Supp

ATTACHMENT A. CAPTA EXCERPT

SEC. 106 GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLEXT PREVENTION
AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS [42 U.S.C. 5106a]
d.
ANNUAL STATE DATA REPORTS—Each State to which a grant is made under
this sections shall annually work with the Secretary to provide, to the maximum extent
practicable, a report that includes the following:
1. The number of children who were reported to the State during the year as victims
of child abuse or neglect.
2. Of the number of children described in paragraph (1), the number with respect to
whom such reports were—
A. substantiated;
B. unsubstantiated; or
C. determined to be false.
3. Of the number of children described in paragraph (2)—
A. the number that did not receive services during the year under the State
program funded under this section or an equivalent State program;
B. the number that received services during the year under the State program
funded under this section or an equivalent State program; and
C. the number that were removed from their families during the year by
disposition of the case.
4. The number of families that received preventive services, including use of
differential response, from the State during the year.
5. The number of deaths in the State during the year resulting from child abuse or
neglect.
6. Of the number of children described in paragraph (5), the number of such children
who were in foster care.
7.
A. The number of child protective service personnel responsible for the—
i. intake of reports filed in the previous year;
ii. screening of such reports;
iii. assessment of such reports; and
iv. investigation of such reports.
B. The average caseload for the workers described in subparagraph (A).
8. The agency response time with respect to each such report with respect to initial
investigation of reports of child abuse or neglect.
9. The response time with respect to the provision of services to families and
children where an allegation of child abuse or neglect has been made.
10. For child protective service personnel responsible for intake, screening,
assessment, and investigation of child abuse and neglect reports in the State—
A. information on the education, qualifications, and training requirements
established by the State for child protective service professionals, including

for entry and advancement in the profession, including advancement to
supervisory positions;
B. data of the education, qualifications, and training of such personnel;
C. demographic information of the child protective service personnel; and
D. information on caseload or workload requirements for such personnel,
including requirements for average number and maximum number of cases
per child protective service worker and supervisor.
11. The number of children reunited with their families or receiving family
preservation services that, within five years, result in subsequent substantiated
reports of child abuse or neglect, including the death of the child.
12. The number of children for whom individuals were appointed by the court to
represent the best interests of such children and the average number of out of
court contacts between such individuals and children.
13. The annual report containing the summary of activities of the citizen review
panels of the State required by subsection (c)(6).
14. The number of children under the care of the State child protection system who
are transferred into the custody of the State juvenile justice system.
15. The number of children referred to a child protective services system under
subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii).
16. The number of children determined to be eligible for referral, and the number of
children referred, under subsection (b)(2)(B)(xxi), to agencies providing early
intervention services under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.).

B-1 Child File Record Layout
Field
Child Data Element Long Name
I. REPORT DATA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Submission Year
State/Territory
Report Id
Child Id
County Of Report
Report Date
Investigation Start Date
Report Source
Report Disposition
Report Disposition Date
Notifications

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012
(Short Name)

(SUBYR)
(STATERR)
(RPTID)
(CHID)
(RPTCNTY)
(RPTDT)
(INVDATE)
(RPTSRC)
(RPTDISP)
(RPTDISDT)
(NOTIFS)

II. CHILD DATA
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Child Age At Report
Child Date Of Birth
Child Sex
Child Race American Indian Or Alaska Native
Child Race Asian
Child Race Black Or African American
Child Race Native Hawaiian Or Other Pacific Islander
Child Race White
Child Race Unable To Determine
Child Ethnicity
County Of Residence
Living Arrangement
Military Family Member
Prior Victim

(CHAGE)
(CHBDATE)
(CHSEX)
(CHRACAI)
(CHRACAS)
(CHRACBL)
(CHRACNH)
(CHRACWH)
(CHRACUD)
(CHETHN)
(CHCNTY)
(CHLVNG)
(CHMIL)
(CHPRIOR)

III. MALTREATMENT DATA
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34

Maltreatment-1 Type
Maltreatment-1 Disposition Level
Maltreatment-2 Type
Maltreatment-2 Disposition Level
Maltreatment-3 Type
Maltreatment-3 Disposition Level
Maltreatment-4 Type
Maltreatment-4 Disposition Level
Maltreatment Death

(CHMAL1)
(MAL1LEV)
(CHMAL2)
(MAL2LEV)
(CHMAL3)
(MAL3LEV)
(CHMAL4)
(MAL4LEV)
(MALDEATH)

IV. CHILD RISK FACTOR DATA
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43

Alcohol Abuse-Child
Drug Abuse-Child
Mental Retardation-Child
Emotionally Disturbed-Child
Visually Or Hearing Impaired-Child
Learning Disability-Child
Physically Disabled-Child
Behavior Problem-Child
Other Medical Condition-Child

V. CAREGIVER RISK FACTOR DATA

(CDALC)
(CDDRUG)
(CDRTRD)
(CDEMOTNL)
(CDVISUAL)
(CDLEARN)
(CDPHYS)
(CDBEHAV)
(CDMEDICL)

44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55

Alcohol Abuse-Caregiver(s)
Drug Abuse-Caregiver(s)
Mental Retardation-Caregiver(s)
Emotionally Disturbed-Caregiver(s)
Visually Or Hearing Impaired-Caregiver(s)
Learning Disability-Caregiver(s)
Physically Disabled-Caregiver(s)
Other Medical Condition-Caregiver(s)
Domestic Violence
Inadequate Housing
Financial Problem
Public Assistance

(FCALC)
(FCDRUG)
(FCRTRD)
(FCEMOTNL)
(FCVISUAL)
(FCLEARN)
(FCPHYS)
(FCMEDICL)
(FCVIOL)
(FCHOUSE)
(FCMONEY)
(FCPUBLIC)

