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Creation and Demise of West Virginia's First Child Abuse and Neglect Database

NCJ Number
167137
Date Published
1997
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The West Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Database is described with respect for the reasons for its establishment, the process used, the lessons learned from its operation from 1992 until its end in June 1997, and recommendations to policymakers about child protection and the data needed to maintain an effective system.
Abstract
The database was established by the West Virginia Juvenile Justice Committee in collaboration with several other agencies in response to the negative impact the lack of appropriate data was having on the ability of the committee to make recommendations to policymakers regarding the type and number of out-of-home placements needed for West Virginia children. The database was designed to track individual child victims and heads of households for the point of referral to child protective services to the point that all children associated with the referral had reached the age of majority. The database was also designed to track cases from the point of referral through the court until every child associated with he case had been placed in a permanent home. In addition, the database was designed for special topic research, to produce management information reports, and to interact with child protective services supervisors concerning the cross-county background of new referrals. The database was a highly successful project; its termination resulted from the legislature's failure to continue the Juvenile Justice Committee. Recommended actions, footnotes, and appended list of reports submitted to the Archives and History agency and list of persons and agencies that aided the database project