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This introductory chapter presents a brief history of the
development and structure of the NCANDS, describes the content and
purpose of its two components, and includes an overview to guide
the reader through the remaining chapters of this report.
1.1 Development of the NCANDS
Public Law 100-294, which was passed on April 25, 1988, amended
the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA) [42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 5116
et seq.] and directed the Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services to establish a national data collection and analysis
program on child abuse and neglect.
The Department responded by establishing the NCANDS as a
collaborative, voluntary national reporting system. From its
inception, the NCANDS has collected and analyzed child abuse and
neglect data from child protective services (CPS) agencies. In
1992, the Department produced the first annual report on NCANDS
findings, based on data for calendar year 1990.
During the initial design of the NCANDS, the Department convened a
State Advisory Group composed of interested State CPS
administrators and other child welfare professionals. The group
helped to identify data items and definitions that would best
represent a national profile of child maltreatment. As the NCANDS
has evolved, the State Advisory Group has played an important role.
The composition of the group has changed, but the group continues
to help guide the development of the NCANDS. Members of the 1998-99
State Advisory Group are listed in appendix
A.
1.2 The NCANDS Components
The NCANDS consists of two parts, the Summary Data Component
(SDC) and the Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC), which collect
State child abuse and neglect information at different levels of
detail.
The Summary Data Component
The SDC collects aggregate data from the States through an
annual survey (appendix B). The survey asks
each State to report statistics, including the number of children
and families receiving preventive services, the number of reports
and investigations of child abuse and neglect, the number of
children who were the subjects of reports of abuse or neglect, the
number of child victims of maltreatment, the number of child
fatalities, the number and characteristics of perpetrators of child
maltreatment, and the size of the State's CPS workforce.
In the spring of 1999, the 1998 SDC survey was transmitted in
either paper or electronic format to the States.1 The survey
requests data on the 12 items discussed in the 1996 amendments to
the CAPTA.2
Every State submitted 1998 data. Responses to several of the items
required by the 1996 amendments to the CAPTA varied. All of the
States provided information on the number of reports received, and
all but one provided data on the disposition of the children who
were the subjects of reports. However, only 11 States provided data
on the amount of time it took CPS to provide services, and only 2
States were able to provide data on the average number of
out-of-court contacts between court-appointed representatives and
child victims. (See appendices D, Summary of
State Responses, and E, 1998 State Data
Tables.) This volume marks the release of the ninth annual
report on NCANDS data since 1992.
Completed SDC survey forms were reviewed for consistency and
clarity, and the States were asked to provide clarifying comments
on their data submissions. These comments are provided in appendix F.
The Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC)
The DCDC collects case-level data on all children who are the
subjects of reports alleging maltreatment. The case-level data
include the ages and sex of victims, types of maltreatment that the
victims experienced, services provided, and characteristics of
perpetrators. The data are encrypted to protect the identities of
children represented in the DCDC.
The DCDC data submission consists of automated case records
generated by State child welfare information systems. Once States
agree to participate in the DCDC, they match the data elements and
coding structures of their State child welfare information systems
to the DCDC. The documentation of this matching process is called a
"map." Once the map has been verified and a sample set of data has
been generated and checked, a State submits its DCDC data by
creating and sending annual extracts. The data extracts are
verified for accuracy and completeness using an automated
data-verification program.3
The DCDC data permit a more detailed analysis of abuse and neglect
than is possible with aggregate data. For example, because the SDC
survey provides aggregate information on the distribution of ages
of victims and the types of maltreatment that they experienced, it
precludes a cross-tabulation analysis, such as age of victim by
type of maltreatment. Because the DCDC collects data at the case
level, this type of analysis can be conducted.
Twenty States submitted 1998 DCDC data that passed the validation
process.4 The child population of the 20 reporting
States is more than a third of the U.S. population younger than 18
years old. Data were collected on more than 725,000 reports
involving more than 1.2 million children. The inclusion in the DCDC
database of a significant percentage (39.3%) of all of the reports
received by CPS agencies nationwide in 1998 thus offers the
potential to provide new insight into child abuse and neglect
victimization.
1.3 Overview of the Report
Chapter 2 presents data on preventive
services. Chapter 3 discusses child
maltreatment investigations, CPS workload, and the response time of
CPS agencies. Chapter 4 discusses the
characteristics of child maltreatment victims. Findings on services
provided to children are presented in chapter
5. Chapter 6 discusses data on
perpetrators, and chapter 7 presents data on
child fatalities. Finally, chapter 8
presents information on the use of NCANDS data in current research
activities.
Appendix A lists the NCANDS State Advisory
Group members. Appendix B contains the 1998
SDC survey. The list of data items from the 1996 amendments to the
CAPTA is presented in appendix C. Appendix D displays a table providing the
status of State reporting on each SDC data element. The 1998 SDC
data tables are presented in appendix E. Appendix F contains States' comments on their
data submissions, and appendix G consists of
supplementary data tables to support some of the analyses presented
in this volume.
1 Throughout this report, the
term "State" is used to include the District of Columbia. return
2 Public Law 104-235
(Oct. 3, 1996) required that States receiving the CAPTA State Child
Abuse and Neglect Grant (the Basic State Grant) provide, "to the
maximum extent practicable," information on 12 data items. The 12
items are listed in appendix C. return
3 Additional information
on the DCDC may be found in National Child Abuse and Neglect
Data System (NCANDS): Detailed Case Data Component Guidelines.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on
Children, Youth and Families: 1997, unpublished technical report.
return
4 States reporting DCDC
data for 1998 are CO, CT, DE, FL, IL, KY, LA, NE, NJ, NY, NC, OK,
PA, RI, SC, TX, UT, VT, WV, and WY. return
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