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A Statistical Overview of CPS Reporting
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Every year, thousands of calls are made to the NYS Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) by people concerned for the welfare of children to report suspected abuse or neglect.
In Monroe County, 8,666 reports were investigated in 2024.* Out of the ensuing investigations, nearly 76% of those cases were deemed unfounded (child abuse or neglect did not occur), while 22% were indicated (child abuse or neglect did occur).
What do all of these numbers mean and why are they important? Understanding the statistics behind CPS reporting helps to shed light on patterns of child maltreatment and the effectiveness of preventive programs.
* Data referenced in this article are from Monroe County Child and Family Services and the Child Protective Services (CPS) Dashboard, newly created by the OCFS Office of Research, Evaluation and Performance Analytics (OREPA). Unless otherwise indicated, all data pertain to the year 2024.
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Understanding the Numbers—and Definitions
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When a call is made into the SCR, a trained screener asks specific questions to determine whether the concerns meet certain criteria per the legal definitions of abuse or neglect.
“One simple reason for a report failing to be registered is that the caller isn’t able to give sufficient demographic information to locate or identify the family, so that CPS can initiate an investigation,” said Julie Nichols, Administrator for Monroe County Department of Child and Family Services. “Another reason for a report to not be registered is that the allegations made by the caller, if true, don’t constitute child abuse or child maltreatment as defined by the law.”
Child neglect occurs when a parent (or person legally responsible) fails to provide a minimum level of care by doing something that inflicts harm, allows harm to be inflicted, or creates an imminent danger of harm. It may involve allegations related to domestic violence, lack of supervision, parental drug or alcohol misuse, lacerations/bruises/welts, educational neglect, lack of medical care, as well as additional allegations. Neglect is overwhelmingly more prevalent than physical or sexual abuse of a child. Out of the 8,666 reports registered in Monroe County, 8,117 were for alleged child maltreatment or neglect.
Child physical abuse occurs when a parent (or person legally responsible) commits a physical act (i.e. punching, beating, shaking, throwing, kicking, biting, burning) that causes serious physical injury to a child. Serious physical harm is more than scrapes, bumps, or bruises, but is injury that causes serious disfigurement, protracted impairment of health, loss or impairment of a bodily function or organ, or creates a substantial risk of death. Out of the 8,666 reports registered in Monroe County, 50 were for alleged child physical abuse.
Child sexual abuse is legally defined as any behavior that results in the touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a child for the purpose of sexual gratification of the child and/or adult. It includes touching by the child and/or adult without or with clothing. Often, the sexual abuse occurs over time and may not be painful or cause physical injury to the child. The adult gets the child to participate by using rewards, threats, bribes and lying, and takes advantage of the child’s trust. This type of coercion by an adult, whom the child often loves, can result in long-term emotional trauma that can last into adulthood. Out of the 8,666 reports registered in Monroe County, 499 were for alleged child sexual abuse.
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Mandated reporters are the largest reporting source in Monroe County, at a combined 67%:
- 22% of reports are made by educators or social workers at schools
- 17% come from doctors and hospitals
- 14% from mental health professionals, court/probation/parole and other community agencies
- 8% from law enforcement personnel
- 4% from the Department of Social Services (DSS) personnel
- 2% from daycares and foster care homes
“Mandated sources comprise over two-thirds of the reports that we investigate,” said Nichols. “This statistic is especially enlightening when considering the patterns of reporting, including the significant downturn in reports registered during COVID.”
When school is fully in session—notably the months of March, May and October—Monroe County receives the most reports (per averages calculated over a six-year span). Comparatively, June is typically lower for reports, while summer months (July, August and September) are lowest.
In the last six-year span, April of 2020 was the lowest month recorded, representing a significant shift in data related to COVID. Only 467 reports were registered in Monroe County for that month, which was just after the pandemic shut down schools and kids were sent home to learn remotely. During this time, already struggling families had other basic needs to meet and children didn’t have the watchful eyes of mandated reporters on them.
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“The goal for CPS is to keep children safe and families together and supported—or facilitate reunification, if a child has been temporarily removed from the home due to safety concerns,” said Nichols.
To that end, CPS partners with a variety of organizations throughout Monroe County to deliver evidence-informed programs that help vulnerable children and their often struggling families. Research shows that these preventive programs often make the difference in keeping children and families out of the child welfare system.
In 2024, CPS contracted with 12 nonprofit organizations to deliver 22 preventive programs to 1,201 families. In sum, 1,193 children and youth were served (76% of kids were living at home with a parent, 11% living with a non-parent caregiver, 8% were in foster care, and 5% had another living arrangement).
“Ninety-nine percent of families receiving preventive services,” Nichols stated, “avoided new indicated CPS reports and avoided having their children going into foster care.”
So what do all of these numbers mean for children and families? Consider that at first glance what reporters might initially view as neglect, if explored a little further, may actually be a situation where the tangible needs of a family— food, clothing or housing—are not being met. Other times, a family could use a referral to fulfill a service related need, like mental health counseling, parenting education, or other preventive programs. Knowing how and where to connect families to needed resources and services is an essential element in supporting families.
“The value of preventive programs is that this type of preventive support helps to maintain children safely in their homes, by giving the family or caregivers the support and skills they need to help their families thrive,” said Nichols. “Preventive programs are substantially less expensive than foster care and residential services, but, more importantly, they prevent future maltreatment of children.”
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