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Demographics: Count of children aged <19 years in previous 5 years
Help: Abuse & neglect report information
The data on this page were obtained from the Child Protective
Services (CPS) Central Registry System of the NC Division of Social
Services (NC-DSS). This information is collected by the counties and reported to
the state on form DSS-5104. It is important to note that the state only
collects information for CPS reports accepted by the county DSS for
further investigation or assessment.
Longitudinal Data
The information in this section is organized by groups or "cohorts" of
children and is based on the state fiscal year (SFY) of the child's
first ever investigated or assessed CPS report alleging abuse, neglect or dependency. For
example, the SFY 97-98 cohort is comprised of children whose first ever
CPS report occurred between July 1, 1997 and June 30, 1998. This
"longitudinal" method of organizing the data allows the
experiences of a child to be followed over time and ensures that the child is only
counted once. Longitudinal data are widely considered the most
comprehensive data to use in accurately assessing children's outcomes over
time.
- Number of Children with Investigated Reports: Children with investigated reports of abuse, neglect, or dependency by type of findings, referral source, race, ethnicity,
gender, and age. The type of finding information is presented in two different tables: Not Exclusive and Exclusive by Most Severe Finding. The Not Exclusive table shows all findings associated with a child given that multiple reports may be investigated in a
state fiscal year. Thus, a child may be counted more than once. In the Exclusive table, only the most severe finding is included, which ensures that a child with multiple reports is only counted once. The severity hierarchy for findings follows from most to least severe: abuse and neglect; abuse; neglect; dependency; services needed; services provided, no longer needed; services recommended; unsubstantiated; and services not recommended.
- Repeat Maltreatment: Count (or percentage) of those with repeated CPS reports within 1 year.
- Probability of Placement: The probability or likelihood of being placed in foster care for children who have investigated reports of abuse,
neglect or dependency. The probability of placement is calculated from the date of report. The probability for all children and for different racial groups is shown.
- All Investigated Reports: The probability of placement is calculated from the
first-ever report of abuse, neglect, or dependency for all children and
for different racial groups.
- Substantiated Reports: The probability of placement is
calculated from the first-ever substantiated report (the finding was
abuse, neglect, abuse & neglect, or dependency) for all children
and for different racial groups.
IMPORTANT! North Carolina's Multiple Response System (MRS) was implemented in 10 counties in SFY02-03, expanded to 42 counties in SFY03-04, and went statewide
in SFY06-07. The effect of MRS is seen in the drop in the number of reports that are substantiated on the investigative assessment track
as less severe cases are diverted to the family assessment track. In these situations, data showing an increase in probability of placement after MRS implementation
may not be attributable to an actual increase in placement, but due to the decrease and change in population being served.
Point in Time Data
The information in this section contains a snapshot of the report
information at the time that the data are generated by state fiscal year (SFY). For example,
for SFY 97-98, all CPS reports are counted that occurred between July 1,
1997 and June 30, 1998.
- Investigated Reports: Investigated reports of abuse, neglect, or dependency by different groups
- Number of Children: Displays the total number of children
with investigated CPS reports by SFY. Again, one should note that
one child may have multiple investigated reports. If a child has more than
one investigated report in a given SFY, the child is only counted once for
the SFY. Thus, the term "unique" in this instance only refers to
the current SFY, i.e., a child is only counted once even
if he or she had more than one investigated report in that year. However, if
the child had another investigated report in a prior or subsequent SFY, he or
she will be counted in both years. The type of finding information is presented in two different tables: Not Exclusive and Exclusive by most severe finding.
The Not Exclusive table shows all findings associated with a child given that multiple reports may be investigated in a SFY. Thus, a child may be counted more than once.
In the Exclusive table, only the most severe finding is included, which ensures that a child with multiple reports is only counted once. The severity hierarchy for findings follows
from most to least severe: abuse and neglect, abuse, neglect, dependency, services needed, services provided (no longer needed), services recommended, unsubstantiated, and services
not recommended.
- Rate Per 1000: Displays the total number of children
for whom CPS reports were investigated by SFY per 1000 children under age 18
in the population. Annual census population information is used
and provided at the top.
If a child had more than one investigated report in a given SFY, the child is only counted once for
the SFY. Thus, the term "unique" in this instance only refers to
the current SFY, i.e., a child is only counted once even
if he or she had more than one investigated report in that year. However, if
the child had another investigated report in a prior or subsequent SFY, he or she will be counted in both years.
- Number of Investigated Reports: Displays total number of reports investigated by
SFY. It is important to note that this information is report-based.
Thus, one report may include multiple children. Each report is classified with a certain race or
ethnicity if all children in the report have the same race or ethnicity.
If the children have multiple race or ethnicity on one report, the report is classified as
"Other" race or "Unknown/Missing" ethnicity. The type of finding information is presented in two different tables – Not Exclusive and Exclusive by Most Severe Finding. The Not Exclusive table shows all findings associated with a report given that it may include multiple children and each child has his or her own finding type. In many, but not all cases, the type of finding is the same for all children. For the Exclusive table, in instances where different children have different finding types, only the most severe finding is counted. The severity hierarchy for findings follows from most to least severe: abuse and neglect; abuse; neglect; dependency; services needed; services provided, no longer needed; services recommended; unsubstantiated; and services not recommended.
Citations- The suggested way to cite this website is as follows:
Duncan, D. F., Stewart, C. J., Seminara, G., Malley, K. M. D., Reives, W., Francis, A., & Guest, S. (2026).
Creating Indicators for Child Welfare. Retrieved [month day, year], from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work. https://cip.ssw.unc.edu/ or https://creatingindicators.ssw.unc.edu