Linking Child Maltreatment Retrospectively to Birth and Home Visit Records: An Initial Examination

The study reported here tested the feasibility of linking administrative datasets for evaluation of home visiting as a strategy to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect. It also examined associations between maternal and child attributes coded in the birth record, and subsequent child maltreatment. The results show that home visiting efforts in Vermont were, in general, targeted to the populations most at-risk for child maltreatment. Mother's educational attainment, in particular, was identified as a potent correlate of child maltreatment, a finding with implications for high school dropout prevention and recovery efforts.