Identifying Children with Developmental Disabilities Receiving Child Protection Services: A National Survey of Child Welfare Administrators

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of U.S. state child protection service (CPS) agencies to identify children with developmental disabilities who have been maltreated and provide them with services to meet their unique needs. The subjects were 50 state-level child welfare administrators (including the District of Columbia) who were knowledgeable about the data collections requirements in their states. The findings of this study are presented and compared with data collected from two previous studies. Findings indicate that less than one-half of state child welfare agencies identify children with developmental disabilities. The implications of the findings highlight the need for improved data collection procedures, staff and foster care family training regarding disabilities, and improved collaboration with traditional developmental disability-related providers.