Jane Waldfogel

Inequities in Child Protective Services Contact Between Black and White Children

Child Maltreatment · 2022 · 64 citations

Child protective services (CPS) contact occurs at substantially higher rates among Black than White families. The present study considers systemic racism as a central driver of this disparity and emphasizes racialized poverty as a possible mechanism. We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and logistic regression analyses to assess the associations between income poverty, a racialized experience, and CPS contact, separately among Black and White families. Results indicat…

The Impacts of Paid Family and Medical Leave on Worker Health, Family Well-Being, and Employer Outcomes

Annual Review of Public Health · 2022 · 51 citations

This article reviews the evidence on the impacts of paid family and medical leave (PFML) policies on workers' health, family well-being, and employer outcomes. While an extensive body of research demonstrates the mostly beneficial effects of PFML taken by new parents on infant, child, and parental health, less is known about its impact on employees who need leave to care for older children, adult family members, or elderly relatives. The evidence on employers is similarly limited but indicates t…

California's paid family leave law improves maternal psychological health

Social Science & Medicine · 2020 · 50 citations

Socioeconomic Status Gradients in Young Children’s Well-Being at School

Child Development · 2020 · 44 citations

This study examines the socioeconomic status gradients in children's well-being at school using data on the total population of Danish public school children age 6-11 (N = 147,994). Children completed the national well-being at school survey, an environment-specific self-report of satisfaction with school, social well-being at school, and psychological well-being at school. Data were linked with administrative register data on family characteristics. Regression analysis was used to estimate grad…

Estimating Monthly Poverty Rates in the United States

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · 2022 · 41 citations

Abstract Official poverty estimates for the United States are presented annually, based on a family unit's annual resources, and reported with a considerable lag. This study introduces a framework to produce monthly estimates of the Supplemental Poverty Measure and official poverty measure, based on a family unit's monthly income, and with a two‐week lag. We argue that a shorter accounting period and more timely estimates of poverty better account for intra‐year income volatility and better info…