Child protection system involvement in children of incarcerated mothers: A linked data study

Leonie Segal; Sharon Dawe; Ha Nguyen; Susan Dennison; Emmanuel S Gnanamanickam; Megan Bell; Matthew Spittal; Stuart Kinner; David B Preen

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106126

Child protection system involvement in children of incarcerated mothers: A linked data study

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 May:139:106126. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106126. Epub 2023 Mar 6.

Authors

Leonie Segal¹, Sharon Dawe², Ha Nguyen³, Susan Dennison⁴, Emmanuel S Gnanamanickam³, Megan Bell⁵, Matthew Spittal⁶, Stuart Kinner⁷, David B Preen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Health Economcis and Social Policy Group, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Electronic address: leonie.segal@unisa.edu.au.
² School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
³ Health Economcis and Social Policy Group, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁴ School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
⁵ School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁶ Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
⁷ Justice Health Unit, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

PMID: 36889149
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106126

Abstract

Background: Women prisoners are a growing portion of the prison population. Health and social outcomes of their children have been studied and found to be poor, but little is known about child protection outcomes.

Objectives: Ascertain child protection system contact of children exposed to maternal incarceration.

Participants and setting: All children born between 1985 and 2011 exposed to the incarceration of their mothers in a Western Australian correctional facility and a matched comparison group.

Methods: A matched cohort study using linked administrative data on 2637 mothers entering prison between 1985 and 2015 and their 6680 children. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of child protection service (CPS) contact post maternal incarceration (four concern levels), comparing rates for children exposed to maternal incarceration with a matched non-exposed group, adjusting for maternal and child factors.

Findings: Exposure to maternal incarceration increased risk of CPS contact. Unadjusted HRs exposed vs unexposed children were 7.06 (95%CI = 6.49-7.69) for substantiated child maltreatment and 12.89 (95%CI = 11.42-14.55) for out-of-home care (OOHC). Unadjusted IRRs were 6.04 (95%CI = 5.57-6.55) for number of substantiations and 12.47 (95%CI = 10.65-14.59) for number of removals to OOHC. HRs and IRRs were only slightly attenuated in adjusted models.

Conclusions: Maternal incarceration is a warning flag for a child at high risk of serious child protection concerns. Family-friendly rehabilitative women's prisons, incorporating support for more nurturing mother-child relationships could provide a placed-based public health opportunity for disrupting distressing life trajectories and intergenerational pathways of disadvantage of these vulnerable children and their mothers. This population should be a priority for trauma-informed family support services.

Keywords: Child maltreatment; Child protection system contact; Children of women prisoners; Family friendly prisons; Linked data; Maternal incarceration.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Child
Child Abuse* / prevention & control
Cohort Studies
Female
Humans
Mothers
Prisoners*
Semantic Web