Effects of Enhanced Legal Aid in Child Welfare: Evidence from a Randomized Trial of Mi Abogado
Name
cooper-et-al-2025-effects-of-enhanced-legal-aid-in-child-welfare-evidence-from-a-randomized-trial-of-mi-abogado.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
848.98 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
8ec68badbb6c9ec94c11c417b35d5d42
Author(s)
Cooper, Ryan
Doyle, Joseph J
Hojman, Andrés
Date Issued
July 2025
Journal
American Economic Review
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Cooper, Ryan, Joseph J. Doyle, and Andrés Hojman. 2025. "Effects of Enhanced Legal Aid in Child Welfare: Evidence from a Randomized Trial of Mi Abogado." American Economic Review 115 (7): 2306–42.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Children spend years in foster care, and bureaucratic hurdles can unnecessarily prolong their stays. The Mi Abogado program was introduced in Chile to enhance legal aid for foster children and accelerate family reunification. In a novel approach, the Chilean government randomized the introduction of the program for children living in institutions to evaluate effects on child well-being. Using registry data, we find the program significantly reduced the duration of foster care without increasing subsequent maltreatment and placements. The exposure also decreased criminal justice involvement and improved school attendance. Results suggest that strengthening foster care services can cost-effectively improve child well-being. (JEL I21, I31, J13, K36, O15, O17)
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
10.1257/aer.20230947
