Childcare Subsidy Employment Requirements and Copayment Requirements and Child Maltreatment
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Summary
This study examines how state-level childcare subsidy policies may influence child maltreatment among low-income families. Using 11 years of U.S. administrative data, researchers explored the relationship between employment requirements and subsidy copayments and rates of child neglect, physical abuse, and emotional abuse substantiations. Findings indicate that requiring 30 hours of employment to qualify for childcare subsidies was associated with higher rates of neglect substantiations, while less restrictive work requirements and copayment amounts showed no significant relationship with maltreatment. Results highlight the importance of considering how public assistance and childcare policies affect economically vulnerable families and may contribute to child maltreatment prevention efforts.
Topics: Child Maltreatment Prevention, Child Abuse and Neglect, Childcare Policy, Employment Policy
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Abstract
Economic support programs for low-income families may play an important role in preventing child abuse and neglect. In the United States, childcare subsidies are provided to low-income families who meet certain requirements to offset the high cost of childcare. States have flexibility in setting many policies related to the provision of childcare subsidies, which results in a great deal of variation in how the programs operate between states. One policy dimension on which states vary is the number of employment hours required to receive childcare subsidies. A small body of work has begun to investigate the ways in which these state policy variations might relate to child maltreatment. Using 11 years of administrative data from the United States, the current study sought to estimate the relationship between two sources of variation in childcare subsidy policies: employment requirements and copayment size; and child neglect, physical abuse, and emotional abuse substantiations. The study found a nuanced relationship between required employment and neglect substantiations. Specifically, requiring some level of work was not associated with neglect substantiations, but requiring 30 hours of employment was associated with higher rates. The study did not find a relationship between copayment size and maltreatment substantiations.