Nearly one in six children in the United States experiences at least one form of housing insecurity in 2022, and evidence suggests that point-in-time housing insecurity is associated with negative adolescent developmental outcomes. However, much less is known about cumulative housing insecurity or its impacts on positive adolescent development. This study examines depressive symptoms as a mediator of a pathway between housing insecurity and positive adolescent development and considers the possible moderating role of neighborhood collective efficacy. Using data from the Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study (n = 3,319), we constructed an index of cumulative housing insecurity when focal children were ages 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed the direct and indirect effects of cumulative housing insecurity on adolescents’ positive functioning, measured using a standard scale capturing engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness. We then assessed mediation by adolescent depression symptoms and examined the moderating effect of neighborhood collective efficacy. Results indicate that cumulative housing insecurity was associated with increased adolescent depressive symptoms (b = 0.477, p<.001), which in turn predicted decreased positive functioning (b=-0.026, p<.01). In addition, cumulative housing insecurity was indirectly and negatively associated with positive functioning through depressive symptoms in both collective efficacy groups (Low/Moderate group: b=-0.020, p<.01; High group: b=-0.021, p<.01), with no statistically significant difference between groups. These results identify individual and contextual factors shaping the development of adolescent positive functioning, accounting for the cumulative nature of housing insecurity and identifying actionable direct and indirect pathways through which housing insecurity disrupts adolescents’ crucial development of positive functioning.

This qualitative study explores whether providing families a guaranteed income (GI) payment can reduce parents' perceived economic stress and increase investments in their children. Participants were recruited from the Los Angeles County Breathe GI pilot. Fifteen GI recipients and 17 GI nonrecipients (N = 32) participated in semi-structured interviews. About 40% of participants worked full time, 93.8% were female, 56.3% were single, all had at least one child younger than 5, with average monthly income of $2,183. Participants were 59% Latino, 34% Black, 31% white, 3% Asian, and 3% American Indian. Compared with nonrecipients, GI recipients reported reduced economic stress and greater investments in their children. While both groups described informal activities (e.g., visiting the park), recipients reported more formal activities, including structured programs like martial arts and gymnastics and enrichment experiences like visits to the zoo or aquarium.

Objective:This paper examined parents' perceptions of their children's weight status by key parental socio-demographic factors. Methods:We used the 2018 Growing Healthy Kids-Population Health Survey's data to analyse 1353 parents' perceptions of their child's weight status in Southwest Sydney. Generalised linear multinomial mixed models were used to determine the associations between socio-demographic and economic factors and parents' perceptions of their children's weight status. Results:About 23 % of healthy-weight children, 65 % of overweight children and 55 % of obese children were incorrectly perceived by parents. Father as the primary guardian (overweight: OR = 0.60, 95 % CI = 0.55-0.65; obese: OR = 0.46, 95 % CI = 0.43-0.50) and parents who completed ≤12 years of school education (overweight children: OR = 0.18, 95 % CI = 0.17-0.20; obese: children OR = 0.54, 95 % CI = 0.49-0.459) were less likely to perceive their overweight or obese children as overweight although they were overweight. Parents who lived in more disadvantaged areas were more likely to perceive their obese children as obese (OR = 1.65, 95 % CI = 1.46-1.86). Parents who lived in moderately disadvantaged areas (OR = 0.54, 95 % CI = 0.47-0.61) and parents who reported an annual household income between $52,000 and $ 103,999 were less likely to perceive their overweight children as overweight (OR = 0.72, 95 % CI = 0.65-0.80; $78,000-$103,999: OR = 0.74, 95 % CI = 0.66-0.82). Conclusion:Our findings suggest that public health interventions should involve fathers while educating families and children in most and moderately disadvantaged areas about healthy weight management. They should also integrate routine weight and height measurements at the population and clinical levels to help parents understand their child's weight status accurately.

