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Providing Health Care to Maltreated Children Receiving Child Welfare Services
Insights
Children experiencing maltreatment who received needed health care had better health outcomes. Factors like Medicaid, higher income, and inclusion in case plans improved care access for these vulnerable children.
Area of Science:
- Child Welfare
- Pediatric Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Maltreated children often face significant health challenges.
- Ensuring access to necessary healthcare is crucial for this population.
- Understanding factors influencing healthcare receipt is vital for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine associations between healthcare receipt and child/family factors in substantiated maltreatment cases.
- To identify predictors of needed health care access for maltreated children.
- To inform social work practice regarding healthcare for maltreated children.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of longitudinal records from a national dataset of 1,465 maltreated children.
- Application of generalized estimating equations to assess variable associations.
- Inclusion of medical need, social, demographic, and child welfare intervention variables.
Main Results:
- Negative associations found between needed health care receipt and general physical health, age, and remaining in the home.
- Positive associations identified with Medicaid receipt, higher family income, and inclusion of health services in child welfare case plans.
- Wave 2 interview also positively associated with needed care receipt.
Conclusions:
- Accurate identification of children's health problems is essential.
- Integrating health needs into child welfare case plans is critical.
- Effective coordination between child welfare and healthcare professionals is necessary for improved outcomes.
Abstract:
This study sought associations between maltreated children's receipt of needed health care and five other variables or sets of variables: medical need, social structural factors, access to care, demographic factors, and child welfare intervention. Data for this study came from longitudinal records derived for a sample of 1,465 children (extracted from all records in a national data set) for whom maltreatment had been substantiated. Children in the sample had, following substantiation, either remained in the home or been placed in kinship care or other out-of-home setting. Generalized estimating equations were applied to the data. The results supported a negative association between the sample's receipt of needed health care and three factors: general physical health, age, and remaining in the home after substantiation. Data analysis also supported a positive association between receiving needed care and Medicaid receipt, family income of between 100 percent and 200 percent of federal poverty level, family income above 200 percent of federal poverty level, needed health care services included in child welfare case plan, and wave 2 interview. The study's implications for social work practice include the necessity of accurately identifying children's health problems, of addressing health needs in the case plan, and of coordinating meaningfully with health professionals.
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