Ko Anna, Berger Lawrence M, Brown Derek S, Pac Jessica, Tang Runshi
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute for Research on Poverty, United States of America; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, United States of America.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute for Research on Poverty, United States of America; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, United States of America.
Child Abuse Negl. 2025 Sep;167:107583. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107583. Epub 2025 Jul 8.
The Federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) program provides income support to unemployed workers but varies substantially across states in benefit levels and eligibility, raising concerns about economic equity. Unemployment and financial strain are linked to adverse family outcomes, including increased risk of child maltreatment and CPS involvement. While economic hardship is a well-documented risk factor for CPS involvement, research on the role of UI generosity-particularly benefit amounts-in mitigating these risks is limited and offers mixed findings.
This study investigates the role of UI generosity, measured by the earnings replacement ratio, in potentially mitigating the adverse relation of unemployment with child maltreatment, focusing on child protective services (CPS) involvement.
This study analyzes data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) Child Files from Q1 2009 to Q1 2021, covering CPS-investigated maltreatment reports nationwide.
Using a two-way fixed-effects approach, we examine associations of variation in UI benefit generosity across states and over time, measured through earnings replacement ratios, with CPS investigation rates.
Findings highlight the protective role of financial stability provided by UI, particularly in reducing child welfare system involvement for neglect cases. A 1-point increase in the UI benefit replacement ratio was associated with 9.2 to 15.6 fewer CPS investigations per 1000 children, and this effect was statistically significant at the 5 % level. However, this protective effect diminished as unemployment rates increased: each 1-point rise in the unemployment rate weakened the association by 0.84 to 1.86 investigations per 1000 children (also statistically significant). No statistically significant associations were found for substantiations. These findings suggest that UI generosity can reduce CPS investigations under typical economic conditions, but its effectiveness may be constrained during extreme economic shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study contributes to the literature by exploring the interaction between unemployment, UI generosity, and CPS involvement, offering insights for policymakers on designing robust economic support systems to protect children.
联邦失业保险（UI）计划为失业工人提供收入支持，但各州在福利水平和资格方面存在很大差异，引发了对经济公平性的担忧。失业和经济压力与不良家庭后果相关，包括儿童受虐待和儿童保护服务（CPS）介入的风险增加。虽然经济困难是CPS介入的一个有充分记录的风险因素，但关于UI慷慨程度（特别是福利金额）在减轻这些风险方面的作用的研究有限，且结果不一。
本研究调查了以收入替代率衡量的UI慷慨程度在潜在减轻失业与儿童虐待之间的不良关系中的作用，重点关注儿童保护服务（CPS）的介入情况。
本研究分析了2009年第一季度至2021年第一季度国家儿童虐待和忽视数据系统（NCANDS）儿童档案中的数据，涵盖全国范围内CPS调查的虐待报告。
使用双向固定效应方法，我们研究了各州和不同时间通过收入替代率衡量的UI福利慷慨程度的变化与CPS调查率之间的关联。
研究结果突出了UI提供的经济稳定的保护作用，特别是在减少因忽视案件而导致的儿童福利系统介入方面。UI福利替代率每提高1个百分点，每1000名儿童的CPS调查减少9.2至15.6起，且这一效应在5%的水平上具有统计学意义。然而，随着失业率上升，这种保护作用减弱：失业率每上升1个百分点，每1000名儿童的关联减弱0.84至1.86起调查（也具有统计学意义）。在证实方面未发现具有统计学意义的关联。这些发现表明，在典型经济条件下，UI慷慨程度可以减少CPS调查，但在极端经济冲击（如COVID-19大流行）期间其有效性可能会受到限制。
该研究通过探索失业、UI慷慨程度和CPS介入之间的相互作用，为文献做出了贡献，为政策制定者设计强大的经济支持系统以保护儿童提供了见解。
