“CPS is not a housing agency”; Housing is a CPS problem: Towards a definition and typology of housing problems in child welfare cases

Despite claims that child protective services are not designated as housing agencies, many child welfare-involved families face housing challenges that may be considered a risk to the health and safety of children. This article is based on interviews with judges, lawyers and social workers (N = 18) in a city in the Northeastern U.S. Participants were selected from a variety of child welfare constituencies, including parents, children, and the state. They provided grounded understanding of when and how housing concerns arise in their cases. Findings suggest the need for a definition of housing problems that encompass a broader range of housing difficulties and include cases where housing problems may be obscured by other problems. A typology is developed categorizing housing problems as precipitating or complicating, derived from when and how they present. Both types may also remain a final hurdle to reunification of families who have been separated. Changes are recommended at the “street level” and at the policy level, including the expansion existing definitions of housing problems as a gateway to resources; providing child welfare professionals with better knowledge of housing problems and flexibility in addressing them and assessing their impact on families; and the collection, analysis and dissemination of more comprehensive housing data.