From Early Involvement with Child Welfare Services to School Entry: A 5- to 6-Year Follow-Up of Infants in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. With Tables of 5- to 6-Year Follow-Up Results for Children Aged 1 to 4 at Baseline

摘要

In 1999 the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, undertook the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to learn about children and families coming in contact with the child welfare system (CWS). The sample, which represents the population of children and families that entered the CWS within a 15-month period (October 1999 to December 2000), comprises 5,501 children (aged 0 to 14 years) from 92 child welfare agencies nationwide. The first national longitudinal survey of its kind, NSCAW gathers information about children's safety, living-situation permanency, well- being, and services after a maltreatment investigation by child protective services. NSCAW has examined the experiences of children and families with the CWS, starting approximately 4 months after the completion of a CWS maltreatment investigation and following up 112 years, 3 years, and 5 to 6 years later (in 2005 and 2006). The current report provides information about 962 children who were infants (0 to 12 months old) when they first became involved in investigations for child abuse or neglect and whose caregivers participated at the 5- to 6-year follow-up. Some children's cases were closed after investigation; others had a case opened to child welfare services. Although the majority remained at home after investigation, others were removed from their homes. Five to 6 years after child protective services investigation, these children were 5 to 6 years old. This report is the first in a series presenting findings from the NSCAW 5- to 6-year follow-up.