The Cumulative Prevalence of Termination of Parental Rights for U.S. Children, 2000-2016.

Recent research has used synthetic cohort life tables to show that having a Child Protective Services investigation, experiencing confirmed maltreatment, and being placed in foster care are more common for American children than would be expected based on daily or annual rates for these events. In this article, we extend this literature by using synthetic cohort life tables and data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to generate the first cumulative prevalence estimates of termination of parental rights. The results provide support for four conclusions. First, according to the 2016 estimate, 1 in 100 U.S. children will experience the termination of parental rights by age 18. Second, the risk of experiencing this event is highest in the first few years of life. Third, risks are highest for Native American and African American children. Nearly 3.0% of Native American children and around 1.5% of African American children will ever experience this event. Finally, there is dramatic variation across states in the risk of experiencing this event and in racial/ethnic inequality in this risk. Taken together, these findings suggest that parental rights termination, which involves the permanent loss of access to children for parents, is far more common than often thought.

Placement in Care in Early Childhood and School Readiness: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

The current study examined school readiness for children placed in care of child protection services before age 5. This association was assessed using a population-based cohort of children born in Manitoba, Canada, between 2000 and 2009 ( n = 53,477) and subcohorts of discordant siblings (one sibling taken into care, one sibling not taken into care; n = 809) and discordant cousins ( n = 517). In the population analysis, children placed in care were significantly less likely to be ready for school; this difference was not seen in the discordant sibling or cousin analysis. The findings suggested that differences in school readiness for children placed in care are a result of broader social factors affecting families, not placement into care.

Examining Child Welfare Decisions and Services for Asian-Canadian Versus White-Canadian Children and Families in the Child Welfare System.

Using administrative child welfare data from the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (OCANDS), this study compared the profiles of Asian-Canadian and White-Canadian children and families that experienced a case closure after an investigation instead of being transferred to ongoing child protection services (CPS). Child protection investigations involving Asian-Canadian and White-Canadian children and families that were transferred to ongoing CPS presented a different profile of case characteristics and caregiver and child clinical needs. Asian-Canadian children and families received ongoing CPS for over a month longer than White-Canadian children and families and were less likely (odds ratio [ OR] = 0.39) to be reinvestigated for any form of maltreatment-related concerns within 1 year after case closure. It appears that child protection investigations involving Asian-Canadian children and families are less likely to be closed prematurely than White-Canadian children and families, and the child protection system may be meeting the needs of Asian-Canadian communities. Alternatively, it is possible there is unaccounted biases that may be reflective of systemic problem of discriminative practices in the child protection system. Further research is needed to explore this phenomenon.

Duration in Poverty-Related Programs and Number of Child Maltreatment Reports.

This study examined the relationship of a family's duration in poverty-related programs (i.e., Aid to Families with Dependent Children/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Medicaid) to the subject child's number of maltreatment reports while considering race and baseline neighborhood poverty. Children from a large Midwestern metropolitan area were followed through a linked cross-sector administrative database from birth to age 15. Generalized multilevel models were employed to account for the multilevel structure of the data (i.e., nesting of families within neighborhoods). The data showed a unique and significant contribution of duration in poverty-related programs to the number of maltreatment reports. The predicted number of maltreatment reports increased by between 2.5 and 3.7 times, as duration in poverty-related programs increased from 0 to 9 years. This relationship was consistent between Whites and non-Whites (over 98% Black), but non-Whites showed a significantly lower number of total maltreatment reports while controlling for duration in poverty-related programs. We were unable to find a significant association between child maltreatment reports and baseline neighborhood poverty.

From a "perfect storm" to "smooth sailing": policymaker perspectives on implementation and sustainment of an evidence-based practice in two states.

Policymakers shape implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBPs), whether they are developing or responding to legislation and policies or negotiating public sector resource constraints. As part of a large mixed-method study, we conducted qualitative interviews with 24 policymakers involved in delivery of the same EBP in two U.S. states. We analyzed transcripts via open and focused coding techniques to identify the commonality, diversity, and complexity of implementation challenges; approaches to overcoming those challenges; and the importance of system-level contextual factors in ensuring successful implementation. Key findings centered on building support and leadership for EBPs; funding and contractual strategies; partnering with stakeholders; tackling challenges via proactive planning and problem solving; and the political, legal, and systemic pressures affecting EBP longevity. The policymaker perspectives offer guidance on nurturing system and organizational practice environments to achieve positive outcomes and for optimally addressing macro-level influences that bear upon the instantiation of EBPs in public sector child welfare systems.