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Chapter 1
Introduction
Child Maltreatment 2002

This report presents national data about child abuse and neglect known to child protective services (CPS) agencies in the United States during 2002. 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 to 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 this 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.

Since the publication of the year 2000 NCANDS data, annual reporting has been primarily based upon case-level data. Previous efforts relied upon the submission of aggregate data through the Summary Data Component (SDC) Survey. Forty-two States contributed case-level data for 2002. A State Advisory Group comprised 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 2002 State Advisory Group members are listed below:

Kristen Tromble, Alaska Mary Tran, California Eileen Breslin, Connecticut Lois Branic, District of Columbia Susan K. Chase, Florida Shirley Vassy, Georgia Carl Sciarini, Illinois Rebecca Meyer, Iowa Walter G. Fahr, Louisiana Glenn Ogg, Nebraska Otto D. Lynn, Nevada

Donna Keys, New York Kevin Kelly, North Carolina Leslie McGee, Ohio Bill D. Hindman, Oklahoma Jim White, Oregon Susan Stockwell, Pennsylvania Rebecca Connors, Rhode Island Mary Livermont, South Dakota Navina Forsythe, Utah Rita L. Katzman, Virginia John Tuohy, Wisconsin

A technical assistance meeting for all States is held each year in conjunction with the National Child Welfare Data Conference. This 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 and reports. Most recently, these 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 the CFSR.

An annual departmental report on child welfare outcomes also 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

States that submit case-level data construct a child-specific record for each report alleging child abuse or neglect that received a disposition as a result of an investigation or an assessment during the calendar year.⁴ The data fields in the child-specific record include the demographics of the children and their perpetrators, the types of maltreatment, investigation or assessment dispositions, risk factors, and services provided as a result of the investigation or assessment.

Case-level data for 2002 were submitted by 42 States. The population of these States accounts for approximately 62 million children or 89 percent of the Nation's child population younger than 18 years (table 1-1).⁵ The case-level data were reported in the Child File. These 42 States 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 nine States reported only aggregate statistics through the SDC. (See appendix C, Data Submissions and CAF Data Elements for additional information regarding data submissions.)

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 statistics for all States regardless of the original data source. All analyses for this report were conducted with this composite file unless otherwise noted. Commentary for State data and contact information for State representatives are presented as appendix D.

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Structure of the Report

This report contains the additional chapters listed below. Throughout the report, supplementary tables that contain supporting data are located at the end of each chapter:

• Chapter 2, Reports—referrals and reports of child maltreatment
• Chapter 3, Victims—characteristics of child maltreatment alleged 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 the victims
• Chapter 7, Additional Research Activities Related to NCANDS—research activities that use NCANDS data

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 survey form.

Chapter One: Table

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 2000: Annual Report (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003). 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 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 supplementary table 1-1, which is located at the end of this chapter. back

 

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