|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| ACF Home | Services | Working with ACF | Policy/Planning | About ACF | ACF News | HHS Home | ||||
Questions?
|
Privacy
|
Site Index
|
Contact Us
|
Download Reader™
|
Print
|
|---|
Section 2 1995 National Findings
This section presents the analyses of data on reports, dispositions, victims, services, and perpetrators collected through the SDC for 1995. In addition, analyses of selected 1995 DCDC case-level data from 11 States are presented to elaborate on key topics, including sources of reports, types of maltreatment, child fatalities, and perpetrator relationships to the victims. An analysis of data from the Armed Services is also provided.
2.1 Report Data
The SDC findings presented in this section include the number of reports of alleged abuse and neglect, the number of children in reports, the rate of children who were subjects of reports, and the sources of reports.
Reports of Alleged Maltreatment
Child protective services agencies received and referred for investigation almost 2 million reports of alleged child abuse and neglect in 1995, involving both incident-based and child-based reports. An incident-based system counts each alleged maltreatment incident as one report, regardless of the number of children involved. A child-based system counts each child who is alleged to be a victim of maltreatment as a single report. Of the total of 1,988,514 reports, incident-based reports from 41 States made up 1,697,210, and the remaining 291,304 reports were child-based reports received from 10 States. The total number of reports referred for investigation in 1995 was about the same as in 1994.
Children in Reports
An estimated 3 million children were reported as alleged victims of maltreatment and referred for investigation. This number includes children who may have been reported and counted more than once during the year. The rate of children who were the subjects of reports was 43 children per 1,000 children younger than 18 years of age in the general population. If each child were counted only once, the rate per 1,000 children would be somewhat lower.
The rate of children reported and referred for investigation varied considerably from State to State, ranging from about 8 to 108 per 1,000 children. However, the range in reporting rates was much smaller (between 35 and 53) for more than half of the States.
Several factors may influence the variation in rates. These factors include differences in State definitions of maltreatment and agency policies and procedures related to receiving and investigating reports. For example, the Pennsylvania child abuse registry does not collect data on general neglect cases. State policy addresses cases of neglect through a general protective services investigation rather than through a child protective services investigation. In Vermont, the lack of supervision of a child, classified as neglect in many States, is not legally defined as maltreatment. On the other hand, States that have broader definitions of maltreatment may have higher rates of reports accepted for investigation.
Sources of Reports
As seen in FIGURE 2-1, reports from professionals accounted for more than half of all reports. Professional sources include educators, law enforcement and justice officials, and professionals from the fields of medicine and health, social services, child care, and substitute care. Persons within the families of the alleged victims, including parents, other relatives, and the alleged victims themselves, accounted for nearly one out of every five reports (19 percent). The percentage distribution of the sources of reports has remained consistent over the 6 years of SDC data collection.
2.2 Disposition Data
The findings discussed in this section include the dispositions of investigated reports of alleged maltreatment and of children involved in these reports.
Investigations of Reports
Forty-eight States reported that about 1,675,000 investigations of alleged abuse or neglect were conducted in 1995. FIGURE 2-2 shows that about 36 percent of the investigations resulted in a disposition of either substantiated or indicated child maltreatment. More than half of all dispositions resulted in a finding that child maltreatment was not substantiated. Based on data from five States, which identify intentionally false reports, malicious or intentionally false reports constituted about 4 percent of not substantiated investigations. All other investigation dispositions, including "unknown," "closed without a finding," and "other" accounted for 6 percent of all dispositions.
Data from the DCDC show that there is some variation in the dispositions of investigations by the source of the report of alleged maltreatment (see TABLE D-1). About 66 percent of substantiated investigations and about 54 percent of indicated investigations resulted from reports from four professions - law enforcement, medicine, social services, and education.
In general, reports from professional sources were more likely to be substantiated or indicated than those from nonprofessional sources. However, with the exception of reports from the legal and medical professions, the majority of investigations from all report sources were not substantiated.
