State support policies and children's living arrangements

Area of Science:

• Child Welfare Research
• Socioeconomic Policy Analysis
• Public Health

Background:

• Child maltreatment and neglect are significant concerns in the U.S., leading many children to enter foster care.
• Poverty is a known risk factor for child maltreatment, yet the impact of specific state support systems on child living arrangements is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how state welfare access, generosity, work supports, and family supports predict foster care removal and nonparental care rates.
• To identify which state-level economic and social support policies are associated with reduced rates of children living apart from their parents.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 561 state-years from 2008-2018 across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Utilized negative binomial regression models incorporating state and year fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity.

Main Results:

• A $1 increase in the minimum wage was significantly associated with lower foster care removal rates (IRR=0.947) and nonparental care rates (IRR=0.975).
• Other examined state policies, including welfare and family support indicators, did not demonstrate consistent associations with reduced foster care rates.

Conclusions:

• Minimum wage increases may serve as an effective policy lever for reducing the number of children entering the foster care system.
• Findings suggest a need for nuanced policy development to support families and prevent child maltreatment, with minimum wage policy showing particular promise.