ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part presents the maltreatment data from the national child abuse and neglect system. It examines placement data using the multistate foster care data archive. The part describes the risk of placement by the age of the child, and then supplements that information with data from national survey of child and adolescent well-being that describe the developmental status of children when they enter placement. The Archive is similar to national data archive on child abuse and neglect in that the data are constructed from information drawn directly from the administrative databases that state agencies use to manage and operate their child welfare programs. The multistate foster care data archive is maintained by chapin hall center for children at the University of Chicago. In response, the administration on children, youth, and families undertook the national survey of child and adolescent well-being.
