National profile of Latino/Latina children reported to the child welfare system for sexual abuse

Increasing research efforts are exploring the racial/ethnic composition of the population served by the U.S. child welfare system (CWS); however, only limited research has examined the unique experiences of CWS-involved Latino/Latina children and families, particularly those reported for child sexual abuse (CSA). This lack of research is troubling given that Latinos/Latinas are this country's largest and fastest growing minority group. To address this knowledge gap, this secondary data analysis uses data from the 2012 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child File to examine a sample of children reported to the CWS (N = 2,401,304) and subsample of children involved in CSA reports (n = 179,199). Using descriptive and bivariate analyses, we describe a national profile of CWS-involved Latino/Latina children reported for CSA. This profile is developed based on the child characteristics of the analytic sample, rates of case substantiation, report sources, perpetrator characteristics, and caretaker risk factors. We then compare the profile of this subgroup of Latino/Latina children with the profiles of children who are non-Latino/Latina Black or non-Latino/Latina White. Results indicate several significant differences exist between the profiles of CWS-involved Latino/Latina children with a CSA report as compared with their counterparts in other racial/ethnic groups. Findings are discussed with the aim of informing practice, policy, and research on sexual abuse prevention and intervention strategies for Latino/Latina populations.