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Chapter 6
Services
Child Maltreatment 2002

Child protective services (CPS) agencies provide services to prevent future instances of child abuse and neglect and to remedy conditions that have come to the attention of child welfare agencies. The two categories of CPS services are described below.

• Preventive services are provided to parents whose children are at risk of abuse or neglect.¹ These services are designed to increase the understanding of parents and other caregivers of the developmental stages of childhood and to improve their child-rearing competencies. Examples of preventive services include respite care, parenting education, housing assistance, substance abuse treatment, daycare, home visits, individual and family counseling, and homemaker help.
• Postinvestigation services (also termed remedial services) are offered on a voluntary basis by child welfare agencies or ordered by the courts to ensure the safety of children.² These services address the safety of the child and are usually based on an assessment of the family's strengths, weaknesses, and needs. These services include individual counseling, case management, family-based services (services provided to the entire family, such as counseling or family support), in-home services (such as family preservation), foster care services, and court services.

This chapter presents information about the number of children who received preventive services and the number who received postinvestigation services. The factors that influence the provision of services also are discussed.

Preventive Services

During 2002, approximately 2.4 million children (2,406,000) received preventive services at a rate of 33.0 per 1,000 children.³ This compares with a rate of 28.0 per 1,000 children for 2001.

Preventive services were funded by the following Federal programs, as well as other State programs.

• Section 106 of Title I of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), as amended [42 U.S.C. 5106 et seq.]—The Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant (Basic State Grant), provides funds to States to improve CPS systems. The grant serves as a catalyst to assist States in screening and investigating child abuse and neglect reports, improving risk and safety assessment protocols, training CPS workers and mandated reporters, and improving services to infants disabled with life-threatening conditions.
• Title II of CAPTA, as amended [42 U.S.C. 5116 et seq.]—Community-Based Family Resource and Support Grants assist each State in preventing child abuse and neglect and in promoting healthy parent-child relationships by developing, operating, expanding, and enhancing a net-work of community-based, prevention-focused resource and support programs that coordinate resources among a broad range of human services organizations.
• Title IV-B, Subpart 2, Section 430, of the Social Security Act, as amended Promoting Safe and Stable Families [42.U.S.C. 629 et seq.]—This legislation has the goal of keeping families together by funding such services as preventive intervention so that children do not have to be removed from their homes, services to develop alternative placements if children cannot remain safely in the home, and reunification services to enable children to return to their homes, if appropriate.
• Title XX of the Social Security Act, Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), [42 U.S.C. 1397 et seq.]—States may use these funds for preventive services such as child daycare, child protective services, information and referral, counseling, and employment, as well as other services that meet the goal of preventing or remedying neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children.

Some States were able to estimate the number of recipients of services by funding source. States have flexibility in determining who will receive preventive services, what services will be offered, and how the services will be provided. Approximately 30.1 percent of children received preventive services under Promoting Safe and Stable Families grants and 21.6 percent under the Social Services Block Grant.⁴ The Child Abuse and Neglect Basic State Grant and the Community-Based Family Resource and Support Grant provided the preventive services for 8.4 percent and 7.9 percent of children, respectively. Nearly one-third of the children (31.5%) were not identified with a specific funding source.

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Postinvestigation Services

More than three-quarters of States have policies requiring workers to provide short-term services, if needed, during an investigation or assessment. A similar percentage of States require workers to plan or assist with the planning of ongoing services.⁵ Almost 60 percent (58.7%) of the child victims (a nationally estimated 526,000) received postinvestigation services.⁶ Of the children who were not found to be victims of maltreatment, 31.1 percent or an estimated 708,000 children received such services. This compares to 58.4 percent of victims and 28.8 percent of nonvictims who received services in 2001. The increased number of nonvictims who received postinvestigation services may be due to increased accuracy of the States' data as well as an increase in service delivery.

With a few exceptions, the State data on the average number of days to provision of services appear to fall within the timeframe allowed for an investigation or shortly thereafter. The weighted average time from the start of investigation to provision of service was 54 days.

