identified information on child protection investigations which occurred in the relative province and year. MethodsDescriptive tests were conducted to examine differences between clinical case characteristics of the four Incidence Studies. Incidence rates were calculated using Statistics Canada Census data. Confidence intervals were conducted to test for significant differences. ResultsThere is a statistically significant difference in the investigation rates between OIS-2013 and EIQ-2014, and OIS-2018 and EIQ-2019. There is no statistically significant difference in the substantiation rates between OIS-2013 and EIQ-2014, and no clinical difference in the substantiation rates between OIS-2018 and EIQ-2019. ConclusionsIt is a critical time to examine screening procedures and tools to ensure resources are used effectively and reduce negative impacts on children and families unnecessarily investigated. Keywords: child welfare, policy, provincial comparisons, incidence rates.

NAVIGATING “SAFETY” IN A PANDEMIC: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ONTARIO CHILD WELFARE SAFETY INTERVENTIONS FOR NEWCOMER PARENTS AND OTHER FAMILIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study investigated circumstances surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on child protection investigations, particularly those affecting newcomer parents in Ontario, Canada. Recognizing that the pandemic inflicted substantial socioeconomic disadvantage on some people, the purpose of the study was to use an intersectional lens to examine challenges and solutions found by child welfare agencies when working with families. Insights for policy and practice are drawn from 11 virtual interviews with child welfare workers and managers in Ontario. Our findings reveal that some newcomer families encountered unique challenges: ineligibility for the available pandemic public assistance; inaccessibility to faith-based supports, which had often been their first key contact for mental wellness in the past; technological inequities; and language barriers. These intersecting conditions impacted newcomer families and led to innovative child protection interventions. Analysis of the interview data shows a gradual shift in Ontario from risk-focused approaches to supportive and preventative child welfare interventions in families. Furthermore, supervisors faced the dilemma of how stringently to enforce ongoing safety policies when some social workers were questioning the benefits of these rules for families with intersecting identities who were experiencing added burdens because of the pandemic.

”Andra ögon idag?”

“Other eyes today?” ̶ Social services’ handling of child protection investigations in cases of violence Social work involving child protection investigations is extensive within social services. The largest proportion of investigations are initiated due to reports of concern. Between the years 2010 and 2021, national statistics indicates that reports of concern increased by 200 percent. This article analyses the social services’ handling of child protection investigations initiated due to concerns about violence. The article is part of a larger study of privatisation in child protection investigations in six municipalities, with comparisons between investigations carried out by municipally employed social workers and private consultants. A high proportion of the investigations examined were initiated due to concerns about violence. The article analyses child protection investigations regarding 70 children, where the reports of concern contain information about violence, either concern about violence against the child or concern that the child experienced violence in close relationships. The article is based on qualitative and quantitative content analyses of the investigations and interviews with professionals. The results show that violence could tend to disappear in the documentation during the investigation process. The investigator could reformulate the questions that guided the investigation and reformulate the statements about violence from one person (father) towards another person (mother) into parental “conflicts”. Instead of a focus on violence, the focus of the investigation could be directed towards the parents’ own problems or the child’s behaviour. One explanation could be that, according to the reports of concern, children who were exposed to violence did not always have the opportunity to express themselves in safe and secure ways during the investigation process. The study shows differences between investigations carried out by private consultants and employed social workers in terms of children’s participation and the extent to which investigations led to any intervention.

Strategies to increase fathers' engagement in child protection investigations due to domestic partner abuse in Sweden

AbstractSocial workers often fail to engage fathers in child protection investigations (CPIs), especially when they involve domestic abuse (DA) by fathers. The aim of this study is to examine the strategies used by social workers to achieve cooperation with fathers in CPIs that involve the father being suspected of DA against the child's mother. With the use of qualitative methods, we conducted 31 semi‐structured interviews with 15 social workers during their work on 12 CPI cases. Through thematic analysis, two main strategies for achieving cooperation were created: (1) Securing an Initial Bond, which involved reducing the tension in CPI proceedings and affirming the father; (2) Maintaining the Bond while addressing the father's abusive behaviour, which involved negotiating with fathers about the DA and helping them shift their perspective on how their behaviour has impacted the victims. This analysis is rooted in the framework of shame, guilt and social bonds. However, there is a risk that these strategies may lead to the DA being minimized or overlooked. Striking a balance between building a bond and addressing abuse is crucial, and the timing of addressing DA plays a central role.

Latin American children in Ontario child welfare: An examination of investigation disparities

Despite literature indicating that children and families of certain racial and ethnic backgrounds are more likely to experience child welfare involvement than white children and families, there is limited research on Latin American children’s child welfare involvement within the Canadian context. This study provides the first investigation of potential differences and disparities in child welfare involvement for Latin American children in Ontario, Canada, by conducting a secondary analysis of data from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (OIS-2018). The OIS-2018 collected data on child protection investigations from investigating workers, including characteristics of the investigated child, their caregivers, and their household, as well as characteristics of the investigation and short-term investigative dispositions. Incidence rates and disparity indices were calculated, and descriptive and bivariate analyses compared investigations involving Latin American children to those involving white children across key characteristics. While comprising a relatively small proportion of the investigation population, Latin American children were more than twice as likely to be investigated as white children. Consistent with this investigation disparity, significant differences were also observed in rates of substantiation and placement in out-of-home care. Investigations involving Latin American families more frequently involved concerns about family violence and were more likely to be initiated by police, but they were less likely to involve concerns about child or caregiver risks. These findings underscore a need to focus on Latin American experiences in the child welfare system, their service trajectories, and practice and policy considerations that can adequately respond to this community’s unique needs.

Adult disclosures of non-recent child sexual abuse: is there a role for restorative justice?

This article examines the views of 29 victim survivors (who were part of a larger study) who retrospectively disclosed non-recent child sexual abuse regarding their reasons for disclosure, the child protection and criminal justice responses to them, and the possible ways for improving system responses to address their needs and interests. The reasons for disclosure centred on a desire to pass the burden of the abuse to someone else, to achieve a subjectively defined form of justice and to regain power and control over their lives. Following disclosure, victim survivors often found themselves involved in two forms of investigation: child protection and criminal justice. The findings suggest that criminal justice systems do not adequately address victims’ needs in these circumstances. They often feel marginal to child protection investigations and feel used instrumentally in those proceedings. However, having social workers ‘rattle the cage’ of perpetrators provided comfort for some victim survivors who failed to get justice through criminal justice mechanisms. Based on the research presented in this study, it is suggested that restorative justice may have something to offer as part of the response to non-recent disclosures of child sexual abuse as part of both criminal justice and child protection investigations and processes.

Changing trends in child welfare inequalities in Northern Ireland

ObjectivesThis study uses longitudinal administrative data to investigate the relationship between area level deprivation and the 1) referral, 2) investigation, 3) registration and 4) looked-after stages of children’s contact with child and family social work in Northern Ireland (NI) from 2010-2017 (stages 1-3) and 2010-2020 (stage 4).
 MethodsChildren’s social care data (SOSCARE database) for the years 2010 to 2020 were obtained from the Honest Broker Service in NI. The data were linked with the 2017 NI Multiple Deprivation Measure through the family of origin postcode. Cross-tabulations of year and deprivation decile were used to produce frequencies of children who experienced the four levels of intervention within each of the study years. These were then used to calculate various measures of absolute and relative inequality including the Slope Index of Inequality (SII), the Relative Ratio of Inequality (RRI) and the Relative Index of Inequality (RII).
 ResultsThere was a clear and increasing social gradient in child welfare interventions over time. Children referred to children’s social care during 2010-2017 were 4-5 times more likely to come from the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived. Despite fairly stable levels of referral inequality, the ratio of children subject to child protection investigations rose from 3 in 2010 to 6 in 2017, the ratio of children subject to child protection plans rose from 4.5 in 2010 to 8 in 2017 and the ratio of children looked after rose from 4 in 2010 to 9 in 2020. This widening inequality was largely driven by the increasing involvement of younger children from the most deprived areas in child protection and looked-after processes.
 ConclusionIn an environment of economic austerity and reduced spending, we are intervening in the lives of children and families living in the most deprived areas of NI at disproportionate rates. The current independent review of children’s social care offers an opportunity to reconfigure current provision with a clear inequalities focus.

