Text mining and the examination of language used to report child maltreatment: How language impacts child welfare intake reports

Brian Goodwin, Elisabeth S. Wilson, Matthew M. Oware, Heather H. Kestian, Terry J. Stigdon and Eric A. Miller

Children and Youth Services Review, 2022, vol. 133, issue C

Abstract: Child welfare involvement begins with unscripted or semi-scripted narratives reported to intake specialists by professional and nonprofessional reporters. These narratives determine how to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Child welfare reporting varies drastically based on geographic region and is known to have a disproportionate impact on children of color. This paper explores how textual analysis can be used to study language differences between urban and rural jurisdictions, report source, and how language use differs according to the child’s race.

Keywords: Text mining; Child welfare; Implicit bias; Urban culture; Rural culture; Hotline narratives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:133:y:2022:i:c:s0190740921004205

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106344

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