Children in Investigated Reports
Slightly more than 1 million children were reported by 49 States to have been victims of either substantiated or indicated maltreatment. Due to expungement practices, some States were unable to provide the number of children for whom maltreatment was not substantiated. FIGURE 2-3 is based on data from the 40 States that were able to provide data on both substantiated and not substantiated dispositions of children. About 34 percent of the children were determined to have been maltreated, 60 percent were unsubstantiated, and less than 2 percent of the children had investigations resulting in either "no finding" or "unknown finding." For about 4 percent of the children, a disposition of "other" was made.
Some of the investigations resulting in a disposition of "other" are from States such as Florida, Missouri, and New Jersey, which are implementing alternative methods for screening, assessing, and responding to reports to CPS agencies. Such changes in practice can affect the categorization of CPS dispositions and child victims in these States.
The experience of New Jersey illustrates how changes in State policy and practice can affect disposition data. Beginning in 1993, New Jersey instituted a Case Practice Initiative that classified screened-in reports of alleged maltreatment as "child abuse and neglect" or as a "family problem." Family problems include homelessness; domestic violence; unresolved child-related medical, emotional, or substance abuse problems; inappropriate supervision; and inadequate parenting skills. Families classified as having only family problems have not committed child maltreatment according to State law, and the children in those families are not classified as victims of maltreatment. Rather, these families are referred to voluntary services for the identified family problems that present a risk of maltreatment.
The Case Practice Initiative has resulted in changes in patterns of disposition data for New Jersey. In 1995, about 15 percent of all children had a disposition of substantiated maltreatment, and 55 percent were placed in the "other" category. These percentages compare with 1992 SDC data prior to the initiation of the Case Practice Initiative in which 35 percent of the children were determined to be victims of maltreatment and no children received an "other" disposition. However, among only the child abuse and neglect cases, the distribution of substantiated and unsubstantiated cases remains proportionally similar to previous years. With the implementation of the Case Practice Initiative, fewer cases receive such dispositions. New Jersey has continued to adjust its screening and investigation classification schema. Most notably, in situations in which caregiver substance abuse is identified as a problem, the presence of risk of abuse or neglect is assumed. This issue is addressed in new Case Handling Standards. It is anticipated that these guidelines will have some effect on the classification of cases during 1996.
2.3 Victim Data
This section analyzes the characteristics of victims of substantiated or indicated maltreatment. Topics include rates of victims, types of maltreatment, rates and types of maltreatment, and victim demographics such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Also, DCDC data are used to discuss type of maltreatment by age of victims.
Rates of Victims
In 1995, data from 49 States indicate a national maltreatment rate of 15 victims per 1,000 children in the population younger than 18. However, State maltreatment rates are influenced by differences in the classification of dispositions. Some States use a two-tier system that shows the allegation as substantiated or unsubstantiated. Other States use a three-tier system that includes a third category called indicated. In these States, this classification is used when there is sufficient reason to suspect that the child may have been maltreated or is at risk of maltreatment, but the allegation cannot be substantiated to the level of evidence required by State law. There were 13 victims per 1,000 children in the population younger than age 18 in the 38 States that use a two-tier system of dispositions compared to a rate of 23 victims per 1,000 children in the 11 three-tier States.
FIGURE 2-4 presents data by State on the rate of children reported as alleged victims of maltreatment and children found to be substantiated or indicated victims of maltreatment. In general, there is a correspondence between reporting rates and child victim rates. Furthermore, of the 10 States with the highest rates of child victims, 7 use a three-tier classification system. In order to compare child reporting rates to child substantiation rates, only data from the 37 States that provided duplicated counts and complete data for both items were used. The rates include some children who may have been reported more than once during the year.
Types of Maltreatment
Forty-nine States reported that there were 523,049 substantiated or indicated victims of maltreatment who suffered from neglect; 244,903 victims of physical abuse; 126,095 victims of sexual abuse; and 44,648 victims of emotional maltreatment. These numbers include multiple types of maltreatment for some children.