VI. SERVICES PROVIDED DATA
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85

Post Investigation Services
Service Date
Family Support Services
Family Preservation Services
Foster Care Services
Removal Date
Juvenile Court Petition
Petition Date
Court-Appointed Representative
Adoption Services
Case Management Services
Counseling Services
Daycare Services-Child
Educational And Training Services
Employment Services
Family Planning Services
Health-Related And Home Health Services
Home-Based Services
Housing Services
Independent And Transitional Living Services
Information And Referral Services
Legal Services
Mental Health Services
Pregnancy And Parenting Services For Young Parents
Respite Care Services
Special Services-Disabled
Special Services-Juvenile Delinquent
Substance Abuse Services
Transportation Services
Other Services

(POSTSERV)
(SERVDATE)
(FAMSUP)
(FAMPRES)
(FOSTERCR)
(RMVDATE)
(JUVPET)
(PETDATE)
(COCHREP)
(ADOPT)
(CASEMANG)
(COUNSEL)
(DAYCARE)
(EDUCATN)
(EMPLOY)
(FAMPLAN)
(HEALTH)
(HOMEBASE)
(HOUSING)
(TRANSLIV)
(INFOREF)
(LEGAL)
(MENTHLTH)
(PREGPAR)
(RESPITE)
(SSDISABL)
(SSDELINQ)
(SUBABUSE)
(TRANSPRT)
(OTHERSV)

VII. STAFF DATA
86 Worker Id
87 Supervisor Id

(WRKRID)
(SUPRVID)

VIII. PERPETRATOR DATA
88
89
90
91
92
93
94

Perpetrator-1 Id
Perpetrator-1 Relationship
Perpetrator-1 As A Parent
Perpetrator-1 As A Caregiver
Perpetrator-1 Age At Report
Perpetrator-1 Sex
Perpetrator-1 Race American Indian Or Alaska Native

(PER1ID)
(PER1REL)
(PER1PRNT)
(PER1CR)
(PER1AGE)
(PER1SEX)
(P1RACAI)

95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144

Perpetrator-1 Race Asian
Perpetrator-1 Race Black Or African American
Perpetrator-1 Race Native Hawaiian Or Other Pacific Islander
Perpetrator-1 Race White
Perpetrator-1 Race Unable To Determine
Perpetrator-1 Ethnicity
Perpetrator-1 Military Member
Perpetrator-1 Prior Abuser
Perpetrator-1 Maltreatment-1
Perpetrator-1 Maltreatment-2
Perpetrator-1 Maltreatment-3
Perpetrator-1 Maltreatment-4
Perpetrator-2 Id
Perpetrator-2 Relationship
Perpetrator-2 As A Parent
Perpetrator-2 As A Caregiver
Perpetrator-2 Age At Report
Perpetrator-2 Sex
Perpetrator-2 Race American Indian Or Alaska Native
Perpetrator-2 Race Asian
Perpetrator-2 Race Black Or African American
Perpetrator-2 Race Native Hawaiian Or Other Pacific Islander
Perpetrator-2 Race White
Perpetrator-2 Race Unable To Determine
Perpetrator-2 Ethnicity
Perpetrator-2 Military Member
Perpetrator-2 Prior Abuser
Perpetrator-2 Maltreatment-1
Perpetrator-2 Maltreatment-2
Perpetrator-2 Maltreatment-3
Perpetrator-2 Maltreatment-4
Perpetrator-3 Id
Perpetrator-3 Relationship
Perpetrator-3 As A Parent
Perpetrator-3 As A Caregiver
Perpetrator-3 Age At Report
Perpetrator-3 Sex
Perpetrator-3 Race American Indian Or Alaska Native
Perpetrator-3 Race Asian
Perpetrator-3 Race Black Or African American
Perpetrator-3 Race Native Hawaiian Or Other Pacific Islander
Perpetrator-3 Race White
Perpetrator-3 Race Unable To Determine
Perpetrator-3 Ethnicity
Perpetrator-3 Military Member
Perpetrator-3 Prior Abuser
Perpetrator-3 Maltreatment-1
Perpetrator-3 Maltreatment-2
Perpetrator-3 Maltreatment-3
Perpetrator-3 Maltreatment-4

(P1RACAS)
(P1RACBL)
(P1RACNH)
(P1RACWH)
(P1RACUD)
(PER1ETHN)
(PER1MIL)
(PER1PIOR)
(PER1MAL1)
(PER1MAL2)
(PER1MAL3)
(PER1MAL4)
(PER2ID)
(PER2REL)
(PER2PRNT)
(PER2CR)
(PER2AGE)
(PER2SEX)
(P2RACAI)
(P2RACAS)
(P2RACBL)
(P2RACNH)
(P2RACWH)
(P2RACUD)
(PER2ETHN)
(PER2MIL)
(PER2PIOR)
(PER2MAL1)
(PER2MAL2)
(PER2MAL3)
(PER2MAL4)
(PER3ID)
(PER3REL)
(PER3PRNT)
(PER3CR)
(PER3AGE)
(PER3SEX)
(P3RACAI)
(P3RACAS)
(P3RACBL)
(P3RACNH)
(P3RACWH)
(P3RACUD)
(PER3ETHN)
(PER3MIL)
(PER3PIOR)
(PER3MAL1)
(PER3MAL2)
(PER3MAL3)
(PER3MAL4)

IX. ADDITIONAL FIELDS
145
146
147
148
149
150

AFCARS ID
Incident Date
Report Time
Investigation Start Time
Maltreatment Death Date
Foster Care Discharge Date

(AFCARSID)
(INCIDDT)
(RPTTM)
(INVTM)
(DTHDT)
(FCDSDT)

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

1.0 SPECIFICATIONS FOR CREATING THE CHILD FILE
The Child File contains records of case-level data on children (victims and nonvictims) who are the subject of
a report of alleged child abuse or neglect. The Child File consists of child records, each record having the
same format. Each child record contains information about only one child, in addition to information about
the associated abuse report. For each child record, there are numerous data elements grouped into various
data categories (e.g., all child demographics are grouped into the Child Data Section).
This section explains how the State creates the Child File. This includes describing the structure of the file,
the data records in the file, the data elements in the records, and the procedures used for constructing the
data file. For each submission period, the State submits the Child File, the Agency File, and the State
Commentary.
Starting with data submitted for FFY 2003, the data collection year for a given submission period was
changed from the calendar year to the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY), October 1 through September 30. All
Reports with a Disposition Date within that 12 month period are submitted.

Essential Concepts of the Child File

When a reporting source contacts a Child Protection Services (CPS) agency with an allegation of child abuse,
the agency decides to investigate or assess the allegation. If the agency decides to open the case, the agency
creates a new report or incident within their computer system and identifies the report with a unique report
identifier (Report ID). Each child in the report is identified with a unique child identifier (Child ID), newly
assigned if the child is new to the system, or identical to the existing child identifier if the child has previously
been in the system. The information collected about a given child in this unique report will create one
NCANDS record in the Child File. There may have been multiple children reported at the same time by the
reporting source. If there were three children in the report, there would be three records in the Child File
with the same Report ID. Each record contains significant information concerning:
• the report
• services
• the child
• staff data
• maltreatments
• perpetrators
• child and caregiver risk factors
• additional fields
Each of the records should be the same length, with the exact number of blank characters being used to
replace any data fields where data are not available. Each of the records must conform to the record layout
for the NCANDS Child File, where each field in the record layout has a fixed length, as defined in Child File
Record Layout.
The Child File is a “text” file, also referred to as an ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange) file. The Child File for a given State for a given year consists of file records, just like any other
ASCII computer file.
Because a given child may appear in the Child File in more than one report, it is necessary to be able to
associate the child with the various reports. This is accomplished by having both the Report ID and the Child
ID in each record. The combination of the Report ID and the Child ID together identifies a Report-Child
pair (R-C pair) or event and forms the unique primary key field of the Child File. The data associated with an
R-C pair represent all of the information about the allegations concerning that child in this report.
Victims, Nonvictims, and the Report Disposition
A child record allows for recording up to four of the five NCANDS Maltreatment Types: physical abuse,
neglect, medical neglect, sexual abuse, and psychological maltreatment. Each of the four Maltreatment Types
has an associated Maltreatment Level to record whether the alleged maltreatments were: substantiated,

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

indicated, alternative response-victim, alternative response-nonvictim, unsubstantiated, unsubstantiated due to
intentionally false reporting, closed-no finding, or no alleged maltreatment. One child in a report could have
only one alleged maltreatment and another child in the same report could have up to four alleged
maltreatments recorded.
Every record in the Child File represents a child who can be classified as a victim or a nonvictim for the given
R-C pair. The determination of whether or not a child is a victim is computed from the information in the
record. A child may be a victim in one report and not be a victim in another report. For any given R-C pair,
being a victim or not depends upon the four Maltreatment Levels linked to the four Maltreatment Types and
the Maltreatment Death field. A child is a victim in the R-C pair if any of the Maltreatment Level fields are
coded as “substantiated,” “indicated,” or “alternative response-victim.” A child is also a victim in the R-C pair
if the Maltreatment Death field is “yes.” A child is classified as a victim or nonvictim based on only that
child’s Maltreatment Levels, not other children in the same report, so a child can be classified as a victim in a
report even when all the other children are classified as nonvictims. The Report Disposition, however, is
computed for all children in the report.
Each report in the Child File has a Report Disposition. The Report Disposition is a computable value,
dependent upon all of the children in the report and their four Maltreatment Levels. The Report Disposition
is computed based on the Maltreatment Level code values across all of the Maltreatment Levels in the entire
report. Reports in which the lowest numeric (most severe) Maltreatment Level code value is, 01Substantiated, are assigned a 01-Substantiated Report Disposition; reports in which the lowest numeric
Maltreatment Level code value is, 02-Indicated, are assigned a 02-Indicated Report Disposition, etc. The rules
associated with the computation of the Report Disposition are referred to as “Disposition Hierarchy” rules.
To assist the State in better understanding their data with respect to the computation of the Report
Disposition, Exhibit 5-1: Disposition Hierarchy Rules, indicates the appropriate Report Disposition based on the
Maltreatment Levels in a given report. The EVAA applies a rule to the Child File to detect noncompliance to
these hierarchy rules.

Exhibit 5-1: Disposition Hierarchy Rules
If the lowest Maltreatment Level code for any child within the same
report is:

The Report Disposition is:

01

Substantiated

01

Substantiated

02
03

Indicated (no child has a substantiated mallevel)
Alternative Response-Victim (no child has a 01 or 02 mallevel )

02
03

Indicated
Alternative Response-Victim

04

Alternative Response-Nonvictim (no child has 01-03 mallevel)

04

Alternative Response-Nonvictim

05

Unsubstantiated (no child has 01-04 mallevel)
Unsubstantiated Due to Intentionally False Reporting
(no child has 01-05 mallevel)

05
06

Unsubstantiated
Unsubstantiated Due to Intentionally
False Reporting

07

Closed-No Finding

08

Closed-No Finding (no child has 01-06)
No Alleged Maltreatment
(Does not determine the report disposition)

88

Other (No child has 01-07)

88

Other

99

Unknown (No child 01-07 or 88)

