Emily Putnam-Hornstein

Job title: 
Research Specialist, California Child Welfare Indicators Project
Bio/CV: 

Emily Putnam-Hornstein is the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need at the University of North Carolina School of Social Work at Chapel Hill, a Distinguished Scholar at USC where she co-directs the Children's Data Network, and a Research Specialist with the California Child Welfare Indicators Project. Emily's current research focuses on the application of epidemiological methods to improve the surveillance of non-fatal and fatal child abuse and neglect. Her analysis of large-scale, linked administrative data has provided insight into where scarce resources may be most effectively targeted and informs understanding of maltreated children within a broader, population-based context. Emily graduated from Yale University with a BA in Psychology, received her MSW from Columbia University, and earned her PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.

Expanded Publications

Putnam‐Hornstein, E., Schneiderman, J., Cleves, M., Magruder, J. & Krous H. (in press). A prospective analysis of sudden unexpected infant deaths following a report to child protective services. Journal of Pediatrics.

Putnam‐Hornstein, E., Wood, J.N., Fluke, J., Yoshioka‐Maxwell, A. & Berger, R. (in press). Preventing severe and fatal maltreatment: making the case for the expanded use and integration of data. Child Welfare.

Putnam‐Hornstein, E., Cederbaum, J.A., King, B., Cleveland, J. & Needell, B. (in press). A population‐based examination of maltreatment history among adolescent mothers in California. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Putnam-Hornstein, E. (in press). Hierarchical modeling: applications to social work. Journal of Social Work.

Putnam‐Hornstein, E., Cleves, M., Licht, R. & Needell, B. (2013). Risk of fatal injury in young children following abuse allegations: evidence from a prospective, population‐based study. American Journal of Public Health,103(10), e39‐e44.

Vaithianathan, R., Maloney, T., Putnam‐Hornstein, E. & Jiang, N. (2013). Children in the public benefit system at risk of maltreatment: identification via predictive modeling. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45(3), 354‐359.

Putnam-Hornstein, E., Needell, B., King, B. & Johnson-Motoyama (2013). Race, poverty, and maternal nativity: an examination of risk and protective factors for involvement with child protective services. Child Abuse & Neglect,37(1-3), 33-46.

Putnam‐Hornstein, E. & Yoshioka‐Maxwell, A. (2013). Biogenetic and functional frameworks for the assignment of parentage by the courts: implications for foster caregivers. Children & Youth Services Review, 35(6), 930‐936.

Putnam-Hornstein, E., Needell, B. & Rhodes, A.E. (2013). Understanding risk and protective factors for child maltreatment: the value of integrated, population‐based data. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(2-3), 930-936.

Cederbaum, J.A., Putnam‐Hornstein, E., King, B., Gilbert, K. & Needell, B. (2013). Infant birth weight and maltreatment of adolescent mothers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45(2), 197‐201.

Putnam-Hornstein, E. (2012). Preventable injury deaths: a Population-Based Proxy of Child Maltreatment Risk. Public Health Reports, 127(2), 163-172.

Putnam-Hornstein, E. (2011). Report of maltreatment as a risk factor for injury death: a prospective birth cohort study. Child Maltreatment, 16(3), 163-174.

Putnam-Hornstein, E. & Needell, B. (2011). Predictors of child welfare contact between birth and age five: an examination of California’s 2002 birth cohort. Children & Youth Services Review, 33(11), 2400-2407.

Putnam-Hornstein, E., Webster, D., Needell, B. & Magruder, J. (2011). A public health approach to child maltreatment surveillance. Child Abuse Review, 20, 256-273.

Putnam-Hornstein, E. & Shaw, T. (2011). Foster care reunification: an exploration of non-linear hierarchical modeling. Children & Youth Services Review, 33, 705-714.

Shaw, T.V., Putnam-Hornstein, E., Magruder, J. & Needell, B. (2008). Measuring racial disparity in child welfare. Child Welfare, 87(2), 23-36.

Research interests: 
  • Child Maltreatment
  • Public Child Welfare Systems
Role: