Rereporting of Child Maltreatment: Does Participation in Other Public Sector Services Moderate the Likelihood of a Second Maltreatment Report?

• NCJ Number: 216912
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2006 Pages: 1201-1226
• Author(s): Brett Drake; Melissa Johnson-Reid; Lina Sapokaite
• Date Published: November 2006
• Length: 26 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH06173302; MH06173304A1
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study used administrative data to track the first re-reports of maltreatment in a low-income, urban child welfare population (n=4,957) while controlling for other involvement with public services.

Abstract

The findings showed a lower rate of re-reporting of the maltreatment of children with parents who were high-school graduates and/or those who permanently left Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). There was also a lower rate of re-reporting of maltreatment for children in families that received less intensive in-home services compared with those that received intensive in-home services or foster care services, as well as those families that received no services. Higher rates of re-reporting were found for children with Medicaid mental health/substance abuse treatment records and those having special-education eligibility for emotional disturbance. The findings suggest that general parental socioeconomic functioning outside of the parental role can reduce abusive parenting behaviors. This, in turn, suggests the value of interagency partnerships in addressing parental needs that bear upon their parenting behaviors. The sampling frame for this parent study was limited to families who received AFDC between 1991 and 1994. AFDC was a public assistance program that supported needy families with children, later replaced by Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) after 1996. Data on study variables were obtained from a variety of official State data sources. Data on child abuse and neglect pertained to specific subtypes of maltreatment, substantiation status, and the child's relationship to the perpetrator. The dependent variable was a second report of maltreatment more than 14 days after the first report or following an exit from foster care. Independent and control variables included child, family, neighborhood, and service variables. 5 tables and 48 references