Investigating health disparities and disproportionality in child maltreatment reporting: 2002-2006.
Date
2010
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Publisher
Journal of public health management and practice
Abstract
The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act defines child maltreatment as “…any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.” The reporting of child maltreatment to Child Protective Services (CPS) has been scrutinized because of robustly documented racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities in the CPS and child welfare system. These social-welfare issues extend to the reporting practices of medical personnel. Examination of hospital reporting practices have demonstrated a tendency to over-report minorities and poor families to CPS, in comparison to middleclass, Caucasian families. The current study attempts to supplement the research literature by examining the 2-part issue of racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities in CPS reporting practices at one of the nation’s top academic health systems. Disproportionality (disproportionate representation) refers to the level of representation of a specific group in CPS reports as compared to their representation in the general population under study. Disparity refers to rate of CPS reporting of a specific group as compared to the rate of reporting of a comparable, reference group. Given the complicated link between race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status in the reporting process, pediatric patients’ neighborhoods’ socioeconomic conditions were also examined. The study focus is vital given that minority families often fare worse than Caucasians families upon entry into the child welfare system. A 6-year longitudinal study in California demonstrated that compared to Caucasian children, African American children reported to CPS and removed from their homes had a lower likelihood of being reunited with their families or being adopted. Hispanic children were also more likely to be left in foster care at rates higher than Caucasian children. Of equal concern is the potential for maltreated Caucasians pediatric patients unnoticed and unreported to CPS by medical personnel are at significant risk of further severe physical injuries and emotional trauma. Therefore, it is essential that the healthcare system achieve precision in CPS reporting practices to provide appropriately responsive medical care. (Author Abstract)
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Keywords
child abuse, race, reporting, health care, research
Citation
Cort, N. A., Cerulli, C., & He, H. (2010). Investigating health disparities and disproportionality in child maltreatment reporting: 2002-2006. Journal of public health management and practice: JPHMP, 16(4), 329.