A project supported by: WRMA’s National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) team
ACYF contracts sequentially with WRMA
for an IT solution and analysis of child maltreatment data
Client:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF)
Children’s Bureau
Service Areas
Areas of Expertise
Summary
In 1988, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) needed a trusted contractor to design, implement, and maintain a national data collection and reporting system about child maltreatment. WRMA collaborated on the initial development contract and became the prime contractor for sequential contracts due to its demonstrated expertise in developing IT systems for state child welfare agencies.
Under ACYF guidance, WRMA has continued to develop and improve the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). NCANDS is widely accepted as the primary source of child protective services statistics about child maltreatment in the United States.
Details
Data submitted by the states to NCANDS are used to measure the various performance and accountability objectives of ACYF, and the data are a critical resource for the federal government, child welfare agencies, researchers, media personnel, and the public.
State participation in NCANDS is voluntary. Thus, an essential component of NCANDS is a collaborative working partnership between the federal government and 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. WRMA serves as the liaison to each state/territory, fostering the relationship through rich technical assistance and facilitation of communication between ACYF and the state/territory.
WRMA built and maintains a robust IT solution to improve communication, data collection, data file exchanges, and data analysis capabilities. This solution offers a secure online environment with user-friendly forms and screens supported by advanced user interface and database technologies.
The primary output from the validation process is a state data set that is ready for analyses in conjunction with the child maltreatment data from all other states. The NCANDS Technical Team developed and implemented a robust cloud-based multiyear, multistate NCANDS data warehouse containing more than 45 million records. Each year, WRMA conducts analyses on multidimensional data created from the validated data submissions. The analyses result in approximately 60 data tables, which are publicly released in a 300-page technical report. Child Maltreatment 2020 is the 31st report released by NCANDS on behalf of ACYF. The report contains seven chapters and four appendixes, including one containing detailed comments from states about their data. The annual Child Maltreatment reports are available on the Children’s Bureau website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data-research/child-maltreatment.
