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In this chapter, several examples of additional analyses that examine child maltreatment are discussed.
The goal of the National Study of CPS Systems and Reform Efforts is to describe the overall status of child protective services (CPS) systems and of reform efforts that are underway. The study is funded by the Children's Bureau and managed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, both within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The three main areas of the study are the State policies that define CPS functions and specify how these functions are carried out; local CPS agency organization and the practices that implement CPS functions; and innovative reform efforts that seek to restructure, redefine, or reformulate the purposes and functions of CPS.
As a part of the study, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data will be used in conjunction with local agency-level survey data. The purpose of the analysis will be to explore the relationship of organizational features and practices on the age, race, and sex of rates of children reported and the impact of these local agency characteristics on rates of reporting, victimization, postinvestigation service provision, types of maltreatment, and recurrence. County-level data from the NCANDS will be used to support these analyses. A report will be produced to discuss commonalties and differences in how CPS work is carried out and thereby provide a comprehensive picture of the CPS system nationwide.
For further information about the National Study of CPS
Systems and Reform Efforts, contact:
Laura Radel
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW, Room 450-G
Washington, DC 20201
Laura.Radel@hhs.gov
In 1998, the Children's Bureau funded three studies to increase the knowledge on "Unsubstantiated" reports. One study The Dynamics of Unsubstantiated Reports: A Multi-State Study conducted by the American Humane Association in collaboration with the American Public Human Services Association and Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc., used data from the NCANDS to test several different hypotheses.1 Some of the key findings are:
For further information about The Dynamics of Unsubstantiated
Reports: A Multi-State Study, contact:
American Humane Association
63 Inverness Drive East
Englewood, CO 80112-5117
303-792-9900
or
John D. Fluke, Ph.D.
Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc.
15884 East Crestridge Circle
Aurora, CO 80015
jfluke@wrma.com
Another study, Recidivism in Child Protective Services Among Substantiated and Unsubstantiated Cases, addressed the rates of recidivism of substantiated and unsubstantiated reports.2 Drake, et al., from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, used the administrative data of the Missouri Department of Social Services. Subjects were followed for 4.5 years. The main findings included the following:
For further information about the Recidivism in Child
Protective Services Among Substantiated and Unsubstantiated
Cases study, contact:
Brett Drake, Ph.D.
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
Washington University
Campus Box 1196
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63113
Brettd@gwbssw.wustl.edu
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In the Child Abuse and Neglect Among American Indian/Alaska Native Children: An Analysis of Existing Data study funded by Casey Family Programs, data from the Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC) were used to compare White and American Indian victims of abuse or neglect.3 Individual case data from 1995 to 1999 were combined into one file and sorted to select only the first case for each child. Each American Indian child was matched to a White child by age, gender, State, year of incident, and Hispanic ethnicity. Hispanic ethnicity was found to be a confounding variable, and all Hispanic cases were dropped from the final analysis, which included 9,031 American Indian and 9,027 White children. Statistically significant differences between these groups were found on the following variables:
For further information about the Child Abuse and Neglect
Among American Indian/Alaska Native Children: An Analysis of
Existing Data study, contact:
Kathleen A. Earle, Ph.D.
Institute for Child and Family Policy
Muskie School of Public Service
University of Southern Maine
400 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04112-5010
kearle@usm.maine.edu
Another study, the Occurrence and Recurrence of Physical Abuse in Young Children: A Secondary Analysis of NCANDS undertook to examine the occurrence and recurrence of physical abuse in young children. Child maltreatment information for 1995-1999 from the Detailed Case Data Component were examined. The first occurrence of physical abuse was compared to other types of maltreatment in children younger than 3 years, and the recurrence of physical abuse after a first occurrence before the child's first birthday was compared to children with no recurrence or with recurrence of other forms of maltreatment. Critical findings of the study included:
Only eight States contributed data for at least three consecutive years to the DCDC during 1995-1999, and substantial data are missing. The subtype of physical abuse is also not specified in the DCDC. Different types of injuries resulting from physical abuse are postulated to have different rates of occurrence and recurrence, and the impact of these specific injuries cannot be assessed. In addition, the archived DCDC data do not include confidential child data on child fatalities, an important outcome of physical abuse. Future research will benefit from improved consistency of State reporting and additional information about the subtypes of abuse, including fatalities.
For further information about the Occurrence and Recurrence
of Physical Abuse in Young Children: A Secondary Analysis of
NCANDS study, contact:
Vincent John Palusci, M.D.
Director
Child Protection Team
DeVos Children's Hospital
100 Michigan Street, NE
MC-98
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Vincent.Palusci@Spectrum-Health.org
The Evidence Base for Child Welfare Policy study conducted in conjunction with The Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago examined the patterns of reports to and response by CPS agencies with regards to the age of child victims. The key findings based on 1999 data include those listed below:
For further information about The Evidence Base for Child
Welfare Policy study, contact:
Ying-Ying T. Yuan, Ph.D.
Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc.
12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 310
Rockville, MD 20852
yyuan@wrma.com
The Child Welfare Outcomes 1999: Annual Report examined certain features of the child welfare system in conjunction with demographic conditions.4 The findings included the following:
For further information about the Child Welfare Outcomes
1999: Annual Report, contact:
Marianne Rufty
Children's Bureau
330 C Street SW
Washington, DC 20447
mrufty@acf.dhhs.gov
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The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) study, will follow a nationally representative sample of children who come into contact with the child welfare system, assessing their social, emotional, cognitive, and functional status, as well as services needed and provided for children and their families. More than 6,000 children in 36 States are included in the study. The sample includes both children who are receiving services from the child welfare system, and children who have been the subject of investigations by child protective services, but who have not come into the system.
The study includes direct assessments and interviews of children, their primary caregivers (either their parents or substitute caregivers, such as foster parents), and their caseworkers. Information from teachers is obtained, via questionnaires, for school-aged children. The sampling was dependent on being able to estimate the size of the child welfare population in the U.S. at the county level. To obtain these estimates for the approximately 3,000 counties in the U.S., the NSCAW statisticians used NCANDS data along with Census data, natality statistics, and State child welfare statistics, where available. The NCANDS data provided State and county level statistics on reporting and substantiation.
For further information about the National Survey of Child
and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) study, contact:
Mary Bruce Webb
Office of Policy, Research and Evaluation
ACF/DHHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade SW
Washington, DC 20447
mbwebb@acf.dhhs.gov
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Some topics of interest for future research or program planning and review are briefly discussed below.
Characteristics of Victims
While it is hypothesized that certain children are more at risk for maltreatment and recurrence, there remains additional research to be conducted. The NCANDS data include items on factors such as financial assistance, child and adult alcohol and drug abuse, and racial and ethnic background of children and perpetrators. These factors can be examined further in terms of disposition rates and recurrence rates.
Services
The linkages between service provision and the types of reports that are investigated and assessed continue to be an issue for research. Characteristics of children who receive services as a consequence of reports alleging abuse or neglect should be examined. Of special interest, perhaps, are the characteristics of children in reports that receive "Unsubstantiated" dispositions as related to service provision. Starting with data for 2000, some States have included service data on "Unsubstantiated" reports. This new data will help to address this question.
Perpetrators
The characteristics of perpetrators, including risk factors associated with the family or the perpetrator, can be further studied to determine what, if any, characteristics relate to multiple maltreatments by a perpetrator.
Researchers interested in pursuing these or other topics based on the NCANDS data should contact the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, which is maintained by the Family Life Development Center, New York State College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, under a cooperative agreement with the Children's Bureau. The Archive provides technical assistance and training on the use of child welfare data. It maintains case-level data and the multiyear data set of NCANDS. Intensive training is provided at a 1-week Summer Institute in June of each year. Contact information is provided on the inside cover of this report.
Notes
1 Fluke, J.,
Parry, C., Shapiro, P., Hollinshead, D., Bollenbacher, V., Baumann,
D., Davis-Brown, K., (2001). The Dynamics of Unsubstantiated
Reports: A Multi-State Study. Englewood, CO: The American
Humane Association. Back
2 Drake, B.,
Jonson-Reid, M., Way, I., Chung, S., (2001). Recidivism in Child
Protective Services Among Substantiated and Unsubstantiated
Cases. Unpublished Final Report, Grant #90CA159101. Back
3 Earle, K.A.,
& Cross, A. (2001) Child Abuse and Neglect Among American
Indian/Alaska Native Children: An Analysis of Existing Data.
Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs. Back
4 U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. Child Welfare
Outcomes 1999: Annual Report (Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 2002). Back
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