Methods
Design and analytic sample
We used data from NSCAW II, a 3 year longitudinal study of
5,872 youth ages 0e17.5 years referred to U.S. child welfare
agencies, for whom an investigation of alleged maltreatmentwas
completed during the sampling period (February 2008 to April
2009). The study excluded agencies in eight states in which law
required first contact of a caregiver by agency staff rather than by
study staff [14]. Data from the initial interviews were collected
within approximately 4 months of completed child welfare