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This appendix consists of State notes that clarify the NCANDS submissions for year 2000. The categories reference the chapters of this report. Contact information for the State person responsible for submitting the State's NCANDS data is also provided.
Margaret McCarley
Data Analyst
Family Services Partnership/Data Analysis Unit
Alabama Department of Human Resources
50 Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36130-1801
334-242-9507
334-242-0939 Fax
mmccarley@dhr.state.al.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
The estimate of child protective services (CPS) workers was based on currently filled Agency positions and the caseload standards set for CPS functions.
Kristen Tromble
Research Analyst
Division of Family and Youth Services
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
130 Seward Street, Room 406
Juneau, AK 99811
907-465-3170
907-465-3397 Fax
kristen_tromble@health.state.ak.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
Reasons for screening out referrals include "non-CPS issue," "insufficient information," "workload adjustment" (when there was not enough staff to respond to the lowest priority cases), and "dual track" (reports were assessed by an organization contracted to provide assessment and referral services to low priority reports of harm). In this reporting period, 470 of the screened-out referrals were referred to the "dual track." The State does not maintain case-level data on these referrals.
The "Social Services and Mental Health Personnel" reporting source category includes personnel in social service agencies, human resource agencies, and Native American agencies. "Medical Personnel" includes mental health personnel. "Parents" includes custodial and noncustodial parents. "Friends and Neighbors" includes custodial and noncustodial parents' partners. "Other" includes substitute care providers, those in the community, in grant agencies, and in the military.
There has been a chronic problem of getting investigations properly closed and entered into the State information system. During 2000, an effort was made to officially close dormant investigations. As a result, the number of investigations closed during the year may be higher than would be typical. Unfortunately, for some cases the date of entry was entered for the disposition date rather than the actual closing date. This error tends to overstate the number of investigations closed during 2000.
Worker data were based on the number of staff positions provided by regional managers. Supervisors and caseworkers who occasionally perform these duties are not included, nor are workers whose primary duties are permanency planning.
There is one report or investigation per child, per incident.
In regard to response time to investigation, the database records only the day the report is received and the day it is referred for investigation, not the time of day. For the 12,832 reports referred during the year, the average time in days was 2.7 from receipt to referral.
Victims
The unduplicated numbers of children in each disposition category are reported. However, if a child had one substantiated and one unsubstantiated investigation in 2000, the child would be counted once as substantiated and once as unsubstantiated. Allegations determined to be "Intentionally False" are included in "Unsubstantiated."
"Neglect" includes medical neglect. "Other" maltreatment type includes abandoned children.
Only one race or ethnicity is recorded. No child has both a Hispanic ethnicity and a race.
Services
Recipients of preventive services were estimated from information on grant documents. The number of families may include some duplicates.
Due to discrepancies in the data in fields used to calculate receipt of services and removal from home, 62 children reported as receiving foster care (52 substantiated and 10 indicated) were not reported as receiving services. Of the 62, many were children who were taken into emergency custody and released quickly; thus, no family case was opened for services.
The average response time to provision of services was high because in some cases improper closure dates were entered.
State law mandates the appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL) in every court case in which abuse or neglect is alleged. Shortages of GALs in some remote areas mean this requirement is not always met. The Office of Public Advocacy estimates GALs are appointed in 95-99 percent of all cases. A statewide average of out-of-court contacts was not collected. The Office Public Advocacy indicated that in the more populous areas of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Bethel the caseloads are so high that children may be seen only three or four times a year outside of court. In rural areas, GALs may see children twice as often. Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are required to see their child clients at least twice a month. In 2000, 188 CASAs represented 617 children.
Nicholas Espadas
Manager
Evaluation and Statistics Unit
Division of Children, Youth and Families
Arizona Department of Economic Security
P.O. Box 6123, Site 940-A
1789 West Jefferson
Phoenix, AZ 85005
602-542-3969
602-542-3330 Fax
nicholas.espadas@mail.de.state.az.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
The number of reports not referred for investigation included those in which the alleged abuse/neglect occurred on a reservation or military base and those that were referred to a private contractor in the Family Builders program. The reports selected for this program show a low risk of harm to the reported victims associated with the allegations. The families involved are taught a variety of skills, including crisis and anger management.
The number of CPS workers was based upon data from the Chief Financial Officer of the Department.
"Other" dispositions consists of low-priority reports (with a proportionately larger number of children) directly referred to social services agencies for voluntary services. These reports were not assigned to a local office for investigation.
Perpetrators
The State information system is limited to the designation of one perpetrator per child, per allegation.
Darcy Dinning
CHRIS Project Manager
Office of Systems and Technology
Arkansas Department of Human Services
P.O. Box 1437, Slot 650
Little Rock, AR 72203
501-682-2684
501-682-1376 Fax
darcy.dinning@state.ar.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
General
Pursuant to a contractual agreement between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Arkansas State Police (ASP), in 1997 the ASP Family Protection Unit (FPU) assumed responsibility for the Child Abuse Hotline and some child maltreatment investigations.
The FPU conducts child maltreatment investigations for the following: any placement managed, approved, or licensed by DHS for the care of children, including day care homes, DHS foster homes, residential facilities, and preadoptive homes; allegations involving DHS employees; and selected "priority 1" reports. Priority 1 reports are those that describe abuse with a deadly weapon, bone fractures, brain damage/skull fracture, burns, scalding, immersion/suffocation, internal injuries, poison/noxious substances, oral sex, sexual contact, sexual exploitation, sexual penetration, subdural hematoma, or death.
Reports
The number of investigation workers may be undercounted because some caseworkers who conduct investigations on an irregular basis may not have been counted.
Services
Preventive services includes Intensive Family Services, Resource Centers, Respite Care for In-Home, Latchkey, Human Service Workers in the Schools, Supportive Services, Homemaker Services, and Day Care. The children numbers were included in the family numbers.
Glenn Jue
Manager
Children's Services Branch
California Department of Social Services
744 P Street, Mail Station 19-90
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-2752
916-445-2832 Fax
glenn.jue@dss.ca.gov
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, SDC
(SDC is used for supplementary information only.)
General
The data are from the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS), the State version of the Federal Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS).
Reports
The total number of CPS reports attributed to parents as report sources is exceptionally low, possibly due to the current design of the information system. The integrity of this number is being investigated.
The number of CPS workers is an estimate based on the average of the emergency response full-time equivalents (FTEs) per month, including supervisors, for a year. The actual number of FTEs who performed emergency response work is not reported to the State.
Services
Children with "Unsubstantiated" dispositions who received services were not reported because this information is not collected through the DCDC.
Donna J. Pope, Ph.D.
Child Welfare Analyst
Child Welfare Services
Colorado Department of Human Services
1575 Sherman Street
Denver, CO 80203-1714
303-866-5976
303-866-4191 Fax
donna.pope@state.co.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
General
These data reflect a combination of data and databases with fundamentally different structures. Data come from sources as varied as hand counts by county staff, phone reports from court representatives, and automated files. To the extent possible, the automated data systems of the Child Welfare Eligibility and Services Tracking System (CWEST) and the Colorado Central Registry for Child Protection (CCRCP) were used to produce the data. CWEST records associate data with an individual child. CCRCP records associate data with an incident. An incident might include up to six child victims and up to nine perpetrators. The only common linkage between these two data sets is the State child identifier, which is a required field in CWEST but is optional in CCRCP.
Reports
Family-based data are hand-counted at the county level. Data are only available for substantiated or confirmed incidents.
Victims
"Other" includes court-ordered services for child protection; and "Unknown Maltreatment" includes all other program targets with abuse or neglect report dates. Counts are of opened cases, not unique children. Data are from CWEST, which is child-based.
Fatalities
Fatality data are preliminary and will be finalized after the Colorado Child Fatality Review Committee reviews all child maltreatment fatalities.
Services
Only paid core services or out-of-home placement services are tracked in CWEST. Caseworker-provided services are not specifically identified by account codes. However, cases that had a report of abuse or neglect and were transferred to "ongoing services" were included because they would have received caseworker-provided services.
The number of child victims whose families received Family Preservation Services in the previous five years is an undercount because some child victims in the CCRCP do not have State identifiers to match to prior services data.
Eileen Breslin
Program Director
Commissioner's Office
Connecticut Department of Children and Families
505 Hudson Street
Hartford, CT 06106
860-550-6349
860-566-7947 Fax
eileen.breslin@po.state.ct.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
General
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a consolidated children's services agency with statutory responsibility for child protection, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and juvenile justice. It is a State-managed system comprised of five regions. Each region has a main office with one or two suboffices. In addition, DCF operates four facilities-a children's psychiatric hospital; an emergency and diagnostic residential program; a treatment facility for children with serious mental health issues; and a juvenile justice facility.
Reports
A centralized intake unit-Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline-operates 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. CPS workers receive the reports of suspected abuse and neglect and forward them to a regional office for investigation. Hotline field staff responds to emergencies when the regional offices are closed. Reports are not accepted for investigation if they do not meet the statutory definition of abuse or neglect. Information not accepted on reports is from the DCF Hotline.
Regional staff investigate reports of abuse and neglect. Investigation protocols include contact with the family, with the children apart from their parents, and with all collateral systems to which the family and child are known. Serious cases of abuse, neglect, and medical neglect are referred to the police, as are all cases of sexual abuse, according to departmental policy. The Consent Decree Monitoring Division, the Human Resources Division, and the DCF Hotline provided information for screening, intake, investigation, and assessment workers.
Fatalities
DCF collects data on all reported child fatalities regardless of whether or not the child or family received DCF services. A Special Review Unit collects and analyzes the data and conducts investigations when a child has died as the result of maltreatment and there is an active case or prior substantiated report. The Medical Examiner is responsible for determining the cause of death and the criminal nature of the death. DCF makes determinations concerning abuse and neglect.
Services
The DCF staff responsible for monitoring Federal- and State-funded grants and performance-based contracts for prevention programs gathered data on preventive services. The number of clients served through established child abuse/neglect prevention contracts, including primary and secondary prevention programs is estimated.
Primary prevention services are provided to prevent child abuse or neglect before the family becomes known to DCF. Secondary prevention services are provided to prevent recurrence of maltreatment after the family has come to the attention of DCF.
The information on prevention services is garnered from community agency monthly or quarterly utilization reports that are received by the Research Division (for performance-based contracts) and reviewed by the Strategic Planning Division, the Children's Trust Fund, the Adolescent Services Division, or the Substance Abuse Division.
The number of service recipients is duplicated because children and families may receive services from more than one source. The numbers refer to actual services utilized rather than the number of slots available.
Preventive services programs include: Healthy Families, First Steps, Nurturing Programs, Lengthening the Ropes, Therapeutic Child Care, Early Childhood, Parent Education and Support Centers, Alcohol and Drug Prevention for Youth, Substance Abuse Screening and Evaluation, Intensive Family Preservation, Parent Aide, Young Parents' Program, and mentoring activities. Many of these preventive programs receive "Other" sources of funding.
The Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant was used to fund the High Risk Newborn Program for families.
The Community-Based Family Resource and Support Grant is administered by the Children's Trust Fund. Examples of the types of creative local prevention services supported by these mini-grants include parent education, mental health consultation, and satellite Family Resource Centers.
The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, under the Strategic Planning Division, supports such preventive services as Family Centers, Community Collaboratives, and Family Day activities.
Carla Bloss
Management Analyst
Division of Family Services
Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their
Families
1825 Faulkland Road
Wilmington, DE 19805
302-892-6401
302-633-2652 Fax
cbloss@state.de.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File
Victims
The State uses 28 statutory types of primary or secondary allegations to record substantiated child abuse and neglect. "Other" includes "dependency" and "adolescent problems." "Dependency" includes abandonment, nonrelative placement, parental mental incapacitation, or parental physical incapacitation. "Adolescent problems" includes abandonment, parent-child conflict, runaway, truant, and uncontrollable behavior. Adolescent problems, many of which do not clearly meet the usual definition of child abuse and neglect, have decreased in the past several years.
Aubrey Grant
Database Program Manager
Child Information Systems Administration
District of Columbia Department of Human Services
955 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Suite P-114
Washington, DC 20024
202-651-3515
202-651-3590 Fax
agrant@cfsa-dc.org
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
An agency-wide organization chart was used to calculate workforce numbers. These are nonvacant, nonclerical positions in the Intake Division.
Susan K. Chase
Data Support Administrator
Family Safety
Florida Department of Children and Family Services
1317 Winewood Boulevard, Building 8
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700
850-922-2195
850-488-3748 Fax
susan_chase@dcf.state.fl.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, SDC
(SDC is used for supplementary information only.)
Reports
The criteria to accept a report are that a child less than 18 years old at the time of the report has been harmed or is at risk of harm by an adult caretaker or household member and the child is either resident or can be located in the State. Screened-out reports reflect phone calls received about situations that the caller initially thought were child abuse/neglect related, but did not meet the criteria.
Reports received alleging child maltreatment include both initial and additional reports. They also include some "special conditions" reports that do not constitute abuse or neglect but require a protective response (e.g., a parent is hospitalized or incarcerated). More than three-quarters of reports referred for investigation were initial reports.
An initial report is the first report received at the hotline alleging maltreatment of a child by a parent, adult household member, or person responsible for the child's welfare. An initial abuse report always requires the commencement of a new investigation. An additional report, which is received after an initial report, is another report to the central abuse hotline by either the same or a different reporter. An additional report can add new allegations of maltreatment, new incidents of the same maltreatment contained in the initial report, additional alleged victims or alleged perpetrators if they relate to the initial report, or subsequent information alleging that the immediate safety or well-being of the alleged victim(s) is threatened (thereby changing the investigation response time from a 24-hour response to an immediate response). An additional report requires additional investigative activity, but does not become a new investigation. Ultimately, the additional report is combined and closed out with the initial report of the same incident.
"Other" report sources includes attorney, spiritual healer, GAL, guardian, human rights advocacy committee, and client relations coordinator. Report sources for initial and additional reports are included; additional reporters, who do not provide different information on subsequent reports, are not included.
Screening, intake, investigation, and assessment staff includes call floor counselors (136 FTEs), hotline supervisors (18 FTEs), protective investigation field staff (1,231), and protective investigation field unit supervisors (214). These numbers are based on allocated staff as of December 31, 2000, excluding vacancies, overtime, and temporary staff. Hours worked were not tracked. (Call floor counselors and hotline supervisors also receive reports of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation, which represent about 20 percent of their workload.)
The response commences when the CPS investigator or another person designated to respond attempts the initial face-to-face contact with the victim. The system calculates the number of minutes from the Received Date and Time to the Commencement Date and Time. The minutes for all cases are averaged and converted to hours. An initial onsite response is conducted immediately in situations in which any one of the following allegations is made: (1) a child's immediate safety or well-being is endangered; (2) the family may flee or the child will be unavailable within 24 hours; (3) institutional abuse or neglect is alleged; (4) an employee of the department has allegedly committed an act of child abuse or neglect directly related to the job duties of the employee, or when the allegations otherwise warrant an immediate response as specified in statute or policy; (5) a special condition referral for emergency services is received; or (6) the facts otherwise so warrant. All other initial responses must be conducted with an attempted on-site visit with the child victim within 24 hours.
Victims
"Children by Disposition" includes only children alleged to be victims, not other children in the household.
The number of "Intentionally False" dispositions is suspected to be underreported. The coding method was changed in October 1995, and the new method has not been used consistently. A child is not counted in more than one racial category.
Fatalities
Fatality counts include any report closed during the year, even those victims whose dates of death may have been in a prior year. Only verified abuse/neglect deaths are counted. The finding was verified when a preponderance of the credible evidence resulted in a determination that death was the result of abuse or neglect.
Services
Preventive services includes, but is not limited to, after-school enrichment/recreation, child care/therapeutic care, community facilitation, community mapping/development, counseling/mentoring services, crisis and intervention services, delinquency prevention, developmental screening/evaluation, domestic violence services, family resource or visitation center/full-service schools, Healthy Families America, Healthy Start, home visiting/in-home parent education/parent support, information and referral, parenting education and training, prenatal/perinatal services, Project Safety Net, respite care/crisis nursery, self-help groups/support groups, and teen parent/pregnancy program. Information and referral accounted for 459 of the children and 369 of the families identified as receiving preventive services.
By statute, "families" may include biological, adoptive, and foster families; relative caregivers; guardians; and extended families. A single adult 18 years old or older living alone may be counted as one family. If a child does not have a family (because of abandonment, termination of parents' rights, institutional care, or other factors), the child is counted as one family.
