week 7 discussion (PLEASE READ UPLOADED FILE)

5

Tenea Lewis

SOCW 6361

Social Policy and Analysis

July 5,2026

Policy Advocacy Proposal: Expansion of Economic towards Prevention of Child Maltreatment.

Child maltreatment is a social problem that is commonly reported in United States. The reports show that each year about 7 out of 1,000 children are affected. Based on CDC reports in 558,899 children suffering from maltreatment, in 74.3% of the cases, the children were neglected. The effect is long-lasting and deep, with long term health and mental health impacts, cognitive impacts, and adverse intergenerational effects. Minority racial/ethnic children (and especially Black and Hispanic children) are overrepresented in child protection services interventions.

The policy chosen to advocate is economic support programs for families with young children at the state level. This plan proposes a state Child Tax Credit refund, to expand SNAP eligibility, and to raise the state minimum wage. These poverty-reducing policies have been shown to have a strong correlation with reductions in child maltreatment, and specifically neglect (Kim & Kim, 2025). According to Moullin and Milne (2025), in New Zealand, evidence indicates that in total, small unconditional cash transfers reduced referrals of suspected maltreatment by 19%, and by 26% for Māori families.

I chose this strategy as a policy advocate due to its focus on addressing the root causes of child maltreatment, namely poverty, family stress, as opposed to simply tackling symptoms. Much of the current child welfare system has been influenced by CAPTA, and is based on punitive surveillance and mandatory reporting, thereby over representing poor and Black families in the system (Lloyd Sieger et al., 2022. Economic support policies are upstream and preventive, and demonstrate the social work principles and values of social justice and the dignity of the person (Piña et al., 2024). In their first year alone, offering early economic support reduced the likelihood of an infant having an investigation by child welfare services by about 57%, according to a study.

State legislatures and governments usually enact changes to State Child Tax Credits, SNAP expansions and minimum wages. Advocacy from anti-poverty groups and economic benefit are common motivations. But, there are those who are proponents of these policies for issues of social justice and lowering the rate of maltreatment, and those who are proponents for fiscal reasons or political pressure. I advocate to promote social justice, racial justice, and the prevention of harm to children and families.

The desired outcomes are lower poverty, families more stable and lower child maltreatment. Research has consistently identified the negative consequences of such policies on neglect, the most frequent type of child maltreatment and which is most directly tied to poverty (Kim & Kim, 2025). Administrative factors leading to the prevention of access by eligible families and potential political consequences forms part of the unintended consequences. The challenges can be minimized through careful designing of the policy, community engagement, and stronger advocacy.

I would see the impacts of poverty-related stress and maltreatment every day as a clinical social worker, including developmental delays, behavioral problems, and trauma symptoms in children, along with guilt, depression, and inability of parents to access services and resources. This advocacy for policy change is important as clinical interventions are not sufficient to reduce the drivers of maltreatment systemically.

My plan of advocacy includes the following steps: (1) Policy analysis to identify leverage points at the state level using the Jansson framework (2008); (2) Coalition building of stakeholders (child welfare providers, legal advocates, community members with lived experience); (3) Creation of a policy brief that includes evidence on the role of economic supports as prevention; (4) Direct advocacy with the State legislature through meetings, testimony, and grassroots organizing.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2024, May 16). About Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/index.html

Jansson, B. S. (2008). Becoming an effective policy advocate. Thompson..

Kim, Y. Y., & Kim, H. (2025). The Impact of Poverty-Related Policy Expansions on Child Maltreatment: A Scoping Review of a Broad Policy Set. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380251398777

Lloyd Sieger, M. H., Nichols, C., & Chasnoff, I. J. (2022). Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act , family care plans and infants with prenatal substance exposure: Theoretical framework and directions for future research. Infant and Child Development, 31(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2309

Moullin, S., & Milne, B. (2025). The effects of unconditional cash transfers on child abuse and neglect in early childhood: Evidence from New Zealand. Child Abuse & Neglect, 161, 107260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107260

Piña, G., Moore, K., Mihalec-Adkins, B., Darling, K., Abdi, F., & Liehr, A. (2024). State Policy Levers for Reducing Early Childhood Maltreatment: The Importance of Family Planning and Economic Support Policies. Child Maltreatment, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595241267236

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau. (2022). Child Maltreatment 2022. https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2022.pdf