The influence of youth’s social environments and experiences on inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk

Large numbers of youth grow up experiencing serious adversity, for example in the form of growing up in poverty, which impacts nearly 1 out of every 6 children in the US, or by experiencing child maltreatment, with roughly 1 out of every 3 children in the US experiencing a child protective services investigation before reaching the age of 18. Although the exact mechanisms connecting such early experiences to poorer later life health and well-being are not fully understood, research increasingly supports the role of inflammation in these associations. Early work is further suggesting that disease risk can be actively reduced through the use of psychosocial interventions. This talk will provide an overview of some family-level influences that moderate the effect of exposure to adversity on youth inflammation; the potential of a psychosocial intervention to actively alter cardiovascular disease risk among youth; and present preliminary baseline data on markers of inflammation in youth recently recruited into a large, state-wide prospective cohort designed to elucidate the long-term health impacts of experiences of child maltreatment.

Commentary: The Legal System Response to Child Maltreatment.

Legal actions are perhaps the most powerful responses to child maltreatment. Criminal and child protection investigation and forensic interviewing can provide the evidence needed to support a child victim's disclosure. Prosecution of child maltreatment can hold perpetrators accountable. Juvenile and family court actions can provide for children's safety and oversee their care in state custody and journey to a permanent home. This commentary introduces readers to a special issue of the journalChild Maltreatmentthat focuses on the legal system response to child abuse and neglect. We provide an overview of the issue's 11 research articles and additional commentary. These works provide crucial new knowledge on gaining information from child victims involved in the legal system, on the law enforcement and prosecution response to child maltreatment, and on the legal framework supporting child protection.

An analysis of temporal dimensions in maltreatment reporting and child protection responses

BackgroundThe health services literature indicates that the day and time of a medical encounter is often significant factor in patient outcomes, yet little is known about the role of temporal dimensions in child maltreatment reporting or substantiation. ObjectiveWe examined time-specific dynamics of screened-in reports of alleged maltreatment from different reporter sources, including their relationship to the likelihood of substantiation. Participants and settingWe used a population-based dataset of administrative records for 119,758 child protection investigations involving 193,300 unique children in Los Angeles County, California, between 2016 and 2017. MethodsFor each report, we coded three categorical temporal dimensions of the maltreatment report: season, day of the week, and time of day. We descriptively examined how temporal characteristics varied by reporting source. Finally, we ran generalized linear models to estimate the likelihood of substantiation. ResultsWe observed variability overall and by reporter type for all three measures of time. Reports were less likely during summer months (22.2 %), during the weekend (13.6 %), and after midnight (10.4 %). Counts of reports from law enforcement were more common after midnight and contributed to a greater proportion of substantiations over the weekend than other reporter types. Weekend and morning reports were nearly 10 % more likely than weekday and afternoon to be substantiated, respectively. Reporter type was the most prominent factor for substantiation regardless of temporal dimensions. ConclusionsScreened-in reports varied by season and other classifications of time, but temporal dimensions exhibited only a modest influence on the likelihood of substantiation.

Toward a Typology of Child Sex Traffickers: Using Crime Script Analysis to Inform Prevention

ABSTRACT Preventing child sex trafficking remains an urgent concern for public health and criminal justice professionals. Using crime script analysis, this study identified a typology of child sex traffickers (CSTs). Data for this study were drawn from 78 child sex trafficking cases involving 54 CSTs and 48 victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) investigated by the Child Protective Investigation Unit in a predominately rural and suburban county. Using a decision tree model, we identified subtypes of child sex traffickers (CSTs) and explored patterns and variation in the victim recruitment tactics used by these subtypes during three phases of the victim recruitment crime script – find, groom, and exploit. Seven types of CSTs emerged from the cases: Peer/Acquaintance, Organized Crime, Family Abuser, Romantic Coercive Conman, “Mate Crime” Predator, Opportunistic, and Cyber traffickers. Both shared and unique tactics were identified such as social media and peer recruitment to find victims, promises, and gifts to groom victims, and threats and violence to ensnare victims. Based upon the study findings, we recommend specific prevention strategies and education themes related to the various at-risk situational scenarios and documented tactics used by CSTs at each phase of victim recruitment.

