NCJ Number
240438
Date Published
2010
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This North Carolina report fulfills the mandate of Section 107 of the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), known as the Children's Justice Act (CJA), which requires that each State's Children's Justice Task Force complete a report every 3 years that reviews and evaluates a State's investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect.
Abstract
North Carolina's statutory definition of child abuse and neglect involves a "subjection of a child to some harm or risk of harm by the child's parent, guardian, custodian, or caretaker." Child maltreatment that falls outside of the child welfare system involves abuse allegedly perpetrated by adult "non-caretakers" (i.e., the alleged perpetrator does not meet the State's definition of caretaker). Such cases are referred to law enforcement agencies. In addition to its system for detecting and investigating allegations of child maltreatment and protecting children from further maltreatment, North Carolina has two model programs for limiting trauma to child victims involved in the court system. Training of State judicial staff on abuse and neglect issues continues to be an important area. In the spring of 2007, the State was the subject of a Federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). In order to address concerns noted in the CFSR, a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) was developed to address needs identified in the review. The current report's recommendations address activities for improving investigative, administrative and judicial handling of cases; steps to establish experimental, model, or demonstration programs; and activities to reform State laws, ordinances, regulations, procedures, or protocols. The State's implementation of these recommendations is also presented. Quantitative and Statistical Data, as well as survey data are presented. Appended 2008 Child Abuse Response survey form, agencies submitting survey responses in 2008, and 2008 Child Abuse Response Survey responses