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Evaluating the effect of a school-based material needs intervention on child maltreatment investigations in Michigan:
Rebeccah Sokol1, Bryan G Victor2, Michelle Degli Esposti3
1School of Social Work, University of Michigan, USA; Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, University of Michigan, USA.
Insights
Pathways to Potential (P2P) school-based caseworkers reduced child maltreatment investigations by 5%. This program showed greater benefits for marginalized schools, improving child safety outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Social Work
- Child Welfare
Background:
- Unmet material needs like food insecurity and housing instability increase child maltreatment risk.
- Pathways to Potential (P2P) is a program that places caseworkers in K-12 schools to address these needs.
- P2P aims to improve child safety by meeting families' basic needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the effect of the P2P program on child maltreatment investigation rates.
- To analyze the impact of P2P on students in Michigan K-12 schools.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study design analyzing yearly maltreatment investigation rates among Michigan K-12 students (2008-2019).
- Used a staggered interrupted time series analysis with segmented quasi-Poisson regression.
- Employed random effects meta-analysis and meta-regressions to assess program effects and equity.
Main Results:
- A 5% decrease in total child maltreatment investigations (IRR: 0.95) was observed.
- A 12% decrease in child physical neglect investigations (IRR: 0.88) was found.
- Schools with higher P2P doses and those serving more White students saw the greatest benefits.
Conclusions:
- School-based interventions addressing basic needs can reduce child welfare system involvement.
- Targeting programs to marginalized schools can promote equitable child safety improvements.
- P2P demonstrates the potential of school-based services in enhancing child well-being.
Background:
Unmet material needs, such as food insecurity or unstable housing, can threaten child safety and increase risk of child maltreatment. In Michigan, Pathways to Potential (P2P) addressed these needs by placing caseworkers in K-12 schools. By meeting families' needs, P2P may have also improved child safety.
Objective:
This study estimated the effect of P2P on maltreatment investigation rates among students in Michigan K-12 schools.
Participants And Setting:
Michigan K-12 students attending public schools between 2008-09 and 2018-19.
Methods:
This cohort study used a staggered interrupted time series design to analyze yearly rates of child maltreatment investigations among Michigan K-12 students between 2008-09 and 2018-19. We used segmented quasi-Poisson regression models to assess whether P2P was associated with a change in investigation rates at the school level. We estimated models for each school and pooled estimates using random effects meta-analysis. To evaluate the inverse equity hypothesis, we investigated heterogeneous effects across schools using meta-regressions.
Results:
Analyses found a 5% decrease in the yearly rates of total child maltreatment investigations (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.95; 95% CI: 0.90, 1.00) and a 12% decrease in the yearly rates of child physical neglect investigations (IRR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.95) after schools began implementing P2P. Schools with lower percentages of Black, Latine, and economically disadvantaged students, with higher percentages of White students, with higher P2P doses, and high schools benefited most from P2P.
Conclusion:
School-based interventions to address students' and their parents' basic needs can divert family contact away from the child welfare system. Tailoring such programs for the most marginalized schools could support more equitable gains in child safety.