99

Unknown

06
07

NA

Significant Data Errors
This section discusses several important error conditions that a State should take steps to avoid.
• A child cannot be associated more than once with the same report. A Child ID cannot be
associated more than once with the same Report ID. In other words, a Child File record cannot have
the same combination of Report ID-Child ID as any other Child File record. If this condition occurs,
all records with the same Report ID-Child ID are deleted during validation.
• Each record, which represents a Report ID-Child ID pair, should not have all blank
maltreatment levels and maltreatment types. Because the status of a child is determined by the

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

•
•

•

•

maltreatment levels associated with the child for a specific report, the child, whether found to be a
victim of maltreatment or not, should have at least one maltreatment type and one maltreatment
level. A child record with no maltreatment types or levels will be removed.
The report disposition should not be incorrectly associated with the maltreatment levels of
all children associated with the report. For example, a substantiated report must have at least one
child with a substantiated maltreatment.
Reports with dispositions that are alternative response nonvictim, unsubstantiated,
unsubstantiated due to intentionally false reporting, closed-no finding, other, or unknown or
missing cannot have any perpetrator data associated with any of the records with the same
Report ID. If this error is found, all perpetrator data are deleted during validation.
A perpetrator cannot have all perpetrator maltreatment fields coded as “no.” If this error is
found, all data associated with that perpetrator in the specific record is deleted during validation. If
the perpetrator is not positively linked to any of the maltreatments, the state should not provide
perpetrator data.
Investigation and Assessment maltreatment levels are not allowed within a single report. If
this error is detected, and the entire report will be removed from the file.

Submitting Available State Data
All States are encouraged to submit data for all fields in the Child File. However, it is important to recognize
that as the usage of the NCANDS data increases, the quality of the data become increasingly important.
Therefore, States should examine carefully the logic on all fields that are extracted from their State child
welfare information systems. The basic count and output reports provided within the EVAA are helpful tools
in making these assessments. Data elements that have non-representative aggregated counts should be further
examined. The data maps are also useful tools in resolving data problems. If the problem cannot be resolved,
the State should consider not reporting on that specific data element and provide written commentary
regarding that specific field. The State should also seek assistance from the NCANDS Technical Team via
telephone or email as needed to identify and resolve problems.
Child File Validation Rules
The data in all Child Files are validated with the EVAA used by the States and by the NCANDS Technical
Team. There are business rules which govern how this validation process is accomplished. With many of the
business rules, there are associated consequences if the application of the rule fails. An example of a business
rule is “A coded field must have a valid NCANDS code.” The associated consequence would be “A Type B
error will be logged and the field will be blanked.” See Section 1.6: Assessing Validation Results, Error Information
Tab, of the NCANDS EVAA User Guide distributed in the documentation folder of the FFY2011 EVAA
Application, for further information about validation errors.
There are several levels of consequences related to the validation rules. Minor consequences will involve
noting the error and taking no action. At times, the error detected in the field will require the entire record to
be dropped from the file. The most severe consequences will necessitate dropping all records associated with
that Report ID from the file.
Report Data
The Report Data section (fields 1-11) contains the two identifying fields (Submission Year and State ID) and
general information about the report. The first identifying field for the record is the Report ID. The second
identifying field for the record is the Child ID. All remaining fields in the Report Data section are attributes
related to the Report ID.
If a report involves multiple children, the Report Data fields, with the exception of the Child ID, are identical
on each record containing the same Report ID. For example, if there were three children in the report, the

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

data in the entire Report Data section would be identical for all three child records, except for the three
different Child IDs.

Child Data

The Child Data section (fields 12-25) contains general information about the specific child in the record. All
fields in this section are attributes related to the Child ID. The State should always submit data for all data
sections through the Staff Data section (fields 1- 87). Data for the Perpetrators section should be submitted
only if the child in the record is a victim. For these victims, all fields in the record would then be submitted
(fields 1-146).

Maltreatment Data

The fields in the Maltreatment Data section (fields 26-34) include information about maltreatment types and
maltreatment disposition levels. Up to four allegations of maltreatment are coded with the decision regarding
the allegation. The Maltreatment Death field is also included in this section as it is a contributor in
determining the child victim status.

Child Risk Factors

The fields in the Child Risk Factors section (fields 35-43) indicate whether the child suffered from one or
more disabilities or problems.

Caregiver Risk Factors

The fields in the Caregiver Risk Factors section (fields 44-55) indicate whether the child's family or
caregiver(s) suffered from one or more disabilities or problems. Additional family or caregiver fields in this
section include information on the living environment of the child, which might affect the child or place the
child at risk for maltreatment.

Services Provided

The fields in the Services Data section (fields 56-85) contain information about services, which are provided
for the child and/or family. Post-investigation services should be reported if they are delivered between the
Report Date and 90 days after the Report Disposition Date and would include: Family Preservation, Family
Support, Foster Care and other services listed in the Child File record layout. A service must continue after
the Report Disposition Date to be counted as a post-investigation service. A service can start at any time
prior to the Report Disposition Date provided it is associated with the investigation.

Staff Data

The fields in the Staff Data section (fields 86-87) contain identification information about the CPS Worker
and the CPS Worker's Supervisor who were associated with the child on the date of the Report Disposition.

Perpetrator Data

The fields in the Perpetrator Data section (fields 88-144) allow for the submission of information on a
maximum of three persons who are found to be perpetrators of maltreatment. If the child has not been
found to be a victim of maltreatment, the perpetrator data section is left blank. The four Perpetrator
Maltreatment fields for each perpetrator should be linked by the State to the four sets of Maltreatment Type
and Maltreatment Disposition Level fields reported for the child victim (fields 26-33).

