The Community Context of Rural and Urban Child Neglect

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DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): The specific aims of this research are to examine community effects on the incidence, identification and response to child neglect. The focus is on variations across rural and urban communities and between communities varying in levels of social organization. The research will expand the current knowledge of why the rates of reported and investigated child neglect cases differ across communities. The objective of the research is to provide child welfare practitioners, administrators, policy makers and local communities with essential information on the factors that influence the number of child neglect incidents formally acted upon; the community factors that are influential in the CPS screening process; and the range of formal and informal responses to child neglect which occur in rural and urban communities. The basic study design is hierarchical, involving both individual and community level measures, and involves both quantitative and qualitative methods. Structured telephone surveys conducted in each of 50 Nebraska communities served by 10 Child Protective Services offices form the base data set. Additional data included is from census and other sources on community characteristics and data from Nebraska Health and Human Services System on child neglect. Multi-level hierarchical linear models will be used to analyze the quantitative data. Qualitative data collected from community residents and key leaders in a sample of communities provides a more detailed view of the communities. Data on CPS decision making at intake is collected from CPS intake staff and supervisors through surveys, interviews, and a policy capturing study conducted in each of the 10 selected CPS offices.