The Effects of CPS Involvement on Caregiver Mental Health, Employment, and Income

• In Event: The Impact of Child Welfare System Involvement on Parents

Abstract

Scholarship on child welfare-involved families has largely focused on identifying the predictors of contact with Child Protective Services (CPS) and assessing the effects of child removal on child wellbeing. However, less is known about how CPS investigations affect caregivers, despite the potentially stressful and consequential nature of these experiences. Qualitative research suggests that investigated caregivers often experience fear of losing their children, which can impair mental health. CPS involvement may also lead to court-mandated requirements—such as parenting classes or counseling—that can disrupt employment and reduce income. To address this gap, the present paper draws on longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the repercussions of CPS investigations on caregivers' mental health, employment, and income. In doing so, it sheds light on how CPS interventions shape family wellbeing—a central concern for child welfare policy, as children’s safety and development are closely tied to the wellbeing of their caregivers

Author

• Daniela E Kaiser, University of California Irvine
  Presenting Author