Additional Fields

Beginning in FFY 2003, two new additional data fields (fields 145-146) were added at the end of the record.
These fields are the AFCARS ID and the Incident Date.
The AFCARS ID field is populated with the existing AFCARS Record Number value assigned to the child or
the Record Number value which would be assigned to the child. States should provide this field for all
records in the Child file. The AFCARS ID field is encrypted using the AFCARS encryption utility.

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

The Incident Date field refers to the most recent known incident of alleged child maltreatment. It should be
prior to or equal to the report date, but not greater than the report date, even if the child is found to be
maltreated during the investigation or assessment.

The Importance of Unique Identifiers

Unique identifiers provide the ability to specifically identify a report, child, worker, supervisor, or perpetrator
via a given data field. All States are encouraged to use unique identifiers. The identifiers must be encrypted.
The NCANDS will use the unique identifiers to link multiple children to the same report, for identifying
repeat children, for identifying repeat perpetrators, and for analyzing worker and supervisor identifiers. If
unique identifiers are not possible, the State is encouraged to plan for the possibility of utilizing and providing
unique identifiers in the future and to discuss current restrictions with the Children's Bureau. This section
discusses in more detail the general concepts concerning identification fields.
Each report of child maltreatment should be given a unique report identifier by the State, which will become
the NCANDS field of Report ID. A unique identifier for a report is an identifier that is assigned only one
time and to only one specific report. The report is never assigned an additional identifier (causing multiple
identifiers) and the same identifier is never assigned to another report (causing shared identifiers). If the State
system does not use report identifiers (e.g., the State only uses a child identifier), the State should create a
unique report identifier for the Child File. The report identifier should be the same for all child records
involved in the same report. For example, if three children were involved in a report, each child record in the
report would have the same report identifier, but each child would have a different child identifier. The report
identifier is the key field for associating all of the child records that are part of the same report.
Similarly, each child should be given a unique child identifier by the State, which will become the NCANDS
field of Child ID. A unique identifier for a child is an identifier that is assigned only one time and to only one
specific child. The child is never assigned an additional identifier (causing multiple identifiers) and the same
identifier is never assigned to another child (causing shared identifiers). If the same child is involved in
multiple reports, the child should be assigned the same child identifier for all of those reports. However, a
given child identifier should only be associated once with a specific Report ID.
The same unique identifier logic should be applied for the fields of Worker ID and Supervisor ID. A unique
identifier for a CPS staff person is an identifier that is assigned only one time and to only one specific person.
The staff person is never assigned an additional identifier (causing multiple identifiers) and the same identifier
is never assigned to another staff person (causing shared identifiers). If the same staff person is involved with
multiple reports or with multiple children in a report, the staff person should be assigned the same identifier
for all occurrences. Furthermore, if a person changes roles (e.g., from a worker to a supervisor), it is advisable
that the person retain the originally assigned identifier.
Each perpetrator reported by the State should also be given a unique perpetrator identifier by the State, which
becomes one of the NCANDS Perpetrator ID fields. A unique perpetrator identifier might occur in any one,
but only one, of the Perpetrator-1 ID, Perpetrator-2 ID, and Perpetrator-3 ID fields in a record. A unique
identifier for a perpetrator is an identifier that is assigned only one time and to only one specific perpetrator.
The perpetrator is never assigned an additional identifier (causing multiple identifiers) and the same identifier
is never assigned to another perpetrator (causing shared identifiers). If the same perpetrator is involved in
multiple reports or with multiple children in a report, the perpetrator should be assigned the same perpetrator
identifier for all occurrences. However, a perpetrator identifier should only appear one time within a single
child record.

Encryption of Identification Fields

As data are submitted to NCANDS, the confidentiality of all persons and reports in the data must be strictly
preserved. To maintain this confidentiality, appropriate identifier encryption should be applied by the State to

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

all identification fields. Appropriate identifier encryption means that no one would be able to tell who a
person was as a result of having the identifier. Each identifier for report, child, worker, supervisor,
perpetrator, and AFCARS ID should be encrypted or translated by the State into a new unique identifier at
the time the Child File is developed. Care must be taken that the encryption methodology used to encrypt the
NCANDS AFCARS ID field is the same as that which is used or would be used in an actual AFCARS File.
Many States use the AFCARS encryption utility to encrypt all identification fields.
States are asked to complete a Certificate of Encryption, certifying that all identification fields within the
Child File are encrypted. This certificate is kept on file and referenced when the accepted Child File data are
sent to the National Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect. See Section 9.4: National Archive on Child Abuse and
Neglect for more information on the Archive.
It is also important for the State to completely and privately document their identifier encryption
methodology and use the same encryption methodology year after year for data submissions.
States needing assistance with encryption methodology should contact the Federal Regional Office or the
Children's Bureau for further information.

State Investigation and Differential Response

State CPS agencies respond to allegations of child abuse or neglect. This response may be an investigation
into the allegation of abuse or neglect or it may be an alternative or differential response to an investigation.
Several States have developed or are in the process of developing alternative or differential responses to CPS
investigations. These alternative or differential responses are performed for low- or medium-risk cases, focus
primarily on the service needs of the family, and may or may not include a determination of each of the
alleged maltreatments.
The outcomes of investigations are the report disposition and the child maltreatment level category values of
“substantiated,” “indicated,” “unsubstantiated,” etc. However, children in differential response programs
usually are not assigned such dispositions. It is the intention of NCANDS to collect data on differential
response cases, except those which are considered screened out or diverted from CPS and for whom only
minimal data is retained. In NCANDS, differential responses are referred to as alternative responses and
States are given the option of using report dispositions and maltreatment levels of “alternative response
victim” and “alternative response nonvictim.”
During data mapping meetings, the State needs to determine, in detail, how the various State dispositions will
be mapped into the NCANDS dispositions. The Child File enables a State to submit reports using either the
investigative or alternative response methods. Therefore, any report from a State may have been processed as
an investigation or as an alternative response and the Child File may contain a mixture of these types of
reports. It is anticipated that State Child Files may be constructed in two ways: (1) All records have report
disposition results based on conducting investigations (“substantiated,” etc.) or (2) Records have either
investigation or assessment (alternative response victim or nonvictim) results in the report disposition field
(and the maltreatment level fields). No single report can contain a combination of maltreatment dispositions
that apply to both investigations and alternative responses.

