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| ACF Administration for Children and Families |
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES |
|
| 1. Log No.: IM-98-02 | 2. Issuance Date: 3/2/98 | |
| 3. Originating Office: Children's Bureau | ||
| 4. Key Word: CAPTA Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant, Annual State Data Report | ||
INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
TO: The State Office, Agency or Organization Designated by the Governor to Apply for a Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant
SUBJECT: Data Reporting Requirements Associated with the Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant
LEGAL AND RELATED REFERENCES: Section 106(d) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), as amended by P.L. 104-235
PURPOSE: To provide information to the States on the implementation of the annual State data reporting requirements associated with the State Child Abuse and Neglect Grant under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.
BACKGROUND: The Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant program (the "Basic State Grant") authorized by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) provides formula grants to eligible States to support the improvement of their child protective services systems.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-235), signed into law in October 1996, added a provision requiring that States receiving the Basic State Grant submit an annual State data report.
Specifically, Section 106(d) of CAPTA requires that "Each State to which a grant is made under this section shall annually work with the Secretary to provide, to the maximum extent practicable, a report that includes the following:
The number of children who were reported to the State during the year as abused or neglected.
Of the number of children described in paragraph (1), the number with respect to whom such reports were--
Of the number of children described in paragraph (2)--
the number that did not receive services during the year under the State program funded under this section or an equivalent State program;
the number that received services during the year under the State program funded under this section or an equivalent State program; and
the number that were removed from their families during the year by disposition of the case.
The number of families that received preventive services from the State during the year.
The number of deaths in the State during the year resulting from child abuse or neglect.
Of the number of children described in paragraph (5), the number of such children who were in foster care.
The number of child protective services workers responsible for the intake and screening of reports filed in the previous year.
The agency response time with respect to each such report with respect to initial investigation of reports of child abuse or neglect.
The response time with respect to the provision of services to families and children where an allegation of abuse or neglect has been made.
The number of child protective services workers responsible for intake, assessment, and investigation of child abuse and neglect reports relative to the number of reports investigated in the previous year.
The number of children reunited with their families or receiving family preservation services that, within five years, result in subsequent substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect, including the death of the child.
The number of children for whom individuals were appointed by the court to represent the best interests of such children and the average number of out of court contacts between such individuals and children.
In adding the new data report requirement to Section 106(d) of CAPTA, the Congress noted that there was some overlap between this requirement and the data collection and analysis activity authorized in Section 103(c) of CAPTA (known as the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System [NCANDS]). The committee report language accompanying the CAPTA reauthorization bill stated:
The committee recognizes that some of the information is already being reported by the majority of States through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. In order to prevent duplication of efforts, the committee encourages the Secretary and the States to integrate the submission of data under this subsection with the ongoing data collection activity [NCANDS].... Furthermore, the committee encourages the Secretary to identify the most effective and efficient means for collecting other data items requested in the annual State data reports.
After reviewing the new data requirements and consulting with State representatives, the Children's Bureau determined that the most effective and efficient means for collecting the new data items would be to incorporate them into the Summary Data Component (SDC) of NCANDS, to which all States have been supplying data on an annual basis for the past seven years. This approach will build on the existing infrastructure for collecting and analyzing data, and will prevent any duplication of effort at the State or Federal level.
Beginning in January 1997, staff from the Children's Bureau held a series of discussions via telephone conference calls and meetings with members of the NCANDS State Advisory Group, the State Liaison Officers for Child Abuse and Neglect and other State representatives. These discussions focused on definitional issues for data elements listed in the statute and, given the variation in State CPS policy and practice, on ways to promote comparability of data submitted by the States. In the summer of 1997, a pilot test of a revised SDC data collection form, incorporating the new elements required by CAPTA, was conducted with a group of nine States. This pilot test helped to highlight additional issues in need of clarification. These issues were again addressed at the September 1997 meeting of the NCANDS State Advisory Group and in a subsequent conference call.
INFORMATION: Based on the results of the pilot test and the series of consultations with the States, the Children's Bureau has now completed a revision of the SDC, and has initiated the process for seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the revised data collection instrument. In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and Families published a notice in the Federal Register on January 9, 1998 (See Attachment) soliciting comments from the public on the proposed revision of this information collection. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions on the proposed information collection received within 60 days of the publication of the notice in the Federal Register (i.e., by March 10, 1998). To obtain a copy of the proposed information collection form or to submit comments, States should contact:
All requests should be identified with the title of the proposed information collection, "The Summary Data Component of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System."
Subject to the approval of the OMB, the States will be required, to the maximum extent practicable, to report the new data elements with the submission of the 1997 SDC. (The States are not required to submit these data with the State plan update required by June 30, 1998.) We currently anticipate that data collection forms will be mailed to the States in June, 1998. To assist the States in submitting data in response to the revised form, one representative from each State will be invited to attend a technical assistance meeting in the Washington, D.C. area on May 12 - 13, 1998. Additional information on this meeting will be sent under separate cover.
INQUIRIES TO:
Gail Collins
Children's Bureau
(202) 205-8087
/s/
James A. Harrell
Deputy Commissioner
Attachment - [Federal Register: January 9, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 6)]: Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request
