Examining Child Maltreatment Reports Using Linked County-Level Data

• In answering Research Question 1, the study found that multilevel models accounting for child poverty, demographics, and Medicaid expansion status, the social association rate retained a negative association with child maltreatment reports. When county rurality status was included in the model, however, the association was suppressed, pointing to an interaction effect.
• Post-hoc analysis to answer Research Questions 2 & 3 showed that the maltreatment report rate in rural, majority Black counties differed from the maltreatment report rate in rural, majority White counties at a statistically significant level. Compared with rural, majority White counties, rural counties with majority populations of color tended to have higher rates of child poverty but lower child maltreatment report rates. In addition, these counties did not have a positive relationship between child poverty and child maltreatment report rates, as seen in most counties and commonly found in previous studies.

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