Preventing Child Maltreatment: Beneficial Side Effects of Public Childcare.

This article examines the causal impact of expanding universal public childcare provision on severe child maltreatment cases leading to out-of-home placement in Germany. Exploiting a federal reform that substantially increased childcare coverage for children under three across West German counties between 2002 and 2015, the study finds that a one-percentage-point increase in childcare availability reduces child maltreatment cases by about 1%. The analysis uses high-quality administrative data and a difference-in-differences approach, confirming robustness through placebo tests and controlling for economic and demographic factors. Mechanisms identified include increased maternal employment and earnings, improved household bargaining power, and substitution of lower-quality informal care—particularly reducing maltreatment in two-parent households already under child protection surveillance. The findings suggest that universal public childcare can serve as a cost-effective policy tool to prevent severe child maltreatment, with significant social and fiscal benefits.