COURT-APPOINTED REPRESENTATIVE: A person appointed by the court to represent a child in a neglect or abuse proceeding. May be an attorney or a court-appointed special advocate (or both) and is often referred to as a guardian ad litem. The representative makes recommendations to the court concerning the best interests of the child.

COURT ACTION: It is a legal action initiated by a representative of the CPS agency on behalf of the child. This includes authorization to place the child in foster care, filing for temporary custody, dependency, or termination of parental rights. It does not include criminal proceedings against a perpetrator.

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES (CPS): An official agency of a State having the responsibility for child protective services and activities.

CLOSED WITH NO FINDING: Disposition that does not conclude with a specific finding because the investigation could not be completed for such reasons as: the family moved out of the jurisdiction; the family could not be located; or necessary diagnostic or other reports were not received within required time limits.

DISPOSITION: A determination made by a social service agency that evidence is or is not sufficient under State law to conclude that maltreatment occurred.

FATALITY: Death of a child as a result of abuse or neglect, because either an injury resulting from the abuse or neglect was the cause of death or abuse or neglect were contributing factors to the cause of death.

INVESTIGATION DISPOSITION: A determination made by a social service agency that evidence is or is not sufficient under State law to conclude that maltreatment occurred.

INDICATED OR REASON TO SUSPECT: An investigation disposition that concludes that maltreatment cannot be substantiated under State law or policy, but there is reason to suspect that the child may have been maltreated or was at risk of maltreatment. This is applicable only to States that distinguish between substantiated and indicated dispositions.

INTENTIONALLY FALSE: The unsubstantiated investigation disposition that indicates a conclusion that the person who made the allegation of maltreatment knew that the allegation was not true.

MEDICAL NEGLECT: A type of maltreatment caused by failure of the caregiver to provide for the appropriate health care of the child although financially able to do so, or offered financial or other means to do so.

MALTREATMENT TYPE: A particular form of child maltreatment determined by investigation to be substantiated or indicated under State law. Types include physical abuse, neglect or deprivation of necessities, medical neglect, sexual abuse, psychological or emotional maltreatment, and other forms included in State law.

NEGLECT OR DEPRIVATION OF NECESSITIES: A type of maltreatment that refers to the failure by the caregiver to provide needed, age-appropriate care although financially able to do so or offered financial or other means to do so.

POSTINVESTIGATION SERVICES: Activities provided or arranged by the child protective services agency, social services agency, or the child welfare agency for the child or family as a result of needs discovered during the course of an investigation. Includes such services as family preservation, family support, and foster care. Postinvestigation services are delivered within the first 90 days after the disposition of the report.

PREVENTIVE SERVICES: Activities aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. Such activities may be directed at specific populations identified as being at increased risk of becoming abusive and may be designed to increase the strength and stability of families, to increase parents' confidence and competence in their parenting abilities, and to afford children a stable and supportive environment. They include child abuse and neglect preventive services provided through such Federal funds as the Child Abuse and Neglect Basic State Grant, Community-Based Family Resource and Support Grant, the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (Title IV-B, subpart 2), Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, Social Services Block Grant (Title XX), and State and local funds. Such activities do not include public awareness campaigns.

PSYCHOLOGICAL OR EMOTIONAL MALTREATMENT: Type of maltreatment that refers to acts or omissions, other than physical abuse or sexual abuse, that caused, or could have caused, conduct, cognitive, affective, or other mental disorders. Includes emotional neglect, psychological abuse, and mental injury. Frequently occurs as verbal abuse or excessive demands on a child's performance.

PHYSICAL ABUSE: Type of maltreatment that refers to physical acts that caused or could have caused physical injury to a child.

SEXUAL ABUSE: A type of maltreatment that refers to the involvement of the child in sexual activity to provide sexual gratification or financial benefit to the perpetrator, including contacts for sexual purposes, molestation, statutory rape, prostitution, pornography, exposure, incest, or other sexually exploitative activities.

UNSUBSTANTIATED: A type of investigation disposition that determines that there is not sufficient evidence under State law to conclude or suspect that the child has been maltreated or is at risk of being maltreated.

UNKNOWN: The State collects data on this variable, but the data for this particular report or child were not captured or are missing.

Source: Child Maltreatment 2002, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2004)