Introduction
Research Questions
- What is the Child Maltreatment Incidence Data Linkages project?
- What sites are participating in the Child Maltreatment Incidence Data Linkages project?
Accurate and ongoing surveillance of the incidence of child maltreatment and related risk and protective factors can help to inform policy and programs as well as shape prevention and intervention efforts. One promising approach to capturing this information is by linking local, state, or federal administrative records, such as those from child welfare, health, social services, education, public safety, and other agencies.
The Child Maltreatment Incidence Data Linkages project identified 5 sites using linked administrative data to examine child maltreatment incidence and related risk and protective factors. The project is supporting those sites as they enhance their existing linked administrative data by:
- Using innovative methods to link/analyze administrative data;
- Linking novel administrative data sources; or
- Scaling or replicating an existing data linkage or analysis approach in a new geographic area or jurisdiction.
Purpose
The Child Maltreatment Incidence Data Linkages project aims to examine the feasibility of leveraging administrative data linkages to better understand child maltreatment incidence and related risk and protective factors.
Key Findings and Highlights
Sites participating in the Child Maltreatment Incidence Data Linkages project include:
- Understanding the effect of the opioid epidemic on child maltreatment (Primary Contact: Joseph Mienko, Ph.D., M.S.W., Senior Research Scientist, Partners for Our Children)
- Replicating the ALCANLink methodology in Oregon (Primary Contact: Jared Parrish, Ph.D., Senior Epidemiologist, Alaska Division of Public Health)
- Examining child maltreatment reports using linked county-level data (Primary Contact: Brenda Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Ph.D. Program Director, University of Alabama)
- Using hospital data to predict child maltreatment risk (Primary Contact: Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Ph.D., Director, Children’s Data Network)
- Methods to estimate the community incidence of child maltreatment (Primary Contact: Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Ph.D., Director, Children’s Data Network)
Methods
The project provides sites with access to experts to help address challenges and supports a collaborative cross-site learning network that facilitates communication and information sharing.
The project is conducting a cross-site feasibility study to:
- Examine the factors (including state and local context, resources, organizational capacity, peer support, training, and existing infrastructure) that promote or impede the enhancement or scaling of existing administrative data linkage and analysis practices related to child maltreatment; and
- Determine the availability and quality of information on child maltreatment incidence and associated risk and protective factors that can be gleaned from linked administrative data.