U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Offi ce of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

July 2005

Rereporting and

Recurrence 

of

July 2005

Findings from NCANDS
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 

July 2005 
This report is the third in a series of three reports, based on the Secondary Analysis On Child Abuse and 

Neglect Topics of Current Policy Interest, which was conducted by Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc. 

(WRMA), under contract number 233-02-0093, task order 5, for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Analyses are based on 2002 data 

from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), maintained by WRMA under 

contract with the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (contract HHSSP233200400052U). The opinions expressed in this paper are 

those of the authors and do not necessarily represent positions of the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services. 

This issue paper was prepared by John D. Fluke, Gila Shusterman, Dana Hollinshead, and Ying-Ying T. 

Yuan of Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc. Editorial assistance was provided by Anja Maguire. 

 

For further information contact the Secondary Analysis on Child Abuse and Neglect Topics of Current 

Policy Interest Federal Project Officer at the following address: 

 

Laura Radel, M.P.P. 

Senior Social Science Analyst 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

200 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 404-E 

Washington, DC 20201 

202-690-5938 

laura.radel@hhs.gov 

This publication also is available on the Internet at: http://aspe.hhs.gov. 

Material contained in this publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, 

without permission of the Federal Government. The courtesy of attribution is requested. The recommended 

citation follows: 

Fluke, J.D., Shusterman, G.R., Hollinshead, D., & Yuan, Y.T. Rereporting and Recurrence of Child 

Maltreatment: Findings from NCANDS. (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 2005). 
Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

iii

Table of Contents 

Executive Summary v

Introduction 1

Methodology 5

Findings 7

Discussion and Conclusions 18

References 21

Appendix A. Methodological Notes 24
Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

iv

List of Tables and Figures 

Tables 

Table 1 Demographic and Reporting Characteristics of the Population in Nine 

States in the Longitudinal Data Set Compared with National Data 2002 

6

Table 2 Cumulative Percentage of Children with Subsequent Reports or 

Revictimizations 

8

Table 3 Factors Associated with Rereporting 11

Table 4 Number of Rereports, by Time from Initial Report 13

Table 5 Number of Rereports, by Age of Child 14

Table 6 Factors Associated with Recurrence 15

Table 7 Number of Revictimizations, by Time from Initial Report 17

Table 8 Number of Revictimizations, by Age of Child 17

Table A–1 Derived Independent Variables 25

Table A–2 Derived Dependent Variables 26

Figures 

Figure 1 Subsequent Events within 3 Years: Children Reported 1998–1999 10

Figure 2 Interaction of Victimization with Postinvestigation Services 13
REREPORTING AND RECURRENCE OF CHILD 

MALTREATMENT: 

FINDINGS FROM NCANDS

Executive Summary 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

v

ost children who are subjects of a report of maltreatment to the State or local 

child protective services (CPS) agency are involved just once with CPS during 

their lives. Other children are referred more than once and their referrals result 

in repeated investigations or assessments (rereporting). Some of these children are found 

to have been revictimized (recurrence). This paper focuses on rereporting and recurrence, 

and on gaining a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding these children 

with repeated involvement with CPS. Most previous studies of subsequent reports 

alleging maltreatment of the same child or of revictimization have included only small 

populations, administrative data from only one State, or relatively short observation 

periods. This study follows children for up to 5 years, using a multiyear, multistate caselevel National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data set that spans the 

time period from 1998 to 2002. Research questions and key findings are as follows: 

M 

What proportion of reported children were rereported, and when? 

• Approximately one-third of children were rereported within 5 years. 

• Most subsequent reports occurred within a few months after the initial report. 

• After 3 years, approximately 72 percent of children had no further contact with 

CPS. Among the remaining 28 percent, almost 17 percent had one more report 

and 11 percent of children had multiple reports. 

What proportion of child victims had a recurrence of maltreatment, and when? 

• Among victims, 17 percent became victims again within 5 years. 

• Most subsequent victimizations occurred within a few months after the initial 

report. 

What factors were associated with children who were rereported over a period of 

time? 

• Reports by medical and law enforcement personnel were associated with a lower 

likelihood of rereporting. 

• White children were more likely to be rereported compared with AfricanAmerican children. 

• Children who received services were more likely to be rereported than children 

who did not receive services. However, children who were found to be victims in 

their initial report, and who received services, were less likely to be rereported 

compared with nonvictims who received services. 
Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

vi

• As the length of time following the report increased, the number of reports per 

child decreased. 

• Younger children had more rereports compared with older children. 

What factors were associated with children who had a recurrence of one or more 

maltreatments over time? 

• Victims reported by daycare providers, foster care providers, or nonprofessionals 

were more likely to experience recurrence compared with victims reported by 

other professional sources. 

• As the age of victims increased, the likelihood of their experiencing recurrence 

decreased. 

• Victims were more likely to experience recurrence if their caregivers abused 

alcohol. 

• Services also predicted recurrence—victims who received services were at higher 

risk, but victims placed in foster care were less likely to experience recurrence. 

• As the length of time following the report increased, the number of recurrences 

per child decreased. 

• Younger children had more recurrences compared with older children. 

Findings from this study highlight needed areas of improvement in the system of 

intervention, such as a focus on the small group of children who experience a brief period 

of intense involvement with the CPS system. This study also underscores the perplexing 

issues surrounding the use of rereporting and recurrence as performance measures for 

CPS. For example the increased chances of rereporting and recurrence that appears to be 

tied to providing services. Ideally, the analysis will help to facilitate the design and 

implementation of more effective and targeted services, and help in focusing continued 

inquiry regarding children who are at risk. 
Introduction 

hildren come to the attention of the State or local child protective services (CPS) 

agency based on referrals from the public alleging child abuse or neglect. It is the 

responsibility of the CPS agency to decide what, if any, response should be made 

to ensure the safety of the children. Referrals are made by professional reporters, such as 

school or medical personnel, or by persons who make the allegation based on familial or 

neighborhood contacts with the child. Referrals may be screened out and the caller may 

be referred to another agency. Screened-in referrals, or reports, may be subject to an 

investigation by CPS to determine the validity of the report and the safety issues of the

child, or an assessment process which may focus more on the needs of the family. 

C 

 

During the investigation, decisions regarding ongoing services are made. Also, the 

decision is made whether the children in the report have been maltreated or are at risk of 

maltreatment. Beyond the investigation process, a particular family can take various 

paths through the service delivery system. Services may terminate with the investigation, 

or in-home services or substitute care may be provided. At some point, children in 

substitute care may be reunited with their families and receive family reunification 

services or parental rights may be terminated and the child freed for adoption. 

Regardless of the case flow process, most children who are the subject of a referral are 

involved just once over the course of their lives with CPS. Other children are referred 

more than once and their referrals result in repeated investigations or assessments 

(rereporting). Some of these children are found to have been revictimized (recurrence). 

These two phenomena, rereporting and recurrence, are the subjects of this paper. 

