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The "Child Welfare" System: What to Know and Where to Go for More

Note on Terminology

The government system that oversees investigations, family separations, and foster system placement for alleged child maltreatment is generally referred to as the “child welfare” or “child protection” system. Most children enter the child welfare system due to allegations of “neglect,” a category that includes material hardships like unstable housing, lack of childcare, or gaps in medical and behavioral health care.

As this brief will explore in more detail, the vast majority of these allegations and investigations lead to no finding of abuse or neglect at all. For that reason, there is a growing movement of families, advocates, practitioners, and scholars who instead call it the “family policing” system to more accurately reflect the way it is used to monitor and punish families rather than protect children. For the remainder of this brief, we will use the term “family policing” system. 

Background

Researchers estimate that nearly 40% of children will experience a child abuse or neglect investigation in their lifetimes, and more than 80% of those investigations do not result in a finding of maltreatment. Still, hundreds of thousands of children–disproportionately low-income, Black, Latine, and Indigenous–are separated from their parents and placed into the foster system each year. These families and their children experience significantly worse outcomes from entanglement in the family policing system, exacerbating existing inequities across education, health, and other outcomes. 

However, much of this context is often missing from news coverage of the family policing system, which typically focuses on horrific and rare incidents of neglect or abuse and too often fails to consider the scope and impact of the system itself. Like traditional crime coverage, these stories tend to rely heavily on institutional data and sources like agency officials, contracted service providers, police, or court-appointed guardians, rarely focusing on the experiences of the families under investigation or the considerable body of research on alternative, evidence-backed supports that are more effective at keeping families safe and together in most situations. 

This style of reporting distorts the public's understanding of the most common issues plaguing families impacted by the system and leads readers and viewers to believe that taking children away from their parents and placing them into the foster system is the only answer to child safety concerns. This misconception has real consequences for policy and practice. As covered extensively by journalist Steve Volk, data shows that after rare, high-profile tragedies like the death of a child, sensational coverage can trigger “foster care panics,” or sudden spikes in removals, with little evidence that this prevents child fatalities or increases safety for children. 

Child abuse does happen, and children are among the most vulnerable members of our society. The purpose of this brief is not to wave that reality away; it is to help journalists tell stories that more accurately portray the problem and its possible soluations. Clarity and context are essential when the stakes are this high. 

The remainder of this brief dives into the data, research, and opportunities for reporting on the family policing system, along with expert sources who are available to speak with journalists. The final section of the brief links to supplementary resources, including a guide to recommended terminology, sourcing considerations, and ideas for reframing common stories about child safety. 

Table of Contents

I. Data

II. Research

III. Opportunities for Reporting

IV. Experts

V. Additional Resources

Data on the Family Policing System

The family policing system generates an enormous amount of administrative data at the local, state, and federal levels. While this data can sometimes be difficult to obtain and interpret, and inconsistent definitions may limit comparability across jurisdictions, there are key sources that journalists can start with to understand how many families are investigated each year, the reasons for and outcomes of those investigations, and the demographics of those impacted. The limitations of this data is discussed further in the Opportunities for Reporting section of this brief.

Below are national sources of data: 

  • The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). AFCARS data contains mandatory federal reporting information on foster system entries and populations; reasons for placement; types of placements; exits from the foster system, including reunification and adoption; and demographics of children in the foster system at the state and national level. A sample AFCARS dashboard is published here. 
  • The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), which is also maintained by HHS, collects a broader range of voluntary information from states and territories. Child Maltreatment is an annual publication of HHS’ Children’s Bureau that summarizes the NCANDS data for all reporting states and is useful for describing national trends and making state-by-state comparisons. Lags in state reporting and data processing mean that each Child Maltreatment report summarizes data received two years prior.  

Some states and local governments publish high quality data dashboards that are updated monthly. Most of these dashboards include basic operational information, like the number and demographics of children in state custody, investigation and removal statistics, and permanency metrics. More extensive dashboards may include metrics on whether children were placed with family members or siblings, data on educational quality or medical care, and rates of maltreatment while in state custody. 

Below are examples of state and local governments with strong public data reporting: 

In addition to these government sources, there are opportunities for journalists to search for  reports to state legislatures, grant applications and funder reports, public audits, testimony at removal hearings, and minutes from local social services agencies board meetings.  These are often publicly available and provide insight into the functioning of the family policing system. 

Because much of the data cited above and these additional sources are self-reported by caseworkers and the family policing system itself, journalists should speak with local advocates and practitioners about how reliable they find the information.

