Child Welfare Involvement and Health Outcomes in Infants With Prenatal Substance Exposure

Is child welfare system involvement at birth associated with health and safety outcomes in the first year of life for infants with prenatal substance exposure?In this cohort study in 5858 Medicaid-covered infants identified with prenatal substance exposure who were named in confirmed child welfare cases involving alleged maltreatment at birth or a sibling, involvement at birth was associated with a 24% relative reduction in repeat moderate- to high-complexity emergency department visits in the first year of life; findings for injuries were not significant. On-time well-child visits showed a 15% relative reduction.Results of this study suggest that early child welfare involvement is associated with a reduction in moderate- to high-complexity emergency department use for infants with prenatal substance exposure.

Corresponding Author: Wan-Ting Chen, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University, College of Health and Human Development, 201 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, PA 16802 (wpc5336@psu.edu).

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