Child Welfare
Quality services for children involved in the child welfare system are crucial to positive outcomes. In 2007, an estimated 794,000 children were victims of maltreatment, and nearly two-thirds of them received welfare services. These children face disproportionate risks of health and behavioral problems and high rates of homelessness, school drop-out, and incarceration. PolicyLab's work seeks to improve the systems serving families in child welfare and ultimately increase the stability, permanency, and well-being of the children using them.
Local macroeconomic trends and hospital admissions for child abuse, 2000 to 2009
The recent economic recession raised concerns that child physical abuse rates would increase after a long period of decline, but federal data sources have not detected such changes. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), the primary source of surveillance for child maltreatment in the U.S., the number of cases of physical abuse has been declining over the past 15 years. In light of severe and prolonged economic hardship since late 2007, there has been concern by small regional studies and case reports that prior trends may have been reversed. Following these reports that suggest hospital encounters for child abuse may be increasing, we examined trends in hospitalizations for child physical abuse in the context of economic trends in unemployment and housing foreclosure.
Children's Stability and Well-Being Study (CSAW): Opportunities for Reducing Placement Instability
CSAW is a longitudinal cohort study of 450 children in the Philadelphia child welfare system whose objective is to identify intervention opportunities to reduce placement instability and improve outcomes for children and their families. It includes a sub-analysis of the educational experiences of over 200 school-aged children.
Occult Injury Screening and the Detection of Physical Abuse in Young Children
Annually, over 120,000 children are substantiated as victims of physical abuse in the U.S., but the true incidence is likely higher. A major challenge in diagnosing abuse in young injured children is occult injuries that are revealed only on screening imaging studies. Research has shown variations in rates of occult injury screening and child abuse diagnosis based on patient socio-demographic characteristics and site of medical care. This study aims to develop and validate appropriateness criteria for performing occult injury screening in young injured children and examine occult injury screening practices from a large sample of pediatric hospitals.
The Growing Use of Psychotropic Medication Among Medicaid-enrolled Children
The broad goal of this research is to generate an evidence base for the use of psychotropic medications in Medicaid eligible pediatric populations with a long-term goal to develop programs and policies that promote more effective and safe medication practices.
Children’s Stability and Well-Being Study (CSAW): Evaluating an Evidence-based Intervention Project
In partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services and the Department of Behavioral Health, this project pilots the co-location of two evidence-based behavioral health interventions Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and Child Adult Relationship Enhancement training in selected foster care agencies.
