The Cumulative Prevalence of Termination of Parental Rights for U.S. Children, 2000–2016
- 21 May 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Child Maltreatment
- Vol. 25 (1), 32-42
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559519848499
Abstract
Recent research has used synthetic cohort life tables to show that having a Child Protective Services investigation, experiencing confirmed maltreatment, and being placed in foster care are more common for American children than would be expected based on daily or annual rates for these events. In this article, we extend this literature by using synthetic cohort life tables and data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to generate the first cumulative prevalence estimates of termination of parental rights. The results provide support for four conclusions. First, according to the 2016 estimate, 1 in 100 U.S. children will experience the termination of parental rights by age 18. Second, the risk of experiencing this event is highest in the first few years of life. Third, risks are highest for Native American and African American children. Nearly 3.0% of Native American children and around 1.5% of African American children will ever experience this event. Finally, there is dramatic variation across states in the risk of experiencing this event and in racial/ethnic inequality in this risk. Taken together, these findings suggest that parental rights termination, which involves the permanent loss of access to children for parents, is far more common than often thought.Keywords
Funding Information
- Casey Family Programs (1 R03 HD084883-01A1)
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cumulative Risks of Foster Care Placement by Age 18 for U.S. Children, 2000–2011PLOS ONE, 2014
- The Effect of Additional Child Support Income on the Risk of Child MaltreatmentSocial Service Review, 2013
- Racial and ethnic disparities: A population-based examination of risk factors for involvement with child protective servicesChild Abuse & Neglect, 2013
- A SECOND CHANCE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: A MODEL STATUTE TO REINSTATE PARENTAL RIGHTS AFTER TERMINATIONFamily Court Review, 2010
- Parental imprisonment, the prison boom, and the concentration of childhood disadvantageDemography, 2009
- Historical Trauma in American Indian/Native Alaska CommunitiesJournal of Interpersonal Violence, 2008
- Measuring child maltreatment risk in communities: a life table approachChild Abuse & Neglect, 2004
- Parental Incarceration: Recent Trends and Implications for Child WelfareSocial Service Review, 2002
- Reply: Whose Children? A Response to Professor GuggenheimHarvard Law Review, 2000
- Somebody's Children: Sustaining the Family's Place in Child Welfare PolicyHarvard Law Review, 2000