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First published on August 8, 2007, doi:10.1177/1049731507305394

Research on Social Work Practice 2008;18:144.

A more recent version of this article appeared on March 1, 2008

Article

Using Cumulative Risk to Screen for Mental Health Problems in Child Welfare

Julie S. McCrae1* and Richard P. Barth2

1 University of Pittsburgh
2 University of Maryland

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jsmccrae{at}email.unc.edu.


  Abstract
Objective: This study tests the hypothesis that information typically collected during a maltreatment investigation can be used to screen children for mental health problems. Method: Data are from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Cumulative risk scores were created for 3,022 children and compared to reports of clinical-level problems using standardized measures. Bivariate, multivariate, and sensitivity analyses were used. Results: Cumulative risk showed 73% sensitivity to identify children with mental health concerns and 52% specificity to identify children without such concerns. Comparatively, child welfare worker indications showed 48% sensitivity and 78% specificity. Conclusions: Investigative information could serve the dual purpose of screening children for mental health problems, having the potential for benefit and cost avoidance.
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