Historical redlining, neighborhood disadvantage, and reports of child maltreatment in a large urban county

Background

Child protective services (CPS) reports are spatially concentrated in disadvantaged neighborhoods and Black children are more likely than White children to reside in these neighborhoods. Entrenched patterns of racial residential segregation reflect the lasting impact of historical redlining – a racist practice spearheaded by the federally sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s that assigned worst risk grades to minoritized neighborhoods. Research has established links between historically redlined areas and the present-day wellbeing of children and families; however, little is known about the relationship between historical redlining and CPS report rates in neighborhoods.

Objective

Using census tracts as a proxy for neighborhood, this study examines the relationship between historical redlining and the number of CPS reports within neighborhoods.

Participants, setting, and method

This study combines data on HOLC risk grades and sociodemographic data from the American Community Survey with the aggregate number of CPS reports per census tract in Los Angeles County, CA (n = 1137).

Results

We used Bayesian conditionally autoregressive models to examine the relationship between historical redlining score (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, D = 4) and the number of CPS reports within neighborhoods. In the unadjusted model, each unit increase in redlining score is associated with a 21.6 % higher number of CPS reports (95 % CI; 1.140, 1.228). In adjusted models that included concentrated disadvantage, each unit increase in redlining score is associated with a 7.3 % higher number of CPS reports (95 % CI; 1.021, 1.136).

Conclusion

Housing policy reforms through a racial equity lens should be considered as a part of a national strategy to prevent child maltreatment.