Lifting the Shadow: An Analysis of Demographic Characteristics of Maltreating Parents and Heads-of-Households With Children in Care

253 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1992.Parents of children in foster care were studied. A literature review examined social, psychological and interactive effects on parents of children in foster care. Social influences were investigated through analysis of demographic data collected by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Data on heads of households with children in care in Illinois on Feb. 28, 1990 (n = 8535) were compared to data on all maltreating parents in Illinois in 1988 (n = 23,764) and to census data. Data on heads of households with children in care included race, sex, age, reason for opening case, county, AFDC eligibility and marital status. Data on maltreating parents included race, sex, age, reason for opening case, county and relationship to child. Data were analyzed using frequencies, crosstabulations and log linear analysis. Heads of households with children in care were: 89% female-headed households; 44% AFDC eligible; primarily between the ages 20 and 40 (88%); 58% black; 35% white; 4.4% Hispanic; 0.3% Native American; 0.2% Asian; 0.2% other races; and 1.6% unknown race. About 14% resided in rural counties, 21% in urban counties and 59% in Cook County. About 58% of cases were opened due to neglect; about 34% of cases were opened due to abuse. Others for were opened for non-maltreatment reasons. Maltreating parents were about 36% male, 64% female. Most were aged 20 to 40 (88%). About 39% were black, 52% white, 6.7% Hispanic, 0.4% Asian, 0.5% other races and 0.6% unknown race. About 77% were urban and 23% rural. About 52% of cases were opened due to neglect, 43% for abuse and about 6% for a combination of abuse and neglect. In comparison to maltreating and general population, minorities, female-headed households and urban parents were at enhanced risk of having a child in placement. Adolescent parents were not overrepresented among maltreating parents or parents of children in care. Interaction effects indicated that urban minorities are at particular risk of having a child in placement. Rural residence was protective of white parents and enhanced risk of placement for black parents. In comparison to the general population, AFDC eligible were overrepresented.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD