Supporting Fathers to Prevent Child Maltreatment: How Paid Family Leave and Child Care Subsidies are Part of a Public Health Approach

Childcare Subsidy Employment and Copayment Requirements and Child Maltreatment

Economic support programs for low-income families may play an important role in preventing child abuse and neglect. In the United States, childcare subsidies are provided to low-income families who meet certain requirements to offset the high cost of childcare. States have flexibility in setting many policies related to the provision of childcare subsidies, which results in a great deal of variation in how the programs operate between states. One policy dimension on which states vary is the number of employment hours required to receive childcare subsidies. A small body of work has begun to investigate the ways in which these state policy variations might relate to child maltreatment. Using 11 years of administrative data from the United States, the current study sought to estimate the relationship between two sources of variation in childcare subsidy policies: employment requirements and copayment size; and child neglect, physical abuse, and emotional abuse substantiations. The study found a nuanced relationship between required employment and neglect substantiations. Specifically, requiring some level of work was not associated with neglect substantiations, but requiring 30 hours of employment was associated with higher rates. The study did not find a relationship between copayment size and maltreatment substantiations.

State Policy Levers for Reducing Early Childhood Maltreatment: The Importance of Family Planning and Economic Support Policies

Children experiencing maltreatment in the first 3 years of life are at risk for several developmental challenges throughout the lifespan. Researchers and practitioners have emphasized understanding how institutional supports implemented through state governments may support infants and toddlers' development, but less attention has been paid to the potential effects of state policies on maltreatment specifically. We tested whether state-level policies providing economic and family planning support implemented between 2005-2019 were associated with rates of reported and substantiated abuse and neglect among children under three. Two-way fixed effects models indicate that implementing a state Child Tax Credit, expanding contraception access, raising minimum wages, and expanding eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs were associated with decreased maltreatment according to various indicators among Black, White, and Hispanic children. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.