The social costs of child abuse in Japan

The present study calculates the social costs of child abuse in Japan. The items calculated included the direct costs of dealing with abuse and the indirect costs related to long-term damage from abuse during the fiscal year 2012 (April 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013). Based on previous studies on the social costs of child abuse and peripheral matters conducted in other countries, the present study created items for the estimable direct costs and indirect costs of child abuse, and calculated the cost of each item. Among indirect costs, future losses owing to child abuse were calculated using extra costs with a discount rate of 3%. The social cost of child abuse in Japan in the fiscal year 2012 was at least ¥1.6 trillion ($16 billion). The direct costs totaled ¥99 billion ($1 billion), and the indirect costs totaled ¥1.5 trillion ($15 billion). This sum of ¥1.6 trillion for only the year 2012 is almost equal to the total amount of damages of ¥1.9 trillion caused by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Fukushima Prefecture. Moreover, abuse is a serious problem that occurs every year and has recurring costs, unlike a natural calamity. However, Japan has no system for calculating the long-term effects of abuse. Therefore, owing to the scarcity of data, the calculations in the present study may underestimate the true costs.     

The economic costs of childhood poverty in the United States

This paper attempts to estimate the aggregate annual costs of child poverty to the US economy. It begins with a review of rigorous research studies that estimate the statistical association between children growing up in poverty and their earnings, propensity to commit crime, and quality of health later in life. We also review estimates of the costs that crime and poor health impose on the economy. Then we aggregate all of these average costs per poor child across the total number of children growing up in poverty in the United States to obtain our estimate of the aggregate costs of the conditions associated with childhood poverty to the US economy. Our results suggest that these costs total about $500 billion per year, or the equivalent of nearly 4% of gross domestic product (GDP). More specifically, we estimate that childhood poverty each year: (1) reduces productivity and economic output by an amount equal to 1.3% of GDP, (2) raises the costs of crime by 1.3% of GDP, and (3) raises health expenditures and reduces the value of health by 1.2% of GDP.     

HEALTH AND AMENITY EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

This study shows that climate change would probably reduce mortality in the United States by about 40,000 per year, assuming a 4.5° warmer climate—the IPCC best estimate of temperature change with a doubling of carbon dioxide. Benefits would extend to lower medical costs nationwide. Measuring willingness to pay by wage rates shows that people prefer warm climates and would be willing to give up between $30 billion and $100 billion annually for a 4.5° increase in temperatures. ( JEL Q25, J17, J31)     

The economic toll of intimate partner violence against women in the United States

This study provides estimates of the economic cost of intimate partner violence perpetrated against women in the US, including expenditures for medical care and mental health services, and lost productivity from injury and premature death. The analysis uses national survey data, including the National Violence Against Women Survey and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, to estimate costs for 1995. Intimate partner violence against women cost $5.8 billion dollars (95% confidence interval: $3.9 to $7.7 billion) in 1995, including $320 million ($136 to $503 million) for rapes, $4.2 billion ($2.4 to $6.1 billion) for physical assault, $342 million ($235 to $449 million) for stalking, and $893 million ($840 to $946 million) for murders. Updated to 2003 dollars, costs would total over $8.3 billion. Intimate partner violence is costly in the US. The potential savings from efforts to reduce this violence are substantial. More comprehensive data are needed to refine cost estimates and monitor costs over time.     

The estimated cost of project labor agreements on federal construction

I estimate the cost of President Clinton’s June 1997 executive memorandum encouraging federal departments and agencies to use project labor agreements (PLAs) on “large and significant” construction projects. Based on the higher wage costs associated with PLAs, the cost of federally owned construction will rise by 1.7 to 7.0 percent annually. Over the three years for which the memorandum will apply, federally owned construction costs will increase by $844 million to $3.44 billion. If the memorandum is interpreted to apply to state and local construction projects funded with federal money, the cost could range between $3.2 and $13.0 billion. The author thanks Ken Deavers, Anita Hattiangadi, Edward Potter, and Gary Shiu for their suggestions and help in the preparation of this paper.     