Types of Child Record Fields

The various types of fields in the child record are described below. In all cases, each of the data fields have a
fixed length and if the State has no value for a given field, the field should be filled with the appropriate
number of blank characters.
Identifier Field
The identifier fields in the record are:
• report ID

•

child ID

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

•
•

worker ID
supervisor ID

•
•

perpetrator ID
AFCARS ID

Each identifier field is alphanumeric and 12 characters long with no blanks. Each of these identifiers is to be
encrypted by the State. The Report ID, the Child ID, and AFCARS ID are required identifier fields and all
child records submitted must contain these data fields. Perpetrator identifiers must be included if perpetrator
data are present for a given perpetrator.
Alphabetic Field
An alphabetic field only contains alphabetic characters (e.g., the State/Territory field, “AZ”). The field length
is as specified in the record layout.
Alphanumeric Field
An alphanumeric field only contains alphabetic, numeric, or a mixture of the two types (e.g., the Report ID
field). The field length is as specified in the record layout.
Numeric Field
A numeric field only contains numeric characters (e.g., coded fields). The field length is as specified in the
record layout.
Date Field
A date field is a numeric field exactly eight characters in length. The field should be in the “mmddyyyy”
format where “mm” = month, “dd” = day, and “yyyy” = year. It is important that a date field contain a valid
date and not a “pseudo-date.” An example of a “pseudo-date” would be setting the day to zeros
(“01002003”) or the year to nines (“01019999”) because the exact date is not known. “Pseudo-dates” are
invalid in the file. Listed here are rules to follow when the exact date is unknown:
• Choose the 15th or 30th of the month when the exact date is not known.
• Choose the closest month to the report or June when the exact month is not known.
The State should consult with an NCANDS Technical Team member on date rules if the State plans to
submit estimated or proxy dates for any date fields.

Child Record Coded Fields

Many of the data fields in the child record are coded fields. Any data value submitted in a given coded field
needs to match one of the specified NCANDS values for that field. NCANDS utilizes the following common
coding conventions consistently throughout the child record.
Blanks = Not collected/Not applicable
If information for a given field or section is not collected by the State, the State would place blanks in the
field (e.g., if the State does not collect Perpetrator Age, the field would be left blank). The number of blanks
inserted for the field is identical to the specified field length.
If information for a given field or section is not applicable, the State would place blanks in that field (e.g., if
only one Maltreatment Type is collected, Maltreatment Types 2, 3 and 4 are left blank). The number of blanks
inserted for the field is identical to the specified field length.
“8” or “88” = Other
The “8” or “88” code would be used when the NCANDS code values do not adequately describe the State’s
code value (e.g., if the State cannot map a certain Maltreatment Type into the NCANDS code values, the
code “8” is used to indicate “other” Maltreatment Type).

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

“9” or “99” = Unknown
The “9” or “99” code is used if the State captures and stores the information on a routine basis, but the data
were not captured or were missing for the given record (e.g., the Perpetrator Age was not determined during
the investigation).
“1” = Yes, “2” = No
For fields requiring a “yes” or “no” response, the values of “1” = yes and “2” = no are used consistently
across all fields.

Child File and Child Record Layout

The following file and record layout information is basic with respect to submitting the Child File:
• The Child File is submitted to NCANDS as a single, flat text file with no relational data structure.
• The file only consists of child records, each record referring to data associated with one child within
a given report.
• A child record is uniquely defined by the linking of the Report ID of the record to the Child ID of
the record. This is commonly referred to as the “Report-Child,” the R-C pair, or the event, where a
unique R-C pair represents a single child record in the submission file. However, a given child may
appear in multiple reports.
• Each record consists of the 146 fields as defined in Appendix C: Child File Record Layout. The total
child record length is 312 characters. The record layout is the same for all records in the data file.
• Although not a requirement, it is helpful to sort the file in ascending order by the Child ID within the
Report ID (e.g., the file is sorted ascending based on the Report-Child pair), allowing for easier
reference to the original records.

Steps in Preparing the Child File

Additional guidance for the State IT staff, both new and experienced, are presented below.
IT Staff New to NCANDS
• Carefully read this Guidelines document.
• Obtain and review the State’s current mapping forms.
• Become familiar with the design, logic, coding, and operation of the State Child File data extraction
program.
• Become familiar with the State identifier encryption methodology, for NCANDS and AFCARS.
• Follow the instructions in the IT Staff with NCANDS Experience section below.
IT Staff with NCANDS Experience
• Review all State computer system changes of the past year.
o For changes relevant to the Child File production:
 Update the mapping forms with the changes for the specific fields
 Submit the modified mapping forms to the NCANDS Team for review
 Modify and test the Child File data extraction program as specified in the modified
mapping forms
o For changes not relevant to the Child File production, no modifications to the Child File
data extraction program are needed.
• Generate the Child File using the data extraction program.
• Submit the Child File to NCANDS via the Portal.
The greatest assistance to the computer programming staff of the State will be the completed mapping forms,
which contain the detailed specifications of how each data element in the Child File is to be retrieved from

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

the State database. Following the instructions listed above will allow for the most thorough creation and
maintenance of the computer programs needed to generate the Child File.

Child File Extraction Computer Programming Considerations

The following information is provided for the State computer programming staff to assist in the development
of the State Child File Data Extraction Program. The programming staff should refer to Appendix C: Child File
Record Layout and Section 5.13: Child File Record Examples. Although many of the conversion operations will be
relatively straightforward, the following topics will require special programming attention.
1. The Child File is generated via the execution of the State-prepared computer program, typically
designed from the State completed Child File mapping forms.
2. The Child File is a fixed-length record file. All field and record lengths in this file must be strictly
followed. The data submitted by the State are not delimited. The column positions of each field in
the child record must be strictly followed.
3. Fields being submitted with no data in them should always contain “blank” information, containing
the exact number of blanks to match the length of the field.
4. Special care must be taken with the AFCARS ID field. For a given child, the value that is placed into
the NCANDS AFCARS ID field must be the same value that the State uses or would use for the
Record Number of the AFCARS File for that specific child. The AFCARS ID field must be
encrypted using the AFCARS Encryption Tool with the same encryption algorithm as is used for the
Record Number field in the State AFCARS file. The State may find it beneficial to utilize the
AFCARS Encryption tool for all encryption needs in the NCANDS record. Care should also be
taken in all of the encryption processing, so the AFCARS ID is not double encrypted (an encryption
of an encrypted ID).
5. No Report ID, Child ID, Worker ID, Supervisor ID, Perpetrator ID, or AFCARS ID is to be
transferred directly into the child record from the State database. These identifiers should be
encrypted in some manner to protect the actual identity of the individual. The State should use the
same encryption method consistently from year to year.
6. If the State algorithm for generating the Report ID, Child ID, Worker ID, Supervisor ID,
Perpetrator ID, or AFCARS ID does not deliver a full NCANDS length field, the identifier field
should be left-filled with zeros to provide the exact number of characters needed for the field.
7. The State Child File data extraction program should adhere strictly to the State's defined specification
in the mapping forms. Deviations from the mapping specification could result in validation errors.
See Section 6.0:, Using the Child File Enhanced Validation and Analysis Application (EVAA) for a detailed
discussion of data validation processes and error detection.
8. As mentioned earlier, it is a good policy to sort the Child File sequentially by Report-Child pairs (i.e.,
Child ID within Report ID).

Selection of Records for the Child File

This section is directed to the State IT staff responsible for writing the data extraction program. One of the
most difficult tasks in preparing the data extraction program is the proper selection of records for the Child
File. Because State databases vary, data may be stored according to a variety of different data models across
the States. These data models might focus upon storing data by event, by child profile, etc. Exhibit 5-3: Child
Record Selection Tips shows the generalized data sources (independent of data model) and the high-level criteria
needed to make the appropriate record selections for the Child File records. The first column contains the
Data Section from the Child File Record Layout. The second column shows the Primary Data Sources
(tables, files, etc.) where the State might typically find the data. The third column shows the general
Cumulative Criteria that a State would typically use to select the data for the Child File. The criteria are
numbered and the number key appears at the bottom of the table. All of the criteria listed for a data section
would be used to make the proper data selection.

Exhibit 5-3: Child Record Selection Tips

B-2 Child File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

Data Section
Report Data
Child Data
Maltreatment Data
Child Risk Factors
Caregiver Risk
Factors
Services Provided
Staff Data

Perpetrators Data
Additional Fields

Primary Data Sources
Report Demographics
Report Details
Child Demographics
Child Details
Alleged Abuse Details
Risk Data Details
Risk Data Details
Child Services
Family Services
Caseload
Case Worker
Supervisor
Perpetrator Demographics
Alleged Abuse Details
Alleged Perpetrator Details
AFCARS ID
Incident Date

Cumulative Criteria
#1 + #2 + #15 (See the key at the bottom of the table)
#1 + #2 + #3 + #4 + #15
#1 + #2 + #3 + #4 + #5 + #15
#1 + #2 + #3 + #6 + #15
#1 + #2 + #3 + #7 + #8 + #15
#1 + #2 + #3 + #9 + #15
Worker: #1 + #2 + #3 + #10 + #15
Supervisor: #1 + #2 + #3 + #10 + #11 + #15
#1 + #2 + #3 + #4 + #12 + #15
AFCARS ID: #1 + #2 + #3 + #13 + #15
Incident Date: #1 + #2 + #3 + #14 + #15

Table Key:
#1: Selected Report has a Report Disposition
#2: Selected Report has Report Disposition Date in NCANDS Submission Year
#3: Selected Child is a Child within a Selected Report
#4: Selected Child has a Maltreatment Disposition Level
#5: Selected Maltreatments are the four Most Significant Maltreatments for a Selected Child
#6: Selected Child Risks are All Indicated Risks of Selected Child
#7: Selected Caregivers are All Caregivers of Selected Child
#8: Selected Caregiver Risks are All Indicated Caregiver Risks of Selected Caregiver
#9: Selected Services are All Services to Child or Family Provided according to Exhibit 5-3: Allowable Service
Patterns
#10: Selected Caseworker is Most Recent Worker
#11: Selected Supervisor is Supervisor of Most Recent Worker
#12: Selected Perpetrators are Perpetrators Associated with the Selected Child where at least One Child
Maltreatment Disposition Level is “Substantiated,” “Indicated,” or “Alternative response-victim”
#13: Selected AFCARS ID of Selected Child
#14: Selected Incident Date of Selected Child
#15: State has conducted the investigation or has been involved in the investigation, regardless of who has
jurisdiction, e.g., tribal or military investigation

C-1 Agency File Record Layout

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

Field

Agency Summary Data Element Long Name
1. PREVENTIVE SERVICES

(Short Name)

