Paid Sick Leave and Child Maltreatment
Child maltreatment is a major public health concern in the United States. In this study, we examine the impact of recent state paid sick leave mandates on child maltreatment reports over the period 2011-2022. Paid sick leave mandates confer financially protected time that can be used for health and family responsibilities as well as for actions such as court hearings that can reduce exposure to domestic violence. These benefits may reduce child maltreatment reports. Using difference-in-differences and event-study methods, we find that child maltreatment reports decline by 8% following the adoption of a state paid sick leave mandate.
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Copy CitationMonica Deza, Johanna Catherine Maclean, and Alberto Ortega, "Paid Sick Leave and Child Maltreatment," NBER Working Paper 33758 (2025), https://doi.org/10.3386/w33758.
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