CAPTA Referrals for Infants and Toddlers: Measuring Early Interventionists’ Perceptions

In 2003, Congress amended the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require that all child victims of substantiated abuse or neglect under the age of 3 years be assessed for developmental concerns. To date, there has been little study of CAPTA’s implementation in Part C early intervention programs. The Professional Interventionist CAPTA Survey (PICS) was developed to assess perceptions of Part C providers related to serving children and families referred from child welfare. The PICS provides a measure of providers’ perceptions of the CAPTA mandate. Initial results of the PICS suggest that it holds promise for future implementation research and program assessment for Part C early childhood intervention related to CAPTA.