Child Abuse/Neglect

The Child Abuse/Neglect report provides the total number of children referred to CP&P for an abuse/neglect investigation. This report uses three different units of analysis: by child, by report, and by investigation. Users can select the unit of analysis that corresponds to the information they are interested in obtaining by clicking on the appropriate radio button. Below are definitions to clarify the various units of analysis.

• By Child: A report may include multiple children, with one or more allegations. In this instance, the report is counted by child. In addition, a child may be counted multiple times due to multiple reports received on separate occasions.
• By Case Status: This unit of analysis is counted by report, not by child, regardless of whether multiple allegations or children are linked to the report.
• By Reported to Prosecutor: This unit of analysis is counted by investigation, not by report or child and independent of whether multiple allegations, children, or reports are linked to the investigation.

Data Portal Functionality:

The Data Portal allows users to select up to and including five (5) variables to gain further insight into the selected report. In addition, each variable can be further filtered to provide a subset of data within the variable. Data are provided as a table or, when available, a graph.

Variable Definitions:

1. Age: Age is calculated based on the age of the child when the report was received. The age categories for this report are limited to:
   • Under 1
   • 1 to 5
   • 6 to 12
   • 13 to 17
   • 18 and over
   • Missing or Undetermined
2. Gender: The gender categories are:
   • Male
   • Female
   • Missing or Undetermined
3. County: The county in this report is based on the county of incident of the alleged child/abuse/neglect. The twenty-one (21) counties in New Jersey are: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties. The category of "Other" is added to the list and includes children in cases where a county of incident could not be determined at the time of the data extract.
4. Race/Ethnicity: The race categories are analyzed in combination with ethnicity. If a person's ethnicity is Hispanic, they fall under the category of "Hispanic" regardless of their race. If their ethnicity is "Non- Hispanic", they fall under their corresponding race. The category of "Another Race" includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, and Two or More Races. The race/ethnicity categories are:
   • Black or African American
   • Hispanic
   • White
   • Missing or Undetermined
   • Another Race
5. Year: Year represents data for the calendar year.
6. Abuse/Neglect Type: Allegations types are:
   • Emotional abuse
   • Neglect
   • Physical abuse
   • Sexual abuse
   • Multiple Types
7. Findings: Categorical descriptions of allegations of abuse and/or neglect findings during the investigation. The four tiers of findings are:
   • Substantiated & Established: Aggregate of the two categories, Substantiated and Established, as defined below.
   • Substantiated: A preponderance of the evidence established that a child was abused and/or neglected as defined by statute; and either the investigation indicated the existence of any of the specified absolute conditions; or substantiation was warranted based on consideration of the aggravating and mitigating factors.
   • Established: A preponderance of the evidence established that a child was abused and/or neglected as defined by statute, but the act or acts committed or omitted DO NOT warrant a finding of substantiation upon consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors.
   • Not Established: There is NOT a preponderance of evidence that a child was abused and/or neglected as defined by statute, but the evidence indicated that the child was harmed or placed at risk of harm.
   • Unfounded: There is NOT a preponderance of the evidence indicating that a child was abused and/or neglected as defined by statute, and the evidence that a child was NOT harmed or placed at risk of harm.
   • This report also includes a category of "Pending", which represents the number of investigations not yet approved at the time of the data extract.
8. Reporter: A categorical description of the individual who reported the incident to the State Central Registry (New Jersey's Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline). Reporter types are:
   • Agency
   • Anonymous
   • Facility
   • Friend/Neighbor/Community
   • Health
   • Legal & Court
   • Parent
   • Police
   • Relative
   • School
   • Self
   • Other
9. Case Status: Status of the case when the report was received by the agency. The case status categories are:
   • New
   • Open
   • Reopen
10. Reported to Prosecutor: An indication of whether or not the investigation was reported to the prosecutor's office. The categories for this report are limited to:
    • Yes: the investigation was reported to the prosecutor's office.
    • No: the investigation WAS NOT reported to the prosecutor's office
11. Facility Type: A categorical description of the responsible institution under investigation for abuse or neglect. Facility types are limited to:
    • After School Program / Camps / Other Settings
    • Corrections / Detention
    • Day Care Center / Registered Day Care Home
    • Division of Developmental Disability (DDD) Facility / Group Home / Residential
    • Hospital and Mental Health Facilities
    • Resource Family Homes
    • School / Bus Company
    • Unregistered Family Day Care Home

Related Reports:

The followings reports are related to Child Abuse/Neglect, which may be of additional interest to our users:

All CPS & CWS Referrals

Citations:

Users may publish data obtained from this site, but we request an appropriate citation for use of this work. Below, please find an appropriate citation template, according to the American Psychological Association's (APA) guidelines.

New Jersey Child Welfare Data Hub. ([Date of Publication]). Child Abuse/Neglect. Retrieved on [date] from [URL].

Abbreviation Definitions:

APA: American Psychological Association
CP&P: Child Protection and Permanency, a division within the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF)
CWS: Child Welfare Services referrals
DCF: New Jersey Department of Children and Families
IAIU: Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit