Does adopting a prenatal substance use protocol reduce racial disparities in CPS reporting related to maternal drug use? A California case study

Objective:this study examined whether adopting a standardized prenatal substance use protocol (protocol) in a hospital labor and delivery unit reduced racial disparities in reporting to child protective services (cps) related to maternal drug use during pregnancy.study design:this study used an interrupted time series design with a non-equivalent control. one hospital adopted a protocol and another hospital group serving a similar geographic population did not change protocols. data on cps reporting disparities from these hospitals over 3.5 years were analyzed using segmented regression.result:in the hospital that adopted the protocol, almost five times more black than white newborns were reported during the study period. adopting the protocol was not associated with reduced disparities.conclusion:adopting a protocol cannot be assumed to reduce cps reporting disparities. efforts to encourage hospitals to adopt protocols as a strategy to reduce disparities may be misguided. other strategies to reduce disparities are needed.