NSCAW, No. 6: How Do Caseworker Judgments Predict Substantiation of Child Maltreatment, Research Brief, Findings from the NSCAW Study

NSCAW is a national longitudinal study of 5,501 children and youths whose allegations of maltreatment were investigated or assessed by CWS services in 1999 and 2000. Though this analysis focuses on caseworker data, interviews were also conducted with children and caregivers, and teachers completed questionnaires.

This analysis is based on the 4,514 children who were involved in investigations in which a decision was made about whether or not to substantiate. (In a minority of cases, either there was no substantiation determination, or data on substantiation were missing from the caseworker data set.)