H Joel Crumé, Marisa Sklar, Paige M Milewski, Danielle L Fettes
{"title":"Different Experiences in Child and Family Team Meetings Between Child Welfare-Involved Families and Professionals.","authors":"H Joel Crumé, Marisa Sklar, Paige M Milewski, Danielle L Fettes","doi":"10.1177/10775595261444592","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10775595261444592","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Child and Family Team (CFT) meeting is a foundation of service planning within the child welfare system, aiming for shared decision-making among families, caregivers, youth, and providers. This study compared perceptions of CFT meetings between family and professional members using data from anonymous post-CFT meeting surveys (<i>n</i> = 1,267) from a large county child welfare system. The analysis focused on CFT voice, process, role, and meeting outcomes, assessing whether voice, process, and role predicted outcomes. Findings indicate significantly less favorable perceptions among family members of voice (<i>t</i> (1244) = 5.54, <i>p</i> < .001) and process (<i>t</i> (1241) = 5.41, <i>p</i> < .001) compared to professionals. Additionally, voice and process significantly predicted action plan satisfaction (<i>F</i> (3, 1226) = 1,406.54, <i>p</i> < .001, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = .775), and voice, process, and role significantly predicted the extent to which meetings met behavioral health needs (<i>F</i> (3, 1227) = 830.78, <i>p</i> < .001, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = .670). The study discusses structural and interpersonal factors that may hinder family participation and strategies for promoting equitable collaboration in child welfare CFT meetings.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261444592"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147717874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emma J Mew, Rhayna Poulin, Veronika Shabanova, Hannah Gorman, Marie-Claire Meadows, Jessica L Bonumwezi, Victoria Chung, Rachel Hennein, Audrey Y Huang, Kevin Quach, Vanessa Blas, Ashlin Ondrusek, Karly S Weinreb, Kate Nyhan, Si'itia Soliai-Lemusu, Jueta McCutchan-Tofaeono, Nicola L Hawley, Sarah R Lowe
{"title":"Family-Level Mediators in the Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Childhood Trauma: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Pooled Effect Measures.","authors":"Emma J Mew, Rhayna Poulin, Veronika Shabanova, Hannah Gorman, Marie-Claire Meadows, Jessica L Bonumwezi, Victoria Chung, Rachel Hennein, Audrey Y Huang, Kevin Quach, Vanessa Blas, Ashlin Ondrusek, Karly S Weinreb, Kate Nyhan, Si'itia Soliai-Lemusu, Jueta McCutchan-Tofaeono, Nicola L Hawley, Sarah R Lowe","doi":"10.1177/10775595261425582","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261425582","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Children of mothers with childhood trauma are at an increased risk for mental health problems, yet the most influential family-related mediators of this intergenerational transmission remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized effect sizes from 29 studies (n = 352,279 dyads) examining psychosocial family-level mediators between maternal childhood trauma and child mental health. We identified 380 simple and 40 serial mediation paths across four domains: child characteristics, maternal characteristics, parent-child relationship factors, and household characteristics. Maternal characteristics showed the largest pooled effects (proportion median [PM]: 31.2%; ratio median [RM]: 0.21), particularly maternal mental health (PM: 36.0%), maternal attachment style (PM: 27.2%), and maternal social support (PM: 27.2%). Our findings highlight the potential central role of maternal factors in the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Interventions that bolster maternal mental health and social support would be most impactful in disrupting the intergenerational transmission of trauma, though further research is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261425582"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147576037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zain Kurdi, Ugur Ozdemir, John Devaney, Nicky Stanley
{"title":"Who Learns What? Sustained Knowledge Retention Six Months after Receiving a School Delivered Violence Awareness Programme Among Primary School Children in the UK.","authors":"Zain Kurdi, Ugur Ozdemir, John Devaney, Nicky Stanley","doi":"10.1177/10775595261436783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261436783","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper reports findings from a UK-wide evaluation of Speak Out Stay Safe, a manualised child abuse and neglect (CAN) prevention programme delivered by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to children aged 6-11 years. The study examined which groups benefit most, the immediate impact on children's knowledge of CAN, and the retention of this knowledge and help-seeking attitudes over time. Three survey measures assessed children's understanding of abuse types, readiness to seek help, and perceptions of school culture at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and six months later. Statistical analyses included paired and independent t-tests, MANCOVAs, and Chi-square tests. Children showed significant immediate improvements in identifying neglect, sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, with knowledge largely retained at six months. Older pupils demonstrated the strongest sustained gains, particularly in recognising trusted adults and understanding sexual and emotional abuse. Girls showed significantly higher awareness and differentiation across abuse types, especially those with lower initial knowledge. Future prevention programmes should focus in depth on the concept of neglect and sexual violence in particular as these were areas where children's knowledge was lower, especially among boys and those in more deprived school settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261436783"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147515889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding the Role of Rurality in Child Welfare: From Child Maltreatment Reports, Investigation Decisions, Re-involvement to Foster Care Outcomes.","authors":"Yun Young Kim, Hyunil Kim, William Schneider","doi":"10.1177/10775595261435598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261435598","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examines how rurality relates to child maltreatment reports (CMRs) among the child population, child protective services (CPS) investigation decisions and re-involvement among children reported to CPS, and foster care services and outcomes among children enteringcare. Tract-level linear regressions assessed urban-rural differences in CMR rates among Illinoistracts in 2021 (N=3,248). Individual-level logistic regressions examined urban-rural differences in CPS investigation decisions and re-involvement among children reported to CPS (N=153,850) and foster care services and outcomes among children entering care (N=6,736). Small urban andrural tracts had higher CMR rates-26.6 and 33.7 per 1,000, respectively-than large urbantracts, even after controlling for a range of socioeconomic-demographic variables. Reported children in rural and small urban areas had greater odds of substantiation, service case opening,and foster care entry, as well as higher odds of re-involvement. Among children in care, those inrural areas were more likely to be placed farther from their families, and those in rural and smallurban areas faced higher risks of termination of parental rights. Geographic context strongly shapes CMR risks and subsequent CPS involvement and outcomes. Addressing these rural-urbaninequities requires recognizing geography as a structural determinant and developing place-based policy and resource strategies to promote equity.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261435598"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147475953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luciana C Assini-Meytin, Rebecca L Fix, Yi Sun, David Finkelhor, Elizabeth J Letourneau, Keith L Kaufman, Ben Mathews
{"title":"Prevalence of Contact Child Sexual Abuse Victimization in the US: Perpetration Types and Cohort Differences.","authors":"Luciana C Assini-Meytin, Rebecca L Fix, Yi Sun, David Finkelhor, Elizabeth J Letourneau, Keith L Kaufman, Ben Mathews","doi":"10.1177/10775595261434038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261434038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We investigated the prevalence of contact child sexual abuse (CSA) victimization in the US by comparing perpetration types in two adult cohorts. Participants included a nationally representative sample of adults aged 18-22 (<i>n</i> = 3,174) and 32-36 (<i>n</i> = 3,237). We used weighted proportions to obtain prevalences, Rao-Scott χ<sup>2</sup> tests to assess for differences between cohorts. Analyses were also stratified by gender. The overall prevalence was 21.7% and similar between the two cohorts; 9.7% reported abuse by adults and 16.9% by youth under age 18. Most said that offenses were perpetrated by people known to them. CSA perpetration by youth was greater in the younger cohort than in the older cohort (18.8% vs. 15.1%). Among women, intrafamilial abuse by adults and youth declined from the older to the younger cohort. This study highlights emerging trends in CSA victimization by age of people who offend, by relationship to survivors, and by survivor gender.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261434038"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147445523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Factors Influencing School Social Workers' Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Behaviors.","authors":"Ashley-Marie H Daftary, Erin Sugrue, Minhae Cho","doi":"10.1177/10775595261430083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261430083","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>School social workers (SSWers) play a central role in child abuse and neglect (CAN) reporting, yet few empirical studies have examined factors that influence SSWers' reporting practices. Using data from a national survey of 455 SSWers, this study examined how training, bias awareness, and beliefs about child protective services (CPS) influence SSWers' CAN reporting behavior. The role of individual-level and school-level demographic factors was also considered. Findings indicated that SSWers who were White (OR = 1.61, <i>p</i> = .034), OR = 0.77, <i>p</i> = .004), worked in a school serving higher proportions of low-income students (OR = 1.2, <i>p</i> = .002), and had higher levels of satisfaction with CPS (OR = 1.26, <i>p</i> = .013) and mandated reporting (OR = 0.74, <i>p</i> = .003) had significantly higher CAN reporting frequency. No statistically significant association was found between participants' self-report that their prior mandated reporter (MR) trainings included some form of anti-bias content and participants' awareness of their own biases. Results suggest individual-level factors impact reporting decisions; implications for research and training are addressed.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261430083"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147327876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Immediate Postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Access and Child Maltreatment Rates.","authors":"Hannah Rochford, Daniel Marthey, Elena Andreyeva","doi":"10.1177/10775595261430094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261430094","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Policy changes that improve access to immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraceptives (IPP LARC carveouts) were examined as a potential prevention measure against parent-perpetrated child maltreatment, neglect and physical abuse of children under five. Generalized differences-in-differences was applied to state-year outcome trends from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System child file. Findings suggest IPP LARC carveouts did not yield significant reductions in substantiated parent-perpetrated physical abuse (ATT = -22.9% or 49.97 fewer cases per 100,000 children under 5, <i>p</i>-value = 0.18) nor investigated parent-perpetrated physical abuse (ATT = -18.7% or 57.78 fewer cases per 100,000 children under 5, <i>p</i>-value = 0.26). However, among states whose proportions of births covered by Medicaid fall above the median, the policies were associated with significant reductions substantiated (ATT = -33.7% or 74 fewer cases per 100,000 children under 5, <i>p</i>-value = 0.05) and investigated (ATT = -38.7% or 120 fewer cases per 100,000 children under 5, <i>p</i>-value = 0.05) parent-perpetrated physical abuse cases per 100,000 children under 5. Collectively, findings suggest that enabling Medicaid to reimburse separately for IPP LARC may reduce parent-perpetrated physical abuse among young children.