Impacts of Long-Range Increases in the Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standard

This work models the impact of higher CAFE standards on producer and consumer welfare, gasoline consumption, externalities from increased driving, and the emissions of traditional pollutants. In particular, a long-run 3.0 MPG increase in the CAFE standard is estimated to impose welfare losses of about $4 billion per year and save about 5.2 billion gallons of gasoline per year, for a hidden tax of $0.78 per gallon conserved. An 11-cent-per-gallon increase in the gasoline tax would save the same amount of fuel at a welfare cost of about $290 million per year, or about one-fourteenth the cost. (JEL L51 , Q30 )     

Cost analysis of the strengthening families program in reducing time to family reunification among substance-affected families

Decision makers typically face uncertainty in determining whether the outcomes of promising child welfare interventions justify the investment. Despite repeated calls for cost analysis in child welfare, original studies that evaluate the costs and effects of child welfare programs have been limited. Moreover, no cost analyses have focused on family reunification programs that address the needs of substance-affected families. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the costs and effects of a federally funded implementation of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), a 14-week family training curriculum, on time to reunification with a substance-involved child welfare population. Based on event history analysis, we find the typical child participating in SFP spends 190 fewer days in out of home care when compared to a propensity score matched comparison group of children in out-of home care receiving treatment as usual. Re-entry rates between the two groups were not significantly different at follow-up. At an average out-of-home care rate of $86 per child per day in this state, SFP saves approximately $16,340 per participating child in out-of-home care costs. From a cost–benefit perspective, every $1 invested in SFP yields an average savings of $9.83 in this Midwestern demonstration.     

Making Child Care "Affordable" in the United States

Two alternative federally financed plans are presented as modelsfor a program which would make child care of acceptable quality"affordable" for millions of American families. Taking a cuefrom currently operating state programs, care is defined as"affordable" if it costs parents no more than 30 percent ofthe amount by which their income exceeds the poverty line. Thefirst plan would cost the government $25 billion per year andwould concentrate help on families with incomes up to twicethe poverty line. The second would cost $39 billion per year,would provide higher quality care, and would allow all UnitedStates families to have access to care that was "affordable"by our definition. Costs of these magnitudes preclude financingof any significant part by employers or philanthropies. Whilesome government savings might result from the beneficial effectsof these programs, the main rationale for them rests, not onthe calculation that they will save the government money (althoughthey might), but on the fact that they will prevent considerablemisery to children and their families. Making quality childcare affordable to all families would result in safer, moreeducational, and more enjoyable care for children, and wouldgive a financial boost to families pitifully short of resourcesin a non-stigmatizing way. It would reduce child poverty andreduce enrollment in welfare-type programs. It would also giveparents a chance to particiopate in the world of work and toachieve the gains in resources and status that such a participationwould alllow.     

Economic predictors of child maltreatment in an Australian population-based birth cohort

A correlation between socioeconomic disadvantage and child maltreatment has long been observed, but the drivers of this association are poorly understood. We sought to estimate the effects of economic factors on risk of child maltreatment after adjusting for other known influences using the Australian Temperament Project, a population-based birth cohort of 2443 individuals and their parents. We used logistic regression to estimate associations of childhood economic factors (parental education, occupation, and unemployment; type of housing; and retrospective perception of poverty) with retrospective reports of perceived child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and witnessing of domestic violence), controlling for demographic factors, parental mental health and substance use, and child health. We then used these estimates to approximate the proportions of child maltreatment—population attributable fractions—that are theoretically preventable by addressing childhood economic disadvantage. Economic factors were associated with all types of child maltreatment. For the most part, these associations diminished only partially when controlling for noneconomic confounders, supporting hypotheses of causal relationships. Jointly, economic factors were significant predictors of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing of domestic violence but not of emotional abuse or neglect. Retrospective perceptions of childhood poverty were, in particular, strongly associated with most forms of child maltreatment but not with sexual abuse after accounting for other economic factors. We estimated that 27% of all child maltreatment was jointly attributable to economic factors. These findings suggest that strategies that reduce economic disadvantage are likely to hold significant potential to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment.     

