Skip to Main Content
School of Public Health

​
  • Admissions
  • Research
  • Education
  • Practice
​
Search
  • Newsroom
    • School News
    • SPH This Week Newsletter
    • SPH in the Media
    • SPH This Year Magazine
    • News Categories
    • Contact Us
  • Research
    • Centers and Groups
  • Academic Departments
    • Biostatistics
    • Community Health Sciences
    • Environmental Health
    • Epidemiology
    • Global Health
    • Health Law, Policy & Management
  • Education
    • Degrees & Programs
    • Public Health Writing
    • Workforce Development Training Centers
    • Partnerships
    • Apply Now
  • Admissions
    • Applying to BUSPH
    • Request Information
    • Degrees and Programs
    • Why Study at BUSPH?
    • Tuition and Funding
    • SPH by the Numbers
    • Events and Campus Visits
    • Admissions Team
    • Student Ambassadors
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Events
    • Public Health Conversations
    • Full Events Calendar
    • Alumni and Friends Events
    • Commencement Ceremony
    • SPH Awards
  • Practice
    • Activist Lab
  • Careers & Practicum
    • For Students
    • For Employers
    • For Faculty & Staff
    • For Alumni
    • Graduate Employment & Practicum Data
  • Public Health Post
    • Public Health Post Fellowship
  • About
    • SPH at a Glance
    • Advisory Committees
    • Strategy Map
    • Senior Leadership
    • Accreditation
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
    • Directory
    • Contact SPH
  • Support SPH
    • Big Ideas: Strategic Directions
    • Faculty Research and Development
    • Future of Public Health Fund
    • Generation Health
    • idea hub
    • Public Health Conversations
    • Public Health Post
    • Student Scholarship
    • How to Give
    • Contact Development and Alumni Relations
  • Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni
  • Directory
Read More News
health law, policy & management

BU Hosts 48th Annual Health Law Professors Conference

Young boy sitting on the grass with a plaid and reads a book while drinking a cup of tea or coffee in cloudy day. A black cat is sleeping nearby. Vector colored cartoon flat illustration.
students

SPH Plugs In: Summer Selects

Children with Disabilities Face Higher Risk of Repeat Caregiver Harm.

January 19, 2016
Twitter Facebook

child-alone-benchChildren with disabilities who are referred to state agencies for suspected neglect experience future maltreatment sooner and more often than other children, according to a research team from Boston Medical Center and the School of Public Health.

In a research letter in JAMA, the group reported that 16 percent of children with disabilities who were referred to child protective services (CPS) for unsubstantiated neglect experienced subsequent substantiated maltreatment, compared to 10 percent of children without disabilities. Disabled children also were more likely to be placed in foster care.

The researchers analyzed data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which collects data on all children reported to state-level CPS agencies. Children were included if they had first-time unsubstantiated referrals for neglect in 2008. They were followed up for four years.

A total of 489,176 children from 33 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia were included in the study—12,610 with disabilities. Disabled children were more likely to be re-referred to child protective services after the initial neglect report than non-disabled children—45 percent compared to 36 percent. The median time for disabled children to be re-referred or subject to substantiated maltreatment was shorter than for non-disabled children.

The authors said that while the study had some limitations, “our findings highlight the significant incidence of maltreatment experienced by children with unsubstantiated referrals for neglect, particularly children with disabilities. Such children may benefit from targeted interventions to prevent subsequent maltreatment.”

The study was led by Caroline Kistin of the Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, who is an SPH alumna (MSc ’13). Co-authors included Howard Cabral, professor of biostatistics, and Michael Winter, associate director of the Data Coordinating Center at SPH.

—Lisa Chedekel

Explore Related Topics:

  • child neglect
  • disability
  • Share this story

Share

Children with Disabilities Face Higher Risk of Repeat Caregiver Harm

  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Twitter

More about SPH

Sign up for our newsletter

Get the latest from Boston University School of Public Health

Subscribe

Also See

  • About
  • Newsroom
  • Contact
  • Support SPH

Resources

  • Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni
  • Directory
  • Boston University School of Public Health
  • 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
  • © 2021 Trustees of Boston University
  • DMCA
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
© Boston University. All rights reserved. www.bu.edu
Boston University Masterplate
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.