re: specific groups reporting particular types of abuse

[Sandi McLeod <mcleods@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Dr. Hamarman,

While I can't specifically answer your question, I thought that the
information below might be of interest to you.  In Child Maltreatment 1999,
released in early April, a full chapter has been devoted to research based
on the NCANDS data.  Please see the direct quote below and a contact for
further information on this topic.

                                                             

                         This report has presented national data related to
child abuse and neglect for 1999,
                         trends in annual victimization rates, and
information on the factors that underlie these
                         data. In this chapter, six examples of additional
analyses that examine child
                         maltreatment in terms of relationships with other
types of data or from other analytical
                         perspectives are discussed. Suggestions for future
research topics also are given.

 					RESEARCH ON REPORTS 

                         All States have enacted mandated reporting laws for
certain professionals (medical,
                         educational, legal, and social services personnel)
who come into contact with children
                         to report suspected maltreatment. Despite these
mandated reporting laws, child
                         maltreatment reporting remains a poorly understood
phenomenon due, in part, to the
                         limited understanding of the reporting process.
Little is known about the impact of
                         mandated reporting laws on the various groups
legally obligated to report suspected
                         maltreatment. A study of the significant
differences in the characteristics of cases
                         among reporter groups is being undertaken using
multi-state case-level data.
                         Preliminary findings include the following:

                              Educational personnel tended to report older
children as compared to other
                              report sources. 

                              Medical personnel reported more
African-American children as compared to
                              the other report source groups.

                              Reports of child maltreatment made by legal
personnel were substantiated 71
                              percent of the time. 

                        
                         Data analysis of substantiated cases reported by
the four reporter groups also
                         indicated many interesting differences:

                              Medical personnel tended to report the
youngest children and educational
                              personnel the oldest.

                              Almost half of maltreatment cases reported by
educational personnel involved
                              physical abuse, which was significantly higher
than all other report sources.

                              Medical personnel reported the highest
percentage of cases that involved
                              medical neglect. Seventeen percent of the
cases reported by social service
                              personnel involved sexual abuse, which was
significantly higher than all other
                              report sources.

                         Additionally, results from the analysis of the
substantiated maltreatment cases
                         indicated that each reporter group tended to report
a certain type of maltreatment
                         more than the other reporter groups. This seems to
suggest a "partitioning" of
                         maltreatment reporting among the four mandated
reporters. This finding is serious
                         when the differences in substantiation rates among
the four report source groups also
                         are considered.

                         Future data analysis will examine whether these
differences are consistent over time
                         as 3 years of data are examined. 

                         For further information, contact: 
                         John E. Kesner, Ph.D.
                         Department of Early Childhood Education
                         Georgia State University
                         Atlanta, Georgia 30303
                         404-651-2987
                         ECEJEK@langate.gsu.edu

The full text report is available online via the Children's Bureau Web site
at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb under "What's New"; it is available
in both PDF and html formats.  If you prefer to receive a single, bound copy
of the Report, please contact the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and
Neglect Information by e-mail at nccanch@calib.com or via the toll-free
telephone number, 1-800-394-3366.

I hope that this information is helpful with your research.

Sincerely,
Sandi McLeod, Special Initiatives/Media Relations
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse & Neglect Information
(800) 394-3366, ext. 352
mcleods@calib.com