Characteristics of Young Parents Investigated and Opened for Ongoing Services in Child Welfare Barbara Fallon & Jennifer Ma & Tara Black & Chris Wekerle Published online: 21 June 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract This study uses a national child welfare dataset to examine the profile of young parents who are the subject of maltreatment-related investigation and to identify which factors determine service provision from the child welfare system at the conclusion of the investigation. Specifically, it examines how workers in the child welfare system decide which young parents require ongoing services the conclusion of a maltreatment related investigation where other risk factors are also being assessed. It found that young parents are struggling with a number of issues including poverty, housing, mental health, violence and children who are exhibiting functioning concerns. Workers in the child welfare system provide ongoing services to young parents particularly in investigations where they have noted concerns around drug/solvent use, cognitive impairment, mental health issues, physical health issues and few social supports. The opportunity to target interventions for the specific concerns for this very vulnerable population is evident. Keywords Child welfare . Child maltreatment . Adolescent parents . Young parents . Risk factors . Ongoing services There is ample evidence in the maltreatment literature that children of young parents are at increased risk of maltreatment (Connelly and Straus 1992; Lee and George 1999; Stier et al. 1993). Having children in adolescence and young adulthood may impact identity development with the resultant adjustment issues negatively impacting parenting and parent–child relationships whereby child maltreatment is a possible outcome (Afifi 2007). Young parents are more likely to lack caregiving skills, live in poverty, drop out of secondary school education, and misuse substances (Zuravin and DiBlasio 1996; Afifi 2007). Although children of young parents are commonly identified as at-risk for child Int J Ment Health Addiction (2011) 9:365–381 DOI 10.1007/s11469-011-9342-5 B. Fallon (*) : J. Ma : T. Black Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street W, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V4 e-mail: barbara.fallon@utoronto.ca C. Wekerle Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada