Introduction
Research Questions
- How closely are county-level risk factors for child maltreatment associated with county-level rates of child maltreatment reports and victimization? Do counties having comparatively high risk factors for child maltreatment also have high maltreatment report rates?
- What distinguishes counties with high risk factors for child maltreatment but low report rates, and vice versa? (Demographic characteristics? Protective factors, such as comparatively high rates of social association, primary health care providers, or mental health care providers)?
- Throughout the U.S., how do child maltreatment risk factors and report rates in rural counties with majority populations of color compare with the risk factors and report rates in (a) nonrural counties with majority populations of color, (b) rural counties that are majority White, and (c) nonrural counties that are majority White?
This report presents an overview of the University of Alabama School of Social Work (UA-SSW) project, conducted as part of the Child Maltreatment Incidence Data Linkages (CMI Data Linkages) project. Previous research has focused on larger counties in the U.S. South, examining the association between (1) county-level child maltreatment risk and protective factors and (2) county-level child maltreatment reports and victimization rates. This project extended that work and addressed the previous study’s research questions nationally with all counties, which offers new insights about rural counties and reveals new regional or state patterns. The site team also worked to develop new ways to operationalize county-level child maltreatment risk.
Purpose
This project focused on understanding how risk and protective factors relate to child maltreatment reports at the county level across the nation. In previous studies, researchers have assessed county-level racial disparities in child welfare involvement, but additional research is needed to explain widely varying state- and county-level maltreatment rates.
Key Findings and Highlights
- In answering Research Question 1, the study found that multilevel models accounting for child poverty, demographics, and Medicaid expansion status, the social association rate retained a negative association with child maltreatment reports. When county rurality status was included in the model, however, the association was suppressed, pointing to an interaction effect.
- Post-hoc analysis to answer Research Questions 2 & 3 showed that the maltreatment report rate in rural, majority Black counties differed from the maltreatment report rate in rural, majority White counties at a statistically significant level. Compared with rural, majority White counties, rural counties with majority populations of color tended to have higher rates of child poverty but lower child maltreatment report rates. In addition, these counties did not have a positive relationship between child poverty and child maltreatment report rates, as seen in most counties and commonly found in previous studies.
Methods
The project team used descriptive statistics and multilevel regression models to address all research questions. The analysis used the multilevel models to account for the fact that counties are nested within states, and therefore there is dependence between counties in the same state.
Citation
Smith, B.D., Li, Q., & Wang, K.. “Examining child maltreatment reports using linked county-level data.” OPRE Report #2021-256, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021.
Glossary
- CMI:
- Child Maltreatment Incidence
- UA-SSW:
- University of Alabama’s School of Social Work