Clinical trial NCT05857553: Cash Transfers to Address Child Welfare Involvement
Official title: Unconditional Cash Transfers to Address Poverty as a Fundamental Cause of Child Welfare Involvement
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Child Poverty
Lead sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Redlich Horwitz Foundation
name: Rutgers University
name: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
First posted: 2023-05-12
Enrollment: 450
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: 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: 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.

Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Unfounded reports to CPS
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Investigative Track reports to CPS
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Indicated reports to CPS
timeFrame: 18 Months
measure: Substantiated reports to CPS
timeFrame: 18 Months
measure: Family Assessment Response (FAR) track reports to CPS
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Unsubstantiated reports to CPS
timeFrame: 18 months
measure: Foster care placements
timeFrame: 18 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Parental self-reported general health (SF-36)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Mental health (Kessler 10)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Stress and coping (Perceived Stress Scale - 4)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Family dynamics and parenting (CHAOS)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Parental Stress Sale
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Food insecurity
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Child missed medical care
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Child school truancy
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Hours per week of relative childcare
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Hours per week of non-relative childcare
timeFrame: 12 hours
measure: Hours per week of formal childcare
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Financial-well being (CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale
timeFrame: 12 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: University of Pennsylvania
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Pennsylvania/University of Tennessee
name: Stacia West, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: