What Can National Child Abuse Reporting Data Tell Us About the Overlap Between Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment?

Abstract

This study explores the overlap of domestic violence (DV) and child maltreatment (CM). We assessed the face validity of the DV indicator in the NCANDS Child File, a national record of children investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS). In the FY 2016 NCANDS data, we found that only 26 states met a threshold of 5% of investigated children including an indication of DV. Using these states, we found that 12.5% of children had reports with noted DV. These children were younger, from larger families, and lived in lower-income counties than children without indicated DV. They were also over twice as likely to be in a report originating from law enforcement. Their rates for substantiation (41.21% vs 15.66%) and foster care placement (8.29% vs 3.77%) were more than twice as high as children without DV concerns. The re-report rate (48.02% vs. 45.46%) was slightly higher for those with indicated DV. This study highlights the importance of assessing face validity when using NCANDS data for research and underscores the need for improved DV data collection in CPS systems, thereby strengthening collaboration between DV and CPS agencies.

Keywords

domestic/intimate partner violence child protective services child maltreatment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Armstrong

E. M.

Bosk

E. A.

(2021). Contradictions and their consequences: How competing policy mandates facilitate use of a punitive framework in domestic violence-child maltreatment cases. Child Maltreatment, 26(4), 441–451. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559520969888

Armstrong

T. G.

Wernke

J. Y.

Medina

K. L.

Schafer

(2002). Do partners agree about the occurrence of intimate partner violence? A review of the current literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 3(3), 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380020033002

Baldwin

J. R.

Reuben

Newbury

J. B.

Danese

(2019). Agreement between prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(6), 584–593. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0097

Bender

A. A.

McKinney

S. J.

Schmidt-Sane

M. M.

Cage

Holmes

M. R.

Berg

K. A.

Salley

Bodell

Miller

E. K.

Voith

L. A.

(2022). Childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and effects on social-emotional competence: A systematic review. Journal of Family Violence, 37(5), 835–851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00315-z

Cage

Kobulsky

J. M.

McKinney

S. J.

Holmes

M. R.

Berg

K. A.

Bender

A. E.

Kemmerer

(2022). The Effect of Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence on Children’s Academic Functioning: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Family Violence, 37(8), 1337–1352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00314-0

Callaghan

J. E.

Alexander

J. H.

Sixsmith

Fellin

L. C.

(2018). Beyond “witnessing”: Children’s experiences of coercive control in domestic violence and abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(10), 1551–1581. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515618946

Daro

Edleson

J. L.

Pinderhughes

(2004). Finding common ground in the study of child maltreatment, youth violence, and adult domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19(3), 282–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260503261151

Drake

Kim

Orsi-Hunt

Hollinshead

D. M.

Fluke

J. D.

Jones

Jonson-Reid

Ahn

Wilson

R. A.

(2023). Building infrastructure and training tools to understand cps involvement and trajectories: An open-source approach. LDbase. https://doi.org/10.33009/ldbase.1702395744.2e6b

English

D. J.

Edleson

J. L.

Herrick

M. E.

(2005). Domestic violence in one state’s child protective caseload: A study of differential case dispositions and outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(11), 1183–1201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.04.004

10.

Evans

K. E.

Schmidt-Sane

M. M.

Bender

A. E.

Berg

K. A.

Holmes

M. R.

(2022). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence and acceptance or appraisals of IPV: A systematic review. Journal of Family Violence, 37(12), 1301–1319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00318-w

11.

Finkelhor

Turner

H. A.

Shattuck

Hamby

S. L.

(2015). Prevalence of childhood exposure to violence, crime, and abuse: Results from the national survey of children’s exposure to violence. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(8), 746–754. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0676

12.

Gillespie

Branjerdporn

Tighe

Carrasco

Baird

(2023). Domestic violence screening in a public mental health service: A qualitative examination of mental health clinician responses to DFV. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 30(3), 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12875

13.

Hamby

Finkelhor

Turner

Ormrod

(2010). The overlap of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(10), 734–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.03.001

14.

