A Public Health Approach to Child Maltreatment Surveillance: Evidence from a Data Linkage Project in the United States

Historically, data concerning children reported for abuse or neglect in the US have been compiled by child protective service agencies and analysed independently from other sources of information. Yet these data suffer from the notable limitations of being both narrow in scope (i.e. containing a limited set of variables) and narrow in coverage (i.e. capturing data for only those children who are reported). In order to extend an understanding of children reported for maltreatment, the California Department of Social Services, in partnership with the University of California at Berkeley, is pursuing a ‘public health’ oriented approach to the surveillance of child maltreatment through linkages between child protective service records and population‐based sources of data. As an example of the information that can be generated through linked records, this article reports results from child‐level matches completed between the state's child protective service records and vital birth records. The cumulative percentage of children reported for abuse or neglect before the age of five is examined based on maternal and child characteristics at birth. This is followed by a discussion of record linkages as a means of furthering a public health approach to child maltreatment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Citing Literature

Number of times cited according to CrossRef: 28

• Jared W. Parrish, Julia M. Fleckman, John J. Prindle, Andrea L. Eastman, Lindsey E.G. Weil, Measuring the Incidence of Child Maltreatment Using Linked Data: A Two-State Comparison, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.11.007, (2020). Crossref
• Muhammad Chutiyami, Shirley Wyver, Janaki Amin, Is Parent engagement with a child health home-based record influenced by early child development and first-born status? hypotheses from a high-income countries’ perspective, Medical Hypotheses, 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109605, (109605), (2020). Crossref
• Fred Wulczyn, Race/Ethnicity and Running Away from Foster Care:, Children and Youth Services Review, 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105504, (105504), (2020). Crossref
• Amy Conley Wright, Melissa Kaltner, Assessing the Outcomes of Alternative Care and Treatment Responses, 5G for Future Wireless Networks, 10.1007/978-3-030-05858-6_3, (35-47), (2019). Crossref
• Katharine W. Buek, David L. Lakey, Dorothy J. Mandell, Paternity establishment at birth and early maltreatment: Risk and protective effects by maternal race and ethnicity, Child Abuse & Neglect, 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104069, 95 , (104069), (2019). Crossref
• A J Mason-Jones, J Loggie, Child sexual exploitation. An analysis of serious case reviews in England: poor communication, incorrect assumptions and adolescent neglect, Journal of Public Health, 10.1093/pubmed/fdy227, (2019). Crossref
• Gia Elise Barboza-Salerno, Examining Spatial Regimes of Child Maltreatment Allegations in a Social Vulnerability Framework, Child Maltreatment, 10.1177/1077559519850340, (107755951985034), (2019). Crossref
• Stacy Ann Hawkins, Kathrine S. Sullivan, Ashley C. Schuyler, Mary Keeling, Sara Kintzle, Paul B. Lester, Carl A. Castro, Thinking “Big” About Research on Military Families, Military Behavioral Health, 10.1080/21635781.2017.1343696, 5 , 4, (335-345), (2017). Crossref
• Gillian Henderson, Christine Jones, Ruth Woods, Sibling birth order, use of statutory measures and patterns of placement for children in public care: Implications for international child protection systems and research, Children and Youth Services Review, 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.001, 82 , (321-328), (2017). Crossref
• Steven A. Sumner, Matthew J. Maenner, Christina M. Socias, James A. Mercy, Paul Silverman, Sandra P. Medinilla, Steven S. Martin, Likang Xu, Susan D. Hillis, Sentinel Events Preceding Youth Firearm Violence, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.08.002, 51 , 5, (647-655), (2016). Crossref
• Michael S. Wald, Beyond CPS: Developing an effective system for helping children in “neglectful” families, Child Abuse & Neglect, 10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.01.010, 41 , (49-66), (2015). Crossref
• Kenneth A. Dodge, Ron Haskins, Children and Government, Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, 10.1002/9781118963418, (1-50), (2015). Wiley Online Library
• Jane V. Appleton, Peter Sidebotham, The Child at the Centre of Care, Child Abuse Review, 10.1002/car.2383, 24 , 2, (77-81), (2015). Wiley Online Library
• Emily Putnam-Hornstein, James David Simon, Andrea Lane Eastman, Joseph Magruder, Risk of Re-Reporting Among Infants Who Remain at Home Following Alleged Maltreatment, Child Maltreatment, 10.1177/1077559514558586, 20 , 2, (92-103), (2014). Crossref
• Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Alan J. Dettlaff, Kechen Zhao, Megan Finno-Velasquez, Barbara Needell, Disparities in Reported and Substantiated Infant Maltreatment by Maternal Hispanic Origin and Nativity: A Birth Cohort Study, Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10.1007/s10995-014-1594-9, 19 , 5, (958-968), (2014). Crossref
• Christopher Wildeman, Jane Waldfogel, Somebody's Children or Nobody's Children? How the Sociological Perspective Could Enliven Research on Foster Care, Annual Review of Sociology, 10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043358, 40 , 1, (599-618), (2014). Crossref
• Carol W. Metzler, Matthew R. Sanders, Julie C. Rusby, Multiple Levels and Modalities of Measurement in a Population-Based Approach to Improving Parenting, Emerging Methods in Family Research, 10.1007/978-3-319-01562-0_12, (197-214), (2014). Crossref
• Michael S. Wald, Beyond Maltreatment: Developing Support for Children in Multiproblem Families, Handbook of Child Maltreatment, 10.1007/978-94-007-7208-3_13, (251-280), (2014). Crossref
• Peter Fallesen, Natalia Emanuel, Christopher Wildeman, Cumulative Risks of Foster Care Placement for Danish Children, PLoS ONE, 10.1371/journal.pone.0109207, 9 , 10, (e109207), (2014). Crossref
• Janice McGhee, Fiona Mitchell, Brigid Daniel, Julie Taylor, Taking a Long View in Child Welfare: How Can We Evaluate Intervention and Child Wellbeing Over Time?, Child Abuse Review, 10.1002/car.2268, 24 , 2, (95-106), (2013). Wiley Online Library
• Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Barbara Needell, Bryn King, Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, Racial and ethnic disparities: A population-based examination of risk factors for involvement with child protective services, Child Abuse & Neglect, 10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.08.005, 37 , 1, (33-46), (2013). Crossref
• Rhema Vaithianathan, Tim Maloney, Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Nan Jiang, Children in the Public Benefit System at Risk of Maltreatment, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.022, 45 , 3, (354-359), (2013). Crossref
• Bryn King, Jennifer Lawson, Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Examining the Evidence, Child Maltreatment, 10.1177/1077559513508001, 18 , 4, (232-244), (2013). Crossref
• Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Mario A. Cleves, Robyn Licht, Barbara Needell, Risk of Fatal Injury in Young Children Following Abuse Allegations: Evidence From a Prospective, Population-Based Study, American Journal of Public Health, 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301516, 103 , 10, (e39-e44), (2013). Crossref
• J.P. Mersky, J. Topitzes, A.J. Reynolds, Impacts of adverse childhood experiences on health, mental health, and substance use in early adulthood: A cohort study of an urban, minority sample in the U.S., Child Abuse & Neglect, 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.07.011, 37 , 11, (917-925), (2013). Crossref
• Michael S. Wald, Beyond Maltreatment: Developing Support for Children in Multiproblem Families, SSRN Electronic Journal, 10.2139/ssrn.2205471, (2013). Crossref
• Anne Lazenbatt, Lisa Bunting, Julie Taylor, Consequences of infant maltreatment on child wellbeing, British Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 10.12968/bjmh.2012.1.3.171, 1 , 3, (171-175), (2012). Crossref
• Public Health Approaches to Safeguarding Children, Child Abuse Review, 10.1002/car.1196, 20 , 4, (231-237), (2011). Wiley Online Library

Volume 20 , Issue 4 July/August 2011

Pages 256-273