Adolescent Mothers Involved in the Child Welfare System in Los Angeles

Who are They and How Can We Help Them?

Jane McClure Burstain

ResearchPublished Oct 13, 2008

The child welfare system is the primary mechanism for addressing child maltreatment once it has occurred with a process designed to reintegrate maltreated children back into their family or, if that is not possible, to find a suitable alternative. Currently, little is known about adolescent mothers who maltreat their children, their outcomes, or what happens to them during the reunification process. This dissertation takes the first step in filling that void using the population of maltreating adolescent mothers involved in the Los Angeles County child welfare system in 2003 and 2004. The author finds that placing a child with an adolescent mother’s relative decreases the likelihood that she will regain custody. Extending the time period in which an adolescent mother has to resolve her underlying problems, however, significantly increases the chance that she will regain custody.

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Burstain, Jane McClure, Adolescent Mothers Involved in the Child Welfare System in Los Angeles: Who are They and How Can We Help Them? Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008. https://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD235.html.
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This document was submitted as a dissertation in September 2008 in partial fulfillmentof the requirements of the doctoral degree in public policy analysis at the Pardee RANDGraduate School. The faculty committee that supervised and approved the dissertationconsisted of Amy Cox (Chair), John Romley, and Lionel Galway.

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