Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse & Neglect - ICAN Associates

INTRODUCTION
This unique report, published by the Los
Angeles County <strong>Inter</strong>-<strong>Agency</strong> <strong>Council</strong> on Child
Abuse and Neglect Data/Information Sharing
Committee, features data from ICAN agencies
about activities for 2008, or 2007/2008 for some
agencies. The report includes some information
about programs, but is intended primarily to
provide visibility to data about child abuse and
neglect in Los Angeles County and information
drawn from that data. Much of the report
assumes the reader has a basic knowledge of
the functions and organization of ICAN and its
member agencies. The Appendix describes
ICAN's organizational structure.
The Data/Information Sharing Committee
continues to be committed to applying our data
assets to improve the understanding of our
systems and our interdependencies. We
believe this understanding will help support us
all in better serving the children and families of
Los Angeles County.
Section I of the report highlights the interagency
nature of ICAN by providing reports,
conclusions and recommendations that transcend
agency boundaries. Significant findings from
participating agencies are included here, as
well as special reports.
Section II includes special reports from ICAN
Associates; ICAN Multi-<strong>Agency</strong> Child Death
Review Team and ICAN Child Abduction Task
Force. Also included is our annual inter-agency
analysis of data collection. This analysis continues
to evolve, providing an opportunity to view from a
more global perspective the inter-agency linkages
of the child abuse system.
Section III includes the detailed reports that
are submitted each year by ICAN agencies for
analysis and publication. In response to the goals
set by the Data/Information Sharing Committee,
Departmental reports continue to improve. Most
departmental reports now include data on age,
gender, ethnicity and/ or local geographic areas
of the county, which allows for additional analysis
and comparisons. The reports reflect the increasing
sophistication of our systems and the commitment
of Data Committee members to meet the challenge
of measuring and giving definition to the nature
and extent of child abuse and neglect in Los
Angeles County.
In this twenty forth edition of The State of
Child Abuse in Los Angeles County, we are
once again pleased to include the artwork of
winning students from the ICAN Associates
Annual Child Abuse Prevention Month Poster
Contest. The contest gives 4th, 5th, and 6th
grade students an opportunity to express their
feelings through art, as well as to discuss child
abuse prevention and what children need to be
safe and healthy.
The Data/Information Committee is again
grateful to the Los Angeles County <strong>Inter</strong>nal
Services Department - Information Technology
Service, especially Ana Maria Correa, Nina
Prays, Christopher Chapman, Dionne Lyman-
Chapman and Lisa Cheng. They have provided
the technical desktop publishing support to
produce this final document.
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