Comparing Child Protective Investigation Performance Between Law Enforcement Agencies and Child Welfare Agencies.

CHILD abuse laws; CHILD welfare; CHI-squared test; COMPARATIVE studies; CONFIDENCE intervals; COST effectiveness; EPIDEMIOLOGY; LABOR productivity; MULTIVARIATE analysis; POLICE; INDUSTRIAL research; SURVEYS; EMPLOYEES' workload; PUBLIC sector; DATA analysis; SECONDARY analysis; PROPORTIONAL hazards models; ECONOMICS

This study examines the comparative effectiveness of using law enforcement agencies for child protective investigation (CPI), in contrast with the traditional approach of CPI conducted by the public child welfare agency. The analysis uses 2006-2007 data from a natural experiment conducted in Florida to show modest differences in performance and cost-efficiency between the two approaches to CPI. These findings may have implications for other states considering outsourcing CPI to law enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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