Most previous studies of subsequent reports alleging maltreatment of the same child or of 

revictimization have included only small populations, administrative data from only one 

State, or relatively short observation periods. Furthermore, the literature has not always 

been clear as to which category of repeated activity has occurred. Was the child 

rereported? Was the child rereported and found to be a victim? Was the child rereported 

and not found to be a victim? This paper uses the following terminology: 

• Referral: the process that results in the agency’s decision to either provide an 

investigation or assessment or to screen out the referral; 

• Report: a referral that has been accepted for investigation or assessment; 

• Initial Report: the first investigation or assessment within an observation period 

that occurs for a specific child who has not been the subject of a prior 

investigation or assessment; 

• Rereport: the second, third, fourth, or subsequent report that alleges a child has 

been maltreated and that receives an investigation or assessment by the CPS 

agency (also called reinvestigation); 

• Victim: a child who has been determined by the CPS agency to have been 

maltreated; 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

1
• Recurrence: the second, third, fourth, or subsequent time that a child has been 

found to be a victim of maltreatment (also called revictimization or repeated 

maltreatment); and 

• Nonvictim: a child who has not been found to have been maltreated. 

In addition to these terms describing these events, the length of time that children are 

followed can influence the number of events that can be observed. Therefore, this study 

follows children for up to 5 years. 

Relevant Research 

The research relevant to this topic encompasses studies on the following topics: 

• Factors associated with repeated involvement (rereporting or recurrence) with 

CPS; 

• Factors associated with just recurrence; 

• The impact of service provision; and 

• Patterns of maltreatment events. 

Factors Associated with Repeated Involvement with CPS 

Studies found the following factors to be associated with a higher likelihood of multiple 

occurrences of involvement with CPS: 

• A prior history of involvement with CPS (Hamilton & Browne, 1999; Littell, 

1997; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004); 

• Younger children (Ferleger, Glenwick, Gains, & Green, 1988; Fluke, Yuan, & 

Edwards, 1999; Fryer & Miyoshi, 1994; Hamilton & Browne, 1999; Marshall & 

English, 1999; Drake, Jonson-Reid, Way, & Chung, 2003); 

• The presence of disability (Marshall & English, 1999; Hamilton & Browne, 1999; 

Palusci, 2002); 

• The presence of neglect or multiple types of maltreatment (Herrenkohl, 

Herrenkohl, Newman & Egolf, 1978; Baird, 1988; DePanfilis & Zuravin, 1999a; 

Fluke et al., 1999; Marshall & English, 1999; U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, 2004; Drake et al., 2003 ), particularly lack of supervision 

(Jonson-Reid, Drake, Chung & Way, 2003); and 

• Larger family size (Baird, 1988; Johnson & L’Esperance, 1984). 

While the evidence is somewhat weaker, repeated involvement with CPS also has 

appeared greater for the following situations: 

• Family situations in which a parent was the perpetrator, rather than situations in 

which the perpetrator was another relative, friend of the family, or unrelated 

acquaintance (Drake et al., 2003); 

• A stepparent perpetrator was present (Hamilton & Browne, 1999); 

• The caregiver abused alcohol or drugs or was a subject of domestic violence 

(Baird, 1988; DePanfilis & Zuravin, 1999b; Palusci, 2002; English, Wingard, 

Marshall, Orme & Orme, 2000; Terling, 1999); 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

2
• The family had few social supports (DePanfilis & Zuravin, 1999b) or is of low 

economic status (Drake et al., 2003; English & Marshall, 1998; Levy, Markovic, 

Chaudhry, Ahart, & Torres, 1995; Way, Chung, Jonson-Reid & Drake, 2001; 

Jonson-Reid, 2003); or 

• The child lived in previous, multiple, foster care settings (Jonson-Reid, 2003). 

In one study, children whose parents abused alcohol or other drugs were found more 

likely to be rereported if the caretaker was judged to be at high risk for criminal 

involvement, there was no police involvement during the investigation, and if the family 

was headed by an African-American single mother. The authors posited that the higher 

reporting rates of pregnant African-American women with lower incomes and problems 

with alcohol or other drugs may have influenced this finding (Fuller & Wells, 2003). 

Factors Associated with Recurrence 

State administrative data on child abuse have consistently indicated that AfricanAmerican children were less likely to experience recurrence compared with White 

children (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). Other studies have 

suggested there may be regional variations in recurrence rates experienced by children of 

color (Fuller, Wells & Cotton, 2001). These rates were perhaps influenced by factors 

associated with poverty (Way et al., 2001) or living in a rural area (Baird, 1988; English, 

Marshall, Brummel & Orme, 1999; Marshall & English, 1999). 

There is evidence that the factors that best predict recurrence may change over the life of 

a case (Fuller et al., 2001; Jonson-Reid et al., 2003). For example, longitudinal analysis 

has suggested that the response of the CPS system may change with the age of the child 

or with the number of times that a child was referred to the agency (Jonson-Reid et al., 

2003). Female victims of sexual abuse have been found to be more likely to be rereported 

for the same type of maltreatment; older children are more likely to have been rereported 

for physical abuse (Johnson-Reid et al., 2003). 

The Impact of Service Provision 

Some studies have found that the provision of services was associated with an increased 

likelihood of rereporting. Children who received services may have been more likely to 

be rereported because they were more in contact with professional reporters, were the 

subjects of a heightened awareness of the public, or because the services were not 

effective in ameliorating their living conditions (Johnson, 2000; Fluke et al., 1999; 

DePanfilis, 1995; Johnson & Clancy, 1989; Sundell & Vinnerljung, 2004). 

Other studies have found that service provision following a substantiated report reduced 

the likelihood of rereporting, particularly for cases involving neglect (Drake et al., 2003). 

Another study found that children who remained in foster care for fewer than 3 months 

were more likely to be rereported, found to be a repeated victim of maltreatment, and 

returned to foster care than were children who stayed in foster care for longer periods of 

time (Jonson-Reid, 2003). The provision of in-home services following foster care did 

not appear to reduce the likelihood of revictimization (Jonson-Reid, 2003). Other specific 

services or methods of service provision, such as attention to the fidelity of the service 

plan, family compliance with the service plan, or service quantity, appeared to reduce the 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

3
likelihood of recurrence (see DePanfilis & Zuravin, 2002; Johnson, 2000; Inkelas & 

Halfon, 1997; Lutzker & Rice, 1987). 

Patterns of Maltreatment Events 

Some studies have shown that patterns of rereports and revictimization intensify with 

time for some groups of children, and in turn these patterns impact the nature and 

intensity of the intervention (English, 2003). Further, a study of alternative response 

program outcomes suggested that within a 6-month period, families who were diverted to 

an alternative response program but did not receive services were rereported sooner than 

other families who had not received services. However, overall, rates of rereporting were 

similar between those families who received traditional CPS response, those who were 

rereported but received no services or only an assessment from the alternative response 

program, and families who received services following an alternative response 

assessment (English et al., 2000). 

Study Questions 

The first two research questions determined baseline statistics for this study. 

1. What proportion of reported children were rereported, and when? 

2. What proportion of child victims had a recurrence of maltreatment, and when?

The second two research questions addressed the factors associated with rereporting and 

recurrence. 

3. What factors were associated with children who were rereported over a period of 

time? 

4. What factors were associated with children who had a recurrence of one or more 

maltreatments over time? 

The following categories of factors were examined for their impact on the 

likelihood of a child experiencing any single rereport or recurrence: 

• Child demographics; 

• Circumstances of maltreatment; 

• Family and child risk factors; and 

• Outcomes of intervention. 

Two factors were examined for their association with repeated CPS interventions: 

• Length of time between events; and 

• Child age at initial report. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

4
Methodology 

his section describes the process used for data construction of a multiyear, 

multistate NCANDS data set that spans the time period from 1998 to 2002. It also 

describes the analytic procedures used to develop the study findings. 

NCANDS case-level data consist of CPS investigation events at the child level. Only 

reports that receive an investigation or assessment response from a CPS agency are 

included. Each record in the data file is referred to as a report-child pair, which indicates 

that there is a record for each child in each report who receives an investigation or

assessment. Each report has a unique ID and more than one child can share the same

report ID. Each child has a unique ID, thus the report-child pair is uniquely identified by 

the combination of its report and child IDs. 

T 

The number of States that voluntarily submit these data to the NCANDS increased from 

11 States during 1993 to 42 States during 2002. For each investigation, CPS makes a 

disposition decision which involves determining whether or not a child or children have 

experienced or are at risk of maltreatment. A child is considered to be a victim of 

maltreatment if he or she has at least one maltreatment type that is coded as substantiated, 

indicated, or alternative response. 

Compiling the data set for this study consisted of two stages—evaluating the quality of 

State submissions to determine which States’ data met the analytic requirements, and 

constructing a database with all the variables needed for analyses.1

 More detailed 

information concerning these selection criteria is located in appendix A. 

State Selection 

Nine States were included in this study based on an examination of the following 

characteristics of their data submissions to NCANDS. 

• Years of Submissions—States were considered for inclusion if they had submitted 

case-level data to the NCANDS for calendar years 1998–2002. Twenty States met 

this requirement. 

• Unique Child Identifiers—Child identifier data were examined to ensure that the 

data were of adequate integrity to support the analytic goals of the project. Twelve 

of the 20 States met this criterion for inclusion in the analysis.

• Prior Victimization—Nine of the 12 States met the criterion of having at least 

2 percent of records indicating that data on prior victimization were included. 

The characteristics of the population in the resulting nine States were comparable to the 

national population on a range of demographic characteristics including age, race 

distribution, and poverty level. (See table 1.) However, the findings in this study should 

not be construed as representative of all reporting States or the entire nation. 

 

1

 More detailed information concerning the methodology is located in appendix A. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

5
Table 1. Demographic and Reporting Characteristics of the Population in Nine 

States in the Longitudinal Data Set Compared with National Data 20022

Demographic Indicators All States Nine States 

Total Population 285,230,516 40,746,575

Percentage of U.S. Population 100% 14%

Population younger than 18 years: Total 26% 27%

Percent of total population living in family settings 80% 82%

Married-couple family, with own children younger than 18 

years (percent of families) 9% 9% Families 

Families with female householder, no husband present, with 

own children younger than 18 years (percent of families) 3% 3%

Average Child Poverty Rate 16.7% 17.0%

White (not Hispanic), percent of total population 68% 65%

Black or African-American (not Hispanic), percent of total 

population 12% 12%

American Indian and Alaska Native (not Hispanic), percent 

of total population 

1% 1%

Asian or Pacific Islander (not Hispanic), percent of total 

population 4% 2%

Other or Multiple Race (not Hispanic), percent of total 

population 2% 1%

Race 

Hispanic or Latino, percent of total population 14% 19%

Male, percent of total population 49% 49% Sex 

Female, percent of total population 51% 51%

Rate of children investigated per 1,000 children in

population 43.8 45.3 Child Abuse and

Neglect3 Rate of victims of child maltreatment per 1,000 children in 

population 12.3 10.7

Data Construction 

The process for creating the data construction consisted of the following steps. 

• Combine data for all years—A single file including the data submitted for 

calendar years 1998–2002 was created for each State. 

• Create derived independent variables—Certain variables were derived from 

standard fields used by the States when submitting data to NCANDS. The derived 

variables included: 

o Source of report; 

o Maltreatment type; 

o Race/ethnicity; 

o Child age category;

o Victim status (yes/no); 

o Prior victimization (before the initial report in the data set); 

o Postinvestigation service provision (yes/no); 

o Removal from home (yes/no); 

o Child disability (yes/no); 

 

2

 U.S. Census Bureau; generated using American FactFinder; <http://factfinder.census.gov>; (May 9,

2005). 3

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

6
o Caregiver alcohol abuse (yes/no); and 

o Caregiver substance abuse (yes/no). 

• Derive rereport and recurrence dependent variables—Data from multiple reports 

involving the same child were combined to develop variables indicating one or 

more subsequent reports or subsequent victimizations. 

• Children whose records indicated that they had been victims of maltreatment prior 

to the study period were excluded. 

Following this process, data from all States were combined into a single file with all data 

at the level of the unique child. Finally, data extracts were developed to support specific 

analyses. Further examinations of the data were conducted to address potential 

compatibility issues for specific analyses, and States may have been excluded 

accordingly. 

Analytic Techniques 

The study variables were designed to use event history analytical techniques—including 

survival analysis and trajectory analysis. Such techniques are used when the objective of 

the study is to examine the time between events for the subjects, or the numbers of 

subsequent events. In this case the subjects were children who were reported. Once a 

child was reported, he or she was considered “at risk” for a subsequent report and the 

probability of the event occurring was considered the hazard probability. Event history 

analysis and survival analysis adjust for the bias associated with estimating hazards with 

differing lengths of observation periods. 

A survival analysis technique, referred to as life tables, was used to analyze the length of 

time to rereports and recurrence events. Cox regression (proportional hazards analysis), a 

form of multivariate survival analysis, was used to study the factors that were associated 

with single rereports and recurrences. A type of event history analysis that focuses on 

counts of multiple repeated events, referred to as trajectory analysis, was used to address 

patterns of multiple rereports and recurrences. 

Findings 

his section is organized to address the topics posed by the research questions as 

stated in the introduction. The three topics include baselines for single and 

multiple subsequent rereport and recurrence events, factors associated with 

i

T 

ncreased rereporting, and factors associated with increased recurrence. 

Rereporting and Recurrence Baselines 

This section presents findings regarding single subsequent rereports and recurrences, as 

well as for multiple rereports and recurrences. 

• A single subsequent rereport implies an examination of the first rereport event, 

regardless of the number of later rereports. A single recurrence implies an

examination of the first revictimization, regardless of the number of later 

victimizations. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

7
• Multiple rereports implies that a child experienced at least more than one rereport. 

Multiple recurrence implies that a child experienced at least more than one

recurrence. 

Single Rereports and Recurrences 

For this analysis we obtained estimates of the proportions of 

children who had a subsequent investigation or assessment 

within 60 months of the first investigation or assessment. 

Table 2 shows the distribution of rereports and recurrences 

for children who were rereported in 6-month time intervals 

over 5 years. 

Most subsequent reports or 

victimizations occurred within 

a few months after the initial 

report. 

Table 2. Cumulative Percentage of Children with 

Subsequent Reports or Revictimizations 

Elapsed 

Months 

Cumulative Percent of 

Children Rereported 

(n=1,396,998 reported children) 

Cumulative Percent of 

Children Revictimized 

(n=336,022 victims) 

0–5 10.3% 5.2%

6–11 16.4% 8.2%

12–17 20.6% 10.2%

18–23 23.6% 11.9%

24–29 26.0% 13.2%

30–35 27.8% 14.2%

36–41 29.4% 15.1%

42–47 30.7% 15.8%

48–53 31.7% 16.4%

54–59 32.3% 16.7%

Of the 1,396,998 children reported, 32 percent were rereported within 60 months. Of the 

336,022 victims, 17 percent became victims again within 60 months. From Table 2 it is 

apparent that subsequent events, whether rereporting or recurrence, were much more 

likely to occur soon after the initial report. For example, 16 percent of children were 

rereported during the first 12 months, but it took until the end of the study period’s 

5 years for the rereport rate to double to 32 percent. Similarly, 8 percent of children 

recurred within the first 12 months, but an additional 3 years was needed before this 

percentage doubled to 17 percent. 

Multiple Rereports and Recurrences 

Baseline analysis was also conducted on multiple subsequent 

events. The analytical tools require that children were 

followed for equal periods of time. Thus, the analysis used a 

cohort of children with initial reports from 1998 through 

1999. Of the 803,320 children in this cohort, approximately 

72 percent had no further contact with CPS after 3 years. 

Among the remaining 28 percent, almost 17 percent had one more report and 11 percent 

had multiple reports. The maximum number of rereport events was 22. The average 

number of rereports for all children in this data set was 1.7. The maximum number of 

recurrences was 8. The average number of recurrences across all children was 1.3. 

After 3 years, 28 percent of 

children were rereported at 

least once, and 11 percent 

were rereported two or more 

times. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

8
Baseline Patterns of Multiple Rereporting and Recurrence

The objective of this aspect of the baseline analysis was to describe patterns of 

rereporting and recurrence through the CPS service delivery system. This analysis has 

methodological constraints due to the complex nature of the patterns of interest. 

Consequently, the analysis presented here is descriptive and more exploratory in nature. 

For this analysis, the data were arrayed as patterns of victimization and nonvictimization 

events. For example, a child with three report events could have two nonvictim reports 

and then a victimization, or two victimizations and one nonvictim report, and so forth. A 

total of 819 unique patterns of victim and nonvictim report events were observed in the 

data set. Figure 1 illustrates the patterns of reporting for the initial report and up to three 

subsequent reports (as illustrated by tiers 1, 2, and 3). The diagram is read 

chronologically from top to bottom, and each circle represents a subsequent event and the 

determination of whether or not the child was victimized. 

As expected, a child’s likelihood of further contact 

with CPS declined with each tier. However, for 

children not returning the proportion was generally 

greater for children with only one report. Thus, 

approximately 70 percent of nonvictim and victim 

children did not come back after a first report, 

whereas around 60 percent of children did not come back after a second or third report. 

Children who were victims in their initial event were more likely to be identified as

victims in subsequent events than were children initially identified as nonvictims. 

Interestingly, children who were initially victimized and then subsequently not identified 

as a victim were less likely to be identified as victims in a third event, compared with

children who were victimized twice. These findings point to complex patterns associated 

with the chances of being identified as a nonvictim or victim across multiple rereports. 

No matter how many times 

they were rereported, children 

were more likely to become 

victims if they were previously 

victims. 

Risk Factors Associated with Rereporting 

Similar to the previous section regarding baseline analysis, this section begins with a 

presentation of findings for single rereporting and then turns to multiple rereport events. 

Single Rereports

For these analyses, a data set of 495,900 unique children from 8 States who were reported 

during 2001 or 2002 was created.4 Cox regression analyses were conducted to determine 

which factors may have influenced the likelihood that each child would be rereported 

within a 2-year period. Table 3 presents the results of the data model for rereporting.5

 

 

4

 One additional State was dropped from the analysis due to the absence of risk factor data. 5

 Risk ratios tied to p values less than 0.0001 indicate that with respect to the reference category for each 

variable in the model, the children associated with the other categories are at higher risk (risk ratio greater 

than one), lower risk (risk ratio less than one), or the same risk of a subsequent event. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

9
Initial Report

Nonvictim

None Nonvictim Victim

20.4%

23.6% 76.4%

Victim

Nonvictim Victim None

10.7%

None

Nonvictim

Victim

Subsequent

Reports

1st

2nd

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

26.3%

14.6% 17.5%

60.2% 14.6%

27.8%

61.3%

None

Nonvictim

Victim

61.0%

30.3% 8.7%

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

60.0%

16.3%

31.5%

12.6%

55.9%

23.7%

56.5%

33.9% 9.5%

58.4%

25.9

15.

%

7%

3r

d

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

None

Nonvictim

Victim

57.0%

32.0%

11.0%

59.3%

18.8%

21.9%

60.8%

23.1%

16.0%

28.2%

13.6%

58.3%

22.3%

59.1%

5.8% 73.8% 21.3% 68.0%

Figure 1. Subsequent Events within 3 Years: Children Reported 1998–1999 

(N=803,320—9 States) 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

10
Table 3. Factors Associated with Rereporting 

(N=495,900) 

