Re-referrals to Child Protective Services for children born to young parents

Background: Children of teenage parents are at increased risk for child maltreatment but there is limited information about the risks teenage parenthood poses for maltreatment recurrence after prior Child Protective Service (CPS) involvement.

Objective: Determine whether children born to teenage parents are at increased risk of maltreatment re-referral to CPS compared to children born to older parents.

Participants and setting: Children under 6 years with substantiated reports of parental maltreatment between 2002 and 2018 were identified from National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data.

Methods: Youngest known parental age at child's birth, in years, was categorized as <20, 20-24, 25-29, or ≥30 (referent group). The number of re-referrals within 5 years was the outcome of interest. Negative binomial regression analyses assessed whether being born to a teen parent was associated with a greater risk of re-referral.

Results: In a study population of 2,680,961 children, having a teen parent, one aged 20-24 years, or 25-29 years at birth was associated with 19% (95% CI 1.18-1.19), 16% (95% CI 1.16-1.17), and 11% (95% CI 1.11-1.12) greater risk of re-referral compared to having a parent aged 30 years or older adjusting for child age, gender, race-ethnicity, state, and initial maltreatment type.

Conclusion: The small, but significant increased risk for re-referral to CPS for child maltreatment in young children with at least one teenage or young parent at the time of birth compared to children with older parents suggests that specifically targeting young parents with appropriate services when initially referred to CPS may help reduce the risk of maltreatment recurrence.