Cash Transfers to Address Child Welfare Involvement

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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In partnership with New York Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS), investigators will execute a randomized controlled trial to determine the impacts of unconditional cash transfers of $500 per month for 12 months. Investigators will measure the impacts of the unconditional cash transfers on parental physical and mental health, child health and healthcare utilization, financial stability, and interactions with the child welfare system.

Detailed Description
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Poverty has been identified as a powerful predictor of child maltreatment and child welfare involvement. Recent research shows that even modest economic and concrete supports are associated with reduced child maltreatment and involvement with child welfare. Toward that end, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), in partnership with the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) and the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR), University of Pennsylvania is conducting on randomized controlled trial of unconditional cash transfers among families with prior child welfare referrals in three New York counties in 2023. The project will enroll approximately 150 households in Monroe, Onondaga, and Westchester counties to receive $500 per month, unconditionally, over a one-year period, totaling $6,000 per family. Another 300 will be assigned to the control group and will not receive the unconditional cash transfers but will be eligible to participate in research activities. Families will be eligible if they were served through differential response, called Family Assessment Response (FAR) in New York State. FAR is used for CPS reports that have been accepted by the New York State Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) where there is no safety concern that rises to the level of immediate or impending danger for the child and/or family. Often, families served in the FAR track have been referred for poverty-related social needs. Randomized Controlled Trial Design: Households referred and determined eligible for Family Assessment Response (FAR) will be invited to participate in a randomized controlled trial of unconditional cash transfers. Approximately 150 individuals will be randomly assigned to the treatment group and will receive the $500 unconditional cash transfers for one year. Another 300 will be assigned to the control group and will not receive the unconditional cash transfers but will be eligible to participate in research activities. Youth Research Inc. (YRI), an agency contracted by the New York Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS), will disburse funds on a debit card. me but will be invited to participate in compensated research activities. Longitudinal repeated measures will be utilized through surveys conducted at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months. Future involvement with child welfare will be measured using linked administrative data from OCFS.

Official Title
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Unconditional Cash Transfers to Address Poverty as a Fundamental Cause of Child Welfare Involvement

Conditions
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Child Poverty

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Unconditional Cash Transfer
* Other: No Direct Cash Transfer


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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To participate in this pilot, caregivers must meet the following eligibility criteria: Received an invitation from an OCFS caseworker to apply Have met the state eligibility requirements for the Family Assessment Response (FAR) within the previous six months Live in Monroe, Onondaga, or Westchester County, New York Be 18 years of age or older at the time of application. Exclusion criteria: ● Self-reported enrollment in another cash transfer study
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Treatment Group<br>Participants in the treatment group will receive $500 per month for 12 months | Other: Unconditional Cash Transfer<br>* Unconditional monthly transfer of $500 to household<br>* Other names: Guaranteed Income;|
| Active Comparator: Control Group<br>Participants in the control group will not receive monthly cash benefits. | Other: No Direct Cash Transfer<br>* No intervention<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unfounded reports to CPS | Count of unfounded reports using CPS administrative data | 18 months | 
| Investigative Track reports to CPS | Count of Investigative Track using CPS administrative data | 18 months | 
| Indicated reports to CPS | Count of Indicated reports using CPS administrative data | 18 Months | 
| Substantiated reports to CPS | Count of Substantiated reports using CPS administrative data | 18 Months | 
| Family Assessment Response (FAR) track reports to CPS | Count of Family Assessment Response (FAR) track reports using CPS administrative dat | 18 months | 
| Unsubstantiated reports to CPS | Count of Unsubstantiated reports using CPS administrative data | 18 months | 
| Foster care placements | Count of Foster care placements using CPS administrative data | 18 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parental self-reported general health (SF-36) | Average of 5-point likert scale score on 5 questions | 12 months | 
| Mental health (Kessler 10) | Each item is scored from one 'none of the time' to five 'all of the time'. Scores of the 10 items are then summed, yielding a minimum score of 10 and a maximum score of 50. Low scores indicate low levels of psychological distress and high scores indicate high levels of psychological distress. | 12 months | 
| Stress and coping (Perceived Stress Scale - 4) | Each item is scored from never to all of the time on a 5-point scale. Scores of 4 items are then summed, yielding a minimum score of 0 and a highest score of 16. Higher scores are correlated to more stress | 12 months | 
| Family dynamics and parenting (CHAOS) | Each item is scored yes or no. Scores of the items are then summed. The higher the score the higher the level of environmental chaos in the home. | 12 months | 
| Parental Stress Sale | 18-item questionnaire assessing parents' feelings about their parenting role, exploring both positive aspects (e.g. emotional benefits, personal development) and negative aspects of parenthood (e.g. demands on resources, feelings of stress). Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale. Parental stress scores range from 18 to 90, with lower scores indicating lower levels of parental stress. | 12 months | 
| Food insecurity | Answer to single item question In the past four weeks, did you worry that your household would not have enough food? | 12 months | 
| Child missed medical care | Parental yes/no report of any child in home with missed medical care in preceding 6 months | 12 months | 
| Child school truancy | Parental report of day of missed school for each child in the home aged 6-17 in the preceding 6 months | 12 months | 
| Hours per week of relative childcare | Parent-reported number of hours each week each child 0-5 spends receiving care from a relative other than a parent or guardian | 12 months | 
| Hours per week of non-relative childcare | Parent-reported number of hours each week each child 0-5 spends receiving care from a non-relative | 12 hours | 
| Hours per week of formal childcare | Parent-reported number of hours each week each child 0-5 spends receiving care in a day care center, preschool, or prekindergarten | 12 months | 
| Financial-well being (CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale | Each item is scored 0 to 4 and summed to a total. The sum total is then converted to a total response value on the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale score from 0-100. | 12 months |