‘Two years after implementation, there were 8 fewer neglect investigations per 1,000 4-year-old children. We found large effects of universal pre-K among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children compared to white children, with reductions of 80 neglect investigations per 1,000 Black children, and 65 per 1,000 Latino children.’
A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics finds that 4-year-olds in New York City had reduced investigation rates after the rollout of Universal Pre-K. This study found that Universal Pre-K was associated with reduced child welfare involvement, particularly for neglect investigations, and that these effects were largest for Black and Latino children.
Here, study authors Stephanie Hong, Jessica Pac and Lawrence (Lonnie) Berger from the University of Madison-Wisconsin discuss their findings.
Q: What led you to ask whether universal pre-K might affect child welfare involvement?
Stephanie: A lot of research finds that maltreatment and Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement have detrimental impacts on children and families, and data in New York shows that child welfare involvement is quite high. We were interested in policy strategies that could prevent maltreatment or CPS involvement, and specifically whether expanding universal pre-K could lower CPS involvement. New York City’s case provided a very unique opportunity to answer that question.
Lonnie: Looking at the prior research, most of it struggles to isolate the effect of childcare on child maltreatment or CPS involvement. Very few have been able to look at universal programs, rather than targeted programs or participation, so we had an angle to attempt to isolate the effect of universal pre-K by focusing on NYC’s rollout in 2014.
We didn’t really know what we were going to find. Some would argue that more kids going to public pre-K opens the door to more surveillance, and you may have more reports. It was an empirical question that we didn’t know the answer to.
Q: What did you learn about the effect of universal pre-K implementation on CPS investigations?
Stephanie: We were excited to find that the availability of universal pre-K in New York City led to quite large reductions in CPS investigation rates among 4-year-olds compared to our comparison group—8-year-olds who were not eligible for universal pre-K. Two years after implementation, in the 2016-2017 school year, there were 8 fewer neglect investigations per 1,000 4-year-old children.
We found large effects of universal pre-K among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children compared to white children, with reductions of 80 neglect investigations per 1,000 Black children, and 65 per 1,000 Latino children. That is very meaningful in terms of the potential of universal pre-K in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in CPS involvement.
We also found that these reductions were entirely driven by neglect investigations. While we weren’t able to look directly at mechanisms—or what could be driving the reductions—prior research suggests that universal pre-K might lead to changes in CPS involvement through changes in household income. For example, pre-K could be leading to higher maternal employment, greater earnings and increased disposable income because of reduced childcare expenses. These income changes then have effects on maltreatment and CPS involvement.
And finally, we saw that the impact became larger over time. In the first year, we found a 7% reduction in total investigation rates among 4-year-olds. This then increased to 12% in the second year, and then went up to 22% in the third year. This effect getting larger over time is probably related to increased take up, where more and more kids were enrolled.
Q: One striking finding is that reductions were largest for Black and Latino children. What does this tell us?
Lonnie: We weren’t able to explicitly test why universal pre-K had a larger effect for Black and Hispanic children, but presumably these are the kids that are less likely to have high quality care in the absence of universal pre-K. Given the wealth demographics in New York City, you could assume that more white children had access to pre-K prior.
Stephanie: This speaks to the importance of future research looking at the mechanisms that are behind the effect of universal pre-K on CPS investigations, and differences in that effect by race and ethnicity as well. But we are hopeful that universal pre-K might lead to reductions in disparities.
Q: Right now, New York City is working to expand under-enrollment in 3-K and expected to expand universal pre-K to 2-year-olds. How could this study inform policymaking around supporting families and reducing child welfare involvement?
Jessica: As researchers, we understand that state and local policy is often based on research, so we want to be careful not to recommend beyond the scope of our study. The universal pre-K implementation was more than 10 years ago, and given the many policy and practice changes that have occurred since, it’s hard to say whether the effect size would be the same or larger or smaller for different age groups.
But our findings about the effects of universal pre-K on 4-year-olds were so incredibly robust. It’s not common that you see such a consistent policy effect over time.
Lonnie: I wouldn’t argue that prevention of child maltreatment is a reason for universal pre-K, or that the benefits in reducing CPS would outweigh the cost of pre-K. It’s expensive!
But thinking about the full extent of costs and benefits—including maternal labor force participation, child development and gender equity—what this study is attesting to is that there are positive spillover effects of universal pre-K.
Jessica: A part of the promise of universal pre-K and other supports outside of the child welfare system is that families can gain help without feeling like they’re being surveilled.
As far as a return on investment, we have to stay focused on policies that prioritize child development and child and family well-being over the long run. Setting priorities based on what we know about human development that happens over 30 years, or across generations, means that we prioritize spending in a very different way.
I lived in New York City and had a 4-year-old when they were rolling out universal pre-K. We were able to shift from paying a very expensive daycare cost, and that allowed us to pay for aftercare. It was profoundly impactful for our family.