Variables Factor Categories Category Type

Risk Ratio 

with

Rereporting

P 

Social and Mental Health Services Reference 1.0000 0.0000 

Medical Personnel 0.8699 0.0000 

Law Enforcement or Legal Personnel 0.8748 0.0000 

Education Personnel 1.0346 0.0367 

Daycare and Foster Care Providers 1.0049 0.8787 

Nonprofessional and Other 1.1433 0.0000 

Source of Initial Report 

Unknown 1.0611 0.0296

Infants Reference 1.0000 0.0000

1–Year Olds 1.0106 0.4976 

2–4 0.9186 0.0000

5–7 0.8273 0.0000

8–10 0.7419 0.0000

11–13 0.7160 0.0000

14–18 0.5257 0.0000

Over 18 0.1480 0.0000 

Child Age at Initial Report 

Unknown 0.2544 0.0000

Female Reference 1.0000 0.0000 Child Sex 

Male 0.7626 

White only Reference 1.0000 0.0000 

American Indian and Alaskan Native only 1.0465 0.0352 

Asian and Pacific Islander only 0.5979 0.0000 

African-American only 0.8361 0.0000 

Hispanic 0.8677 0.0000

Other and multiple race, non-Hispanic 1.2838 0.0000 

Child Race and Ethnicity

Unable to determine and missing 0.5609 0.0000 

Child With Indication of No Reference 1.0000 0.0000

Disability Yes 1.4667 

No Reference 1.0000 0.0001 Caretaker Abuse of Alcohol 

Yes 1.1086 

Child’s Initial Investigation Nonvictim Reference 1.0000 0.0000

Victimization Status Victim 1.1102 

Postinvestigation Services No Reference 1.0000 0.0000

Provided Yes 1.3504 

Child Placement in Foster No Reference 1.0000 0.0000

Care Yes 2.1813 

No Reference 1.0000 0.0006 Interaction of Victimization 

and Postinvestigation 

Services Yes (child victim and services provided) 0.9342 

No Reference 1.0000 0.0000 Interaction of Victimization 

and Placement in Foster 

Care Yes (child victim and placed) 0.3547 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

11
Source of Initial Report. Children who 

were rereported were less likely to have been initially 

reported by medical or law enforcement personnel than 

by report sources such as social services or mental 

health services providers. In contrast, reports by 

nonprofessional and other sources were tied to an increased likelihood of rereporting 

compared with social and mental health services providers. 

Initial reports by medical and 

law enforcement personnel were 

associated with a lower 

likelihood of rereporting. 

Child Demographics. In general, as the age of 

children at initial report increased, the likelihood of 

rereporting decreased. No distinction was observed 

between infants and children who were 1 year old. Girls 

were more likely to be rereported than boys. White 

children were more likely to be rereported compared 

with African-American, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic children. However, 

children of other or multiple races were 1.3 times more likely than White children to be 

rereported. White children were just as likely as Native Americans and Alaska Natives to 

be rereported. 

White children had a greater 

likelihood of experiencing a 

rereport compared with 

African-American children. 

Family and Child Risk Factors. Children with disabilities were approximately 

1.5 times more likely to be rereported than children without disabilities. Children with 

caretakers who abused alcohol were also more likely to be rereported. The presence of 

drug abuse among the child’s caretakers did not statistically increase or decrease the 

likelihood of rereporting; therefore, this variable was excluded from the model. 

 

Outcomes of Initial Intervention. If, following an initial investigation, the child 

was found to be a victim, he or she was slightly more likely (1.11 times) to be rereported 

than children who were initially nonvictims. The

receipt of postinvestigation services or foster care 

services elevated the likelihood of rereporting. In 

particular, the provision of foster care appears to 

double the likelihood of rereporting. 

Children who received services 

had an increased likelihood of 

being rereported than children 

who did not receive services.

A statistical interaction effect was found between the initial victimization of the child and 

the receipt of postinvestigation services. Figure 1 illustrates this interaction by displaying 

two survival distribution graphs: one for children who received postinvestigation services 

and one for those who did not. Both curves show that, 

overall, children who received services were more 

likely to be rereported than children who did not 

receive services, regardless of initial victimization. 

However, among children who did not receive 

services, victims were more likely to be rereported 

than nonvictims, while among children who received 

services, fewer victims were rereported than nonvictims. 

Victims who received services 

were less likely to be 

rereported compared with 

nonvictims who received 

services.

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

12
Figure 2. Interaction of Victimization with Postinvestigation Services 

Cumulative Percentage with Subsequent Event 

Postinvestigation Services Provided

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Months Until First Rereport

Nonvictim

Victim

No Postinvestigation Services Provided

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Months Until First Rereport

Nonvictim

Victim

Multiple Rereports 

Beyond the question of whether a child was rereported or not, this analysis focuses on 

how many subsequent events occurred for an individual child, and the impact of the 

passage of time and the age of the child on this number of events. A total of 803,320 

children who were initially reported during 1998 and 1999 in 9 States were included in 

the analysis.

Time from Initial Report. This analysis examined how many events per child 

occurred for each 6-month period after the first report. Table 4 illustrates that the number 

of subsequent CPS rereports per child declined steadily during each additional 6 months 

of followup. For all reported children, the average number of subsequent reports was 

0.13 per child during the first 6 months of followup whereas the number dropped to 

0.05 reports during months 31–36. 

Table 4. Number of Rereports, by Time from Initial Report 

Time from Initial Report 

Event Category 6 Months 

or Less 

7–12 

Months 

13–18 

Months 

19–24 

Months 

25–30 

Months 

31–36 

Months 

Children with no Further Reports 714,695 737,411 749,177 759,030 765,497 771,411 

Children Subsequently Reported 

During Interval 88,625 65,909 54,143 44,290 37,823 31,909

Total Rereports During Interval 106,348 77,388 63,439 51,412 43,576 36,316 

Total Unique Children Reported 803,320 803,320 803,320 803,320 803,320 803,320 

Rereports Per Child During Interval 0.13 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.05

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

13
Age of the Child. As shown in Table 5, the number of subsequent reports was 

examined for children, grouped by age at the time of the initial report.6

 The number of 

rereports declined as the age of the child increased. Infants had the highest number of 

rereports with an average of 0.59 per child, compared with children age 14–18 at 

0.38 per child. Both the timing of rereports and the age of children appear to be 

associated with the number of rereports that a child experiences. These findings also 

appear to be consistent with what is observed for single rereports. 

Table 5. Number of Rereports, by Age of Child 

Age of Child at Initial Report 

Event Category Infants 1 2–4 5–7 8–10 11–13 14–18 Age 

Unknown Total 

Children Reported 

for Age Group 70,160 51,779 155,913 153,677 128,844 105,532 34,325 5,100 705,330

Total Rereports for 

Age Group 41,475 28,936 83,580 78,815 59,926 47,919 13,061 8,416 362,128

Rereports Per 

Child for Age 

Group 

0.591 0.559 0.536 0.513 0.465 0.454 0.381 1.650 0.513

Factors Associated With Increased Recurrence 

Findings on single recurrences are presented in this section, followed by findings on 

multiple recurrent events. As noted previously, all children included in these analyses had 

not been found to be victims based on any report prior to the first victimization event in 

the data set.

Single Recurrences

For this analysis, 190,552 unique children from 8 States who were reported between 1998 

and 2002, and found to be victims, were included.7

 Cox regression analyses were 

conducted to determine which factors may have influenced the likelihood that each of 

these victims would be revictimized within a 5-year period. Table 6 presents the results 

of the model for recurrence. 

 

6

 Children who reached age 18 before the end of the observation period of 3 years were excluded from this 

analysis. 

7

 One additional State was dropped from the analysis due to the absence of risk factor data. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

14
Table 6. Factors Associated with Recurrence 

(N=190,552) 

Variables Factor Categories Category 

Type 

Risk Ratio 

Associated with 

Recurrence 

P 

Social and Mental Health Services Reference 1.0000 0.0000 

Medical Personnel 1.0168 0.7203 

Law Enforcement or Legal Personnel 0.9245 0.0816 

Education Personnel 1.1222 0.0093 

Daycare and Foster Care Providers 1.5347 0.0000 

Nonprofessional and Other 1.2678 0.0000 

Source of Initial Report 

Unknown 1.2866 0.0000

Infants Reference 1.0000 0.0000

1–Year Olds 0.8610 0.0001 

2–4 0.7430 0.0000

5–7 0.7006 0.0000

8–10 0.6683 0.0000

11–13 0.6469 0.0000

14–18 0.4591 0.0000 

Over 18 0.0014 0.6072 

Child Age at Initial 

Report 

Unknown 0.7020 0.0001

White only Reference 1.0000 0.0000 

American Indian and Alaskan Native Only 1.3784 0.0283 

Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.6792 0.0324 

African-American Only 0.8994 0.0011 

Hispanic 1.0074 0.7807

Other and multiple race, non-Hispanic 1.1296 0.1418 

Child Race and 

Ethnicity

Unable to determine and missing 0.6291 0.0000 

Physical Abuse Only 1.0000 0.0000 

Neglect or Medical Neglect Only 1.3457 0.0000 

Sexual Abuse Only 0.9311 0.0938 

Other Abuse Only 1.1955 0.0000 

Maltreatment Type 

Multiple Abuse Types 1.1195 0.0034 

Postinvestigation Nonvictim Reference 1.0000 0.0000

Services Provided Victim 1.5774

Child Placement in No Reference 1.0000 0.0000

Foster Care Yes 0.8785

Caretaker Abuse of No Reference 1.0000 0.0025

Alcohol Yes 1.1023

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

15
Source of Initial Report. Victims 

reported initially by daycare providers, foster 

care providers, or nonprofessionals were 

associated with a greater likelihood of 

experiencing recurrence compared with those 

reported by social services or mental health 

services providers. 

Victims reported by daycare providers, 

foster care providers or nonprofessionals 

had a greater likelihood of experiencing 

recurrence compared with victims 

reported by other professional sources. 

Child Demographics. Generally, as the age of child victims at initial report 

increased, their likelihood of experiencing recurrence declined. Although the gender of 

the victim was tested as a factor in the model, it was not found to impact recurrence. 

While the effect of race and ethnicity on the likelihood of repeat victimization 

approached statistical significance, no single category except “unable to determine” and 

“missing” met the cutoff for statistical significance used in this study. 

Circumstances of Maltreatment. Victims who 

were neglected were 1.3 times more likely to 

experience recurrence, compared with physically and 

sexually abused victims.8

 Victims who experienced 

an “other” form of abuse or multiple forms of abuse 

tended to have a higher likelihood of experiencing recurrence. 

As the age of victims increased, 

the likelihood of recurrence 

decreased. 

Family and Child Risk Factors. Victims whose caregivers abused alcohol were 

more likely to experience recurrence. The influence 

of parental substance abuse and victims with 

disabilities was tested but was not found to contribute 

significantly to the likelihood of recurrence. That 

said, the results suggested that the presence of these 

factors was associated with higher likelihood of recurrence. 

Victims were more likely to 

experience recurrence if their 

caregivers abused alcohol. 

Outcomes of Initial Intervention. Victims who 

received postinvestigation services were 1.5 times 

more likely to experience recurrence than those who 

had not. However, victims placed in foster care were 

less likely to experience recurrence. 

Victims who received services had a 

higher likelihood of experiencing 

recurrence, but victims placed in 

foster care were at lower risk of 

experiencing recurrence. 

Multiple Recurrences 

Similar to the analyses of multiple rereporting events, this analysis focuses on how many 

subsequent victimizations occurred for an individual victim, and the impact of the 

passage of time and the age of the child on this number of events. A total of 189,557 

children who were victimized the first time between 1998 through 1999 in 9 States were 

included in the analyses.

 

8

 Maltreatment data are reported for this analysis because the data are available for all NCANDS victims.

Not all States provided data on maltreatment if the child was not determined to be a victim, thus this 

variable was not included in the rereporting analysis described above. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

16
Time from Initial Report. This analysis examined how many victimization events 

per child occurred for each 6-month period after the first report. As shown in Table 7, the 

number of recurrences per child declined steadily during each additional 6 months of 

followup. In a pattern similar to rereports, among children who were initially found to be 

victims, the number of recurrences during the first is 6 months was 0.05 per child and 

declined to 0.02 per child by month 31–36. Thus, just as the likelihood of a single 

recurrence declined over time, the longer children were observed, the number of 

recurrences experienced by children declined as well. 

Table 7. Number of Revictimizations, by Time from Initial Report 

Time from Initial Report 

Event Categories 6 Months 

and Under 

7–12 

Months 

13–18 

Months 

19–24 

Months 

25–30 

Months 

31–36 

Months 

Child Victims With No Further 

Victimizations 180,383 183,332 184,389 185,142 186,028 186,678

Child Victims Subsequently 

Victimized During Interval 9,174 6,225 5,168 4,415 3,529 2,879

Total Revictimizations During Interval 10,231 6,744 5,619 4,788 3,802 3,079 

Total Child Victims 189,557 189,557 189,557 189,557 189,557 189,557 

Revictimizations Per Child During 

Interval 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02

Age of Child. The same pattern found for 

rereporting was found for recurrence, where generally 

the number of recurrences per child declined as age at 

first victimization increased. As shown in Table 8, 

infants experienced 0.19 recurrences per child and 

14–18 year olds had 0.09 events per child. However, 

unlike rereporting, children between age 1 and age 7 had more recurrences than infants. 

Younger children had more 

rereports and recurrences 

compared with older children. 

Table 8. Number of Revictimizations, by Age of Child 

Age at Initial Report 

Event Categories 

Infants 1 2–4 5–7 8–10 11–13 14–18 Age 

Unknown Total 

Child Victims For Age 

Group 25,554 12,161 35,370 35,422 30,099 24,957 24,371 1,544 189,478

Total Revictimizations 

For Age Group 4,909 2,630 7,466 7,103 5,418 4,327 2,241 167 34,261

Recictimizations Per 

Child For Age Group 0.19 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.18 0.17 0.09 0.11 0.18

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

17
Discussion and Conclusions 

pproximatly one-third of children with an allegation that they had been 

maltreated experienced at least one additional report within a 5-year period. 

