Chapter 1
Introduction
Child Maltreatment 2003
This report presents national data about child abuse and neglect known to child protective services (CPS) agencies in the United States during Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2003. The data were collected and analyzed through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) by the Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This chapter discusses the background and continuing development of NCANDS and describes the annual data collection process.
Background of NCANDS
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was amended in 1988 to direct the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a national data collection and analysis program that would make available State child abuse and neglect reporting information.1 The Department responded by establishing NCANDS as a voluntary, national reporting system. In 1992, the Department produced its first NCANDS report based on data from 1990. The Child Maltreatment report series evolved from that initial report.
In 1996, CAPTA was amended to require all States that receive funds from the Basic State Grant program to work with the Secretary of the Department to provide specific data, to the extent practicable, on children who had been maltreated.2 The NCANDS data elements were revised to meet these requirements beginning with the submission of 1998 data (appendix A). A glossary of terms is provided as appendix B.
In 2003, the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act added two additional data items that are to be included in the Annual State Data Reports. These items are a summary of activities of the citizen review panels and the number of children under the care of the State child protection system who are transferred into the custody of the State juvenile justice system. The second item is being considered for future incorporation into the Agency File of NCANDS.
A State Advisory Group, comprising of State CPS program administrators and information systems managers, assists with the resolution of NCANDS issues. This group suggests strategies for improving the quality of data submitted by the States and reviews proposed modifications to NCANDS. The Children's Bureau convenes the State Advisory Group annually. The 2004 State Advisory Group members are listed below:
| Sherry Roberts, Alabama Kristen Tromble, Alaska Raymond Bacon, California James Anderson, Connecticut Lois Branic, District of Columbia Susan K. Chase, Florida Shirley Vassy, Georgia Jeri Bala, Idaho Joseph Finnegan, Iowa Walter G. Fahr, Louisiana |
Philip King, Maryland Jean Swanson Broberg, Minnesota Glenn Ogg, Nebraska Otto D. Lynn, Nevada Johanna Lynch, Oklahoma Maria Duryea, Oregon Susan Stockwell, Pennsylvania Rebecca Connors, Rhode Island Kim Thomas, South Dakota Barb Berlin, Wisconsin |
In addition to an annual meeting of the State Advisory Group, a technical assistance meeting for all States is held each year. This technical assistance meeting serves as a forum for providing guidance to the States for their annual data submissions and provides an opportunity to discuss data utilization and training needs.
Data collected by NCANDS are a critical source of information for many publications, reports, and activities of the Federal Government and other groups. NCANDS data were incorporated into the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR), which ensure conformity with State plan requirements in titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. Data on recurrence of maltreatment and on the occurrence of maltreatment in foster care are the basis for two of the standards for CFSR. The NCANDS data also are used in the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) used by the Federal Government.
An annual departmental report on child welfare outcomes includes context and outcome data on safety, based on State submissions to NCANDS.3 Data on the characteristics of children who have been maltreated, as well as data on the two safety outcomes—recurrence of maltreatment and maltreatment in foster care—are reported as well.
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Annual Data Collection Process
Forty-four States contributed case-level data for FFY 2003. Since the publication of the year 2000 data, the annual report has been primarily based upon case-level data. Previous reports relied upon the submission of aggregate data through the Summary Data Component (SDC) Survey.
States that submit case-level data construct a child-specific record for each report that alleged child abuse or neglect that received a disposition as a result of an investigation or an assessment during the reporting period.4 This is the first year that data were submitted for a Federal fiscal year timeframe. In prior years, data submissions were for the calendar year. Although States were informed of the change in advance, some variation in data due to the change in reporting year is to be expected. The reporting period was changed to be consistent with the data requirements of CFSR. The reporting period for Child Maltreatment 2003 was from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003.
The case-level data are reported in the Child File. Data fields include the demographics of the children and their perpetrators, types of maltreatment, investigation or assessment dispositions, risk factors, and services provided as a result of the investigation or assessment. All but one of the 44 States that submitted the Child File also reported aggregate-level data in the Agency File for items that were not obtainable at the child level, such as the number of CPS workers. The remaining six States reported only aggregate statistics through the Summary Data Component (SDC).5 Upon receipt of data from each State, a technical validation review was conducted to assess the internal consistency of the data and to identify probable causes for missing data. In many instances, the review concluded that corrections were necessary and the States were requested to resubmit their data. Once a State's case-level data were finalized, aggregate counts were computed and shared with the State. The final step in the data collection process was to develop a composite file of aggregate (CAF) statistics for all States regardless of the original data source. (See appendix C, Data Submissions and CAF Data Elements, for additional information regarding data submissions.)
The population of the States that submitted the Child File accounts for approximately 58 million children or 79 percent of the Nation's child population younger than 18 years (table 1-1).6 This is an 11 percent decrease from 2002 case-level data, which represented 65 million children or 89 percent of the child population younger than 18 years. This decrease was due to California's delay in submitting 2003 data.7
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Structure of the Report
This report contains the additional chapters listed below. Throughout the report, tables with supporting data are located at the end of each chapter:
- Chapter 2, Reports—referrals and reports of child maltreatment
- Chapter 3, Victims—characteristics of alleged child maltreatment victims and nonvictims
- Chapter 4, Fatalities—fatalities that occurred as a result of maltreatment
- Chapter 5, Perpetrators—perpetrators of maltreatment
- Chapter 6, Services—services to prevent maltreatment and to assist victims
- Chapter 7, Additional Research Activities Related to NCANDS—research activities that use NCANDS data
Commentary for State data and contact information for State representatives are presented as appendix D. A reader survey is included to solicit advice for future reports (appendix E). Please take a few minutes to complete and return the survey per the instructions at the end of the form. Survey respondents will be placed on a priority mailing list to receive future copies of Child Maltreatment.
Notes
1 42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 5116 et seq., Public Law 100-294 passed April 25, 1988. back
2 In this report, "States" includes the District of Columbia. back
3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Child Welfare Outcomes 2001: Annual Report (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004). back
4 CPS agencies assign a finding, known as a disposition, to a report alleging maltreatment after the circumstances are investigated or assessed. back
5 California was not able to submit 2003 data prior to publication of this report due to technicalities with the State's electronic file submission and our new reporting instructions. back
6 U.S. Census Bureau file SC-EST2003-Rce6: State Characteristics Population Estimates with 6 Race Groups http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/files/SC-EST2003-race6.csv (accessed 9/30/04). Here and throughout the report, the term "child population" refers to all people in the U.S. population younger than 18 years. Supporting data are provided in table 1-1, which is located at the end of this chapter. back
7 The 11 percent decrease was calculated by subtracting the 65 million from the 58 million, dividing the result by 65 million, and multiplying by 100. back
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