Prevent, Protect & Provide: How child welfare can better support low-income familiesThe State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center is proud to release a new brief, Prevent, Protect & Provide: How child welfare can better support low-income families.

Families living in poverty have a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing crises. While the majority of poor families never come to the attention of the child welfare system, poverty is still the greatest threat to child well-being and the best predictor of abuse and neglect. Nearly half of families (47 percent) who have their children removed from their homes have trouble paying for basic necessities.

This brief, authored by Megan Martin and Alexandra Citrin of the Center for the Study of Social Policy, focuses on several critical strategies child welfare systems can use to better address the economic needs of families and reduce the number of children who are at an increased risk of maltreatment and neglect as a result of environmental circumstances.This brief advocates for providing families with access to concrete services and other supports through strategies and preventive programs that help combat the struggles associated with living in poverty and disinvested communities.