Doctoral Dissertation Research: Interagency Collaboration and Maternal and Child Wellbeing

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

The majority of child maltreatment reports received by child protective service agencies in the United States come from professionals such as teachers, healthcare providers, and social workers. Data sharing between the child welfare system and other institutions thus facilitates the investigation of and intervention in cases of child maltreatment. One consequence of this collaboration, however, is that families may avoid institutions that provide necessary resources out of fear of coming into contact with the child welfare system. This project analyzes under what circumstances institutional engagement is associated with a greater likelihood of child protective services involvement, as well as how child protective services involvement is related to future institutional engagement. Exploring how interactions with the child welfare system constrain family willingness to access needed services sheds light on one understudied mechanism in the reproduction of social stratification. Findings from this project will generate policy and policy implementation strategies for encouraging appropriate social service uptake and better collaboration between social service workers and clients. This project utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative portion of project will analyze data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (FFCWS). Currently available FFCWS data follow nearly five thousand children and their families from the focal child's birth to age fifteen, with an oversampling of children born to unmarried mothers. Statistical techniques such as generalized linear models will be used to estimate associations between child welfare system involvement and service utilization. In addition, the project involves in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 40 social service employees. Interview topics will include how and when respondents decide to report child maltreatment, what evidence they use, and how professional norms shape these decision-making processes. This project will provide evidence regarding social service usage among low-income families, with implications for sociological theories regarding stratification, family and child outcomes, and maternal contact with the child welfare system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.