Child, Caregiver, and Family Characteristics Associated with Emergency Department Use by Children Who Remain at Home After a Child Protective Services Investigation

• NCJ Number: 238096
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2012 Pages: 4-11
• Author(s): Janet U. Schneiderman; Michael S. Hurlburt; Laurel K. Leslie; Jinjin Zhang; Sarah McCue Horowitz
• Date Published: January 2012
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): P30-MH094678; K01-HD057987; 9443
• Sponsoring Agency: William T. Grant Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined whether children, their families, and caregivers who continued to live together while under investigation by child protective services had higher rates of emergency department visits.

Abstract

Study findings include the following: children and their families who remained together while under investigation by child protective services (CPS) visited emergency departments (EDs) at roughly the same rate as families not receiving services from CPS, 35.6 percent and 37.4 percent, respectively; and that children and their families from this same group who were identified with numerous stressors and therefore at greater risk for future abuse and neglect, were almost twice as likely to have repeat ED use compared to children in families with a lost risk for future abuse and neglect. This study examined whether children and their families who continued to live together while under investigation by CPS for abuse and neglect were more likely to visit EDs compared to families not receiving services from CPS or where the children were placed in foster care. Data for the study were obtained from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Multivariate models were used to compare the rates of ED visits for 4,001 children. The findings indicate that children who remain with their families while under investigation by CPS, are more likely to have repeat visits to EDs if family stressors show a greater risk for future abuse and neglect. Recommendations for future research and policy changes are briefly discussed. Tables and references