An examination of the effect of area-level characteristics on juvenile justice and child welfare referrals using multivariate Bayesian spatial modeling.

Background: Neighborhood disadvantage is linked to a higher risk of referrals to child welfare and juvenile justice systems. While past research has explored these associations independently, no study has concurrently examined the spatial overlap of child maltreatment and juvenile justice involvement.

Objective: We examine the spatial overlap of involvement in juvenile justice and child welfare systems to identify areas of shared risk.

A Multilevel Analysis of Individual and Community Factors Associated With Case Dispositions Following Child Maltreatment Investigations.

Understanding service disposition pathways is critical to provide deeper insight into why certain subgroups of the population are at risk for recurrent Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and may highlight disparities across groups or geographic areas. Using the Decision-Making Ecology Framework as a lens, the present study examines whether service disposition pathways are influenced by risk assessment, safety concerns, child age, maltreatment type, previous CPS involvement, and/or county-level structural vulnerability. We linked administrative data from New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to data from the American Community Survey.

The Spatial Scale and Spread of Child Victimization.

Previous research shows that large, densely populated urban areas have higher rates of child victimization that have persisted over time. However, few investigations have inquired about the processes that produce and sustain hot and cold spots of child victimization. As a result, the mechanisms that produce the observed spatial clustering of child victimization, and hence "why" harms against children tend to cluster in space, remains unknown.

Early Child Adversity and Delinquent Behavior in Foster Care Youth: Do Future Expectations and Sexual Identity Moderate the Mediating Role of Posttraumatic Stress?

Purpose: Delinquency in youth is a significant public health concern for individuals who experienced adversity and complex trauma as children. The present study explored the longitudinal associations between adverse child experiences and future engagement in delinquent behavior.

Methods: Using a sample of 1,245 foster youth who are aging out of the child welfare system, mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analysis was used to test the mechanistic role of post-traumatic stress symptoms and the moderating role of sexual identity and positive future expectations on engagement in delinquent behavior.

Gun Violence on Walkable Routes to and from School: Recommendations for Policy and Practice.

Gun-related violence exposure is a significant public health problem for urban youth. Few studies have implemented methods to estimate the spatial influence of activity spaces on gun violence exposure constrained by the physical configuration of walkable street networks. The present research uses computational network and local indicators of spatial autocorrelation methods to explore gun violence exposure along the walkable streets near schools in Compton, California.

The neighborhood deprivation gradient and child physical abuse and neglect: A Bayesian spatial model.

Background: Child abuse and neglect is a public health priority due to its long-term maladaptive consequences. No study in the USA has assessed the nature and magnitude of the social deprivation effect on substantiated child maltreatment risk.

Objectives: To examine linear and non-linear relationships between area level deprivation and the log-risk of both substantiated physical abuse and neglect while accounting for spatial and heterogeneous random effects.

A Network Analysis of the Relationship Between Mental and Physical Health in Unsheltered Homeless Persons in Los Angeles County.

Homelessness is a public health crisis both nationally, in the United States, and internationally. Nevertheless, due to the hidden vulnerabilities of persons who are without shelter, little is known about their experiences during periods of homelessness. The present research adopts a network approach that conceptualizes how the major risk factors of homelessness interact, namely substance abuse problems, poor mental health, disability, and exposure to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner.

Variability and stability in child maltreatment risk across time and space and its association with neighborhood social & housing vulnerability in New Mexico: A bayesian space-time model.

Background: Modeling the spatio-temporal characteristics of substantiated child maltreatment risk has significant implications for child welfare policy.

Objective: This study quantifies the spatiotemporal risk of child abuse and neglect in New Mexico at the census tract level over 9 years, identifies areas of increased risk, and evaluates the role of multiple measures of social and housing insecurity on substantiated child maltreatment referrals.

Participants And Setting: Child maltreatment substantiation data across 499 census tracts from 2007 to 2015 were obtained from the New Mexico Department of Public Health.

Examining Spatial Regimes of Child Maltreatment Allegations in a Social Vulnerability Framework.

The present research examines child maltreatment allegations (CMAs) in San Diego County, California, exploring spatial patterns of Child Protective Services involvement and multiple, multidimensional measures of neighborhood social vulnerability. Results showed significant patterns of spatial clustering (i.e.