Negotiating organisational and professional feeling rules: on digital documentation and emotions in child protection social work

This article explores the emotional challenges of digital documentation practices in child protection social work. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Swedish social services, it explores how social workers negotiate organisational and professional feeling rules when performing child protection investigations using a digital documentation-based structure. Theoretically informed by Arlie Hochschild and other emotion sociologists’ discussions on the origins of feeling rules at work, the study concentrates on how organisational feeling rules challenge professional ideals and force situated negotiations. The documentation structure was introduced and framed as a guarantee that social workers would no longer be guided by emotions but by facts; at the same time, new emotional dilemmas arose when professionals worked according to these ideals. Negotiations between organisational and professional feeling rules were identified regarding traces of emotional work in the documentation, compliance with documentation-based routines in unpredictable client interactions, and professional (dis)satisfaction when documenting activities took time away from meeting with clients. Adding to the existing body of research, the study demonstrates that digital documentation practices deepen the increasingly ambivalent place for emotions in social work and that organisational-administrative emotional regimes are negotiated in situ with other ideals by social workers and frontline managers. By giving examples of social workers’ micro-resistance to organisational feeling rules, the study contributes theoretically with insights into the different origins of feeling rules in professional welfare work and the power (a)symmetry between them. Finally, by situating the tensions between competing ideals in everyday practice, the study adds to the understanding of technostress and emotional fatigue.

Social Work Interventions with Children under 5 in Scotland: Over a Quarter Referred and One in Seventeen Investigated with Wide Variations between Local Authorities

Abstract This article uses information from freedom of information requests to find the rate of children who were subject to social work interventions in Scotland before the age of 5. It finds that more than one in every four children were referred to social work and provides the rates for other types of interventions including children investigated for child protection, becoming looked after and being adopted. Despite differences in legislation and the judicial system, the study shows many similarities in rates of intervention in Scotland to similar longitudinal studies in England. The study found wide variations between local authorities in rates of these different interventions, which for most interventions was moderately correlated with deprivation and, in the case of the high disparities in rates of referral and child protection investigation, had little correlation with deprivation. The likelihood of children’s involvement with social work varied markedly depending on where they lived.

Service Provision by Child Protection Services — Exploring Variability at Case and Agency Levels in a Norwegian Sample

In this study, we look at the decision to provide services following a child protection investigation in Norway. More specifically, we want to look at variability at the case level and at the agency level in order to identify factors that may impact a decision to provide services.The study was designed as a cross-sectional archive study that was carried out retrospectively. Included predictors for service provision were presence of abuse, and risk factors related to child, parental and family function. Agency predictors were referral rate and metropolitan location. Variation in service provision was sectioned into case level (N = 883) variation and agency level (N = 16) variation. Five nested multilevel models were estimated. Service provision for families following a child protection investigation was on average 38.4% in the sample. Among the 16 agencies, it varied between 21.9 and 60.0%. This variation is mostly explained by case variables. The strongest were physical abuse (OR = 1.37) and neglect (OR = 1.18).There is evidence for agency differences with respect to the types of cases being referred. Differences in agency thresholds for service provision when controlling for the referral reason seem to be quite small.

State-level variation in the cumulative prevalence of child welfare system contact, 2015–2019

BackgroundPrior estimates of the cumulative risks of child welfare system contact illustrate the prominence of this system in the lives of children in the United States (U.S.). However, these estimates report national data on a system administered at the state and local levels and are unable to detail potential simultaneous geographic and racial/ethnic variation in the prevalence of these events. MethodsUsing 2015–2019 data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, we use synthetic cohort life tables to estimate cumulative state- and race/ethnicity-specific risks by age 18 of experiencing: (1) a child protective services investigation, (2) confirmed maltreatment, (3) foster care placement, and (4) termination of parental rights for children in the U.S. ResultsIn the U.S., state-level investigation risks ranged from 14% to 63%, confirmed maltreatment risks from 3% to 27%, foster care placement risks from 2% to 18%, and risks of parental rights termination from 0% to 8%. Racial/ethnic disparities in these risks varied greatly across states, with larger disparities at higher levels of involvement. Whereas Black children had higher risks of all events than white children in nearly all states, Asian children had consistently lower risks. Finally, ratios comparing risks of child welfare events show these prevalences did not move in parallel, across states or racial/ethnic groups. ContributionThis study provides new estimates of spatial and racial/ethnic variation in children’s lifetime risks of maltreatment investigation, confirmed maltreatment, foster care placement, and termination of parental rights in the U.S., as well as relative risks of these events.

Risk factors and neglect subtypes: Findings from a nationally representative data set.

Child neglect is a multidimensional concept encompassing various forms. Prior studies suggest that risk factors differ by neglect subtypes such as physical or supervisory neglect, but few studies address how risk factors vary between other neglect subtypes. This study aimed to examine how risk factors were related to neglect subtypes such as physical neglect, lack of supervision, exposure to domestic violence, substance-abusing parent, and mixed neglect. This study used secondary data from a nationally representative sample of children (National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-II, N = 5,872), and 786 children with a first-time child protective services investigation for neglect allegations alone were selected. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore how individual, family, and community risk factors may be associated with specific neglect subtypes. Five risk factors were able to discriminate between subtypes of neglect. For example, being a young child is associated with a greater risk of experiencing multiple forms of neglect. Caregiver's mental health problem is associated with a higher likelihood of being referred for multiple forms of neglect, particularly as compared with the risk of being referred for lack of supervision. Having poor social support is associated with a higher risk of physical neglect, and caregiver high stress is related to a higher risk of domestic violence. While most intervention programs target risk factors for overall child neglect, not specific neglect subtypes cases, our findings suggest that the intervention approach based on an understanding of the heterogeneity in risk factors between neglect subtypes is advisable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Accessibility of child protection investigations during pandemic: A qualitative analysis of court proceedings.

Qualitative research using published court records to examine contextual factors that contribute to child protection decisions in cases involving parents with intellectual disabilities is limited, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study conducted qualitative content analysis on 10 published Ontario court cases to study child protection decision-making between 2019 and 2021. The findings corroborated previous literature with nine out of 10 cases resulting in loss of child custody. Four major themes emerged from content analysis: (1) Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cases; (2) Systemic barriers to accessibility; (3) Attitudes and bias toward parents with intellectual disabilities; and (4) Ultimate reliance on intellectual disability status for final custody decision. Conducting content analysis on published court cases is useful in learning about accessibility barriers for parents with intellectual disabilities and may help in understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child protection system.

Examining the effects of the Eckerd rapid safety feedback process on the occurrence of repeat maltreatment among children involved in the child welfare system

BackgroundThe Eckerd Rapid Safety Feedback Process (ERSF) is an approach to child welfare practice that combines predictive risk modeling (PRM) with real-time quality assurance and staff coaching during a child protective services investigation. During the case investigation, quality assurance (QA) reviewers provide guidance to staff by assessing key dimensions of their investigative practices and providing coaching sessions as needed. ObjectiveTo determine to what degree ERSF reduced the incidence of children who experienced high severity physical, sexual, or neglect maltreatment (HS-CAN) among children known to a state child welfare agency, within 12 months of the agency's involvement in a previous investigation. MethodsThis multi-year quasi-experimental study evaluated the impact of the ERSF Process on risk of repeat high severity maltreatment among children and youth identified by a PRM algorithm as high risk for experiencing repeat maltreatment and receiving the additional QA intervention, compared to those receiving the usual standard of care. ResultsThe ERSF Process did not lower the rate of HS-CAN among children identified as high risk. The joint odds ratio for receiving ERSF given being high risk was 1.05, i.e. a point estimate indicating higher probability of future HS-CAN. ConclusionsIn this statewide implementation of ERSF, we did not find a positive effect of this particular PRM-based intervention. Future maltreatment, even within 12 months of a prior investigation, may be too distal an outcome for a PRM and QA process designed to produce a high-quality CPS investigation and safety plan.

Haematological evaluation of bruising and bleeding in children undergoing child protection investigation for possible physical maltreatment: A British Society for Haematology Good Practice Paper.

Haematological evaluation of bruising and bleeding in children undergoing child protection investigation for possible physical maltreatment: A British Society for Haematology Good Practice Paper.