Executive Summary
[ Main Page of Report |
Contents of Report ]
Most children who are subjects of a report of maltreatment to the State or
local child protective services (CPS) agency are involved just once with
CPS during their lives. Other children are referred more than once and their
referrals result in repeated investigations or assessments (rereporting).
Some of these children are found to have been revictimized (recurrence).
This paper focuses on rereporting and recurrence, and on gaining a better
understanding of the circumstances surrounding these children with repeated
involvement with CPS. Most previous studies of subsequent reports alleging
maltreatment of the same child or of revictimization have included only small
populations, administrative data from only one State, or relatively short
observation periods. This study follows children for up to 5 years, using
a multiyear, multistate case-level National Child Abuse and Neglect Data
System (NCANDS) data set that spans the time period from 1998 to 2002. Research
questions and key findings are as follows:
What proportion of reported children were rereported, and when?
-
Approximately one-third of children were rereported within 5 years.
-
Most subsequent reports occurred within a few months after the initial report.
-
After 3 years, approximately 72 percent of children had no further contact
with CPS. Among the remaining 28 percent, almost 17 percent had one more
report and 11 percent of children had multiple reports.
What proportion of child victims had a recurrence of maltreatment, and when?
-
Among victims, 17 percent became victims again within 5 years.
-
Most subsequent victimizations occurred within a few months after the initial
report.
What factors were associated with children who were rereported over a period
of time?
-
Reports by medical and law enforcement personnel were associated with a lower
likelihood of rereporting.
-
White children were more likely to be rereported compared with African-American
children.
-
Children who received services were more likely to be rereported than children
who did not receive services. However, children who were found to be victims
in their initial report, and who received services, were less likely to be
rereported compared with nonvictims who received services.
-
As the length of time following the report increased, the number of reports
per child decreased.
-
Younger children had more rereports compared with older children.
What factors were associated with children who had a recurrence of one or
more maltreatments over time?
-
Victims reported by daycare providers, foster care providers, or nonprofessionals
were more likely to experience recurrence compared with victims reported
by other professional sources.
-
As the age of victims increased, the likelihood of their experiencing recurrence
decreased.
-
Victims were more likely to experience recurrence if their caregivers abused
alcohol.
-
Services also predicted recurrence-victims who received services were at
higher risk, but victims placed in foster care were less likely to experience
recurrence.
-
As the length of time following the report increased, the number of recurrences
per child decreased.
-
Younger children had more recurrences compared with older children.
Findings from this study highlight needed areas of improvement in the system
of intervention, such as a focus on the small group of children who experience
a brief period of intense involvement with the CPS system. This study also
underscores the perplexing issues surrounding the use of rereporting and
recurrence as performance measures for CPS. For example the increased chances
of rereporting and recurrence that appears to be tied to providing services.
Ideally, the analysis will help to facilitate the design and implementation
of more effective and targeted services, and help in focusing continued inquiry
regarding children who are at risk.
Where to?
Top of Page
Main Page of Report | Contents
of Report
Home Pages:
Human Services Policy
(HSP)
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)