During graduate school, my research focused on how income instability, like sudden job loss or unexpected expenses, affects families’ involvement with the child welfare system. I interviewed mothers who had been referred to child welfare services but were ultimately screened out due to the absence of abuse or neglect concerns. I heard that many of these women had experienced significant economic shocks, such as a medical emergency or job loss, that destabilized their lives just before their contact with the child welfare system. Despite these challenges, the mothers consistently conveyed that they were making every effort to care for their families under significant financial strain.

After graduate school, I worked as a child welfare program and policy analyst at a state agency focused on children and families. There, I saw how caseworkers and program administrators struggled to meet families’ economic needs—needs that often stemmed from the same types of financial shocks I had studied—within the constraints of the traditional case management process. Whether it was a broken-down car or a temporary loss of income, these disruptions had real consequences for families’ economic stability, well-being, and ultimately, their successful completion of services and timely discharge from the child welfare system.

These experiences deepened my understanding of how income instability can increase the risk of child welfare involvement. Research consistently shows that economic resources strongly predict child welfare contact and family well-being. From exploratory studies to rigorous evaluations, the evidence is clear: economic resources matter. But important questions remain: How does income instability matter above and beyond a low-income level? How much financial support makes a difference in families’ outcomes? When should it be provided? And which families benefit most?

The answers are complex. One-time financial assistance can buffer families from immediate crises, but it’s not a cure-all. Guaranteed income pilots show promise, providing some evidence that unconditional cash payments can promote positive outcomes for families. Social safety net programs provide critical support, yet their eligibility rules can be difficult to navigate, and they are rarely responsive enough to the ups and downs of frequent income instability and economic shocks. Employment is another key factor, as job stability, benefits, and reliable hours all contribute to a family’s financial health.

In the fall of 2025, I joined the Learning Community on Family Economic Well-Being Research, hosted by the Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab (CO Lab) at the University of Denver. This group of researchers met in person in July 2025 to explore what we know—and still need to learn—about the relationship between income instability, family economic well-being, and child maltreatment. We wrestled with the vast complexity of addressing this issue; we discussed the challenges of implementing evidence-informed policies within existing programmatic and budgetary constraints and how to better align siloed systems to support families more effectively.

We also discussed states experimenting with innovative approaches to streamline services and improve access to economic support. These approaches include integrated application systems that allow families to apply for multiple programs at once, community-based referral networks that connect families to resources after being screened out of the child welfare system, and creative uses of Medicaid waiver funds to provide concrete supports to families. Innovations like these still need more research to quantify impact and understand what works best and for whom.

We ended our time with a series of recommendations for where to continue building the research and which policy and programmatic interventions are already supported by the existing evidence. A policymaking learning community will meet in 2026 to take recommendations from our research learning community and identify the most feasible methods for turning them into actionable policies and programs. This direct connection between research, policy, and action is critical to improving families’ outcomes and systems involvement.

The bottom line is this: families, particularly low-income families, face economic challenges that put them at risk of system involvement. When researchers, policymakers, and program leaders continue to collaborate, we build a stronger evidence base for effective economic interventions and design systems that truly support families before crises and system involvement occur.

1. Income instability—beyond just a low-income level—can significantly increase the risk of child welfare involvement, especially when families experience sudden financial shocks like job loss or medical emergencies.
2. Current support systems are fragmented and often difficult to navigate, making it challenging for families to access timely and effective economic assistance that could prevent system involvement.
3. Collaborative research and policy innovation are essential to identifying and implementing effective economic interventions that reduce child welfare contact by supporting financial stability.