Hartley

C. C.

(2004). Severe domestic violence and child maltreatment: Considering child physical abuse, neglect, and failure to protect. Children and Youth Services Review, 26(4), 373–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2004.01.005

15.

Hazen

A. L.

Connelly

C. D.

Kelleher

Landsverk

Barth

(2004). Intimate partner violence among female caregivers of children reported for child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28(3), 301–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.09.016

16.

Henry

(2018). Exposure to domestic violence as abuse and neglect: Constructions of child maltreatment in daily practice. Child Abuse & Neglect, 86, 79–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.08.018

17.

Henry

D. L.

(2002). Resilient children: What they tell us about coping with maltreatment. Social Work in Health Care, 34(3–4), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.1300/J010v34n03_03

18.

Herrenkohl

T. I.

Sousa

Tajima

E. A.

Herrenkohl

R. C.

Moylan

C. A.

(2008). Intersection of child abuse and children’s exposure to domestic violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 9(2), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838008314797

19.

Hungerford

Ogle

R. L.

Clements

C. M.

(2010). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: Relations between parent-child concordance and children’s adjustment. Violence & Victims, 25(2), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.25.2.185

20.

Jones

Drake

Kim

Chen

J.-H.

Font

Putnam-Hornstein

Barth

R. P.

Huang

T.-H.

Jonson-Reid

(2023). Poverty indicators in the national child abuse and neglect data system child file: Challenges and opportunities. Research on Social Work Practice, 34(3), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315231179658

21.

Jones

L. P.

Gross

Becker

(2002). The characteristics of domestic violence victims in a child protective service caseload. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 83(4), 405–415. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.14

22.

Jouriles

E. N.

McDonald

Smith Slep

A. M.

Heyman

R. E.

Garrido

(2008). Child abuse in the context of domestic violence: Prevalence, explanations, and practice implications. Violence & Victims, 23(2), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.23.2.221

23.

Kim

Orsi-Hunt

Drake

Hollinshead

Fluke

Jones

Wilson

Jonson-Reid

Ahn

(2025). Benefits of longitudinally linked national records of child maltreatment report and foster care. Child Abuse & Neglect, 161, 107262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107262

24.

Kitzmann

K. M.

Gaylord

N. K.

Holt

A. R.

Kenny

E. D.

(2003). Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.71.2.339

25.

Kohl

P. L.

Barth

R. P.

Hazen

A. L.

Landsverk

J. A.

(2005a). Child welfare as a gateway to domestic violence services. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(11), 1203–1221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.04.005

26.

Kohl

P. L.

Edleson

J. L.

English

D. J.

Barth

R. P.

(2005b). Domestic violence and pathways into child welfare services: Findings from the national survey of child and adolescent well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(11), 1167–1182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.04.003

27.

Lawson

(2019). Domestic violence as child maltreatment: Differential risks and outcomes among cases referred to child welfare agencies for domestic violence exposure. Children and Youth Services Review, 98, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.12.017

28.

LeCroy

C. W.

Krysik

(2007). Understanding and interpreting effect size measures. Social Work Research, 31(4), 243–248. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/31.4.243

29.

Marmor

Cohen

Katz

(2023). Child maltreatment during COVID-19: Key conclusions and future directions based on a systematic literature review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 760–775. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211043818

30.

Mathews

Pacella

Scott

J. G.

Finkelhor

Meinck

Higgins

D. J.

Erskine

H. E.

Thomas

H. J.

Lawrence

D. M.

Haslam

D. M.

Malacova

Dunne

M. P.

(2023). The prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia: Findings from a national survey. Medical Journal of Australia, 218(S6), S13–S18. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52044

31.

Meyer

Atiénzar-Prieto

Fitz-Gibbon

(2024). Young people’s experiences and use of violence in the home: Examining four types of child maltreatment, their intersections and self-reported use of violence in the home. Child Protection and Practice, 2, 100051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100051

32.

