States criminal justice system a major factor.

• Position: Foster Care - Brief article

The number of children in foster care across the country is not driven solely by child abuse and neglect, but by states' varying politics and approaches to social problems, according to a study at the University of Washington, Seattle. States with more punitive criminal justice systems tend to remove children from their homes far more frequently than those with generous welfare programs --meaning that two states with similar rates of child abuse and neglect could have very different rates of foster care entry.

Frank Edwards, a doctoral student in sociology, concludes that child welfare policies are influenced heavily by how states address social problems overall. 'We see across the board that politics are great predictors of policy. If a state prefers more punitive criminal justice and less generous welfare benefits, then ifs very likely that it will prefer a certain approach to child welfare as well."

Edwards found that states with punitive criminal justice systems are expected...