Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4)

schools and social services agencies. Schools recognized maltreatment at the rate of 22.5children per 1,000 in the NIS–3 but dropped by 33% in the NIS–4 to a rate of 15.1children per 1,000. Similarly, recognition by sentinels in social service agenciessignificantly decreased by more than one half (54%) since the NIS–3 (2.6 to 1.2 childrenper 1,000). 99 Sentinels’ Expected Responses to Maltreatment Situations and7.2the Implications for NIS CoverageThe Sentinel Definitions Study (SDS), as described in Chapter 2, surveyedsentinels about their expected reactions to the kinds of maltreatment situations covered inthe NIS, asking whether they would report these situations to CPS and whether theywould submit them to a national study such as the NIS (McPherson and Sedlak, 2010).The SDS respondents were participating sentinels in the NIS–4 and the SDS questionsrepresented the entire range of situations included in the NIS–4 maltreatment definitions.The SDS findings can, therefore, provide some insight into how well the NIS estimatescover the population of maltreated children.Sentinels are critical to the NIS because they are the only source ofinformation about maltreated children that CPS does not investigate. Moreover, aspresented in the preceding sections, sentinels recognize the majority of countablechildren. Overall, sentinel sources accounted for 92% of the children who experiencedHarm Standard maltreatment and 87% of those countable under the EndangermentStandard. The NIS receives sentinel-recognized children both directly from sentinels andthrough data on CPS investigations.NIS coverage of the population of maltreated children. How complete isNIS coverage of the maltreated children that sentinels encounter? The NIS has strongcoverage of cases that sentinels submit directly to the study. NIS coverage of cases thatthe sentinels report to CPS but do not submit to the study is mixed—NIS will only obtain99 The calculation of the change in social services used a combined total estimate of the children reportedby shelters and social service agencies (an estimate of 89,600 at a rate of 1.2 per 1,000 children).7-11