FIGURE 2-5 shows that twice as many children were victims of neglect (52 percent) as were victims of the next-most-frequent type of maltreatment, physical abuse (25 percent). About 13 percent of the victims had been sexually abused. Victims of medical neglect and emotional maltreatment accounted for 3 percent and 5 percent of all victims, respectively. Approximately 14 percent of the victims encountered "other" types of maltreatment, such as "abandonment," "congenital drug addiction," and "threats to harm the child."
Rates of Maltreatment Types
Based on data from 49 State child protective services agencies, it is estimated that for every 1,000 children younger than 18 years of age there were eight victims of neglect, four victims of physical abuse, and two victims of sexual abuse. The victim rates for emotional maltreatment and medical neglect were each less than 1 child per 1,000 children in the population younger than 18 years old.
Age of Victims
FIGURE 2-6 presents the percentage of child maltreatment victims by age. Similar to previous years of the SDC data collection, a general pattern is observed of a decreasing percentage of victims among older children. About 26 percent of victims of maltreatment were 3 years old or younger. More than half of all victims were younger than 8 years old. About 26 percent of the victims were ages 8-12. Another 21 percent of the child victims of abuse and neglect were teenagers (13-18 years old).
Data from the DCDC (see TABLE D-2) suggest that the ages of victims and the types of maltreatment are related. The majority of victims of neglect and medical neglect were younger than 8 years old, while the majority of victims of other forms of maltreatment were 8 years old or older.
Victims in all age groups were more likely to suffer from neglect than any other single type of maltreatment. Victims younger than 4 years of age were about five times more likely to have been neglected than physically abused. Children older than 7 years of age were about 1.5 times more likely to have been neglected than physically abused.
Sex of Victims
About 47 percent of the victims of maltreatment were male, and about 52 percent were female. The sex for less than 1 percent of the victims was not reported. The distribution of sex of victims has remained stable over the 6 years of the SDC data collection.
Findings from case-level data in the 1995 DCDC (see TABLE D-3) suggest that there are some differences in the types of maltreatment experienced by male and female children. Females were about three times more likely than males to be victims of sexual abuse. Females were also slightly more likely to suffer emotional abuse. Males were slightly more likely than females to be victims of other types of maltreatment.
Race/Ethnicity of Victims
Forty-four States provided data on race/ethnicity. More than half (55 percent) of all victims were white. African American children represented the second-largest group of victims at about 27 percent. Hispanic children made up about 10 percent, Native American children made up about 2 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islander children accounted for about 1 percent of victims. Victims of unknown racial/ethnic origin made up about 3 percent of all victims, and victims of other racial/ethnic backgrounds accounted for about 2 percent of the victims. As in the other demographic areas of age and sex, the distribution of race/ethnicity of victims has been similar in all years of the SDC data collection.
2.4 Service Responses
Based on the findings of the investigation of maltreatment, the State agency often provides services to victims and their families, including placing children in protective custody, instituting court action, and offering additional services such as parenting classes, counseling, and in-home services. The following discussion addresses data submitted by the States in these service areas.
Victims Removed From the Home
Child protective services agencies in 35 States reported that 130,685 victims were removed from their homes in 1995. This figure accounts for about 15 percent of the victims of maltreatment in these States, the same as in 1994. In some cases, siblings of victims are removed from the home when a child whose maltreatment has been substantiated or indicated is removed. Most States provided data on removals related only to victims, while the data from some States include both victims and their siblings. There was little difference in the percentage of children removed from their homes between those States that provided only victim data and those States that provided data for victims and siblings.
Court Actions
Twenty-five States reported that 78,273 court actions were initiated in 1995. This represents about 16 percent of the number of victims of maltreatment in these States. This percentage has remained stable over the 6 years of the SDC data collection.
The requirements for court action vary from State to State. Court actions may include the State filing for temporary custody of the victim, filing for guardianship, or filing a dependency petition. In some States, the court may hear criminal actions. Because court data may be maintained in an information system separate from the information system of the child protective services agency, data concerning court action related to victims often are not complete.