NDACAN . (2023). NCANDS child file codebook. https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/pdfs_user_guides/ncands-child-file-codebook.pdf

33.

Ocampo

M. G.

Drake

Simon

Jonson-Reid

(2024). Does a child maltreatment report source predict differences in immediate and subsequent report outcomes? Child Abuse & Neglect, 147, 106587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106587

34.

O’Connor

Alaggia

Nixon

K. L.

(2024). Something’s got to give”: A qualitative exploration of policies and practices by child welfare services in cases of children exposed to intimate partner violence in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Family Violence, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-024-00700-4

35.

Office of Inspector General . (2024). Medicaid enrollees may not be screened for intimate partner violence because of challenges reported by primary care clinicians (Report No. OEI-03-21-00310). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://oig.hhs.gov/documents/evaluation/9875/OEI-03-21-00310.pdf

36.

Office on Violence Against Women . (2025). Domestic violence. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence

37.

Ogbonnaya

I. N.

Guo

(2013). Effect of domestic violence on the risk of out-of-home placement: A propensity score analysis. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 4(3), 198–213. https://doi.org/10.5243/jsswr.2013.14

38.

Osofsky

J. D.

(2003). Prevalence of children’s exposure to domestic violence and child maltreatment: Implications for prevention and intervention. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6(3), 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024958332093

39.

Rebbe

Eastman

A. L.

Adhia

Foust

Putnam-Hornstein

(2021). Co-Reporting of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence: The likelihood of substantiations and foster care placements. Child Maltreatment, 26(4), 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595211007205

40.

Rebbe

Sieger

M. L.

Reddy

Prindle

(2024a). US state rates of newborns reported to child protection at birth for prenatal substance exposure. International Journal of Drug Policy, 130, 104527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104527

41.

Rebbe

Victor

Cuccaro-Alamin

Palmer

(2024b). Child protection responses to domestic violence exposure: Co-occurring safety concerns and investigation outcomes. Child Maltreatment, 30(3), 486–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595241301085

42.

Robinson

S. R.

Ravi

Voth Schrag

R. J.

(2020). A systematic review of barriers to formal help seeking for adult survivors of IPV in the United States, 2005–2019. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(5), 1279–1295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838.020916254

43.

Rodriguez

M. A.

Craig

A. M.

Mooney

D. R.

Bauer

H. M.

(1998). Patient attitudes about mandatory reporting of domestic violence. Implications for health care professionals. Western Journal of Medicine, 169(6), 337–341.

44.

Seon

Cheng

S. Y.

Jonson-Reid

Cho

(2022). Understanding the interconnected relationships between intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: The role of maternal material hardship. Child Abuse & Neglect, 134, 105912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105912

45.

Stoltenborgh

Bakermans-Kranenburg

M. J.

Alink

L. R.

Van Ijzendoorn

M. H.

(2012). The universality of childhood emotional abuse: A meta-analysis of worldwide prevalence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21(8), 870–890. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2012.708014

46.

Tullberg

Vaughon

(2023). Revisiting the Co-Occurrence of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(3–4), 2957–2982. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221104533

47.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau . (2025). Child maltreatment 2023. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data-research/child-maltreatment

48.

Victor

B. G.

Grogan-Kaylor

Ryan

J. P.

Perron

B. E.

Gilbert

T. T.

(2018). Domestic violence, parental substance misuse and the decision to substantiate child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79, 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.01.030

49.

Victor

B. G.

Henry

Gilbert

T. T.

Ryan

J. P.

Perron

B. E.

(2019). Child protective service referrals involving exposure to domestic violence: Prevalence, associated maltreatment types, and likelihood of formal case openings. Child Maltreatment, 24(3), 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559519843605

50.

Victor

B. G.

Rousson

A. N.

Henry

Dalvi

H. B.

Mariscal

E. S.

(2021). Child protective services guidelines for substantiating exposure to domestic violence as maltreatment and assigning caregiver responsibility: Policy analysis and recommendations. Child Maltreatment, 26(4), 452–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595211002639

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.66 MB