Back to Methodology

Allegation Type

Children receiving multiple allegations are categorized according to the severity hierarchy established by CWS/CMS. For example, when allegations of Physical Abuse, General Neglect and Emotional Abuse are entered for a specific child in a single report, only one allegation will be counted and it will fall under Physical Abuse since this type of abuse is the highest in the hierarchy. The severity hierarchy is listed below. CWS/CMS codes are drawn from the variable alg_tpc:

  1. Sexual Abuse (2181)
  2. Physical Abuse (2179)
  3. Severe Neglect (2180)
  4. General Neglect (2178)
  5. Exploitation (2177)
  6. Emotional Abuse (2176)
  7. Caretaker Absence/Incapacity (2169)
  8. At-Risk, Sibling Abused (5001)
  9. Substantial Risk (5624) *Category not currently active in CWS/CMS
  10. Missing