ObjectiveTo develop a data-informed research strategy for a public mental health service (MHS).MethodsData collection involved consultation with MHS key stakeholders and external partners and a MHS staff survey regarding research training, experience, needs and suggested research themes for the MHS. Results were descriptively analysed, discussed in a MHS research planning workshop and used to inform the research strategy.ResultsEnablers of research included time, funding, research training and resources/infrastructure and linkage with supervisors/mentors. Barriers included lack of time, funding/resources and managerial support, competing clinical demands and lacking confidence, skills or experience. Key workshop outcomes were two strategic goals: to build a collaborative research culture, and to focus on translational multidisciplinary research which improves outcomes and experiences for consumers, families and MHS staff. To achieve goals, strategic actions with matching priorities and signs of success were outlined.ConclusionsMultidisciplinary and peer worker staff perspectives directly informed development of the MHS's Strategic Plan for Research, anchoring the plan in the local context and identifying strengths and limitations to be addressed to achieve the Plan. These study findings may assist other public MHSs wishing to establish their own research strategy and embed a research culture as part of clinical practice.

Parenting practices matter for child well-being. It is important, therefore, to understand how economic deprivation influences positive and negative parenting practices. This study explored how income poverty and material hardship predict parental responsiveness and harsh discipline practices. Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) when children were 3 and 5 years old, we employed cross-sectional linear regression to examine the associations between income poverty and material hardship and parental responsiveness and parental discipline at age 3 and at age 5, and we used family fixed effects models to examine whether within-family changes in income poverty and material hardship predicted changes in parental responsiveness and parental discipline between ages 3 and 5. Results of the cross-sectional models suggest that income poverty had a more consistent, detrimental impact on parenting practices, particularly discipline behaviours, than did material hardship. Results of the fixed effects models indicated that neither changes in income poverty nor material hardship predicted statistically significant changes in parenting practices. Results suggest that interventions reducing income poverty could be effective at improving parenting practices but that other factors, perhaps contextual and structural, may be more important than family-level economic precarity in shaping responsive and harsh parenting and, subsequently, child well-being.

Objectives and importance of study: Despite an increasing trend in digitally delivered health promotion programs, evidence of their effectiveness compared to face-to-face approaches is limited. Go4Fun is a 10-week, scaled-up healthy lifestyle program in New South Wales (NSW) for children 7-13 years who are above a healthy weight and their families, delivered either face-to-face or digitally. We compared the impact of Standard Go4Fun (face-to-face) and Go4Fun Online (digital) on children's weight and health behaviour outcomes and whether attendance levels influenced outcomes. STUDY TYPE:Pre-post study. METHODS:We conducted a secondary analysis of Go4Fun cohort data from 1893 face-to-face and 1283 digital participants (January 2018 to May 2022). Outcomes of interest were body mass index z-score (zBMI), physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and fruit, vegetable, sugary drink and takeaway food consumption. RESULTS:A higher proportion of Standard Go4Fun children lived in major cities, in areas of greatest disadvantage and spoke a language other than English at home than in Go4Fun Online. Children in both Standard Go4Fun and Go4Fun Online demonstrated improvements in all outcomes; however, children in Go4Fun Online showed significantly larger improvements. On average, digital participants had a reduction in zBMI of 0.11 more than the reduction seen in face-to-face participants (95% Confidence Interval [CI] -0.12, -0.09), increased the days/week of moderate-to-vigorous-physical-activity by 30% more (95% CI 24%, 36%), were more likely to eat ≥ 2 serves of fruit/day (compared to < 2, Odds Ratio [OR] 1.85; 95% CI: 1.36, 2.52) or eat ≥ 3 serves of vegetables/day (compared to < 3, OR 1.96; CI: 1.58, 2.42). Across both modes, with each additional session attended, the odds of eating ≥ 3 serves of vegetables/day increased by 10% (95% CI 1.02, 1.19). There were no significant differences for other health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS:Our evaluation demonstrated that both face-to-face and digital program delivery helped children above a healthy weight to improve their weight and health behaviour outcomes. Go4Fun Online achieved significantly greater improvements in outcomes, which is encouraging for the future of digital interventions. Participation in Standard Go4Fun by more children with obesity from disadvantaged areas and non-English speaking backgrounds suggests that ongoing delivery of both modes of Go4Fun could facilitate program reach among all children above a healthy weight.

Supreme Court Justices Thomas, in 1991, and Kavanaugh, in 2018, were accused of sexual violence by Anita Hill and Christine Ford, respectively, and were both later confirmed in their positions. To better understand these outcomes and the political context in which they occurred, we analysed headlines from US newspapers using a directed content analysis. We drew on Schneider and Ingram’s established social construction of target populations theory to examine how newspaper headlines characterised the relative power and valence of political figures in each year. Results identified both consistencies and shifts in social constructions across time. In 2018, there were more negative characterisations of the nominee, accuser and the President, and more negative and less powerful characterisations of the public. In both years, the Senate and political parties were characterised negatively and powerfully. These findings provide evidence that intransience in political institutions, increased negative partisanship, and weakened public power may illuminate the parallel outcomes despite changed social mores, such as the advent of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.

Mass media campaigns are frequently used to address public health issues. Considering the considerable cost, there has been little analysis of why campaigns sometimes fail. This study used a sequential mixed methods approach to explore the mechanisms that can lead to failure and to identify what can be done to avoid or overcome common mistakes in campaign planning, implementation, and evaluation. We conducted interviews and a survey with 28 public health social marketing and mass media campaign experts over three rounds of research and analysed the data thematically, generating themes inductively. We identified four systemic factors that drive success: long-term strategic thinking and commitment, understanding the campaign context, doing and learning from evaluation, and fostering strong relationships. The factors did not operate in isolation, rather good (or poor) execution in one area was likely to influence performance in another. The experts also emphasised that a change of political context could drastically affect one or more of the identified factors. Our analysis showed that campaign failures are not simply individuals making mistakes. Systemic issues throughout the planning, execution, and evaluation phases need to be addressed if campaign outcomes are to improve.

Background Childhood obesity is a major public health concern in Australia and the multicultural population of South-West Sydney. This study examined the influence of parents’ country of birth (COB) on the association between family socio-economic status (SES), assessed by area-level disadvantage and annual household income, and childhood obesity. Methods The analysis of data from the cross-sectional Growing Healthy Kids in Southwest Sydney (GHK-SWS) baseline survey of 1,815 children aged 5-16 years living in South Western Sydney, Australia employed generalised linear multinomial mixed models, with results presented as odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Results This study found a significant relationship between SES measures and the risk of overweight and obesity in the study population. The risks of childhood obesity are greatest in lower socioeconomic groups (across both SES metrics) regardless of their parents’ COB status. However, the overweight results are inconsistent across SES metrics and COB status. The risk of being overweight was lower for Australian-born parents living in disadvantaged areas but higher for those reporting lower income; and higher for Overseas-born parents living in disadvantaged areas but lower for those reporting low household income. Conclusion Parents’ SES is a consistent predictor of childhood obesity, and this relationship is not modified by parents’ COB. However, the likelihood of a child being overweight varied between the parents’ SES measures and COB. Prioritisation of the target population for area-level preventive public health interventions to modify obesogenic factors is recommended for a) obese children living in most disadvantaged areas and moderate disadvantaged areas regardless of their parents’ COB; b) overweight and obese children of moderate disadvantaged areas regardless of their parents’ COB. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement We also acknowledge that the GHK study was funded by the New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health, Australia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Not Applicable The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The GHK-SWS baseline study—a cross-sectional population-based survey of parents or carers of children aged 5-16 years in southwestern Sydney, NSW, Australia—was approved by the Southwest Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (HE18/078). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Not Applicable I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Not Applicable I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Not Applicable Data available through manuscript.

