A University of Illinois social work researcher is helping uncover how financial supports can strengthen families and reduce child neglect.

The League of Women Voters of Champaign County will host “Economic Supports and Child Health and Well-being” from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 22. The free, public webinar will be held via Zoom, with the link available at lwvchampaigncounty.org. A recording will be posted on the same site following the event.

William Schneider, associate professor of social work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and faculty director of the Children and Family Research Center, will serve as the featured speaker. Schneider notes that while child maltreatment prevention has long been a public health priority, traditional efforts have not significantly reduced the number of neglect cases.

“Current efforts in maltreatment prevention have not reduced the number of child-neglect cases,” Schneider said. “Though researchers have assumed a real connection, they have rarely been able to see whether cash grants to poor families reduce the need for welfare-system interventions on behalf of children.”

During the webinar, Schneider will discuss findings from the Empower Parenting and Resources Project, a collaboration between the University of Illinois, the University of Connecticut, and Rutgers University. This large-scale study examines how direct monthly cash grants affect rates of reported child neglect and offers new insights into how financial stability supports healthier family outcomes.