Evaluation of CPS compliance with legally required review of investigations by CAPs

Abstract

BackgroundThere is significant variability in Child Protective Services (CPS) utilization of medical-forensic experts. In 2016, Missouri legislation (HB 1877) mandated that CPS investigators submit screening forms to a Child Abuse Pediatrician (CAP) to review children < 4 years investigated for abuse. Compliance with this mandate is unknown. ObjectiveTo measure compliance with HB 1877, hypothesizing that urban counties would have better compliance than rural counties. Participants and settingThis retrospective study included evaluation of screening forms completed by Missouri CPS and submitted to Missouri CAPs during February, July and September of 2017. MethodsCompliance was measured in three ways. Compliance Measure 1 (CM1) was the number of screening forms versus the number of eligible CPS investigations. Compliance Measure 2 (CM2) was the average number of days from an abuse report until form submission, and Compliance Measure 3 (CM3) was the percentage of forms with complete information. Urban and rural counties were classified by 2010 census data. t-Tests were used to compare compliance measures between urban and rural counties. ResultsOverall compliance with CM1 was 69% with 1496 screening forms submitted and 2170 child maltreatment investigations for children less than 4 years of age. For CM2, mean days from abuse report to form submission was 30 days. For CM3, 60.5% of statewide forms were complete. There was no significant difference between rural and urban county compliance. ConclusionsLimited compliance with HB 1877 demonstrates the necessity of continued monitoring and improvement for optimal efficacy of legal mandates.