title: Development, CAPTA Part C Referral and Services Among Young Children in the U.S. Child Welfare System: Implications for Latino Children.
abstract: Amendments made to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act in 2003 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 opened the door to a promising partnership between child welfare services and early intervention (EI) agencies by requiring a referral to EI services for all children under age 3 involved in a substantiated case of child abuse, neglect, or illegal drug exposure. However, little research has been conducted to assess the implications of these policies. Using data drawn from a nationally representative study conducted in 2008-2009, we observed less than a fifth of all children in substantiated cases to receive a referral to developmental services (18.2%) approximately 5 years after the passage of the amendments. Of children in contact with the U.S. child welfare system, Hispanic children of immigrants demonstrated the greatest developmental need yet were among the least likely to receive EI services by the end of the study period. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA michellejm@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson-Motoyama
authors.affiliation: School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Mindi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moses
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors.forename: Aislinn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conrad-Hiebner
authors.affiliation: School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: E Susana
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Mariscal
mesh_terms: D002649:Child Abuse / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000068216:Child Protective Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002675:Child, Preschool; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States
keywords: child welfare services/child protection; child welfare workers; epidemiology; immigrant families; policy; preschoolers