Comparing Maltreatment Experiences for Young People with Child Protection or Dual System Involvement

Abstract

This study examined how single and multiple types of maltreatment allegations differed for young people with child protective services (CPS) only and dual system (i.e., CPS and juvenile delinquency court petition) involvement by gender and race and ethnicity. Allegation types were documented for young people with CPS only or dual system involvement using linked CPS and Probation records for Los Angeles County for a cohort of children born between 1998 and 2001 with a history of at least one CPS maltreatment investigation between birth and age 18. The CPS only and dual system groups were compared using chi-square tests, and a generalized linear model was constructed to assess the relationship between key variables and dual system involvement. Two thirds of young people with dual system involvement (68.2%) experienced two or more allegation types, compared with less than half of young people with CPS involvement only (46.0%). More than three quarters of girls (77.1%) and Black young people (75.3%) with dual system involvement experienced multiple types of maltreatment. 11% of young people with only CPS involvement experienced sexual abuse with another maltreatment type, compared to 22.7% of young people with dual system involvement and 38.6% of girls with dual system involvement.The findings highlight the complex CPS histories of young people with dual system involvement, especially among girls and Black young people. These findings should facilitate discussion of gender-responsive services for young people with traumatic sexual experiences, given the frequency of sexual abuse allegations among girls with dual system involvement.