Applying an Institutional Betrayal Lens to Caregiver Perceptions of Child Maltreatment Investigations

Caregivers involved in child maltreatment investigations depend on the child protection system to safeguard their child from harm. Given this dependence, Institutional Betrayal (IB) may be a useful framework to characterize caregivers’ experiences with child protection. However, research has yet to examine IB in the child protection system. The current study sought to understand whether caregiver report experiences that are consistent with key characteristics of IB identified in other systems, such as sexual assault investigations. Caregivers of children involved in child maltreatment investigations (n = 32) were asked open-ended questions. Through content analysis, we identified examples and counterexamples of four key characteristics of IB: exclusion, discrimination, invalidation, and inaction. Caregivers described exclusion from the process (e.g. through uncertainty about their role), discrimination (e.g. through perceptions that socioeconomic factors influenced investigation outcomes), invalidation (e.g. through victim-blaming), and inaction on the part of system personnel (e.g. through lack of follow-through on promised steps). Participants also provided counterexamples to each characteristic. All participants highlighted the importance of communication in experiences of IB. Utilizing caregiver feedback to address IB is crucial for enhancing caregiver engagement and supporting the child protection system’s goals of promoting child and family well-being.