Hardship and Child Welfare Involvement

Although the relationship between hardship and child welfare system, CWS, involvement seems straightforward, it is far more complicated. On average, families encountering the CWS tend to have lower incomes, and rates of CWS involvement are highest in the sections of New York with the highest concentrations of families with incomes below the poverty level. Among those who are involved with child welfare services, co-occurring conditions such as substance misuse and mental health challenges, which hardships exacerbate, are also correlated with CWS involvement regardless of income. This Urban Institute report examines the relationships between hardship and CWS involvement.