National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, Detailed Case Data Component, 1995-1997

Dataset Number: 75
Investigator(s): Children's Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services
Abstract: The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) is a voluntary national data collection and analysis system created in response to the requirements of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. The NCANDS is implemented by Walter R. McDonald and Associates, Inc. and consists of two components. The Summary Data Component (SDC) is a compilation of key aggregate child abuse and neglect statistics from all States, including data on reports, investigations, victims, and perpetrators. The Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC) is a compilation of case-level information from child protective services agencies on children who are the subjects of reports alleging child maltreatment.
  All fifty States and the District of Columbia participate in the SDC, however only fifteen States provided data for the DCDC in 1995. The DCDC participating states were Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. A version of the 1995 NCANDS DCDC is available to the research community. The files that are available consist of selected and derived variables from the Fiscal Year 1995 NCANDS DCDC records from the fifteen DCDC participating states. These files are referred to as the NCANDS DCDC 1995 (1995 NCANDS).
  The 1995 NCANDS consists of 30 data files - two from each participating state. One of the two files per state contains fourteen variables and includes information about all report/child pairs of alleged maltreatment. The second file for each state contains 62 variables and includes information about all report/child pairs with substantiated or indicated maltreatment. Information is included about the types of maltreatment, the support services provided to the family, as well as caretaker, child, and family problems. Information about perpetrators of maltreatment is not included in the files. Child fatalities are not included in the data files.
  While the 1995 NCANDS DCDC data are not a statistically representative sample of maltreated children in the United States, they show distributions similar to those found in studies using national data. Furthermore, they provide an important opportunity to answer many questions regarding child maltreatment cases that are known to Child Protective Services.
    The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information Web site maintains an NCANDS Fact Sheet with a description of the system and links to related resources.
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