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261430094"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147318580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating a Community Response Program for High-Risk Families Diverted From CPS After a Child Abuse Investigation: A Propensity Score Analysis of Re-Reports and Substantiations.","authors":"James David Simon, Caitlin Lau, Todd Franke","doi":"10.1177/10775595261430080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261430080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Each year, child protective services (CPS) agencies in the U.S. investigate millions of maltreatment allegations, and roughly 80% are diverted from CPS-either screened out after an initial call or closed following an investigation. Some diverted families closed at investigation are referred to Community Response Programs (CRPs) to prevent future maltreatment, but such referrals are rarely tracked, and prior evaluations mix CRP definitions, populations, and follow-up times yielding inconsistent findings. This study addresses this gap by comparing high-risk families diverted from CPS that participated in a CRP between 2013 and 2018 to a randomly selected comparison group that was closed at investigation but did not receive the CRP. Propensity score analyses produced a matched sample of 473 CRP participants and a matched comparison group of 473 children, and logistic regression models estimated CRP's effect on re-reports and substantiations at one year and overall after service completion. Families who received CRP had lower re-report and substantiation rates than comparison families overall (though the re-report rate at 1 year was only marginally significant). Findings suggest CRPs are a promising component of the post-investigation services continuum for high-risk families diverted from CPS and underscore the value of rigorous evaluation methods in advancing child welfare practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261430080"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147285725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Siblings Split Between Home and Foster Care: Prevalence, Nature, and Outcomes.","authors":"Dylan M Jones, Sarah Font","doi":"10.1177/10775595261425588","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261425588","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent research has shown that the child welfare system (CWS) often splits sibling groups, with at least one child removed to foster care and their siblings remaining at home. Yet, little is known about the nature and outcomes of this form of sibling separation. We use linked CWS and Medicaid data from Pennsylvania to address the following research questions: (1) What child, sibling and case characteristics predict split removal decisions? (2) Is having one or more siblings in foster care a risk factor for recurrent CWS involvement among children left at home? Multinomial regression and survival analyses are used to examine each, respectively. We find that child behavioral health issues are a common contributor to split removal decisions. Among children left at home, having siblings in foster care is associated with over three times the hazard of CWS reinvolvement within the first 100 days following the initial case-planning decision.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261425588"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146221616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding Black-White Disparities in Illinois Child Welfare: A Socioeconomic Explanation.","authors":"Hyunil Kim, Yun Young Kim, William Schneider","doi":"10.1177/10775595261428148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261428148","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examined racial and ethnic disparities in child maltreatment reporting, Child Protective Services (CPS) decision-making, re-involvement, and foster care experiences in Illinois. Using tract-level regressions for all 2021 census tracts and individual-level logistic regressions for 153,850 reported children and 6,736 foster care entrants, we assessed key decision points. The Black-White disparity in report rates-nearly twofold unadjusted-was fully explained by neighborhood poverty and single-parent family rates, providing no empirical support for racially biased reporting. Latino children had consistently lower report rates than White children despite higher socioeconomic disadvantage, replicating the \"Latino paradox.\" Among reported children, Black and other-race children generally had equal or lower odds than White children of substantiation, Intact Family Services (IFS), foster care placement, or re-involvement; Latino children showed slightly higher odds for substantiation and IFS. In foster care, non-White children were more likely to experience frequent placement disruptions and, for Black children, non-kin placements, but had no worse outcomes for distant placement, termination of parental rights, or permanency. Findings indicate disparities are front-loaded at the reporting stage, largely reflecting structural socioeconomic inequities rather than differential CPS treatment, underscoring the need for upstream poverty reduction and family support to advance child welfare equity.</p>","PeriodicalId":48052,"journal":{"name":"Child Maltreatment","volume":" ","pages":"10775595261428148"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146208288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}