Far too often, families find themselves interacting with the state’s child welfare agency long after needed supports could or should have been accessed. Every child, youth, and family in Maine deserves to live in a supportive community that offers timely and accessible support when it’s needed most. This shared vision is what inspired the partnership … Read more
New data from United for ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) finds that 44% of Maine children live in household that can’t afford the basics. This includes 34% of Maine children who come from ALICE families — those who live above the poverty line and are working, but do not earn enough to cover all the … Read more
In the following sections, we first present an overview of the research on the many pathways through which poverty affects children’s development. We then summarize the effects of these pervasive disadvantages on children’s developmental outcomes. Finally, in light of the structural and societal roots of child poverty and the negative consequences associated with it, we … Read more
As part of its efforts to compile and share key data on the well-being of children in Maine through KIDS COUNT®, the Maine Children’s Alliance has recently released County Profiles for Maine. The profiles include a summary of each county’s strengths and challenges, demographic data, and fourteen selected indicators of child health and well-being for … Read more
The Administration for Children and Families prepared four fact sheets on states’ definitions of child maltreatment and policies for reporting, screening, and investigating child maltreatment. Using data from the State Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Policies Database, the report compares definitions and procedures for 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. For example, all states … Read more
In recognizing the unique stressors that immigrant families face, which can place them at greater risk for child maltreatment, researchers from New Mexico State University conducted a rigorous review of the research literature to identify child welfare interventions specifically targeted at immigrant families. To be included, studies had to focus on a broad child maltreatment … Read more
A new paper published in Health Affairs examines how states’ substance use policies relate to child maltreatment reports there. The authors find that adopting a “punitive” policy that treats prenatal substance use as criminal or as child maltreatment produces a 19 percent increase in infant maltreatment reports, driven by a 38 percent increase in substantiated … Read more
Newly published results from a randomized clinical trial find that participation in a postpartum nurse home visiting program reduces child maltreatment investigations and child emergency medical care usage each by one-third by age five. For 18 months beginning in July 2009, all children born in Durham County, North Carolina were randomly assigned to participate in … Read more
In a new research brief, Harvards Center on the Developing Child unpacks the ways that addressing racism can open new opportunities for child wellbeing and success. The brief notes the established link between racism and worse child and family outcomes, pointing specifically to the known pathways connecting toxic stress, trauma, and recurring adversity to later … Read more
The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides two potential policy roadmaps to halve U.S. child poverty in the next 10 years. The first policy package expands existing programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC), increases SNAP benefits by 35 percent, and increases the … Read more
