Child Maltreatment (Safety Data Elements I & II). Examine the data on reports of child maltreatment disposed during the year by disposition of the reports. Identify and discuss issues affecting the rate of substantiated vs. unsubstantiated reports and factors that influence decision-making regarding the disposition of incoming reports.
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The differences for numbers of "Substantiated & Indicated" reports are not, in actuality, as great as what is presented on the Child Safety Profile. Georgia went from a three-tier (confirmed, unconfirmed, unfounded) to a two-tier (substantiated and unsubstantiated) reporting system, with the collection of 1998 data. This change was based on an order from the Georgia Supreme Court. For 1997 data to conform with collected data for 1998 and 1999, it is necessary to remove the 14,004 "indicated" (unconfirmed) investigated reports from the 28,012 "Substantiated & Indicated" reports. This leaves a total of 14,008 confirmed (substantiated) reports for 1997. The percentage of substantiated reports thus becomes 28.7%, a figure more comparable to the reported percentages of 31.8% for 1998 and 34.1% for 1999. Likewise, when looking at duplicated child counts, it is necessary to separate out numbers for "indicated" (unconfirmed) from the 1997 count to have child numbers conform for the three year period. The child count figures for confirmed/substantiated reports thus become: Confirmed/Substantiated Unconfirmed/Unsubstantiated 1997 23,012 (28.8%) 56,836 (71.2%) 1998 24,567 (33.1%) 49,613 (66.9%) 1999 26,888 (34.2%) 51,846 (65.8%) As expected, with the implementation of a structured decision making model, the total percentages of substantiated/confirmed investigations gradually increased. This is partly a result of reports that do not contain an allegation of maltreatment being dispositioned for early intervention services rather than being opened for an investigation. Recent policy and procedure also require consideration of early intervention for families at all stages of the CPS process. This requirement provides an alternative in the disposition of incoming reports. Disposition of incoming reports, to a degree, is influenced by what services and resources are available within a community. A county decision to refer a reported family directly to community services is obviously contingent on what is available. Also, each county is required to have a child abuse protocol team. The protocol is determined by the community representatives who make up these committees, and they have some influence over determining which cases a county department will accept for investigation. |
Last Updated 10/10/2001