Background: Parents’ perception of children’s weight status has been recognised as one of the influencing factors when planning childhood overweight and obesity prevention programs. We aimed to examine whether children’s BMI modified the association between parents’ socio-demographic and economic characteristics and their perceptions of their children’s weight status in South Western Sydney Local Health District. Methods: We analysed 1,353 parents’ perceptions of their child’s weight status using the ‘Growing Healthy Kids-Population Health Survey’ baseline data. Generalised linear multinomial mixed models were used to determine the associations. Results are presented as odds ratio and associated 95% confidence intervals by BMI. Results: This study found that the weight status of about 23% of healthy-weight children, 65% of overweight children and 55% of obese children was incorrectly perceived by parents. Father as the primary parent and parents who completed <=12 years of school education were less likely to perceive their overweight or obese children as overweight. Parents who lived in more disadvantaged areas were more likely to perceive their obese children as overweight. Parents who lived in moderate disadvantaged areas were less likely to perceive their overweight children as overweight. Parents who had reported an annual household income between $52,000-$103,999 were more likely to perceive their overweight children as of healthy weight and parents who reported an annual household income below $103,999 were twice as likely to perceive their obese children as having a healthy weight. Conclusion: The findings suggest that there may be benefit in designing interventions that focus on improving parents’ misperception of children’s weight status. The groups of parents who should be prioritised for preventive public health interventions to modify the parental misperceptions of their child’s weight status include a) fathers, b) parents who completed <=12 years of school education and parents who had Trade, TAFE or Diploma as educational qualification, c) parents living in moderately disadvantaged areas and d) parents with low and high household-income. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement We also acknowledge that the GHK study was funded by the New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health, Australia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Not Applicable The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of South Western Sydney Local Health District (HE18/078). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Not Applicable I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Not Applicable I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Not Applicable Data available through manuscript

Objective: To explore population-level trends in health behaviours and wellbeing indicators from before (2017-2019) to during (2020-2022) the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Methods: Using cross-sectional data from New South Wales Adult Population Health Surveys (2017-2022, n = 73,680 responses), we calculated weighted prevalence estimates and interrupted time-series logit models to investigate trends in health behavioural risk factors (vegetable and fruit intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, e-cigarette use), Body Mass Index (BMI) (overweight and obesity), and wellbeing indicators (psychological distress, self-rated health) among adults aged >= 16 years before and during the pandemic. Results: From 2017 to 2022, the behavioural risk factors and BMI trends were mostly unchanged. Similarly, wellbeing indicator trends showed only minor variations according to age. The interrupted time-series models found marked changes from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic for e-cigarette use and self-rated health. Ecigarette use showed an overall increasing trend, with significant increases from 2017 to 2022 (OR 8.25, 95 %CI 6.10-11.16). Poor self-rated health showed a stable trend before COVID-19, but decreased in 2020 (OR 0.68, 95 %CI 0.58-0.80) and 2021 (OR 0.70, 95 %CI 0.60-0.81), returning to pre-COVID levels in 2022 (OR 1.23, 95 %CI 1.07-1.41). During the pandemic (2020-2022), there were few statistically significant observed changes in prevalence trends according to SES indicators. Conclusion: Among Australian adults, relatively small population-level impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviours and wellbeing trends were observed. Continued surveillance and sub-group analyses are essential for investigating potential time-lagged effects and regional or sociodemographic differences in health behaviours and wellbeing.

Background Tasmania, the smallest state by population in Australia, has a comprehensive tobacco control mass media campaign program that includes traditional (eg, television) and “new” channels (eg, social media), run by Quit Tasmania. The campaign targets adult smokers, in particular men aged 18-44 years, and people from low socioeconomic areas. Objective This study assesses the impact of the 2019-2021 campaign program on smokers’ awareness of the campaign program, use of Quitline, and smoking-related intentions and behaviors. Methods We used a tracking survey (conducted 8 times per year, immediately following a burst of campaign activity) to assess campaign recall and recognition, intentions to quit, and behavioral actions taken in response to the campaigns. The sample size was approximately 125 participants at each survey wave, giving a total sample size of 2000 participants over the 2 years. We merged these data with metrics including television target audience rating points, digital and Facebook (Meta) analytics, and Quitline activity data, and conducted regression and time-series modeling. Results Over the evaluation period, unprompted recall of any Quit Tasmania campaign was 18%, while prompted recognition of the most recent campaign was 50%. Over half (52%) of those who recognized a Quit Tasmania campaign reported that they had performed or considered a quitting-related behavioral action in response to the campaign. In the regression analyses, we found having different creatives within a single campaign burst was associated with higher campaign recall and recognition and an increase in the strength of behavioral actions taken. Higher target audience rating points were associated with higher campaign recall (but not recognition) and an increase in quit intentions, but not an increase in behavioral actions taken. Higher Facebook advertisement reach was associated with lower recall among survey participants, but recognition was higher when digital channels were used. The time-series analyses showed no systematic trends in Quitline activity over the evaluation period, but Quitline activity was higher when Facebook reach and advertisement spending were higher. Conclusions Our evaluation suggests that a variety of creatives should be used simultaneously and supports the continued use of traditional broadcast channels, including television. However, the impact of television on awareness and behavior may be weakening. Future campaign evaluations should closely monitor the effectiveness of television as a result. We are also one of the first studies to explicitly examine the impact of digital and social media, finding some evidence that they influence quitting-related outcomes. While this evidence is promising for campaign implementation, future evaluations should consider adopting rigorous methods to further investigate this relationship.

Mass media campaigns are frequently used to address public health issues. Considering the considerable cost, there has been surprisingly little analysis of why campaigns sometimes fail. This study used a modified Delphi approach to explore the mechanisms that can lead to failure and to identify what can be done to avoid or overcome common mistakes in campaign planning, implementation, and evaluation. Through interviews and a survey with 28 public health social marketing and mass media campaign experts, we identified four systemic factors that drive success: long-term strategic thinking and commitment, understanding the campaign context, doing and learning from evaluation, and fostering strong relationships. The factors did not operate in isolation, rather good (or poor) execution in one area was likely to influence performance in another. The experts also emphasised that a change of political context could drastically affect one or more of the identified factors. Our analysis showed that campaign failures are not simply individuals making mistakes. Systemic issues throughout the planning, execution, and evaluation phases need to be addressed if campaign outcomes are to improve.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression and how the relationship is mediated by neighborhood social cohesion and trust. Previous studies on childhood material hardship and adolescent depression have consistently pointed to the importance of social and environmental contexts in explaining health inequalities among children in socially disadvantaged families. However, little is known about the extent to which neighborhood social context contributes to increasing or decreasing the strength of the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. Method: Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) waves 3 and 6, this study conducted Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis to examine whether levels of neighborhood social cohesion and trust mediates the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. The study sample consisted of 2,096 children at age 3 and 15. Results: Findings from the SEM analysis suggest that childhood material hardship is linked with higher levels of adolescent depression and this pathway is partially mediated by neighborhood social cohesion and trust. Discussion: Results suggest that neighborhood conditions played a role in mediating the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to policy and practice.

Objective In 2017, the Australian state of New South Wales introduced a revised policy to provide a healthy food and drink environment for staff and visitors in the state’s publicly funded health facilities. We sought to understand how contextual factors, intervention features and the responses of diverse stakeholders affected the policy’s implementation in public hospitals. Methods Ninety-nine interviews were conducted with chief executives, implementers and retailers in the health and food retail systems after the target date for the implementation of 13 initial policy practices. Stakeholder responses were analysed to understand commitment to, engagement with and achievement of these practices and the different contexts and implementation approaches that prompted these responses. Results Key mechanisms that drove systemic change included stakeholders’ broad acceptance of the policy premise; stakeholders’ sense of accountability and desire for the policy to succeed; and the policy’s perceived benefits, feasibility and effectiveness. Important underpinning factors were chief executives’ commitment to implementation and monitoring, a flexible approach to locally tailored implementation and historical precedents. Conclusions This study provides policy and practice insights for the initial phase of state-wide implementation to achieve change in health facility food retail environments.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of the dollar value of federal low-income housing assistance on adult health outcomes and whether this impact varies across housing assistance programs. Data SourcesWe use the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 1999 to 2016 linked with administrative records from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) tracking receipt of low-income housing assistance from 1999 to 2017. DesignWe use two approaches to assess the impact of the value of housing assistance among HUD housing assistance recipients on outcomes capturing overall health and mental health, chronic and acute health conditions, health care hardship, and food insecurity. First, we use multivariable regression models that adjust for a wide array of possible confounders. Second, we use an instrumental variable approach in which the county-level supply of HUD housing serves as an instrument for the value of housing assistance. Data Collection/Extraction MethodsOur sample includes all 12,031 adult HUD linkage-eligible NHIS respondents who were currently in HUD housing at the time of their NHIS interview. Principal FindingsWe find the most consistent associations between the value of housing assistance and measures of health care hardship, a relationship that is most robust for Housing Choice Voucher recipients, where we find a $100 increase in the value of housing assistance is associated with a 6.2 percentage point decrease in probability of needing but not being able to afford medical care. We find little evidence that the value of housing assistance impacts overall health or chronic health outcomes. ConclusionsThe relationship between the value of housing assistance and health likely operates via an income effect, wherein receipt of a more valuable benefit frees up resources to spend on needed care. Policy changes to increase the value of housing assistance may have tangible health benefits for tenants receiving housing assistance.

