Caregiver Social Support for Children Involved With Child Welfare: Correlates and Racial/Ethnic Variations

This study examined correlates of and racial/ethnic variations in social support for caregivers involved in child protective services. A subsample of caregivers and children from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) was used to examine whether sources and amount of social support for parents in child welfare would vary by race and ethnicity. The findings indicate that caregivers of maltreated children suffer from a lack of support, specifically confidant, affective, and instrumental social support. This study also found that African American caregivers have higher levels of affective social support than do non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), controlling for other significant caregiver and child characteristics. Structural measures including age, gender, and family income also explained variations in caregiver social support. Research and practical implications are discussed.