Recurrence of Child Maltreatment

One of the primary purposes of child protective services interventions is to prevent future harm for children who have already experienced maltreatment. Understanding more about when and why maltreatment reoccurs helps improve interventions. Resources include State and local examples.

Didn’t We Just See You? Time to Recurrence Among Frequency Encountered Families in CPS (PDF - 162  KB)
Zhang, Fuller, & Nieto (2013)
Children and Youth Services Review, 35(5)
Analyzes the association between the timing of prior child maltreatment intervals and the likelihood of repeat maltreatment.

Does Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Reduce Future Physical Abuse?: A Meta-analysis (PDF - 221 KB)
Kennedy, Kim, Tripodi, Brown, & Gowdy (2014)
Florida State University
Evaluates the efficacy of parent-child interaction therapy in reducing the recurrence of child abuse among at risk families.

Examining Predictors of Re-reports and Recurrence of Child Maltreatment Using Two National Data Sources

Children and Youth Services Review, 48

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Analyzes the issues that contribute to the rereporting of child abuse among children with prior involvement in child protective services. Factors that mitigate the risk of recurrence include family services at the time of the first report.

The Impact of In-home Services From Child Protective Services on Child Maltreatment Recurrence: A Process Model

Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 96(4)

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Examines the interrelationship between stress, service matching, and needs assessments in addressing the impact of in-home services in preventing the recurrence of child maltreatment.

Intergenerational Patterns of Child Maltreatment: What the Evidence Shows
Series Title Issue Briefs
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Child Welfare Information Gateway
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Year Published 2016
Explores what is currently known about intergenerational patterns of maltreatment, the limits of our current knowledge, implications of what we know and what we do not know (including promising prevention strategies), and areas for further research. This issue brief also describes theories to explain intergenerational maltreatment (IGM) and practical implications to IGM.

Preventing the Recurrence of Maltreatment (PDF - 1,034 KB)
Carnochan, Rizik-Baer, & Austin (2013)
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 10
Explains potential risk factors that may contribute to recurrence of child abuse and maltreatment. This journal article also discusses potential consequences of child maltreatment.

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State and local examples

Repeat Maltreatment in Alaska: Assessment and Exploration of Alternative Measures (PDF - 1055 KB)
Vadapalli & Passini (2015)
Examines recurring child maltreatment reporting trends between 2005 and 2013 to determine the differing rates of substantiated and unsubstantiated reports.

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