Child welfare involved children in Palmdale: identifying predictors of maltreatment recurrence

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of recurrence of maltreatment for Palmdale children with open Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) cases. This study used a secondary data set that focused on exploring our hypotheses of whether recurrence of maltreatment was higher among children who are ages 0-5, African American, had child welfare history, and whose case involved domestic violence with a parent perpetrator. The results of this study indicated that younger children and families with past child welfare involvement and domestic violence and/or substance history were more vulnerable to recurrence. Further, that while Hispanic children were most likely to experience recurrence, African American children experience secondary maltreatment at disproportionate rates. This study has significant implications for prevention efforts and could help to reduce the number of the children who are subsequently abused and neglected while in the child welfare system.