Numbers reported under preventive services include families who received services (carryover and new) in the reporting period and children in the families who received services, without regard to funding sources. If a parent received services, (e.g., parent education and training) all children in the family were identified as children served. Children could not be served without the family being served. For example, if a child attended an after-school tutoring program, one child and one family were served. When one of the children in the family received a direct service but the parent did not, siblings were not counted as receiving a service. However, the family was counted.
Preventive services data exclude public awareness campaigns. The numbers may be low because of incomplete reporting. Children and families may be funded from more than one source of preventive services funds. A small amount of Social Services Block Grant funds was used and is included in "Other."
Postinvestigation services were provided to children in the following numbers, by disposition: "Substantiated" (25,290); "Indicated" (32,105); "Unsubstantiated" (31,482); "Intentionally False" (91); "Other" (11,701); and "Unknown" (4,799). These figures included children who received or continued to receive services after investigation, and children who received out-of-home placement services (shelter or relative) during the investigation.
Children were removed from home in the following numbers, by disposition: "Substantiated" (11,619); "Indicated" (3,923); "Unsubstantiated" (1,491); "Intentionally False" (2); "Other" (39); and "Unknown" (837). These numbers were based on interim placement and include children placed out-of-home (shelter or relative) during the investigation.
Family preservation services include Intensive Crisis Counseling, Family Builders, Voluntary Family Services, Protective Supervision, Substitute Care, Post-Placement Supervision, and Adoption Services. Not all family preservation services may be included. A family identification number was used to determine whether any other member of the child's family had received such services, as well as to track history for the child in question.
Reunification includes reunification with parents, legal guardians, and other relatives following foster care. It does not include children returned home after an out-of-home placement resulting from a prior investigation, when that placement was discontinued after investigation. Nor does it include reunification with a parent/guardian after placement with a relative not licensed or paid as foster care.
Rebecca Jarvis
Service Coordinator
Protective Services Unit
Division of Family and Children Services
Georgia Department of Human Resources
2 Peachtree Street NW, Room 18.243
Atlanta, GA 30303-3142
404-657-3414
404-657-3486 Fax
rejarvis@dhr.state.ga.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
Screened-out referrals were those that did not contain the components of a CPS report. These components are a child less than 18 years old, a known or unknown individual reported to be a perpetrator, and a report of conditions indicating child maltreatment. Situations in which no allegations of maltreatment were included in the report and in which local or county protocols did not require a response were screened out. Such situations could have included historical incidents, custody issues, poverty issues, educational neglect/truancy issues, reports from a reporter who had reported three previously unfounded reports, situations involving an unborn child, or juvenile delinquency issues. For many of these reports, referrals were made to other resources, such as early intervention or prevention programs.
"Other" report sources includes other nonmandated reporters and religious leaders or staff.
CPS staff in larger counties devote full time to CPS functions. In smaller counties, staff responsible for these functions may also be responsible for all social service functions. The numbers are based on a workload study conducted by the Children's Research Center (CRC). The number of CPS positions allotted was 994. This number was multiplied by the percentages of requested functions as captured on the workload study to determine the number of FTEs responsible for the screening, intake, investigation, and assessment of reports. CRC data were based on the study month of August 16, 1998, to September 15, 1998. Six percent of time was used for intake and screening; 31 percent of time was used for investigation and assessment. Thus, the number of FTEs responsible for screening, intake, investigation, and assessment of reports during the year was 37 percent of the 994 positions (368 FTEs) and the number of FTEs responsible for screening and intake only was 6 percent of the positions (60 FTEs).
During 2000, two actions were taken to supplement the State's CPS workforce. First, the Commissioner of DHR directed the Division of Family and Children Services to laterally transfer 154 employees from economic support service positions to CPS. Second, the legislature approved funds for an additional 70 CPS positions.
Victims
Race and Hispanic ethnicity are captured as a single field in which only one of the following codes can be chosen: "black," "white," "Hispanic," "Asian," "American Indian/Alaskan," or "multiracial."
Fatalities
The number of child fatalities is based on the Georgia Child Abuse and Neglect Report, which is filled out at the completion of an investigation.
Services
The reported numbers of families and children who received preventive services increased in 2000. As agencies have become aware of the need to report preventive service numbers, they have made an effort to enhance their capacity to provide them. Additional agencies are attempting to obtain figures for future reporting. Information for this report came from the Georgia Council on Child Abuse (GCCA) and the Children's Trust Fund of Georgia, both of which funnel State and Federal money into local preventive efforts. Preventive programs reported by these organizations included First Step programs, Second Step programs, Healthy Families Georgia, Fathers of Young Children, Positive Fathering, Building Young Families, and others. GCCA was able to provide some breakdowns of children and families served by funding source.
The State maintains data on services through counts on cases, not children. Thus, estimates were provided for data on services for the same units as data on dispositions.
The current source can provide only data for removals that occurred up to the time an investigation decision was made (policy requires that the investigation be completed within 30 days of receipt of the report). Data on removals that occurred after the decision, or within 90 days of the decision, were unavailable.
Victims for whom court action was taken is the number of children served by CASAs. The Child Placement Project Study (a project of the Georgia Supreme Court) provided the number of "Victims Who Received Court-Appointed Representative."
Edward Nishimura
Research Supervisor, Management Services Office
Hawaii Department of Human Services
1390 Miller Street, Room 210
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-586-5109
808-586-4810 Fax
enishimura@dhs.state.hi.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Jeri Bala
Program Systems Specialist, Automated
Division of Family and Community Services
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
450 West State Street, 3rd Floor
Boise, ID 83720
208-334-5511
208-332-7351 Fax
balaj@idhw.state.id.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
Large numbers of investigations and children with "Unknown" dispositions occurred this year because the SACWIS did not require a disposition to be recorded before closing a case. The numbers were more than double from the 1999 numbers. A disposition is now required before case closure.
Services
The families who received preventive services were counted on the SACWIS; 1,246 families from the Family Preservation School Program and 4,400 families from the Trust Fund are also included.
Carl L. Sciarini
Manager, Office of Quality Assurance
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
406 East Monroe Street, Station 222
Springfield, IL 62701-1498
217-524-2035
217-524-2101 Fax
csciarini@idcfs.state.il.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
All calls to the hotline that meet the criteria of a child abuse or neglect allegation are referred for investigation.
"Medical Personnel" report source includes mental health personnel. "Other" report source includes substitute care providers and alleged perpetrators.
The response time to investigation is based on the average between the time when a report is taken at the hotline and the time an investigator makes the first contact. The response time is determined both by priority standard and by apparent risk to the alleged victim. The priority standard, which mandates a particular response time by law, is related to the type of child abuse or neglect allegation and the investigative activities required for each priority. For example, an allegation of sexual abuse is considered a "priority 1" allegation, an allegation of lack of supervision is considered a "priority 2" allegation, and an allegation of inadequate housing is considered a "priority 3" allegation. The response time related to initiating a report of suspected abuse/neglect is mandated by law for a given priority standard (e.g., within 24 hours) or by the apparent risk to the alleged victim(s). For example, an immediate response is required if the victim is alleged to be in immediate danger. Thus, response time is not determined only by the priority of the investigation.
Fatalities
The 15 child fatalities reported in the Agency File were pending reports when the Child File was submitted.
Services
The number of families receiving preventive services was estimated by adding the total number of "intact family cases" ("intact" means that none of the children were removed and placed in substitute care) opened during the year, the number of families receiving "family support services," and the number of families receiving "extended family support services." The number of children receiving preventive services was estimated by multiplying the number of families receiving services by 2.62, the average number of children in a DCFS family case. The range of services included prevention and support, protection, crisis intervention, time-limited family reunification, and adoption promotion and support.
Sandy Lock
Program Manager, SACWIS
Division of Family and Children
Indiana Family Social Services Administration
132 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-234-0691
317-234-0687 Fax
slock@fssa.state.in.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
The Child File contained only substantiated reports due to
expungement protocols.
Victims
The State did not report the number of children found to be "Unsubstantiated" in "Unsubstantiated" reports. The number of children reported as "Unsubstantiated" was the number of children found as "Unsubstantiated" in "Substantiated" reports.
