The Relationship Of County-Level Characteristics On Length Of Time Clients Are In Child Protective Services: The Context Of Care

Time spent in the child welfare system changes the life trajectory of those in care. Children who spend longer in care are at greater risk for mental illness. Adoption and Safe Families Act put a limit on how long children could be in out-of-home care; 15 months out of the last 22. Researchers have studied both individual and environmental correlates of time in care. No study has explored individual and environmental predictors of time to case closure. This study sought to fill the gap by studying county and individual-level variables, including race and delinquency. Data came from a state administrative dataset (n = 46,923). Using multilevel modeling, results indicated that older children, being Black, or having a Child in Need of Services case was at a greater risk of time in care. The effects of these latter two variables varied by county. At the county level, percent minority and adjusted crime rate were related to time in care. Practitioners can use the results to address contextual and client-related factors to increased time to case closure. Future research should focus on understanding how these factors correlate with longer stays in care and on developing and testing interventions that address these correlates.