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Mothers, men, and child protective services involvement
Lawrence M Berger1, Christina Paxson, Jane Waldfogel
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA. lmberger@wisc.edu
Child Maltreatment
|July 8, 2009
Summary
Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement is higher for mothers not living with the biological father of all their children or those who are single. Relationship status significantly impacts CPS contact, independent of family characteristics.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Criminology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Maternal relationship status is a key factor in family structure.
- Understanding predictors of Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement is crucial for child welfare.
- Previous research has not fully explored the nuanced impact of paternal relationship to children on CPS contact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal relationship status and Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement.
- To determine if the biological fatherhood of resident children modifies the risk of CPS contact.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 2,297 families in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
- Categorized families based on maternal romantic involvement and partner's biological fatherhood status.
- Employed statistical controls for maternal and paternal characteristics and behaviors.
Main Results:
- Families with mothers not cohabiting with the biological father of all children showed higher CPS contact rates.
- Mothers not romantically involved also had significantly higher CPS contact.
- Findings persisted after controlling for numerous individual and family-level factors.
Conclusions:
- Maternal relationship status, particularly cohabitation with the biological father of all children, is a significant predictor of Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement.
- The observed associations suggest factors beyond social selection contribute to CPS contact disparities.
- Policy and intervention efforts may benefit from considering family structure and paternal involvement.
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