This study examined the associations of multifaceted material hardship measured cross-sectionally and longitudinally with children's wellbeing in the United States. Results from linear regression and child fixed effects models indicated that more intense material hardship had consistent, detrimental associations with child health status and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. More intense longitudinal patterns of material hardship were consistently associated with behaviors only. These findings examine new, multifaceted measures of material hardship and suggest associations between child wellbeing, particularly behavior challenges, and exposure both to multiple forms of material hardship and to more intense long-term patterns of hardship.

Background: Few studies have investigated whether Child Protective Services (CPS) contact in-fluences child wellbeing, independent of underlying maltreatment and not considered as a proxy for such maltreatment.Objective: The present study estimates the association between CPS contact and child delinquency, education, substance use, and mental health and development.Participants and setting: The study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal birth cohort study of children born in 20 US cities. Study outcomes were based on age-15 interviews with the focal children and their caregivers with sample sizes ranging from 2088 to 2327 across outcomes. Methods: The relationship between CPS contact and child wellbeing was estimated using the propensity score method of inverse probability of treatment weighting.Results: CPS contact was associated with an 88% increase in the probability of smoking (p = .010), a 29 % increase in externalizing behavior (p < .001), a 27% increase in internalizing behavior (p = .001), a 18 % increase in the probability of being expelled (p = .32), a 7.5 % increase in a depression (p = .002), a 6.9 % increase in anxiety (p = .002), a 6.2 % reduction in happiness (p = .008), a 6.0 % increase in impulsivity (p < .001), and a 5.5 % increase in school troubles (p < .001).Conclusions: Despite a federal mandate to improve child wellbeing, we found no evidence that contact with the child welfare system improves child outcomes. Rather, CPS contact was asso-ciated with worse mental health and developmental outcomes.

Child protective services (CPS) contact occurs at substantially higher rates among Black than White families. The present study considers systemic racism as a central driver of this disparity and emphasizes racialized poverty as a possible mechanism. We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and logistic regression analyses to assess the associations between income poverty, a racialized experience, and CPS contact, separately among Black and White families. Results indicated that income poverty was a significant predictor of CPS contact among White families, who were protected by higher income. In contrast, income per se was not a significant predictor of CPS contact among Black families, who were instead impacted by racialized family regulation and consequences of poverty, such as poor health and depression. Refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) policies were protective for Black families, and more expansive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs decreased CPS contact for Black and White families. Implications include centering systemic racism and specifically racialized poverty as causes of racial inequities in CPS contact and rethinking the role of CPS in protecting children.

This study examines the relationship between nonresident fathers and their children’s economic precarity. We use a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse sample of children in large U.S. cities and consider a comprehensive set of measures of the involvement of nonresident fathers in their lives. We evaluate both voluntary and involuntary (court-ordered child support) involvement of fathers, and we look at material hardship and income-to-poverty ratio as measures of children’s economic precarity. We find that only high levels of formal child support have a protective effect on children’s economic well-being, while fathers’ voluntary involvement (experienced by 70 percent of children) has a more consistent protective effect. Overall, policies to reduce children’s economic precarity need to focus on improving nonresident fathers’ ability to be involved with and contribute to their children, as well as on direct assistance to custodial mother families.