Child Welfare System Contact and Voting

Scholars have increasingly recognized how marginalized communities experience government through criminal legal system encounters, potentially shaping political engagement. A parallel state institution, Child Protective Services (CPS), intervenes with millions of U.S. families annually. The CPS case provides a chance to assess theoretical expectations about how punitive state systems affect political life. Analyzing administrative and voting data from a large Pennsylvania system, we first present descriptive estimates of adult voting in families with CPS contact, highlighting how low participation in this large fraction of the population matters for the electorate and overall participation. Then, using the nearly-random assignment of CPS caseworkers, we estimate the causal effect of having a case opened or a child removed on registration and voting. We do not find evidence of substantial participatory effects from these types of CPS contact. We consider interpretations of these null findings and suggest additional research on this vast, understudied government system.