When a subset of children were followed for 3 years, it was found that, on 

average, children who were rereported experienced approximately two rereports (the 

average was 1.7 rereports per child who had more than one report). Among children who 

were initially identified as victims, 17 percent were again identified as victims within a 5-

year period. Based on 3 years of followup, victims who were revictimized were found to 

be victims one more time within the 3 years (the average was 1.3 recurrences per children 

who were ever victimized). In other words, the phenomenon of being rereported was 

approximately two times as likely as being found to be revictimized. Most children who 

experienced more than one rereport or revictimization experienced these events within a 

short time after the initial event. As the length of the followup observation period 

increased, the frequency of rereports and revictimizations per child decreased. 

A 

Factors Associated with Rereporting and Recurrence 

Although they occur with different frequency, many similar factors were related to 

rereporting and recurrence. Similar factors were related to single subsequent events and 

to multiple subsequent events. For example, both rereporting and recurrence occurred 

more frequently among younger children; younger children experienced more subsequent 

reports compared with older children. Service provision was associated with a greater 

likelihood of rereporting and recurrence. Caretaker alcohol abuse was associated with 

increased likelihood of the child experiencing rereporting and recurrence. The shared risk 

factors that influenced both rereporting and recurrence lends credence to the idea that the 

children experienced these events for similar reasons. 

However, some differences were found between the factors that increased children’s 

likelihood of rereporting and recurrence. To some extent these differences were due to 

the nature of the available data. For example, children who were found to be victims in an 

initial report were more likely to be rereported, compared with children who were not 

initially victims—a factor that cannot be examined for recurrence since all children were 

initially victims by definition. Likewise, although it could not be tested for rereporting, 

children who experienced neglect, multiple types of maltreatment, and “other” forms of

maltreatment were more likely to experience recurrence, compared with children who 

experienced physical or sexual abuse. However, differences between these two 

populations may be intrinsic. For example, children who were placed in foster care were 

more likely to be rereported, but less likely to experience recurrence. Girls were found to 

be somewhat more likely than boys to be rereported, but not to experience recurrence. 

Child disability was associated with a higher likelihood of rereporting, but not with more 

recurrence. Despite the elevated risk for younger children for any subsequent event, 

infants were not more likely to be rereported, compared with toddlers, but were more 

likely to experience recurrence. In a seemingly contradictory manner, infants had 

comparatively more multiple rereports, but fewer multiple revictimizations. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

18
Implications for Reducing Rereporting and Recurrence 

One prevalent assumption with respect to rereporting and recurrence is they represent 

events in which CPS was not successful in keeping children safe from further harm. 

Given this assumption, reducing the frequency of rereporting—and especially 

recurrence—are important goals for the system. This study has shown that some factors 

that influence likelihood of rereporting and recurrence are directly related to the provision 

of services. This poses a problem in identifying and understanding system indicators of 

safety. 

To further attempt to understand the relationship between service provision and CPS reinvolvement, statistical interactions between services and initial victimization among all 

children who were reported were tested. The analysis found that rereporting was higher 

among victims and nonvictims who had received services than those who did not receive 

services. Nonvictims who received services had the highest likelihood of rereporting. 

Although the action of rereporting is not directly controlled by the CPS agency and 

unobserved factors may be operating, it appears from these data that service provision 

raises the possibility of being rereported for both victims and nonvictims. 

Foster care placement data provided another example of how intervention is associated 

with rereporting and recurrence. Victims who were removed from the home were less 

likely to be rereported or revictimized, whereas nonvictim children who were placed in

foster care were more likely to be rereported. A fuller understanding of how placement 

services interact with rereporting and recurrence could be addressed by linking the 

NCANDS data set with the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System

(AFCARS) data set. The process of linking these data sets is currently in the formative

phase. 

The variation among other factors related to rereporting and likelihood of recurrence 

suggest some interesting hypotheses. For example, caretaker alcohol abuse appeared to 

increase children’s likelihood of both rereporting and recurrence, whereas child disability 

was only tied to increased rereporting, but was not a statistically significant risk factor for 

recurrence. One might hypothesize that even though children with disabilities were at 

risk, the CPS agency was more effective at responding to victims with disabilities than 

nonvictim children with disabilities. In contrast, the system may have had more limited 

success in mitigating risk for children whose parents abused alcohol. A possible 

implication of this hypothesis is that more effective alcohol treatment services for parents 

generally could reduce reporting and recurrence. Another implication is that effective 

services should be provided whenever the investigated children are disabled. 

Conclusions 

Previous research has highlighted the difficulty of developing comprehensive services 

that are effective in reducing rereporting. Policies and practices designed to address the 

common risk factors may be effective in addressing the range of rereporting outcomes. 

For example, policies aimed at reducing maltreatment among young children and 

children whose parents abuse alcohol may be effective in addressing both rereporting and 

recurrence. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

19
Findings from this study also draw attention to a group of children who experience a brief 

period of intense involvement with the CPS system. While this is a relatively small 

fraction of the children, gaining a clearer understanding of this population may serve to 

highlight needed areas of improvement in the system of intervention. In particular, young 

children who have already experienced multiple victimizations are at particular risk for 

continuing to recur and to have these events occur rapidly. Among these children, both 

intense services and surveillance may be a continuous requirement to help insure their 

safety and prevent serious long-term harm. 

In some cases, providing services will increase rereporting. The source of the increased 

risk associated with service provision—intrinsic risk or surveillance—is difficult to 

identify. It is likely to be some combination of the two. However, another important issue 

raised by this research is the usual consideration of rereporting and recurrence as negative 

outcomes. If rereporting is being increased by the surveillance effect of service provision, 

actual maltreatments are being reported that otherwise would never have been made 

known. Following initial investigations that did not result in findings of victimization, 

families who were sent home without any services may have actually been continuing to 

maltreat their children. Without continued services, and without surveillance of continued 

CPS involvement, such maltreatments may continue behind closed doors. Under these 

circumstances, a lower rate rereporting alone does not necessarily indicate success of the 

CPS system. 

The use of NCANDS data in this study has been successful in surfacing consistent, yet 

perplexing, issues surrounding the use of rereporting and recurrence as performance 

measures for CPS. Many of these issues can be resolved if the data are supplemented 

with data that are more precise in the area of risk factor identification and with more 

detail about service provision. Further, the analysis of trajectories was limited to bivariate 

analysis and could benefit from multivariate approaches that would help to isolate 

clusters of children that share common trajectories. Nevertheless, this first-time look at 

rereporting and long-term recurrence in the NCANDS data has revealed some important 

patterns, including the continued role of services associated with elevated risk, the 

differential risk tied to maltreatment type, and the importance of the age of the child. 

Ideally, the analysis will encourage continued discussion regarding how rereporting and 

recurrence are measured as performance indicators, facilitate the design and 

implementation of more effective and targeted services, and help in focusing continued 

inquiry regarding children who are at risk. 

While the condition of being found to be a victim of child maltreatment may be assumed 

to be more severe than the condition of having been reported to the CPS agency, there is 

some evidence that all children who are reported represent a group for whom 

developmental delays, poor health, and other negative aspects of well-being are common 

(English, 2003). For this reason, it may be appropriate for CPS agencies to consider 

increasing their attention on all children who are rereported, regardless of their 

dispositional finding. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

20
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Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

23
Appendix A. Methodological Notes

his appendix contains additional detailed information regarding specific aspects of

the methods used to construct the database and analyze the data. 

Years of State Data Submissions 

T 

States were considered for inclusion if they had submitted case-level data to the 

NCANDS for calendar years (CY) 1998–2002. CY 1998 and 1999 data submissions were 

made in Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC) format; CY 2000, 2001, and 2002 data 

submissions were made in the Child File (CF) format. Prior to use in the analysis, the 

DCDC data sets were converted to CF format. 

Evaluation of Unique Child Identifiers 

Tests of unique child identification numbers (IDs) were conducted to determine whether 

a reasonable number of children were recorded as rereported, and the extent to which 

demographic data were the same from report to report. First, each State’s multiyear data 

set was examined to determine whether at least 2 percent of all the report-child pairs in 

the data set had matching unique child IDs. While no CPS system is able to prevent 

children from being rereported, some States do not adequately identify children who are 

rereported. Thus, States that do not identify the same child over repeated events will have 

close to 0 percent duplicate child IDs. The 2 percent threshold for matching unique IDs, 

while arbitrary, was chosen to exclude States that do not adequately identify rereported 

children and to include States with actual low rates of rereporting. 

If a State’s multiyear data set met this threshold, at least 95 percent of children with the 

same IDs also needed to match on demographic characteristics. Additional tests were 

performed to assess whether the cumulative percentage of IDs that were reused from one 

year to the next increased systematically from year to year. Finally, all of the ID tests 

were repeated to assess whether the criteria for IDs were met for both the set of children 

who were considered victims and those children not considered victims. 

Prior Victimization 

Given the clear importance of history of victimization, analyses focused primarily on 

children with no such history of victimization. In order to identify these children, the 

prior victimization variable was used. Two States were excluded because their data 

indicated that more than 98 percent of report-child pairs had no history of prior 

victimization. In addition, one State was excluded due to anomalous data for prior 

victimization which was deemed internally inconsistent.

9

 For the remaining nine States, it 

was possible to identify children who had not been victimized prior to their initial 

investigation in the data set and therefore to compare children who had a history of 

victimization (n=117,874) with those who did not (n=1,396,998). The data set included 

data from these 9 States. 

 

9

 In this State, children who were not victims in the current report were never being identified as prior

victims. Conversely, only children identified as victims in the current report were being identified as 

victims prior to the current report. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

24
Combining Data for All Years 

A single file that included all the data submitted for the calendar years 1998–2002 was 

created for each State. To standardize the data files, investigations with a disposition date 

after December 31, 1997, but with a report date prior to January 1, 1998, were excluded.

Derived Independent Variables 

Certain variables were derived from standard NCANDS fields to simplify and support the 

anticipated analyses. These recoded variables allowed for either production of single 

variables containing mutually exclusive categories or to combined categories which 

otherwise have a small number of cases. The derived variables are shown in Table A–1. 

Table A–1. Derived Independent Variables 

Variables Recoding and Derivation of Variables Factor Categories 

Social and Mental Health Services

Medical Personnel 

Law Enforcement or Legal Personnel 

Education Personnel 

Daycare and Foster Care Providers 

Nonprofessional and Other 

Source of Initial Report 

Sources such as friends and neighbors, 

and victims were combined into a single 

category of nonprofessional 

Unknown 

Infants 

1–Year Olds 

2–4 

5–7 

8–10 

11–13 

14–18 

Over 18 

Child Age at Initial Report Age at time of report was grouped into 

categories 

Unknown 

White only 

American Indian and Alaskan Native Only 

Asian and Pacific Islander Only 

African-American Only 

Hispanic 

Other and multiple race, non-Hispanic 

Child Race and Ethnicity 

Race and Hispanic ethnicity were 

combined into single variable with 

mutually exclusive categories 

Unable to determine and missing 

Physical Abuse Only 

Neglect or Medical Neglect Only 

Sexual Abuse Only 

Other Abuse Only

Maltreatment Type

A single variable with mutually exclusive 

categories was derived from a multiple 

response variable 

Multiple Abuse Types 

No Caretaker Abuse of Alcohol Flags for the presence at the time of the 

report Yes 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

25
Table A–1. Derived Independent Variables (continued)

Variables Recoding and Derivation of Variables Factor Categories 

No 

Child With Indication of Disability 

Flag for the presence of any: 

• Mental Retardation 

• Emotionally Disturbed 

• Visually or Hearing Impaired 

• Learning Disability 

• Physically Disabled 

• Behavior Problem

Yes 

Child’s Initial Investigation Nonvictim 

Victimization Status Flag Victim 

Postinvestigation Services No 

Provided Flag, yes or no 

Yes 

No Child Placement in Foster Care Flag, yes or no 

Yes 

Derived Dependent Variables 

The data from multiple reports involving the same child ID were combined to develop

variables that indicated whether the child experienced one or more subsequent reports or 

subsequent victimizations. These variables were constructed to support the use of event 

history analysis procedures. This step also combined reports made within the same 24-

hour period since children who were reported more than once within 24 hours were 

considered to be reports of the same incident. Derived variables are shown in table A–2. 

Table A–2. Derived Dependent Variables

Variables Recoding and Derivation of Variables Factor Categories 

No Rereport Indicator Flag for the presence of a second report for the same child 

Yes 

Length of Time to Rereport Time in days between initial report date and subsequent 

report date was calculated 

No 

Revictimization Indicator Flag for the presence of a subsequent victim disposition 

report for the same child victim Yes 

Length of Time to Recurrence Time in days from initial report date to subsequent 

victimization was calculated 

Study Limitations 

It is important to note that there are some limitations to the analysis. First, as with any 

analysis utilizing administrative data, the analysis is limited by both what data are 

collected and the accuracy of the data. Data were tested for quality and validation 

procedures were performed. However, only reported child maltreatment can be analyzed; 

therefore, the above findings pertain only to reported child maltreatment, not to child 

maltreatment in general. 

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Findings from NCANDS 

26
Further, while receipt of services was noted in the data analyzed, it was beyond the scope 

of this study to explore related issues such as assessment, referral and refusal of services, 

compliance with case plan, the length of services, worker and provider contacts, the 

number of services, or other factors that might aid in explaining the findings observed. 

While the data analyzed represent a sizable number of cases, generalizations of the 

findings to the national level are not recommended. However, the degree to which the 

findings replicate those noted in other related research suggests that the factors identified 

above are important for policymakers fashioning plans for intervention and prevention of 

children’s reentry into the child welfare system. 

Rereporting and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment: 

Findings from NCANDS 

27