title: Child maltreatment and risk patterns among participants in a child abuse prevention program.
abstract: The relationship between risk factors and Child Protective Services (CPS) outcomes in families who participate in home visiting programs to prevent abuse and neglect and who are reported to CPS is largely unknown. We examined the relationship between parental risk factors and the substantiation status and number of CPS reports in families in a statewide prevention program. We reviewed CPS reports from 2006 to 2008 for families in Connecticut's child abuse prevention program. Six risk factors (histories of CPS, domestic violence [DV], mental health, sexual abuse, substance abuse, and criminal involvement) and the number of caregivers were abstracted to create risk scores for each family member. Maltreatment type, substantiation, and number of reports were recorded. Odds ratios were calculated. Of 1,125 families, 171 (15.6%) had at least one CPS report, and reports of 131 families were available for review. Families with a substantiated (25.2%) versus unsubstantiated (74.8%) first report had a high number of paternal risk factors (OR=6.13, 95% CI [1.89, 20.00]) and were more likely to have a history of maternal DV (OR=8.47, 95% CI [2.96, 24.39]), paternal DV (OR=11.23, 95% CI [3.33, 38.46]), and maternal criminal history (OR=4.55; 95% CI [1.32, 15.60]). Families with >1 report (34.4%) versus 1 report (65.6%) were more likely to have >3 caregivers, but this was not statistically significant (OR=2.53, 95% CI [0.98, 6.54]). In a prevention program for first-time families, DV, paternal risk, maternal criminal history, and an increased number of caregivers were associated with maltreatment outcomes. Targeting parental violence may impact child abuse prevention.
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.affiliation: Center for Social Research, University of Hartford, 260 Girard Ave, Hartford, CT 06105, USA.
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Asnes
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Leventhal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000068216:Child Protective Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003237:Connecticut; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005195:Family Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CPS report; Child abuse and neglect; Prevention; Substantiation