The punished mother: experiences of mothers involved with child protection

Abstract

This dissertation examines the consequences and processes of the child protection system in the U.S. through the lens of marginalized mothers. It uses 55 interviews with mothers involved with child protection services, as well as administrative data by state and year for the following variables: women’s imprisonment rates, women’s jail incarceration rates, termination of parental rights, the child population, the adult female population, and the total population. I find that child protection involvement creates negative labor market consequences, system avoidance, and increased material hardship. Additionally, I find that the ways marginalized women mother are raced, classed, and gendered through their interactions with institutional bodies of poverty governance, and this impacts how they construct their identity as mothers. Finally, I find that between 2000 and 2018, the rate of children experiencing the termination of parental rights has increased, and that this is correlated with the increase in women’s incarceration. This work highlights the need for a shift away from the use of the child protection system as a tool of social control and towards a more supportive and family-centered approach.