1.1.A-C
1.1.B-C
1.1.C-C
1.1.D-C
1.1.E-C
1.1.A-F
1.1.B-F
1.1.C-F
1.1.D-F
1.1.E-F

Children Funding Source: Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant
Children Funding Source: Community-Based Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Grant
Children Funding Source: Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program
Children Funding Source: Social Services Block Grant
Children Funding Source: Other
Families Funding Source: Child Abuse and Neglect State Grant
Families Funding Source: Community-Based Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Grant
Families Funding Source: Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program
Families Funding Source: Social Services Block Grant
Families Funding Source: Other

(PSSTGTC)
(PSCOSPC)
(PSTLIVBC)
(PSTLXXC)
(PSOTHERC)
(PSSTGTF)
(PSCOSPF)
(PSTLIVBF)
(PSTLXXF)
(PSOTHERF)

2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON REFERRALS AND REPORTS
2.1.A
2.1.B
2.2
2.3
2.4

Number of Referrals Screened Out
Number of Children Screened Out
Response Time with Respect to the Initial Investigation or Assessment
Number of Staff Responsible for CPS Functions(Screening, Intake, and Investigation/Assessment of
Reports) During the Year
Number of Staff Responsible for the Screening and Intake of Reports During the Year

(SCRNRPT)
(SCRNCHLD)
(WKARTIME)
(WKSIIA)
(WKSI)

3. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CHILD VICTIMS REPORTED IN CHILD FILE
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5

Child Victims Whose Families Received Family Preservation Services in the Previous Five Years
Child Victims Who Were Reunited with Their Families in the Previous Five Years
Average Number of Out-of-Court Contacts Between the Court-Appointed Representatives and the
Child Victims They Represent
Child Victims Who Died as a Result of Maltreatment and Whose Families Had Received Family
Preservation Services in the Previous Five Years(FTLFPSCF)
Child Victims Who Died as a Result of Maltreatment and Had Been Reunited with Their Families in the
Previous Five Years

(FPS5Y)
(FRU5Y)
(COCONT)

(FTLCRUCF)

4. INFORMATION ON CHILD FATALITIES NOT REPORTED IN CHILD FILE
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4

Child Maltreatment Fatalities not Reported in the Child File
Child Victims Who Died as a Result of Maltreatment While in Foster Care Not Reported in the Child
File
Child Victims Who Died as a Result of Maltreatment and Whose Families Had Received Family
Preservation Services in the Previous Five Years Not Reported in the Child File
Child Victims Who Died as a Result of Maltreatment and Had Been Reunited with Their Families in the
Previous Five Years Not Reported in the Child File

(FATALITY)
(FATALFC)
(FATALFPS)
(FATALCRU)

C-2 Agency File Submission Instructions
1.0

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

PREPARING AGENCY DATA FOR SUBMISSION

Aggregated data from either the Agency File data collection forms are submitted electronically online. The
automated aggregate data collection capability is referred to as the AgencySDC System. It enables the State to
enter, review, comment upon, and save the data directly on the NCANDS Portal.

1.1

Submitting Agency Data to NCANDS Tutorial

The method to be used by the State for submitting the Agency data to the NCANDS Technical Team is
through the State site on the NCANDS Portal. To submit data and to share State specific information, the
State navigates to its private site on the NCANDS Portal. The State can only navigate to its own site; access
to other State sites is blocked. States are encouraged to use this site for all communication with their
NCANDS Liaison and to track all NCANDS activities. The site provides features to submit data, track data
status, log data issues and resolutions, start threaded discussions, and create task lists.
The following steps are used to navigate to the State site from the NCANDS Project Site:
1. On the “Site Navigation” bar, found on the right of the NCANDS Project Site Home Page, select
your State name.

2. Click on the “Go” button. Note that if you select the wrong State and click “Go” you will be
prompted for the user name and password again.
After navigating to the State site, follow these steps to submit Agency Data:
1. On the State site, click on the “Check Status” on the Data Collection toolbar.

2. Select the appropriate Year and Period of the data being submitted.

3. Click on the “Enter” button under the Agency Data section. This will navigate to the Agency Data
Entry page. Note that if you have already started data entry or if the NCANDS Technical Team
Liaison has requested you to resubmit data, you will see the “Modify” button.

C-2 Agency File Submission Instructions

OMB No. 0980-0229
Expiration Date: 11/30/2012

4. Answer each item by entering data in the respective data entry fields. Comments can also be entered
for each item. The user may obtain more detailed information about the item by moving the mouse
over the orange question mark for the field. Navigate to more items by clicking on the TAB links on
the top of the page.

5. Click on the “Save” button to save the information entered. The “save” process allows for entering
and saving data during multiple sessions, i.e. data can be entered and saved as they become available
for different sessions before the final submission.
6. Data errors, if any, will be displayed at the top of the page. An option to override the error messages
and continue the “save” process is provided in the warning message.
7. Click on the “Compare” button to display the Comparison Page that lists last year’s data and this
year’s data side-by-side. The State should review the comparison and add comments in the comment
fields for the items with considerable differences. Click “Close Window” to close the Data
Comparison page.
8. Click on the “Download” button to display or save the Agency file with the data in Microsoft Word
format.
9. When the data are ready to be submitted, click on the “Submit” button. If the data submission is
successful, the data submission status page will be displayed. Contact your NCANDS Technical
Team Liaison if there are any errors.
After the data are received they will be validated by the NCANDS Technical Team. If the data are found to
have no errors, the submission will be accepted. Otherwise the NCANDS Team will request a data
resubmission. In both cases the NCANDS State Contact will be alerted with an email. To resubmit the data
follow the steps (see Step 3 above) for modifying the data.
Agency File Validation Workbook
The Agency File Validation Workbook holds a single worksheet providing a historical comparison for each
Agency file data element and a place for State responses. The NCANDS Liaison reviews the historically
compared data to look for significant changes over time and asks for confirmation or clarification of data
anomalies.