Children may be removed from their homes during or after an investigation. Some children who are removed on an emergency basis spend a short time in foster care, while others spend a longer time. Almost one-fifth of victims (18.9%) were placed in foster care as a result of an investigation or assessment.⁷ In addition, 4.2 percent of nonvictims experienced a removal. This compares with 19.0 percent of victims and 4.7 percent of nonvictims for 2001. Children who were not identified as victims of maltreatment, but were removed, include children who were removed on an emergency basis during an investigation and siblings of victims who were removed. Nationally, it is estimated that 265,000 children were removed from their homes as a result of a child abuse investigation or assessment in 2002.⁸

Court proceedings to determine temporary custody of the victim, guardianship of the victim, or disposition of State dependency petitions were reported as being initiated for 17.8 percent of victims.⁹ Court-appointed representatives were assigned for 18.0 percent of child victims.¹⁰ One-quarter of child victims (24.9 %) received family preservation services and 5.7 percent had received family reunification services within the previous 5 years.¹¹

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Factors Influencing the Receipt of Services

A multivariate analysis was used to examine whether or not the characteristics of a child's case affected: how a child was served by the child welfare system, which factors influenced the receipt of services, and which factors influenced the removal of victims from their homes. Future research in this area may include a closer look at how these factors affect specific types of services.

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Receipt of Postinvestigation Services

There are several reasons why only some children and families receive postinvestigation services or family reunification services. For example, there may not be enough services available for families or the waiting lists may be very long. One hypothesis is that the characteristics of a child's case may influence the receipt of services. This hypothesis was explored by using the case-level data submissions to examine which factors influenced whether or not a child received postinvestigation services. Highlights of the findings are listed below.¹²

• Child victims of prior maltreatment were 81 percent more likely to receive services than children with no prior victimization.
• When compared to physical abuse victims, victims of multiple types of maltreatment were 81 percent more likely to receive services and sexual abuse victims were 21 percent less likely to receive services.
• Child victims in the age group of birth to 3 years were approximately 25 percent more likely to receive services than child victims older than 4 years.
• Compared to White children, children of "other" or multiple race were 60 percent more likely to receive services. African-American and Hispanic children were 27 percent and 42 percent, respectively,more likely to receive services than White children.
• If the reporter of the child abuse or maltreatment was categorized as law enforcement or legal personnel, the victim was 26 percent less likely to receive services than if the reporter was categorized as a social or mental health professional.
• Children who were abused or maltreated by their father were 47 percent less likely to receive services than children who were abused or maltreated by their mother.

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Receipt of Foster Care Services

The factors associated with children being removed from the home and placed in foster care were similar to the factors associated with children receiving services. The characteristics of a child's case—maltreatment type, prior victimization, and age—similarly influenced the decision to remove a child from the home and the decision to provide services.

• Prior child victims were 96 percent more likely to be placed in foster care than children with no prior victimization.
• Sexual abuse victims were 36 percent less likely to be placed in foster care than physical abuse victims.
• Child victims age 4 to 11 years were approximately 36 percent less likely to be placed in foster care than victims who were age birth to 3 years.
• African-American child victims were 51 percent more likely to be placed in foster care than White child victims.
• If the reporter of the child abuse or neglect was categorized as educational personnel, the child victim was 43 percent less likely to be placed in foster care than if the reporter was categorized as a social or mental health professional.
• Children who were abused or neglected by their father only were 56 percent less likely to be placed in foster care than children who were abused or neglected by their mother acting alone.

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Supplementary Tables

The following pages contain the tables referenced in Chapter 6. Unless otherwise explained, a blank indicates that the State did not submit usable data. Specific information about State submissions can be found in Appendix D.

Chapter Six: Tables

Notes

¹ Data about preventive services are captured through the Agency File or the SDC Survey. States are not limited to reporting those children who received an investigation or assessment by the CPS agency. back
² Data about postinvestigation (remedial) services are collected through the Child File or the SDC Survey. States are asked to report only those children who received an investigation or assessment by the CPS agency within 90 days of the disposition date. back
³ See supplementary table 6-1. back
⁴ See table 6-2. back
⁵ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families/Children's Bureau and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. [HHS/ACF and OASPE] National Study of Child Protective Services Systems and Reform Efforts: Review of State CPS Policy. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003). back
⁶ See table 6-3. back
⁷ See table 6-4. back
⁸ The national estimate of 265,000 children who were removed from their home is the sum of a nationally estimated 169,000 victims and 96,000 nonvictims who were removed from their homes. back
⁹ See table 6-5. back
¹⁰ See table 6-6. back
¹¹ See table 6-7. back
¹² See table 6-8. back

 

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