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

CPS recruitment. In order to unduplicate data from sentinels against dataon children in CPS investigations, the NIS design obtains a census of all children in CPSinvestigations in study counties during the reference period, using CPS Summary DataForms for basic demographic information. Without this information, the NIS cannot usethe data from sentinels in the county, and the entire county must be dropped from thestudy. All 126 CPS agencies provided Summary Data, so the NIS–4 obtained 100%participation in this component of the study. However, not all jurisdictions providedmaltreatment data on the sampled cases. The NIS–4 obtained 10,667 completedMaltreatment Data Forms, or 89% of the cases sampled. As noted below, the completedCPS maltreatment data were weighted to correct for incomplete and absent forms.Sentinel recruitment. The sentinel agency sample in the NIS–4 was twiceas large as that in the NIS–3. Of the 1,524 sampled sentinel agencies that were eligiblefor the study, 3 1,094 participated, representing 72% of the eligible sample. Within theseparticipating agencies, a total of 10,791 sentinels participated, representing 95% of the11,321 sentinels sampled.NIS–4 agency recruitment rates were lower than those attained in earlier NIScycles. 4 The lower rates were largely attributable to increased concerns with privacy andresulting changes in policies, procedures, and State and federal laws since the NIS–3.New laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),seriously limited access to data for any “voluntary” study.Nevertheless, compared with earlier NIS cycles, the NIS–4 substantiallyincreased sample sizes and broadened sentinel agency coverage. Relative to the NIS–3,the NIS–4 essentially tripled the number of participating counties (from 42 to 122), CPSagencies (from 42 to 126), and the number of CPS cases with completed maltreatmentdetails (from 3,154 to 10,667). The NIS–4 also substantially increased the number of3 The original sample included 1,679 agencies. Of these, 1,524 were in-scope (serving the sampledcounties at the time of the NIS–4 data collection and with staff who regularly had contacts with childrenand families). Replacements for refusal agencies substituted for 221 of the original sample.4 The NIS–3 achieved an 82% sentinel agency participation rate. The NIS–3 participation rate of sentinelswithin those agencies was the same as in the NIS–4—95%.2–8