Race and ethnic differences in early childhood maltreatment in the United States

In the United States, over 6 million children were referred to child protective services in 2012. Black children are overrepresented among children investigated for child abuse and neglect. Understanding why black children are disproportionately reported for maltreatment is critical to informing policy and practice solutions. Two competing theories attribute disproportionality to either racial bias or concentrated risk factors. Although prior work has focused on national data, this study examines the relationship between risk factors and maltreatment at the state level, focusing on outcomes for young children.

We examine the relationship between early childhood poverty and maltreatment victimization across white, black, and Hispanic children (0-3 years). Using state-level data (N = 48), we determine ratios of disproportionate outcomes in child maltreatment and associations to poverty and other risk factors.

Study findings for state-level data show greater disproportionality of black and Hispanic children living in poverty relative to their white counterparts. This imbalance is associated with greater disproportionality in maltreatment rates. Results also indicate that disproportionality of maltreatment rates was associated with state disproportionality in rates of unmarried and teenage mothers for blacks and Hispanics.

Exposure to risks such as poverty is an important factor driving the overrepresentation of minority groups in the child welfare system. Effective strategies for reducing maltreatment must include strategies for reducing poverty and supporting young at-risk mothers.