Outcome 5: Low Repeat Maltreatment

Context of Measure

Protecting the children of New York City is the fundamental responsibility of ACS. Child Protective Services (CPS) field offices are the first lines of defense in fulfilling this job. ACS Child Protective Specialists investigate allegations of abuse and neglect and make referrals to preventive services or for placement into foster care. By far, the most common point of entry into the child welfare system is through the field office, consequently, CPS workers have a critical role in how a child or family first experiences the child welfare system.

A critical measure of how well the system is performing this fundamental function is the extent to which children who have been the subject of abuse/neglect allegations are subjects of additional allegations at a later date. Because it considers performance on this measure to be central to understanding the child welfare system's success at protecting children, ACS made repeat maltreatment a Top 12 Outcome and Indicator. Further reinforcing this indicator's importance, the federal Health and Human Services reports nationally on the incidence of repeat maltreatment and has incorporated a similar measure into their regular reviews of states' child welfare services.

Abuse/neglect reports are given either an indicated or unsubstantiated determination. An indicated report is a report that, upon investigation, was determined to have credible evidence of abuse or neglect. An unsubstantiated abuse/neglect report is a repot that, upon investigation, was determined to lack credible evidence of abuse or neglect.

A repeat maltreatment incident is defined as any allegation for which an investigation is opened following the date that the prior unsubstantiated or indicated investigation was closed. The repeat maltreatment rate is the percent of initial abuse/neglect allegations followed by a subsequent allegation within one year (365 days) from the date of determination of the initial investigation. This outcome provides a measure of the child welfare system's success at ensuring the safety of children who have already been named as alleged victims of abuse or neglect.

  All files are in PDF format

Quickview 
User Guide
Citywide Report
 
Summary Reports by Borough and Community District:

• Bronx
• Brooklyn
• Manhattan
• Queens 
• Staten Island
• Outside New York City

• Bronx
• Brooklyn
• Manhattan
• Queens 
• Staten Island

Back to Top 12 main page