Ncands Child File: Fill & Download for Free

This is a tough one to answer but you can review this in depth information and hopefully it provides you some answers or direction to acquire the information regards to the stats you seek.National Child Abuse and Neglect Data SystemThe National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) annually collects case-level data on reports alleging child abuse and neglect, as well as the results of these reports, from state child protective services agencies. The mandate for NCANDS is based on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), as amended in 1988, which directed the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a national data collection and analysis program that would make available state child abuse and neglect reporting information. HHS responded by establishing NCANDS as a voluntary, national reporting system. In 1992, HHS produced its first NCANDS report based on data from 1990. The annual data report Child Maltreatment evolved from that initial report.During the early years of the system, states provided aggregated data on key indicators of reporting of alleged child maltreatment. Starting with the 1993 data year, states voluntarily began to submit case-level data. For a number of years, states provided both datasets, but starting with data year 2000, the case-level dataset became the primary source of data for the annual report. In 1996, CAPTA was amended to require that all states receiving funds from the Basic State Grant program work with the Secretary of HHS to provide specific data, to the extent practicable, on children who had been maltreated. The NCANDS data elements were revised to meet these requirements beginning with the submission of 1998 data.Currently, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico submit data to NCANDS. States submit case-level data by constructing an electronic file of child-specific records for each report of alleged child abuse and neglect that received a child protective services response. Only completed reports that resulted in a disposition (or finding) as an outcome of the child protective services response during the reporting year were submitted in each state's data file. The data submission containing these case-level data is called the Child File.The Child File is supplemented by agency-level aggregate statistics in a separate data submission called the Agency File. The Agency File contains data that are not reportable at the child-specific level and often are gathered from agencies that are external to child protective services. States are asked to submit both the Child File and the Agency File each year. Prior to 2012, states that were not able to submit case-level data in the Child File submitted an aggregate-only data file called the Summary Data Component (SDC). When all the states were able to report case-level data—that is, as of the 2012 data collection—the SDC was discontinued.CAPTA, (42 U.S.C. §5101), as amended by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L.111–320), retained the existing definition of child abuse and neglect as, at a minimum:Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.Each state defines the types of child abuse and neglect in state statute and policy. Child protective services agencies determine the appropriate response for the alleged maltreatment based on those statutes and policies. The most common response is an investigation. The result of an investigation response is a determination (also known as a disposition) about the alleged child maltreatment.In NCANDS, a victim is defined as a child for whom the state determined at least one maltreatment was substantiated or indicated and for whom a disposition of substantiated or indicated was assigned. It is important to note that a child may be a victim in one report and a nonvictim in another report. Substantiation is a case determination that concludes that the allegation of maltreatment or risk of maltreatment is supported by state law or policy. "Indicated" is a case determination that concludes that although maltreatment cannot be substantiated by state law or policy, there is reason to suspect that the child may have been maltreated or was at risk of maltreatment.State statutes also establish the level of evidence needed to determine a disposition of substantiated or indicated. The local child protective services agencies respond to the safety needs of the children who are the subjects of child maltreatment reports based on these state definitions and requirements for levels of evidence.Data collected by NCANDS are a critical source of information for many publications, reports, and activities of the federal government, child welfare personnel, researchers, and other groups. An annual report on child welfare outcomes includes context and outcome data on safety based on state submissions to NCANDS. NCANDS data have been incorporated into the Child and Family Services Reviews, which ensure conformity with state plan requirements in Titles IV–B and IV–E of the Social Security Act.Rates are based on the number of states submitting data to NCANDS each year; states include the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Information about NCANDS is available online at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/reporting-systems/ncands.Agency Contact:Dori Sneddon, Administration on Children,Youth, and Families Administration for Children and FamiliesE-mail: [email protected]