Child Welfare System Contact and Voting
Name
CPS_voting_JOPacceptedforweb_May2025.pdf
Size
1023.15 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bf9633a3020653cfe01022903cb68f2a
Author(s)
White, Ariel
Grimon, Marie-Pascale
Goldstein, Rebecca
Fong, Kelley
Date Issued
June 20, 2025
Journal
The Journal of Politics
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Citation
White, Ariel, Marie-Pascale Grimon, Rebecca Goldstein, and Kelley Fong. “Child Welfare System Contact and Voting.” The Journal of Politics.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Scholars have increasingly recognized how marginalized communities experience government through criminal legal system encounters, potentially shaping political engagement. A parallel state institution, Child Protective Services (CPS), intervenes with millions of U.S. families annually. The CPS case provides a chance to assess theoretical expectations about how punitive state systems affect political life. Analyzing administrative and voting data from a large Pennsylvania system, we first present descriptive estimates of adult voting in families with CPS contact, highlighting how low participation in this large fraction of the population matters for the electorate and overall participation. Then, using the nearly-random assignment of CPS caseworkers, we estimate the causal effect of having a case opened or a child removed on registration and voting. We do not find evidence of substantial participatory effects from these types of CPS contact. We consider interpretations of these null findings and suggest additional research on this vast, understudied government system.
Subjects
Voting
Families
Child Protective Services
Child Welfare
Political Participation
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
https://doi.org/10.1086/737354
