Income inequality and child welfare interventions in England and Wales

BackgroundPrevious research has identified a relationship between income inequality and child abuse and neglect in the USA. This association has received limited exploration outside the USA.MethodsAdministrative data on child protection (CP) in 172 English and Welsh local authorities between 2013 and 2018 were combined with data on deprivation, ethnic density and education from publicly available data sources. Commercial income data were used for Gini coefficient estimation. We tested whether similar evidence for three key findings from a US study could be found in England and Wales. These included whether there was evidence of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment, whether this relationship was non-linear and whether this relationship varied dependent on the level of poverty.ResultsThere was a significant non-linear relationship between income inequality and state care rates in England and Wales. Predicted state care rates were higher as income inequality increased, up until around average levels where the effect flattens. However, there was no significant relationship for models predicting CP plan/register rates. Income inequality, income deprivation, ethnic density and higher education were able to explain around 75% of the variance in English and Welsh state care rates.ConclusionsThere is some evidence to support the claim of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment beyond the USA in England and Wales, and a case for further comparative research, but there are significant limitations in the comparability of data.

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The Emergence of Child Protection Capacities in Oman

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal [SQUMJ] ◽

10.18295/squmj.5.2021.073 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Medical Journal ◽

Shamsa S. Al Balushi ◽

Gillian Morantz ◽

Geoffrey Dougherty

Keyword(s):

Child Maltreatment ◽

Child Protection ◽

Protection System ◽

Health It ◽

Potential Harm ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Basic Reference ◽

Widespread Phenomenon ◽

Keywords Child

Child Maltreatment (CM) is the abuse and neglect of children under the age of 18 years. It has many types which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health. It is a widespread phenomenon and is well reported from western countries in contrast with the gulf countries. Reports documenting CM from Oman are now available. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the state and the patterns of Child Maltreatment in Oman. It will also addresses the current Child Protection System (CPS) in Oman and the sociocultural considerations . The study was conducted by reviewing all relevant medical literature published in English before 2020. It will serve as a basic reference in the field of CM in Oman. It should help to identify lacunas in the current CPS, and guide to the establishment of a more effective one. Keywords: Child Maltreatment; Child Protection System; Oman.

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Abuse and neglect in children with disabilities: risk varies by type of disability

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v1i1.197 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miriam Maclean ◽

Scott Sims ◽

Melanie Hansen ◽

Helen Leonard ◽

Jenny Bourke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Disability ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Child Protection ◽

Linkage Study ◽

Health Issues ◽

Parental Mental Health ◽

Out Of Home Care ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Different Types ◽

Western Australian

ABSTRACT ObjectivesTo examine the risk of abuse and neglect for children with different types of disabilities taking into account other existing adversities, including socioeconomic disadvantage, parental mental health issues, etc. ApproachPopulation based record linkage study of all children born between 1990-2010 utilising the Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies, the Intellectual Disabilities Exploring Answers database, Health data and Child Protection data. ResultsAfter taking into account existing adversities intellectual disability was associated with the highest risk of a child maltreatment allegation and entering out-of-home care. Further results include risk by level of intellectual disability and causes of disability. ConclusionDifferent disabilities are associated with differing risk of child maltreatment and child protection involvement. Groups that are considered at higher risk require services to identify and address the support needs of this group and determine how prevention and early intervention can lower the risk for child abuse and neglect in this vulnerable group.

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Child Maltreatment over Two Decades: Change or Continuity?

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.3.2.129 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 129-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dean D. Knudsen

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Perpetrators And Victims ◽

Indiana County

The increasing reports of child maltreatment during the last two decades have precipitated discussions about the degree to which these figures represent an increase in reporting or a true growth of child abuse and neglect. Using reports to child protection agencies over a 20-year period in an Indiana county, analyses suggest that there is a stability in characteristics of alleged perpetrators and victims and in the patterns of mistreatment. Shifts in the substantiation rates offer little insight for this issue, but it may be argued that the growth in reports reflects a genuine increase of abusive and neglectful behavior. Implications for abuse and neglect rates are explored.

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A Global Snapshot of Child Maltreatment and Child Protection

10.1542/9781610021906-part04-ch20 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 359-380

Author(s):

Howard Dubowitz

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

The World ◽

The Status ◽

National Organizations ◽

Current Survey ◽

The Many

There is ample evidence that child maltreatment (child abuse and neglect) is a prevalent problem, globally. Every 2 years since 1982, the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) conducts a survey to assess the state of child maltreatment and child protection internationally. This chapter is excerpted and based on World Perspectives on Child Abuse, 11th Edition.1* Those wishing to read the full report, including detailed information on individual countries, can obtain a copy from ISPCAN at www.ispcan.org. It is naturally difficult to cover the entire world and to capture what is happening related to child maltreatment and child protection in many countries in any depth. Nevertheless, data from this survey offer a valuable snapshot of policies and practices pertaining to child maltreatment in different regions of the world and according to country income level. With members in more than 100 countries, ISPCAN has the capacity to identify knowledgeable professionals in the field of child maltreatment. ISPCAN initiated the current survey with respondents to past surveys. In addition, potential participants thought to be familiar with child protection in their countries were sought from ISPCAN membership. ISPCAN and executive council members were also asked to reach out to their networks, particularly in countries in which a respondent had not been identified. In addition to individual connections, ISPCAN works with national organizations in several countries as well as other international organizations. They too helped identify key informants to complete the survey. Repeated efforts were made to reach respondents in as many countries as possible. Of the 96 countries with identified respondents, 76% completed the survey. Of the 73 countries represented, 10 were from Africa, 14 from the Americas, 25 from Asia, and 23 from Europe; Oceania was represented by just Australia. Using designations of the World Bank, there was good representation of high- and middle-income countries (33 for each), but only 7 responses were from low-income countries. Caution is naturally needed when interpreting findings based on low numbers. The editor, together with an international advisory committee, developed the survey, building on prior iterations. Participants were invited to complete the survey, administered online using SurveyMonkey. Each respondent was e-mailed a link to the survey. They were also encouraged to seek input from colleagues when necessary, to help ensure the accuracy of the information. It is inherently difficult to know the many aspects of child protection in one’s country, especially when systems are not centralized and considerable variation may exist. It was beyond the scope of this project to check the accuracy of responses. These data, therefore, may not always accurately represent the complex picture or the variations within a country. The results of the survey help inform the status of maltreated children globally and likely system and programmatic interventions needed to ameliorate the status of children worldwide.

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iCoverT: A rich data source on the incidence of child maltreatment over time in England and Wales

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v4i3.1176 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Michelle Degli Esposti ◽

David K Humphreys ◽

Lucy Bowes

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Administrative Data ◽

Child Protection ◽

Data Sources ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

England And Wales ◽

Data Source ◽

Rich Data ◽

Over Time

Background Child maltreatment is a major public health problem affecting one quarter of children in England and Wales. Good epidemiological data are needed to establish how many and which children are most at risk, and to evaluate the impact of policies and interventions. However, a comprehensive data source on child maltreatment is currently lacking. Aim We aimed to create a rich data source on the incidence of Child maltreatment over Time (iCoverT) in England and Wales. Methods We developed systematic methods to search and identify administrative data sources that regularly measured child maltreatment. Data sources were investigated and assessed against pre-specified eligibility criteria and a bespoke quality assessment tool. Relevant data were extracted, digitalised, and harmonised over time. All data and their accompanying documentation were prepared to form an open access data source: the iCoverT (osf.io/cf7mv). Results We identified 13 unique sources of administrative data, six of which met our eligibility criteria: Child protection statistics, Children in care, Criminal statistics, Homicide index, Mortality statistics and NSPCC statistics. Data and documentation were prepared and combined to form the iCoverT, including 272 variables, over 43,500 data points, and spanning over 150 years. A subsequent time series analysis demonstrated the utility of the iCoverT; identifying large overall decreases in child maltreatment from 1858 to 2016 (e.g. 90% decrease in child homicides (2.7 per fewer per 100,000 children)) but worrying recent increases from 2000 to 2016. Conclusion We systematically developed a rich data source on child maltreatment in England and Wales. Our methodology overcomes practical obstacles and offers a new approach for harnessing administrative data for research. Our resulting data source is a valuable public health surveillance tool, which can be used to monitor national levels of child maltreatment and to evaluate the effectiveness of child protection initiatives.

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