Child Welfare System Involvement and CSEC: An Exploratory U.S.-Based Case Study
Ivy Hammond, MSW & Joseph Magruder, MSW, PhD | September 24 | 1:45-2:45 PM
Topic: Research, Direct Service | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Federal law in the United States (US) dictates that public child welfare agencies are now responsible for identifying and providing secondary and tertiary prevention to youth who experience or are at-risk experiencing CSEC (P.L. No. 113-183; P.L. 114-22). Child welfare system (CWS) involvement and childhood sexual abuse are two of the most well-documented antecedents to CSEC during adolescence (Franchino-Olsen, 2021), yet relatively little is documented about the extent, duration, and outcomes of CWS involvement prior to experiences of CSE. Child-level administrative child welfare data offer a way to examine system involvement longitudinally and describe any patterns or trends that emerge. This study uses data from one of the largest child welfare agencies in the US to describe the CWS involvement of 324 adolescents and transition age youth who received CSEC-specific CWS services from 2016 to 2020. Findings focus on: (1) the sociodemographic profiles of youth served; (2) the extent, timing, and outcomes of CWS service provision prior to entering CSEC specialized services; (3) CWS case outcomes following the provision of specialized programming; and (4) service provision among parenting youth. This analysis serves as a case study, shedding light on the early experiences of children who are later affected by CSEC in the U.S. Findings from this study may inform the development of prevention-focused policy and programming.
Presentation Objectives:
· Describe the children and transition age youth identified by the child welfare system as having experienced CSEC victimization and been at high risk of experiencing CSEC
· Explore the extent, timing, and outcomes of prior child welfare system involvement among youth receiving specialized CSEC programming
· Explain the relevance of these findings for prevention-focused policy and programming