An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Child Protection System Stressors and Case Outputs

Greater school absenteeism is associated with numerous negative educational outcomes. We used a retrospective cohort design with linked administrative data on 296,422 children to examine the relationship between school absenteeism and child protection system (CPS) involvement. Children with substantiated maltreatment had 4.1 times more unexplained and problem absences than children with no CPS involvement. In multivariate analyses, children with substantiated maltreatment had significantly greater “chronic” truancy ( OR = 3.41) and less “acceptable” levels of absences ( OR = 0.74) compared to children with no CPS involvement. Greater absenteeism was seen for children with substantiated neglect and who had their first CPS notification earlier in life. Being in out-of-home care for 3+ years was a protective factor for children who had a CPS notification before age 5. Additional adversities had a strong additive effect with CPS involvement on absenteeism and chronic truancy. This study demonstrates the potential scope for reducing problem absenteeism and helps inform the public debate regarding how the type and timing of CPS involvement might ameliorate or exacerbate harm for children.

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Evaluating the risks of school dropout amongst children in the care of the French child protection system: An exploratory study

School Psychology International ◽

10.1177/0143034315573563 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 301-312

Author(s):

Daniel Derivois ◽

Nathalie Guillier-Pasut ◽

Amira Karray ◽

Jude-Mary Cénat ◽

Lisbeth Brolles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Child Protection ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

School Dropout ◽

Protection System

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Economic crisis and child maltreatment in Spain: the consequences of the recession in the child protection system

Journal of Children s Services ◽

10.1108/jcs-08-2020-0050 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Xavier Montagud Mayor

Keyword(s):

Economic Crisis ◽

Child Protection ◽

Protection System ◽

Protective Activity ◽

Economic Data ◽

Chi Square ◽

Content Type ◽

Chi Square Test ◽

The Relationship ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to examine the consequences of the last great recession on the child protection system (CPS) in Spain, to estimate whether there is any kind of relationship between the conditions of socio-economic crisis and its protective activity. Design/methodology/approach Data on child protection legal measures issued by the CPS and socio-economic data from 8 of the 17 regions of the country were cross-checked. Using the chi-square test, it was possible to determine the significance and intensity of the relationship between the different variables in each of the regions of the study. Findings During the crisis, the number of recorded cases fell most sharply in those regions with the worst socio-economic indicators. The study shows that there is a significant relationship between the socio-economic conditions of the regions and families and the activity of the CPS in each of them, so that the worsening of the former reduces the protective activity of their protection system. Practical implications The results ask about the influence of the socioeconomic situation in the decision-making of the CPS in Spain and the need to deepen in its study. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study on the effects of the economic crisis on CPS activity in Spain.

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