Research on Child Safety and Family Policing

Child deaths from parental maltreatment are tragic and extremely rare. 

  • According to the Children’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there were 2,000 child deaths from parental maltreatment in 2023, a rate of 2.73 per 100,000 (0.00273%) children in the population. 

The overwhelming majority of reports and investigations conducted do not result in a finding of mistreatment.  

Most family policing cases are driven by poverty. 

Investigations and the threat of family separation alone can be harmful to children and families. 

Researchers have extensively documented how separating children from their families harms their health and safety. 

Rates of child abuse are high in foster system settings. 

  • The risks of child abuse in congregate care settings (such as group homes or other institutions) include physical restraint, isolation, and injury. 
  • A recent study found that children in the foster system are 42% more likely to die than children in the general population.

Children exposed to the family policing system are more likely to have contact with the juvenile and adult criminal legal systems.

  • One study of the foster care system in Massachusetts found that children placed in foster care are three times more likely than similarly situated children who remained with their families to enter the juvenile justice system. 
  • Another survey of youth placed in foster care found that by age 17 more than half had experienced an arrest, conviction, or incarceration.

The family policing system is fraught with bias, with people of color and people with disabilities disproportionately impacted.

  • Black, Latine, and Indigenous families experience more investigations, more removals, and longer separations, even when controlling for income and neighborhood context.
  • According to one study, more than half of Black children (53%) will be investigated by the family policing system by the time they turn 18 years old, more than twice the rate of white children (23%). 
  • Like neglect, what gets labeled “abuse” is heavily influenced by race and class biases. For example, doctors are more likely to suspect Black parents of abuse than white parents, even when controlling for other factors.
  • Research has found that disabled parents have significantly higher referral rates to the family policing system. One study found that 19% of children were removed from their homes at least in part because their parents were disabled.

In many cases, there are dubious legal justifications for family separation. 

  • Many legal and political scholars are critical of the family policing system’s unchecked state power, the role that privatization plays in family separation, and the legal basis for interventions that would be unconstitutional in other areas of law.

There are numerous interventions that have been shown through research to improve child well-being without requiring families to be separated.

  • Medical care. Numerous studies have shown that expanding Medicaid can improve family safety and reduce family separations. Medicaid supports parents in getting their physical health, mental health, and substance use treatment needs met, making them better equipped to focus on their child’s growth and development.
  • Cash assistance. At least 100 programs across the country are testing the impact of unconditional cash assistance (also called guaranteed income, basic income, or direct cash transfers) on child wellbeing and family safety. One study of cash assistance in Alaska found that payments in the first few months of a child’s life reduce the likelihood of referral to Child Protective Services by 10 percent.  
  • Housing: Stable, affordable housing protects children from the harms of instability and enables parents to meet their family’s daily needs. Studies show that when families receive housing support, fewer children are removed from their home, and those who have been separated are more likely to be reunited. Permanent housing subsidies also reduce family stress, intimate partner violence, school disruptions, and food insecurity—all of which lessen the risk of family policing involvement.
  • Childcare: Expanding access to childcare–including through childcare subsidies and Head Start programs–reduces reports of child maltreatment, family separations, and child fatalities. One study finds that an additional $1,000 spent by states on childcare assistance per person living in poverty is associated with a reduction of 40% in hotline calls, 35% in substantiated maltreatment, 63% in removals, 50% in child fatalities due to maltreatment. 

Opportunities for Reporting 

Journalists have an outsize impact on public understanding and public policy related to child safety and the family policing system. This responsibility requires careful attention to language and framing, a strong grounding in data and research, and a commitment to including the voices of children  and families that have been impacted by the system. For journalists who are interested in taking a new approach to covering child safety issues, we recommend the following.

Connect with Experts

  • Robert Latham a Clinical Instructor & Practitioner-in-Residence at the University of Miami Children and Youth Law Clinic. He has extensive knowledge about legal and policy issues in the family policing system, court process and litigation, and the experiences of children and young adults in the system. 

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Additional Resources

See below for resources designed to help journalists navigate some of the key challenges and opportunities that come with covering child safety and the family policing system.

  • Language and Terminology Guide: A list of terms to avoid and alternatives to consider. 
  • Sourcing Considerations: Tips for building relationships with directly impacted sources and context to consider when working with institutional sources. 
  • Reframing Common Stories: Recommendations for rethinking your approach to stories about child safety, including the deaths of children at home and in the foster system.