Ecological Correlates of Child Maltreatment: Similarities and Differences Between Child Fatality and Nonfatality Cases

The rate of fatal child maltreatment is increasing, and differentiating between risk factors for fatal as opposed to nonfatal maltreatment is essential to developing prevention programs. This exploratory retrospective study utilizes case record analysis to examine four categories of correlates for child maltreatment: 1) parent/caregiver factors, 2) child factors, 3) environmental/situational factors, and 4) maltreatment incident factors. Thirty-eight fatality cases are compared to a matched group of nonfatality cases to determine which factors are related to fatality in a large Southwestern metropolitan area. The results provide a profile of characteristics that may place a child at higher risk of fatal maltreatment.     

Suicidality in College Women Who Report Multiple versus Single Types of Maltreatment by Parents

To see if child sexual, physical, and psychological maltreatment are linked to adult suicidality, 114 college women completed measures of suicidality, reasons for living, incidence and impact of maltreatment. Women who reported sexual mallreatrnent in combination with other types of maltreafment were significandy more suicidal than those not maltreated or those who reported other types of maltreatment. Apparently, child sexual and multiple maltreatment are more damaging, at least in terns of suicidality, than none or only one type of maltreatment. An implication is that college counseling centers need to assess suicide potential in any women who report child sexual plus other mallreatment.     

Exploring Gender Differences on Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Among Maltreated Youth: Implications for Social Work Action

This purpose of this study was to explore the moderating influence of gender on the relationship between child maltreatment and internalizing symptoms (e.g., affective and somatic problems) and externalizing behavior (e.g., rule breaking behavior and aggression) among children aged 7–12 years old. Using a longitudinal comparison group design and a sample of 300 youth of which 56% (n = 168) had substantiated cases of child maltreatment, results of a structural equation modeling revealed that internalizing symptoms exerted a mediating influence that was conditioned by gender. Only girls’ internalizing symptoms were found to mediate the link between child maltreatment and externalizing behavior while a direct relationship between maltreatment and externalizing behavior was found among boys. These findings provide evidence for gender differences in the pathways between being child maltreatment and maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Thus, adapting evidence-based strategies that target gender specific internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors among maltreated youth may significantly reduce the risk of short and long-term maladaptive behavior.     

The cost of implementing a 2-1-1 call center-based cancer control navigator program

ObjectivesDetermine the cost of implementing a call center-based cancer screening navigator program.MethodsSocial service call centers in Houston and Weslaco, TX, assessed cancer risks and implemented cancer screening promotion and navigation. Micro costing was used to estimate the program costs. Staff logs and call records tracked personnel time and material costs, including a standard 30% overhead rate. Sensitivity analysis examined the effect of varying uncertain cost parameters. Scale effects were simulated for larger population coverage.ResultsThe total cost to recruit and navigate 732 persons, out of 2933 individuals who called the center was $215,847. The participant time cost was $19,503, and the personnel cost was $116,523. The cost per navigated participant was $295 (95% CI, $290.56–$298.07). The average cost per participant for recruitment and referral only, was $36 (95% CI, $34.9–$36.9). Average cost declines to $34 for recruitment and referral, and to $225 for recruitment, referral, and navigation when the number of participants increases to 15,000 individuals.ConclusionsExpanding 2-1-1 referral services with opportunistic cancer screening promotion takes advantage of existing infrastructure but requires substantial additional staff time, participant time, and budget. Cost estimation is the first step in a full economic evaluation and informs program planners and decision-makers on the resource and budgetary requirements of this innovative strategy for increasing cancer screening in low income communities.     

Services for maltreated children: variations by maltreatment characteristics

Mental health services were the most frequently recommended service for maltreated children known to a child protective service agency, but more than one-fourth of the children with serious behavioral problems did not receive referrals for such services. Children with long histories of maltreatment were more likely to be referred for some services, especially out-of-home care. Gaps in services remain, underscoring a need for research focused on the need for interventions targeted to maltreated children involved with child protective service agencies.     

“Not in the Same Sandbox”: Cross-Systems Collaborations Between Early Intervention and Child Welfare Systems

Maltreatment and disability often coexist in the lives of young children, as children who are maltreated are at a higher risk for developing a disability, and, conversely, children with a disability are at a higher risk of being maltreated. Despite being supported by multiple service systems, young children with disabilities who have experienced maltreatment are often not optimally supported by these service systems. We utilized a mixed methods design to explore how early intervention and child welfare collaborate to support young children with disabilities who have experienced maltreatment. Implications and future directions for research, policy and practice are discussed.     

Child abuse and neglect in Cambodian refugee families: characteristics and implications for practice

This study examines the characteristics and patterns of child maltreatment among Cambodian refugee families in Los Angeles and assesses the implications for child welfare practice with Cambodian refugee families. Data were extracted from 243 active Cambodian case files maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LAC-DCFS). Some of the major findings include (1) Cambodian child maltreatment cases were most frequently reported to the LAC-DCFS among various Asian Pacific ethnic groups; (2) Cambodian refugee families were more likely to be charged with neglect, while their Asian Pacific counterparts were more likely charged with physical abuse; (3) the circumstances under which maltreatment occurred most frequently were parental substance abuse and mental illness; and (4) while fathers who maltreated their child were likely to use alcohol, mothers were also more likely to have a mental health problem such as depression. This study suggests the importance of collaboration between Child Protective Service agencies, substance abuse programs, traditional healers, mental health services, and other social service agencies for effective child abuse prevention and intervention efforts.     

The Effectiveness of an Attachment-focused Treatment Model in a Therapeutic Preschool for Abused Children

Child maltreatment is associated with detrimental developmental effects. In view of the fact that child maltreatment typically occurs within the context of a caretaking relationship, attachment theory can give us insight into the nature of difficulties experienced by survivors. Therapeutic preschool has been found effective in addressing developmental problems in abused children. This study examines the effectiveness of an attachment-based therapeutic preschool for maltreated children. Means tests indicate that, at the time of discharge, the children being served had made significant overall developmental gains as well as significant gains in the personal–social and adaptive domains of development.     

Effect of Pediatric Influenza on Caregivers’ Burden—A Literature Review

Influenza, or the flu, is a common and potentially serious infection that disproportionally affects children with more than 20,000 yearly hospitalizations in children under the age of 5. A literature review of the caregiver burden associated with pediatric influenza was conducted. Two main types of burdens were identified: economic and noneconomic. Flu treatment costs $3,990 for pediatric inpatients services and $730 for emergency department (ED) pediatric patients. Caregivers may also face out-of-pocket costs ($178 for inpatients, $125 for ED patients, and $52 for outpatients) or those not covered by health insurance. Caregivers can also face indirect costs while caring for their children with the flu. Indirect costs were common, and 75% of pediatric caregivers reported these costs when caring for a sick child. Missed work is the most common indirect cost and is estimated as high as 73 work hours ($1,456) missed while caring for a sick child. Other costs associated with pediatric influenza included noneconomic burden: sudden changes in daily life, loss of leisure time, social disruption, and psychological impact or stress. Noneconomic burdens were also found to be significant and lowered the quality of life of caregivers even after the child’s illness. Socioeconomic status is an important predictor of influenza rates. Residents in high-poverty areas are three times more likely to have hospitalizations due to pediatric influenza than those in low-poverty areas. From the literature it is evident that pediatric influenza has demonstrated a considerable impact on caregivers’ lives both financially and in other aspects.