Victims and Families Receiving Additional Services
Data from 24 States revealed that 249,230 families received additional child welfare services. Twenty-three States reported that 439,119 child victims received additional services. Services counted by the States may include the full range of direct and indirect services aimed at family preservation and family reunification. However, for most States, the collection of data about the number of children and families who received additional services remains difficult. Fewer than half of the States provided these data, and only 15 States were able to provide data for both victims and families. Also, information systems in some States are not able to distinguish between victims and their siblings who receive additional services. Data about reports of maltreatment and data about the provision of services may be contained in different and unlinked information systems. These issues are being examined by States that are redesigning their child welfare information systems.
2.5 Child Fatalities
This section discusses the findings about child fatalities. It is generally accepted that fatality figures include mostly those victims who were known to the child protective services agency as clients, and may not include other victims who were not reported to the agency.
Forty-five States reported that 996 child fatalities resulted from child maltreatment in 1995. The rate of child fatalities in the reporting States was less than 2 per 100,000 children in the general population younger than 18 years of age. Based on the number of victims of maltreatment, not the general population younger than age 18, it is estimated that there were about 110 child fatalities per 100,000 child victims of maltreatment in 1995. Unlike other rates in this report, the child fatality rate is based on one unit per 100,000 children younger than 18 in order that the rate can be expressed as a whole number. Forty States provided fatality data in both 1994 and 1995. A comparison of these data shows that there was about a 10-percent decrease in the number of child deaths and a slight decrease in the rate of fatalities in 1995.
There were 237 fatalities reported by a subset of 8 of the 11 States from the DCDC (see TABLE D-4). These fatalities represent about 24 percent of all fatalities reported to the SDC. The DCDC data suggest that death due to child abuse and neglect is found mostly among very young children. Children younger than 1 year old accounted for 44 percent of all fatalities, and 77 percent were 3 years of age or younger. Males accounted for 57 percent of fatalities, and females accounted for 43 percent.
2.6 Perpetrator Data
Data on the types of perpetrator relationships to the victims are discussed in this section. In addition, case-level data from the DCDC are used to describe the age and sex of perpetrators.
Based on the data from 44 States, about 80 percent of perpetrators of child maltreatment were parents, and an additional 10 percent were other relatives of the victim. People who were in other caretaking relationships to the child victims made up only 2 percent of perpetrators (e.g., foster parents, facility staff, and child care providers). About 5 percent of all perpetrators were noncaretakers. In many States, perpetrators of maltreatment by definition must be in a child caretaking role.
Data from the DCDC reveal that females were more often identified as perpetrators than males (see TABLE D-5). The mean age for male perpetrators was 37 years of age and for female perpetrators the mean was 34 years of age.
2.7 Armed Services Data
This section examines data that were submitted to the SDC by the Armed Services. The data apply to reports of maltreatment that occurred worldwide in 1995 in the four branches of the Armed Services (the Air Force, the Army, the Marines, and the Navy). Personnel in the Family Advocacy Program are required to report all cases of child maltreatment to the child abuse registry in the State in which the child resides, and these reports are included in State totals.
There were a total of 17,902 reports of alleged maltreatment in 1995. This figure is a slight decrease from the most recently available figures from 1993. Investigations of 46 percent of the reported children resulted in a disposition of substantiated maltreatment, while allegations of maltreatment were found to be not substantiated for 54 percent of the children.
The most frequent type of maltreatment experienced by children was neglect (37 percent), followed closely by physical abuse (36 percent). About 13 percent of victims were found to have been sexually abused, and another 14 percent suffered emotional abuse.
About 60 percent of the victims were 7 years of age or younger, with about 32 percent of the victims younger than 4 years of age. Teenagers made up about 15 percent of all victims. Victims were about evenly split between males and females, each representing about half of the victim population. Twenty-one victims died as a result of maltreatment.
