background shadows

The state Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, also known as the State Centralized Registry, fields an average of 15,000 phone calls per month. Some of these calls are referred to the field - Child Protection and Permanency, CP&P (formerly DYFS), and some calls can be handled directly by the Hotline Screening Unit. Referrals to the CP&P field fall into two categories:

Child Protection: an allegation of abuse or neglect is made
Family Service Request: (also known as a child welfare assessment) a family needs services but there is no allegation of abuse or neglect

The Hotline Screening Unit handles requests for general information, requests that result in a referral to an agency other than CP&P, follow up calls to obtain additional information in order to process a referral, and calls that require no further action, as the hotline staff has worked to resolve the issue. The Hotline also handles administrative calls, which generate no action or workload for either the screening staff or the field.

The following series of charts and tables display the phone calls received by the Hotline and the actions (where appropriate) that resulted from the calls.

Hotline Referrals to the Field
Child Protective Services Referral
Family Service Request Referrals
Abuse/Neglect Substantiations

Hotline Referrals to the Field



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Source of Hotline Referrals to the Field (Both Child Protection and Family Service Request): January - December 2012


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Child Protective Services Referral



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Source of Child Protective Service Referrals: January -  December 2012


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Family Service Request Referrals



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Source of Family Service Request Referrals: January - December 2012

  
     
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Abuse/Neglect Substantiations

When a call comes into the hotline and the caller reports a child may have been abuse or neglected, one of our screening staff takes down all of that information and then reaches out to our staff in the field to conduct an investigation.  As a result of that investigation, we make a finding about whether or not child abuse or neglect occurred.

In April 2005, New Jersey officially changed the findings that could be made with result of an abuse or neglect investigation.  Previously, there were three possible outcomes:

- Substantiated:  abuse or neglect occurred and there was sufficient evidence to make a finding that it occurred
- Unsubstantiated:  abuse or neglect may have occurred but there was not sufficient evidence to make a finding that it occurred
- Unfounded:  abuse or neglect did not occur

In April 2005, those three findings were reduced to two and the definitions changed:

- Substantiated:  abuse or neglect occurred and there was sufficient evidence to make a finding that it occurred
- Unfounded:  there was not sufficient evidence to establish that abuse or neglect occurred

This change in definition changed our practice - and it changed our reporting.  Calendar year 2006 will provide DCF with its first baseline year on substantiations with this change in the law.

VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2011
VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2010 
VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2009 
VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2008
VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2007
VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2006
VIEW CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SUBSTANTIATION DATA - CY2005

Child Abuse and Neglect In New Jersey Statisical Report for Calendar Year 2012 - This report provides an overview of statistics on child abuse and neglect and family problem cases reported to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency for calendar year 2012.

Child Abuse and Neglect In New Jersey Statisical Report for Calendar Year 2004 - This report provides an overview of statistics on child abuse and neglect and family problem cases reported to the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services for calendar year 2004.

For more information about child abuse/neglect substantiations, see the Outcome Data section.

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