Helping families financially could reduce child maltreatment

Federal or statewide policies that help families in economic crises could dramatically reduce the rate of child abuse and neglect, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

The study suggests that the eviction moratoria put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on lowering report rates of child maltreatment.

“Almost every parent loves their child. No one would like to or intend to abuse or neglect their child,” said Liwei Zhang, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the UGA School of Social Work.

“Sometimes these situations are just the pressure of living in poverty. Since poverty is a risk factor, then if we can support families with better financial assistance, we could probably help prevent maltreatment.”

States that halted evictions had fewer cases of abuse, neglect

Researchers analyzed hundreds of counties across 10 states that had implemented statewide pauses on evictions during the pandemic.

At the same time, they compared these with seven states, including Georgia, that did not put a hold in place.

When looking at Child Protective Services data and biweekly reports from child protective services, the researchers found a decrease in child abuse or neglect rates in the states with eviction bans.

Report rates of physical abuse dropped by 16%, sexual abuse fell 21% and neglect dropped by 12%.

Secure housing may have positively influenced how parents treated their children

Many of the families were low income. The safety net of not being evicted over missed payments possibly made a difference in child maltreatment, the researchers said.

“Parents may not be able to support their children with sufficient food or housing, and that really places them in a challenging situation. There may also be mental health issues or substance abuse issues, so parents should know to not feel ashamed to ask for help,” Zhang said.

While the eviction moratorium was a huge help for these households, it disproportionately affected small, independent landlords and their livelihoods.

“The families who couldn’t afford to pay their rent were able to have their rent delayed, but the small landlords were experiencing financial challenges too,” Zhang said. “Even though the results show that the eviction moratorium seems to have worked in reducing child maltreatment, I would say we need something sustainable that could support both sides when another wave of crisis happens.”

Policies should be prioritized in future disasters

The study draws a connection between decreased economic hardships and increased child well-being, emphasizing the benefits of federal and state assistance programs in times of crisis, Zhang said.

“We had so many policy changes during that time. Now is the time for us to learn from those lessons during that period rather than moving forward without looking back. We need to always learn from history to then improve our services,” she said.

Co-authors on this study include Yi Wang and Lawrence Berger. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Russell Sage Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.