Rebecca Meyer
Data Research Analyst
Division of Developmental, Behavioral and Protective Services for
Families, Adults and Children
Iowa Department of Human Services
1305 Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50319-0114
515-242-6890
515-281-4597 Fax
rmeyer@dhs.state.ia.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Referrals are not accepted for assessment if they do not meet the criteria for assessment or if they have been previously assessed.
Assessments were conducted by 193 staff members. Approximately 170 additional staff served as intake staff, including supervisory staff and ongoing social casework staff.
Services
Postinvestigation services refers to services opened for indicated children within 90 days of the assessment.
Foster care refers to children who entered foster care within 90 days after completion of the assessment.
State law requires that every child who appears in juvenile court have a GAL.
Tanya Keys
Program Administrator, Children and Family Policy
Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services
915 SW Harrison Avenue, 5th Floor South
Topeka, KS 66612
785-291-3665
785-368-8159 Fax
txxk@srskansas.org
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
There are two response times for reports alleging abuse and neglect, which depend on maltreatment type and preliminary risk factors. A worker must assess safety of the children on the same business day or within 72 hours of report receipt.
Denis E. Hommrich
Child Protection Specialist
Department for Social Services
Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children
908 West Broadway, 4E
Louisville, KY 40203
502-595-5492
502-595-4789 Fax
denis.hommrich@mail.state.ky.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Victims
"Neglect" includes medical neglect.
Walter G. Fahr
Program Manager, Child Protective Services
Office of Community Services
Louisiana Department of Social Services
P.O. Box 3318
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
225-342-6832
225-342-9087 Fax
fswalter@ocs.dss.state.la.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
The number of screening, intake, investigation, and assessment workers includes all first line workers and their supervisors, and five assessment staff from a contract with Kingsley House. The Random Moment Sample method was used by the Department of Social Services to determine the number of FTEs. This method measures the time ascribed to various activities by the professional staff at the local level.
In 79 percent of all investigations, the alleged victim was seen within the State's mandated response times of 24 hours, 3 calendar days, or 10 working days, depending upon the nature of the report. This proportion was based on a sample of 2,163 investigations.
Services
Preventive services provided through the State Child Abuse and Neglect Grant included 97 children and 29 families who received services from FACES, a comprehensive case management program for families with a child or parent infected with HIV. The State Grant also covered 86 children and 6,432 families who received services from Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana. Preventive services provided to children through "Other" sources included 710 children and 974 adults who received home visitations from the Healthy Families America Program (Maternal and Child Health, Office of Public Health) and from the Public Health Visiting Nurses Program. In addition, home visitation programs funded by the Louisiana Trust Fund served 2,105 families.
There were 1,705 children with a CASA-appointed representative, the basis for calculating the 1.58 average contacts per month of children with court-appointed representatives.
According to agency policy, a worker has up to 60 days to complete an investigation and refer the case for postinvestigation services.
Robert Pronovost
Supervisor
Child Protection Intake
Bureau of Child and Family Services
Maine Department of Human Services
State House, Station 11
Augusta, ME 04333
207-287-2978
207-287-5065 Fax
robert.n.pronovost@state.me.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Screened-out referrals fall into several categories. Some of the reports were appropriate for CPS, but were referred to a community agency for follow up. These agencies do not make a determination regarding substantiation and do not provide information to the SACWIS. Other screened-out referrals did not contain allegations of child abuse or neglect involving a responsible caretaker and thus, were deemed inappropriate for CPS investigation or assessment.
The number of children reported to be subject of a report but not referred for investigation is an undercount, because only the number of children who have been referred to a community agency for follow up is known.
The number of FTEs is from the Legislative Line List. Screening and intake staff includes the full-time staff of the Central Child Protection Intake Unit and a proportion of field staff in the eight district offices performing intake and screening functions.
Fatalities
The three reported fatalities are from the Death and Serious Injury Report.
Services
Nine private agencies under contract with the Bureau of Child and Family Services provide prevention services as community intervention programs in all 16 counties. Families referred to these agencies are at high risk of child abuse and neglect.
Stephen K. Berry
Manager
In-Home Services
Social Services Administration
Maryland Department of Human Resources
311 West Saratoga Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-767-7112
410-333-6556 Fax
sberry@dhr.state.md.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
The number of staff reflects FTE positions allotted for CPS. The State office does not designate screening, investigations, or continuing service tasks for these positions. Local departments determine use, based on their needs.
Services
The number of recipients of Preventive services is an estimate of the number of families who received such services as continuing CPS, Intensive Family Services, or Families Now. Each family could have received any number of additional support services (e.g., addiction counseling, day care, or crisis intervention). The data collection system does not track preventive services provided by community service agencies outside the Department of Human Resources system.
Tony Felix
Data Analyst
Office of Management, Planning and Analysis
Massachusetts Department of Social Services
24 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 02210
617-748-2356
617-261-7438 Fax
tony.felix@state.ma.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
A screened-out referral is a determination that there is no reasonable cause to believe that a child was abused/neglected; the alleged perpetrator was not a caretaker; the specific situation being reported is outdated and has no bearing on current risk to children; the specific condition is known and is being addressed by an ongoing service case; the specific condition being reported was investigated and a duplicate investigation would be unnecessarily intrusive to the family; the reported child is 18 years old or older; or the report is not credible due to a history of unreliability from the same reporter.
The number of screening, intake, and investigation workers is an estimated number of FTEs that is derived by dividing the number of intakes and investigations completed during the calendar year by the monthly workload standards. The monthly workload standards are 75 screenings per FTE and 12 investigations per FTE. The number includes both State staff and staff working for the Judge Baker Guidance Center. The Judge Baker Guidance Center handles CPS functions during evening and weekend hours when State offices are closed. (Since assessments are case management activities rather than screening, intake, and investigation activities, the number of workers completing assessments was not reported.)
The estimated FTE numbers are from Reports of Child Abuse/Neglect-Twelve Month Summary and Investigations Completed-Twelve Month Summary. The State uses these numbers for its own management purposes, and they present a clearer picture than would a count of unique individuals who performed these functions. Many Department of Social Services (DSS) social workers perform screening, intake, and investigation functions in addition to ongoing casework.
Fatalities
Four fatalities were reported in the Agency File. The State maintains a database with child fatality information entered by the Case Investigation Unit. The number of fatalities represents only those children from families known to DSS including families with an open case status; families being investigated as the result of a maltreatment report received prior to the child's death; families who had an open case within the 6 months preceding the child's death; and families who had a substantiated maltreatment report within 6 months preceding the child's death, but the case was not opened for services. As of 2001, a revised version of this database is recording information on all child fatalities regardless of whether the family was known to DSS prior to the fatality.
Lee Hunsberger
CPS Systems Specialist
Children's Protective Services Unit
Michigan Family Independence Agency
235 South Grand Avenue, Suite 510
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-6071
517-241-7407 Fax
hunsbergerl@state.mi.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Reports not referred for investigation include 9,381 reports transferred to another county, agency, or organization for investigation (e.g., Bureau of Regulatory Services, law enforcement, or an Indian tribe); 38,049 reports that were already investigated were unfounded after preliminary investigation, did not meet the Child Protection Law definition of abuse/neglect, were false complaints, or were withdrawn with cause.
Workforce data were computed based on a 2000 CPS workload study, which determined that the 740 Michigan Family Independence Agency CPS workers spend an average of 1.5 hours per intake. Each worker has 105.1 hours available each month to perform CPS tasks. Each worker can do 70 intakes per month (105.1 divided by 1.5) or 840 per year. The number of CPS complaints per year (128,982) was divided by the number of intakes per worker per year (840) to estimate the number of screening and intake workers.
Fatalities
Child fatality data are maintained in the CPS Program Office as a part of the Child Death Review process. The contractor, Michigan Public Health Institute, compiles statewide data, which, along with the information received from the 83 Michigan Family Independence Agency county offices, is assembled for submission to NCANDS. The Child File does not contain child fatality data.
Services
The State had 9,218 children enter foster care during 2000.
Jean Swanson Broberg
Systems Analysis Unit Supervisor
Minnesota Department of Human Services
444 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155-3862
651-772-3765
651-772-3794 Fax
jean.swanson-broberg@state.mn.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
At the county agency, social workers field telephone calls, walk-ins, faxes, and letters that allege child maltreatment. Counties are allowed to screen out reports when the situation has already been assessed or investigated, when the allegations as reported or discovered during the screening process do not meet the legal definitions of child abuse or neglect, or when the child is not in the county.
The number of children who were screened out may be an undercount because workers may have screened out the report prior to recording all the details on every child.
Victims
Recalculations based on date of birth resulted in the following rates: age 0-3, 12.1 per 1,000 (n=3,163); age 4-7, 11.1 per 1,000 (n=3,073); age 8-11, 10.2 per 1,000 (n=3,033); age 12-15, 6.4 per 1,000 (n=1,926); age 16-17, 3.4 per 1,000 (n=518).
Services
The number of children who have received preventive services is based on children who received health-related services, home-based support services, homemaking services, housing services, social and recreational services, money management, individual counseling, or group counseling.
The number of families who received preventive services is based on families who received family-based crisis services, family-based counseling services, and family-based life management skills services. The family is counted as a unit.
Counties report client-specific, rather than funding-source specific services to the DHS. A breakdown of service recipient numbers by funding source cannot be provided.
Robin E. Wilson
Program Manager
Division of Family and Children's Services
Mississippi Department of Human Services
750 North State Street
P.O. Box 352
Jackson, MS 39205
601-359-4016
601-359-4978 Fax
rwilson@mdhs.state.ms.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
"Medical personnel" includes mental health personnel.
Victims
"Neglect" includes medical neglect. "Other" includes exploited children, and children abused/neglected and exploited.
The estimated number of children subject of an investigation or assessment by disposition was calculated by multiplying the number of reports by the national average of 1.7 children per investigation.
Lesley Pettit
Management Analyst Specialist II
Division of Family Services
Missouri Department of Social Services
P.O. Box 88
Jefferson City, MO 65103
573-751-9604
573-526-3971 Fax
lpetti01@mail.state.mo.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Reports are screened out if there are no allegations of child abuse or neglect, if the victim is older than 18 years old, if there is no identifying information, or if no location (either household or incident) is provided.
The 39 members of the screening and intake staff work in the Central Registry, take calls 24-hours a day, and distribute the referrals to local staff for investigation. The number of those doing investigations and assessments cannot be provided because in most parts of the State, staff persons that have other child welfare duties conduct investigations.
The average response time to investigation was 49 hours; the median response time was 16 hours.
Gail Clifford
Management Analyst
Child and Family Services Division
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
P.O. Box 8005
Helena, MT 59604-8005
406-444-2584
406-444-5956 Fax
gclifford@state.mt.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
A State statute mandates that all reports indicating reasonable cause to suspect that a child is abused or neglected, be investigated.
CPS staff includes caseworkers, licensing workers, permanency workers, supervisors, and administrative support staff. Workers in the many small rural offices perform all screening, intake, investigation, and assessment functions; therefore, it is not possible to provide the number of FTEs who perform only screening and intake.
Victims
"Other" dispositions for children subject to an investigation include "insufficient information to warrant an investigation."
Glenn G. Ogg
Business Systems Analyst
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
301 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, NE 68509-5026
402-471-6615
402-471-9597 fax
glenn.ogg@hhss.state.ne.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
The numbers of screened-out reports were based, in part, on a status code of "not accepted/no maltreatment." Due to inaccurate data entry, some corrections were made based on an analysis of sample data.
Fatalities
The State is establishing a process to better access and analyze fatality data either directly from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or through a renewed collaborative effort with the Child Death Review Team. This process should be in place in time to report 2001 data.
Marjorie L. Walker
Social Welfare Programs Specialist
Division of Child and Family Services
Nevada Department of Human Resources
711 East Fifth Street, Capitol Complex
Carson City, NV 89701-5092
775-684-4422
775-684-4456 Fax
mwalker@govmail.state.nv.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
General
The information provided represents a combined total from the State and Clark and Washoe counties. Nevada has a bifurcated social services system in which counties with populations in excess of 100,000 are required to maintain their own CPS system. As a result, there are three data streams to be considered for each statewide data item.
Reports
"Law enforcement report sources" includes coroner and juvenile probation. "Other" report sources includes clergy. More than one report source per report may be entered.
Types of workers include intake/assessment staff, investigators, and caseworkers.
Services
The Nevada State Community Connections Program provided much of the data for preventive services.
Jane M. Whitney
Fiscal Research Analyst
Division of Children, Youth and Families
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
129 Pleasant Street, State Office Park South
Concord, NH 03301-3857
603-271-4412
603-271-4729 Fax
jmwhitney@dhhs.state.nh.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Two State Supreme Court cases may affect the number of substantiated investigations. These cases established that nonaccidental injuries (e.g., bruises) to a child might not result in a substantiated determination of physical abuse because the injuries alone do not indicate that the child was "harmed" or that the responsible parent was "abusive."
Screening, intake, investigation, and assessment workers included 71 assessment workers, 2 Children in Need of Service workers, 66 Family Service workers, 18 coordinators, and 12 supervisors.
Fatalities
Data on child fatalities were obtained from the Chief Medical Examiner, the Assistant Attorney General, and the State Police.
Services
By law, each child victim receives a court-appointed GAL. CASAs handled approximately 50 percent of these appointments. CASA volunteers have appointments with victims on a monthly basis.
Art Hull
Manager
Information Processing
Office of Information Services
Division of Youth and Family Services
New Jersey Department of Human Services
50 East State Street, 5th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08625-0717
609-292-9175
609-292-8196 Fax
ahull@dhs.state.nj.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
General
In 1994, the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) began an initiative that has a more careful classification of incoming referrals, as either child abuse and neglect or a family problem. The families classified as having "family problems" were not believed to have committed child abuse or neglect according to State statute. The types of situations that may lead to such a classification include homelessness; domestic violence; unresolved, child-related medical, emotional, or substance abuse problems; children with disabilities needing assistance; problems that affect the ability of parents to provide basic care for their children; and cases in which parents lack the skills to parent adequately. These cases are classified as "Alternative Response-Nonvictim."
Reports
The DYFS requires all referrals to receive either an assessment or a CPS investigation, depending on the referral type.
The count of screening, intake, investigation, and assessment workers includes all casework staff designated as caseload carrying. These workers may be assigned to a District Office, Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit, or the Office of Child Abuse Control, but workers assigned to the Adoption Resource Centers are excluded.
Fatalities
The State reported 12 child abuse deaths in addition to the 25 reported on the Child File. The Child Fatality/Near Fatality Review Board, the Coroner's Office, or DYFS have confirmed that these 12 fatalities were the result of abuse or neglect. However, this number may be an undercount as there are cases that are still undergoing review as to cause of death.
Services
The total number of children receiving preventive services is an estimate of DYFS and County Welfare Agency (CWA) clients served through established child abuse/neglect prevention contracts. The DYFS total was obtained from the Contract Administration System and reflects the combined available slots for all applicable contracts. All nonplacement-related services are considered to be preventive services and are included if the target population is children or adolescents, regardless of the funding source. Because some clients may receive the same service multiple times or may receive more than one service, this total may be duplicated.
DYFS does not maintain CWA data. The CWA numbers included in preventive services were taken from the CWA annual report Services Funded by SSBG for County Welfare Agencies for 2000 (fiscal year) under the service categories "prevention/intervention" and "case management." These totals may also be duplicated.
DYFS does not directly capture the number of families served through a particular service. This total is derived by dividing the estimated number of clients served by four, which DYFS believes to be an average family size. CWA data are not available by family.
Children considered "family problem at-risk" were not included in the counts on service outcomes because information about whether children did or did not receive services, or were removed as the result of a referral, is recorded only for investigations of abuse/neglect and not for assessments of children at risk.
Removals reported for children with unsubstantiated dispositions were emergency removals and took place before the investigations were completed.
Myrrl McBride
Administrative Deputy Director
Protective Services Division
New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Families
P.O. Drawer 5160, Room 252
Santa Fe, NM 87502
505-827-8400
505-827-8480 Fax
mwmcbride@cyfd.state.nm.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Referrals not resulting in investigations can occur when the situation is currently known to the Department or an investigation is pending; the situation does not meet the definition for abuse, neglect, or exploitation; there is a lack of identifying information; or the perpetrator is not a family member or does not reside in the home.
The number of CPS workers includes 37 intake workers, of whom 7 were supervisors; 140 CPS investigation workers, of whom 27 were supervisors; and 4 investigation substance abuse counselors. These numbers are from a State report, Breakdown of Social Workers by County & Service Type.
Fatalities
The Office of Medical Investigation reported six fatalities included in the Agency File. One of these families was provided with family preservation services within the previous 5 years.
Services
Family preservation services provided by Protective Services Division staff are used to prevent removal and to aid in reunification efforts. The Department also contracts with community agencies that provide family preservation and reunification services. Internal data not taken from the SACWIS depict that 1,002 children were the subjects of a petition in 2000.
Donna Keys
Director
Bureau of Management Information
New York State Office of Children and Family Services
Riverview Center, 6th Floor (12204)
40 North Pearl Street, 8C
Albany, NY 12243
518-474-6791
518-473-8205 Fax
donna.keys@dfa.state.ny.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
The number of reports not referred for investigation was derived by subtracting the number of investigated reports from the total number of calls to the Child Abuse and Maltreatment Hotline. There is no policy for screening out calls to the hotline. Thus, the reports not referred may have been queries for information and referral, concerned families with no children less than 18 years old, perpetrators who were not legally responsible for the child, concerned maltreatments that did not occur in the State, or had insufficient demographic information to locate the child or the family.
Data fields related to maltreatment types were duplicated in 1999. The double counting was corrected in 2000.
Jo Ann Lamm, M.S.W.
Team Leader
Child Protective Services Branch
Division of Social Services
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
325 North Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-733-3360
919-715-6714 fax
joann.lamm@ncmail.net
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
Reasons why reports may not be referred for investigative assessment include the problem described, does not meet any of the statutory definitions; the individual is not a juvenile under statutory definitions; and the allegation in no way suggests that the action or inaction of a parent or caretaker resulted in harm to the child.
Legislation, effective in 1997, requires that when a report is made alleging abuse, neglect, or dependency with regard to any child in a family, all minors living in the home must be treated as alleged victims.
Data on the number of workers are in terms of FTEs.
Victims
"Other" types of maltreatment includes dependency and encouraging, directing, or approving delinquent acts involving moral turpitude committed by a juvenile.
Fatalities
The Agency File contains all child deaths that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined to have been caused by abuse.
No child fatalities were in families that received family preservation services in the previous year. The State was not able to determine the number who received family preservation services during the previous five years.
Services
Preventive services includes the following programs: Family Preservation Services, Family Support Services and Intensive Family Preservation Services. The decrease in the number of children and families served since last year is the result of an increase in scope for the Family Support Services to provide services other than preventive services.
Gladys Cairns
Administrator
Child Protection Services
Children and Family Services Division
Department of Human Services-325
600 East Boulevard
Bismarck, ND 58501
701-328-4806
701-328-3538 Fax
socaig@state.nd.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
General
The child neglect and abuse law was amended in 1995 to move from an incident-based investigation method to a service method, in which assessments are made of child safety and future risk of harm. The emphasis is put on what services are available to ameliorate any future risk. This approach focuses on identifying and building on the family's capacities and strengths.
The text of the North Dakota statute, in part,
states:
"An assessment is a fact-finding process designed to provide
information that enables a determination to be made that services
are required to provide for the protection and treatment of an
abused or neglected child. The Department of Human Services (DHS)
immediately shall initiate an assessment or cause an assessment of
any report of child abuse or neglect including, when appropriate,
the assessment of the home or residence of the child, any school or
child care facility attended by the child, and the circumstances
surrounding the report of abuse or neglect. If the report alleges a
violation of a criminal statute involving sexual or physical abuse,
DHS and an appropriate law enforcement agency shall coordinate the
planning and execution of their investigation efforts to avoid a
duplication of fact-finding efforts and multiple interviews.
Upon completion of the assessment of the initial report of child abuse or neglect, a decision must be made whether services are required to provide for the protection and treatment of an abused or neglected child. This determination is the responsibility of DHS. Upon a decision that services are required, DHS promptly shall make a written report of the decision to the juvenile court having jurisdiction in the matter. DHS promptly shall file a report of a decision that services are required under this section in the child abuse information index. The Division of Children and Family Services shall maintain a child abuse information index of all reports of decisions that services are required for child abuse, neglect, or death resulting from abuse or neglect." (Excerpted from North Dakota Legislative Code, Chapter 50-25.1)
Reports
All 4,054 investigation dispositions were categorized as "Other." These included "no services required but services recommended" (969); "no services required and no services recommended" (2,382); and "services required" (703).
All 6,981 child dispositions were categorized as "Other," and further broken down as "no services required but services recommended" (1,515); "no services required and no services recommended" (4,083); and "services required" (1,383).
A response time of 72 hours or less was reported for 3,462 of 3,586 reports.
The State reported 38 full-time social workers and 64 part-time social workers who provided child protection intake and assessment services.
Leslie B. McGee
Child Protective Services Supervisor
Bureau of Family Services
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
255 East Main Street, 3rd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
614-466-9274
614-466-0164 Fax
mcgeel@odjfs.state.oh.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
General
Ohio Administrative Code rules, effective January 1, 1998, instituted a two-track system comprised of an Assessment Track and an Investigation Track. All reports of child abuse and neglect in which the alleged perpetrator is known to the child (with the exception of third-party and out-of-home care reports) are addressed through the Assessment Track. Third-party and out-of-home care reports are addressed through the Investigation Track.
A tool to assess risk, the Family Risk Assessment Matrix, is applied to cases in the Assessment Track. A case resolution, which reflects the overall level of risk, is reported for the family. The NCANDS category, "Children for Whom the Allegation of Maltreatment Was Given an Alternative Response Disposition That Identified Child Victims," includes children given a case resolution of low/moderate risk to high risk. These children are considered victims. "No risk" and "low risk" dispositions are considered to be "Alternative Response-Nonvictim" dispositions.
Investigation Track reports are assigned a case disposition of substantiated, indicated, or unsubstantiated.
Reports
The "Other Relatives" includes parents.
Fatalities
The number of fatalities may be underreported because CPS agencies do not investigate all child deaths.
Services
The counts for "Children Who Did Not Receive Services" in the SDC consists of children whose cases were closed at the intake level.
"Victims Who Had Been Reunified within the Past 5 Years" consists of child victims who had been in foster care whose parent, (e.g., mother, father, adoptive mother, or adoptive father) was listed as the alleged perpetrator.
Bill Hindman
Technology and Information Unit Administrator
Division of Children and Family Services
Oklahoma Department of Human Services
5905 North Classen Court, Room 402
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
405-767-2525
405-767-2560 Fax
bill.hindman@okdhs.org
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
CPS staff investigate or assess allegations of abuse or neglect in which the perpetrator is identified as: a parent, whether custodial or noncustodial; a legal guardian or custodian; an adult residing in the home of the child, including an adult who is cohabitating with the child's parent; or a person other than a person responsible for the child (PRFC) only to the extent necessary to determine whether harm to the child reflects a PRFC's unwillingness or inability to protect the child.
Title 10 mandates the investigation of alleged abuse or neglect by the foster parent or the owner, the operator, or the employee of a childcare facility. Schoolteachers, officials, Department of Human Services employees, and other persons providing services to the child are not PRFCs unless employed in a childcare facility. Certain allegations of failure to protect or corporal punishment in the home of a foster parent or kinship placement may be conducted as an assessment.
The average response time was based on the calculation, in hours, from the time the referral is received to the time of the first actual or attempted face-to-face victim interview. The average was calculated by summing the total hours of all the accepted referrals and dividing by the number of accepted referrals. The average response time for priority 1 referrals was 13 hours (policy requires 24 hours); for priority 2 referrals it was 448 hours or 37.3 days (policy requires 15 days); and for priority 3 referrals it was 632 hours or 52.7 days (policy requires 30 days).
The number of CPS employees (not FTEs) was estimated based on SACWIS data regarding Permanency Planning and "comprehensive" workers. Comprehensive workers may have responsibility to receive, screen, investigate, and assess reports of abuse and neglect. Therefore, a percentage of these workers, and all CPS staff, were included in the reported numbers. The primary function of staff of the child abuse hotline and two metro county hotlines is the documentation of child abuse and neglect reports; the two metro hotlines may also screen referrals.
Prior to April 1, 1999, referrals were coded only as investigations with the following dispositions "confirmed," "ruled out," "uncertain," "reasonable parental discipline," and "unable to locate." Referrals received after April 1, 1999, were coded as investigations or assessments. The following dispositions were used for investigations (the NCANDS category follows in parentheses): "confirmed-court intervention requested" (Substantiated); "confirmed-services recommended" (Substantiated); "reasonable parental discipline" (not reported as these are expunged); "services recommended" (Unsubstantiated); "services not needed" (Unsubstantiated) and "unable to locate" (Closed Without a Finding). The following dispositions were used for assessments (the NCANDS category follows in parentheses): "confirmed-services recommended" (Substantiated); "reasonable parental discipline" (not reported as these are expunged); "services recommended" (Alternative Response-Nonvictim); "services not needed" (Alternative Response-Nonvictim); and "unable to locate" (Closed Without a Finding).
Perpetrators
A separate division of the Department of Human Services investigates alleged abuse by residential facility staff. Law enforcement personnel investigate abuse by a noncaretaker or a third-party perpetrator. Therefore, information about abuse by residential facility staff or third-party perpetrators is not documented in the SACWIS.
Fatalities
Fatality data were only reported in the Agency File. The data on investigation of a child's death has always been in the SACWIS. However, due to the delay in receiving all the information needed to determine if the child's death was a result of abuse or neglect, a separate file of child fatalities has continued to be maintained. Data fields on child abuse fatalities have been incorporated into the SACWIS, so in the future child fatality determinations will be recorded in SACWIS and the data will be reported in the Child File.
Jim White
Research Analyst
Office for Services to Children and Families
Oregon Department of Human Resources
HRB, 2d Floor South
500 Summer Street NE
Salem, OR 97310-1017
503-945-5667
503-581-6198 Fax
jim.m.white@state.or.us
Reports
Data were reported based on the assessment date, not the referral/report date. Most data are not available until the report has been assessed. "Other" dispositions refer to the State classification "unable to determine."
Victims
The number of children with "Unsubstantiated" allegations or risk of maltreatment was estimated. Duplicated victim counts were reported. "Other" maltreatment refers to "threat of harm."
Services
Preventive services are provided or coordinated through local Children and Family Commissions. The same child could be removed more than once during the year and associated with different reports. Each removal was counted.
Susan Stockwell
Program Specialist
Office of Children, Youth and Families
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Hillcrest Building
53 Harrisburg State Hospital Complex
P.O. Box 2675
Harrisburg, PA 17105
717-787-7758
717-772-6442 Fax
sstockwell@dpw.state.pa.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
General
The State does not accept funds from the Basic State Grant and is not required to submit data to the NCANDS.
Reports
The State has a narrow definition of child abuse, CPS investigations account for approximately 30 percent of the total reports investigated or assessed by the child welfare system. The number of reports not referred for investigation includes reports of general protective service, information and referral, and emergency clearances for placements.
In the county-administered child welfare system, some counties have caseworkers who specialize in CPS investigations or assessments, other counties have generic caseworkers that perform other child welfare functions in addition to investigations or assessments. Any caseworker who performed a direct child welfare function was reported.
Victims
State policy addresses neglect through a general protective service investigation rather than a child protective service investigation. These neglect cases are not classified as child abuse. The definition of abuse includes "(i.) any recent act or failure to act by a perpetrator that causes nonaccidental serious physical injury to a child less than 18 years old; (ii.) an act or failure to act by a perpetrator that causes nonaccidental serious mental injury to or sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child less than 18 years old; (iii.) any act or failure to act or series of such acts or failure to act by a perpetrator which creates an imminent risk of serious physical injury to or sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child less than 18 years old; (iv.) serious physical neglect by a perpetrator constituting prolonged or repeated lack of supervision or the failure to provide the essentials of life, including adequate medical care, which endangers a child's life or development or impairs the child's functioning." (Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law, title 23, PA C.S.A. Chapter 63.)
State law does not allow the collection of data on race.
Services
Foster care data were not included in the Child File. However, aggregate estimates of child victims in foster care were obtained from other sources. Child victims in the NCANDS files were compared to children in the AFCARS file for the same time frame. If there was a match, that child was counted as being in foster care. Approximately 23 percent received foster care services. Based on these percentages, an estimated 1,100 victims received foster care services because of a child abuse or neglect investigation.
Rebecca Connors
RICHIST Program Manager
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families
101 Friendship Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-528-3816
401-528-3922 Fax
rconnors@dcyf.state.ri.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
For a report to be referred for investigation, the following criteria must be met: the alleged victim must be a child less than 18 years old and living in his or her own home or less than 21 years old if living in custody of the Department of Children Youth and Families; harm or substantial risk of harm to the child must be present; a specific incident or pattern of incidents suggesting child abuse or neglect must be identified; and a person responsible for the child's welfare or living in the same home, including temporary caretakers such as babysitters or siblings caring for the child, must be the alleged perpetrator of the incident.
The RICHIST system can link more than one report source per report. However, only one person can be identified as "reporter" (the person who actually makes the report). If more than one report is linked to an investigation, the person identified as the "reporter" in the first report is used in the Child File.
The number of screening, intake, investigation, and assessment workers was based upon a point in time count of FTEs for Child Protective Investigators and Child Protective Supervisors who take and investigate reports meeting the criteria for investigation and screening. The number of screening and intake workers is based upon a point in time count of all FTEs for Social Caseworkers II and Social Caseworker Supervisors II working in the Intake Unit and are responsible for screening and intake.
Victims
"Other" maltreatment includes institutional allegations such as corporal punishment, other institutional abuse, and other institutional neglect.
Services
The CASA organization provided the average number of out-of-court contacts. This number does not include the contacts of GALs.
Joanne L. Schaekel
Program Liaison, Child Protective Services
Office of Family Preservation and Child Welfare Services
South Carolina Department of Social Services
P.O. Box 1520
Columbia, SC 29202-1520
803-898-7318
803-898-7217 Fax
jschaekel@dss.state.sc.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Victims
"Other" maltreatment types includes "educational neglect" (946); "abandonment" (75); "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" (112); and various forms of "threat of harm" (6,725). The "threat of harm of physical abuse" (2,709) and "threat of harm of physical neglect" (3,092) were the most frequent types of "threat of harm."
Fatalities
The number of fatalities in 2000 increased from the number in 1999 partially as a result of better coordination between the three agencies that gather data on child maltreatment fatalities-the State Child Fatality Group, the State Department of Social Services, and the State Department of Health and Environmental Control. The number was also affected by the abuse-related death of a sibling group.
Mary Livermont
Program Specialist II
Child Protection Services
South Dakota Department of Social Services
700 Governors Drive
Pierre, SD 57501
605-773-3227
605-773-6834 Fax
mary.livermont.@state.sd.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
General
An assessment track has been used along with an investigation track since 1995. The assessment process focuses more on the family than on the specific child who was reported as an alleged victim. Whether a report is assigned an investigation or an assessment is based on a number of factors, including presence of possible criminal charges, the prior history of the family, the severity of the allegation, the health and safety of the child, and other risk issues. The assessment process is targeted to address the needs of families for whom CPS has had no prior referrals and parents of younger children.
Assessments are designed to identify the strengths and needs of the whole family and require the participation of the family as a unit to the extent practical. The allegations in a referral serve only as a reference point to assist the family in identifying problems that may be hampering family functioning and that do not need to be proved or disproved. The ideal outcome of the family assessment is the identification of natural supports for the family, development of a functioning referral network for the family, and a family service agreement, if necessary, to alleviate the problems identified by the family.
The outcomes of the 2,085 family assessments, which included 4,789 children were as follows: "no assessment needed" (122); "assessment not completed/family refused" (390); "assessment completed, no follow-up services needed" (181); "assessment completed/family refused follow-up services" (44); "referred for child abuse/neglect investigation" (84); "assessment completed/family referred to other resources" (309); "assessment completed/open for follow-up services" (54); "assessment not initiated/family declined/short term intervention or services by CPS" (109); "assessment not initiated/family referred to another agency for services" (58); "assessment initiated/not completed/family dropped out" (127); "closed without a finding" (296); and missing (311). These children were included as "Alternative Response-Nonvictim." In prior years, such children were not counted as having a disposition.
Louis Martinez, M.S.W.
Program Coordinator
Child Protective Services
Tennessee Department of Children's Services
436 Sixth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243
615-532-5624
615-532-6495 Fax
lmartinez@mail.state.tn.us
Data File(s) Submitted
SDC
Reports
The increase in the number of children subject to an investigation compared to 1999 (51,917 versus 33,629) does not reflect an actual increase. It reflects a more accurate manual count of investigations than previously reported by the pre-SACWIS computer system.
Deborah Washington
Systems Analyst
Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
Mail Code Y960
P.O. Box 149030
Austin, TX 78714-9030
512-834-3762
512-834-3780 Fax
deborah.washington@tdprs.state.tx.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
The following State terms are mapped to the NCANDS terms in parentheses: "reason to believe" (Substantiated); "ruled out" (Unsubstantiated); "family moved" (Closed Without a Finding); and "unable to determine" and "administrative closure" (Other). While data are not available for "assessments in which children/families were found to be in need of services" at this time, a Flexible Response pilot program is in the process of statewide implementation.
The number of workers was derived from payroll information and contained workers with the classifications of-intake, investigation, family support, substitute care, foster/adoptive training and placement, eligibility, and intensive family support.
The average response time for priority 1 calls was 27 hours (based on 36,562 reports); the average response time for priority 2 calls was 180 hours (based on 85,220 reports).
Navina Forsythe
Information Analyst
Division of Child and Family Services
Utah Department of Human Services
120 North 200 West, Suite 225
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
801-538-4045
801-538-3993 Fax
nforsyth@state.ut.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
"Closed Without a Finding" includes "unable to locate," "family moved," and "transferred to another region."
"Initial investigation" is defined as face-to-face contact with the alleged victim. Consequently, the time average may be longer than other States with less stringent standards. Outlying data points were excluded.
The number of screening, intake, investigation, and assessment workers is an estimate. Many workers perform multiple functions, e.g., conduct investigations as well as other types of work. This number includes all workers who conduct some investigations.
Phillip M. Zunder, Ph.D.
Information Technology Manager
Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, VT 05671-2401
802-241-2106
802-241-2980 Fax
pzunder@srs.state.vt.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, SDC
(SDC is used for supplementary information only.)
Services
The number of recipients of "Other" preventive services is a duplicated count of recipients of at-risk childcare, intensive family-based services, and parent education programs.
Rita L. Katzman
CPS Program Manager
Division of Service Programs
Virginia Department of Social Services
730 East Broad Street, 2d Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
804-692-1207
804-692-2209 Fax
rlk2@email1.dss.state.va.us
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
There may be some discontinuity in the data compared to previous
years because of the number of reports eliminated during the
validation phase.
Reports
The category of "anonymous" was incorrectly mapped and may be a significant part of the count in the "Unknown" category.
The numbers for reports and children not referred for investigation are from reports that were not valid or had insufficient information to locate the family. For a report to be accepted for investigation, the alleged victim must be less than 18 years old, the alleged abuser or neglector must meet the definition of "caretaker," the allegation must meet the definition of abuse or neglect, and the alleged abuse or neglect must have occurred in the State, or the child must be a State resident.
Data on CPS staff were based on Random Moment Sampling (RMS). RMS is used to document the specific program and activity a worker is engaged in at a randomly selected moment in time. The information is used to determine how the shares of various programs are funded with local, State, and Federal dollars. This method enables the Department of Social Services to meet Federal record-keeping requirements without requiring workers to keep minute-by-minute activity records during the workday. An RMS observer interviews the selected worker to ask what program and activity is being worked on at the selected moment. Each worker, on average, is asked 2.7 times per quarter to complete a RMS observation form. The measurement for this workload study was conducted in 35 out of 122 localities in staggered 6-week periods in January, February, and March 2000. The results of the study indicated that CPS work is 8 percent intake (including screening), 51 percent investigations, and 41 percent ongoing CPS cases.
Services
The service of a juvenile court petition is not a currently mandated field for workers to fill out. Thus, the reported count is low.
The number of children with out-of-court contacts was derived from the number of children assigned a CASA, based on a manual count of the CASA programs. The average number of out-of-court contacts between court representatives and child victims was derived from a manual count of monthly reports from 25 CASA programs in the State. Not all localities have a CASA program, and only 17 programs reported data.
Cynthia Ellingson
Program Manager
Children's Administration
Washington Department of Social and Health Services
P.O. Box 45710
14th and Jefferson Street, OB-2
Olympia, WA 98504-5710
360-902-7929
360-902-7903 Fax
elcy300@dshs.wa.gov
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
Reports
CPS referrals were screened out for the following reasons: the child could not be located, the alleged subject was not a caretaker, or the allegation of child abuse and neglect did not meet the State's legal definition. Of the referrals that went forward, some were assessed as needing a "high standard of investigation" (face-to-face contact with the victim) and some were assessed as "families in need of services."
Each social worker's responsibilities are identified at the office level and coded as "CPS," "intake," or "after hours." The monthly average for all three categories is 469.5 FTEs. The monthly average for just "intake" and "after hours" is 136.0 FTEs.
Fatalities
Vital Statistics in the Department of Health collects information on all child deaths.
Services
Families received preventive services from the following sources: Community Networks, CPS Child Care Services, Family Reconciliation Services, Family Preservation, and Intensive Family Preservation Services.
The Department opens a case for services at the time a CPS referral is accepted for investigation. The automated information system does not distinguish between services provided for the purpose of the investigation and services provided during the investigation, which are for the purpose of supporting the family or reducing the risk present in the family. By policy, investigations are to be completed within 90 days of the referral. To most accurately distinguish between those children who received services, in addition to CPS investigation or assessment services, and those who did not, CPS cases open longer than 90 days were counted as receiving postinvestigative services, and cases open for 90 or fewer days were counted as not having received postinvestigative services.
Don Walker
Information Specialist Manager
Office of Social Services
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
350 Capitol Street, Room 691
Charleston, WV 25301-3704
304-558-0863
304-558-4563 Fax
donaldwalker@wvdhhr.org
Data File(s) Submitted
Child File, Agency File
General
The Families and Children Tracking System (FACTS) has been in operation for four years; this is the third full report obtained from the new system. Revisions are continuously being made to improve programming and ease of use by workers.
Services
The numbers of children and families receiving preventive services through the Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant (Basic State Grant) were tabulated from monthly or annual performance reports submitted by contracted providers funded through this source. Preventive services provided through the Community-Based Family Resource and Support Grant included many of the same contracts as the Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant. The numbers of children and families receiving preventive services through the Safe and Stable Families Program were tabulated from monthly or annual performance reports submitted by contracted providers funded through this source.
Some of the contracted providers were Family Refuge Center, West Virginia Youth Advocate, Stop Abusive Family Environments, Prestera Center, TEAM for West Virginia Children, Children's Home of Wheeling, and Community Action of Southern West Virginia.
John Tuohy
Director
Office of Policy, Evaluation, and Planning
Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
1 West Wilson Street
Madison, WI 53708
608-267-3832
608-267-6836 Fax
tuohyjo@dhfs.state.wi.us
Data Sources
SDC
General
Child abuse and neglect data are submitted by local agencies for entry in the CAN database. The State is implementing a SACWIS system that will collect more complete and timely CAN data. The reporting features were implemented in Milwaukee County in 2001 and will be implemented statewide by 2004.
Reports
There can be more than one report source per report. "Other" dispositions refer to those investigations where critical sources of information necessary for establishing a preponderance of evidence cannot be found or accessed.
Victims
In addition to dispositions of substantiated abuse and neglect, the data includes dispositions where evidence justifies a belief that abuse or neglect is likely to occur. "Other" dispositions includes children who are subjects of reports with a disposition indicating the likelihood of abuse or neglect.
Rick Robb
Social Service Program Manager
Protective Services
Wyoming Department of Family Services
2300 Capitol Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-7150
307-777-3693 Fax
rrobb@state.wy.us
Data File(s) Submitted
DCDC, Agency File
Report
The average time for reports requiring an "immediate" response was 3 hours; the average time for "nonimmediate" response was 16 hours.
Each active worker with at least one open CPS incident at the time this report was generated was counted as a screening, intake, investigation, or assessment worker.
Services
In addition to the CPS incident database, the count of children and families who received preventive services also included those served by Children's Trust Fund and Family Preservation grants.
Children were considered to have received family preservation services in the last five years if family preservation contracts were written on any incident in that period. Children were considered to have received reunification services if in the five years prior to the beginning of the reporting period, there was a placement that ended with reunification.
Fatalities
The three fatalities reported in the Agency File include one fatality from the Child File.
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