If the same criteria is used for all three years of data, the "Child Cases Opened for Services" should be: 1997 = 9,246; 1998 = 8,918; 1999 = 9,006. These figures include opened confirmed/substantiated reports plus some unsubstantiated reports that are opened in response to a court order (usually court-ordered supervision). The breakdown, by year, of cases opened is:

Substantiated Unsubstantiated Total Open

1997 7,933 (16.3%) 1,313 9,246

1998 8,191 (17.4%) 727 8,918

1999 8,521 (18.1%) 485 9,006

In the duplicated children column, the numbers shown on the Child Safety Profile for 1997 and 1998 represent reports/cases. For 1997, the profile shows 9,246 cases opened for services. This is a total of confirmed (7,933) and unconfirmed (1,313) reports opened. For 1998, the profile shows a total of 8,191 cases opened. This does not include 727 unsubstantiated (unsubstantiated) cases that were opened that year. For 1999, the profile lists 14,172 cases opened for services. This number is an estimated incident account. If a case count is used, this number becomes 8,521, a number more easily compared to figures from 1997 and 1998.

The number of unsubstantiated reports opened for services has diminished over this three-year period. We explain this as one of the results of Georgia's implementation of a structured decision making model during the profiled years. Unsubstantiated, or unconfirmed, cases that were once opened for provision of early intervention type services within the CPS program are now referred to resources within the community for this assistance. Only those unsubstantiated cases that are court ordered for supervision are now opened for services.