PHILADELPHIA, February 26, 2026 — A new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will support a collaborative research effort led by investigators at Children’s Mercy Research Institute in Kansas City and the Center for Public Health Law Research (CPHLR) at Temple University Beasley School of Law, alongside co-investigators from several nationally recognized universities and healthcare organizations. The federal grant will fund their project “Explaining State Variability in Pediatric Hospitalizations and Reported Child Maltreatment,” which will examine state safety net policies to identify whether they improved the health and wellbeing of children. 

The rate of pediatric hospitalizations and child maltreatment are higher in families with low socioeconomic status (SES) than those with higher SES. However, these rates show a considerable variation across states.  

“We’re so grateful to support this research, a crucial step in clarifying how variation in state laws governing economic supports may influence the conditions that shape child wellbeing,” said Scott Burris, JD, Professor and Director at the Center for Public Health Law Researcher and co-investigator on this study.  

During the project period between September 15, 2025, and July 31, 2030, the CPHLR research team will support the project by conducting policy surveillance to research four policies, including state earned income tax credits, state child tax credits, state child and dependent care tax credits, and state minimum wage across all U.S. states for a twenty-year period. Simultaneously, project partners will analyze pediatric hospitalizations, child maltreatment reports, and pediatric emergency department visits over a 15-year period to understand any associations with these state policies.  

This is the first study to analyze different types of state safety net policies and their relationship to pediatric hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and reports of child maltreatment, while avoiding limitations of previous studies by researching information in smaller geographical areas. This study will expand awareness and understanding on the understudied area of state safety net policies and their effect on the health and wellbeing of children.