Section 1 Introduction
The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) is the primary source of national information on abused and neglected children known to State child protective services agencies. Findings from the NCANDS are based on aggregate data from all States and automated case-level data from a number of States. This is the seventh consecutive year that information based on the findings of the NCANDS has been published.
This section of the document discusses the background of the NCANDS, describes its two components-the Summary Data Component (SDC) and the Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC)-summarizes data collection methods, and provides an overview of the report.
1.1 Development of the NCANDS
The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) established the NCANDS to respond to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (Public Law 93-247), as amended, which called for the creation of a coordinated national data collection and analysis program, both universal and case specific in scope. In 1988, the NCCAN embarked on a collaborative effort with the States to collect and analyze annual child abuse and neglect data from child protective services agencies in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the territories, and the Armed Services.
A State Advisory Group (appendix A) helped to identify data items and definitions that present a national profile of child maltreatment. Subsequently, the State representatives assisted in the pilot testing and development of the NCANDS. The State Advisory Group continues to play an important role in the implementation of the NCANDS.
The design of the NCANDS was guided by the needs in the field of child welfare and the capabilities of State data systems to produce the information. The resulting two-pronged approach of the NCANDS allows for aggregate data to be collected through the SDC and case-level data to be collected through the DCDC. Brief descriptions of the SDC and DCDC follow:
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Summary Data Component (SDC)-The SDC is a compilation of 15 key aggregate indicators of State child abuse and neglect statistics. The data items cover reports of alleged maltreatment, dispositions of investigations of alleged child abuse and neglect, and characteristics of the victims and perpetrators of substantiated and indicated maltreatment.
Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC)-The DCDC is a compilation of case-level data about children who are the subjects of reports alleging child maltreatment. The DCDC permits more detailed analysis of State child abuse and neglect data than is possible with the aggregate data in the SDC. The DCDC contains 19 data elements on reports of alleged maltreatment and characteristics of children who are the subjects of these reports. An additional 98 data elements are collected on victims of maltreatment, including information on types of substantiated or indicated maltreatments, child disabilities, family problems, services provided to victims, and characteristics of perpetrators.
This report is based on the aggregate data collected through the 1996 SDC. In addition, case-level data collected through the 1996 DCDC are used to elaborate on key SDC findings. A discussion of the DCDC data collection methods and analyses of its data elements may be found in Child Abuse and Neglect Case-Level Data 1993: Working Paper 1. Copies of this document are available from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information by calling 1-800-FYI-3366.
Eleven States (Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Washington) that were able to produce case-level data from their automated information systems submitted 1996 data for the DCDC. Although these States are not a statistically representative sample of the United States, the volume of data that is available contributes additional insight into the characteristics of child abuse and neglect. The child population in these 11 States is almost one-third of the population younger than 18 years old in the United States. Data on approximately 466,000 unduplicated reports that include more than 716,000 children were collected. Nearly a quarter of reports received by child protective services agencies nationwide are included in the 1996 DCDC database. Data on selected topics are presented in this report. Additional findings will be published later in 1998.
1.2 SDC Data Collection Methods
The SDC data collection instrument (appendix B) consists of 15 data items on 4 child maltreatment data topics. The topics include report data, disposition data, victim data, and perpetrator data. The SDC Data Collection Forms and Instructions were mailed to the States in the spring of 1997. Technical assistance was available to those States that requested help in responding to the SDC. Data analyzed in this document were collected from 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and the Armed Services. Data from 1995 were used for two States that were unable to provide 1996 data.
In addition to providing the data, representatives from each State agency were asked to provide supplementary information or clarification regarding their responses to specific data items. These comments provide a more thorough understanding of each State's data and of the national findings. The State comments on 1996 data are included in section 3.
As the completed forms were received, they were reviewed for data consistency and logic as well as substantive clarity. When necessary, follow-up questions were sent to the States. States were also able to review and modify data submissions from previous years.
The ability to provide accurate State statistics depends upon comprehensive automated information systems. The Federal Government (under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993) has provided funding to the States to improve their child welfare information systems. Planned system improvements include assigning unique identifiers to individuals involved in reports of child maltreatment, which will enable States to unduplicate their counts of children reported and child victims, and establishing better linkages between report data and service data.
1.3 SDC Data Analysis Process
After the 1996 SDC data were reviewed and finalized, they were entered into a spreadsheet and subsequently analyzed using statistical software. To determine national figures for some important data items, estimates were computed for missing data. In addition, in several analyses, rates per unit of the population were calculated. Population estimates were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
1.4 Overview of the Report
Section 2 of this document presents findings based on the SDC data submitted by the States for 1996. Data collected from 11 States through the DCDC and data from the 1990 SDC are used to supplement these findings. Section 3 presents the data tables that were generated from the 1996 SDC data submissions and provides explanatory comments related to each State's data.
Appendix A lists the participants in the State Advisory Group. The SDC Data Collection Forms and Instructions are provided in appendix B. Additional information on the issues involved in the data analyses is presented in appendix C, Technical Notes. Issues that are discussed include estimating procedures and calculation of population rates.
U pdated on January 17, 2001