Child (2022–2024)

Definition

These data represent the number of formally filed Child in Need of Protection and Services (CHIPS) petitions filed in a Circuit Court, alleging maltreatment of a child. These counts do not include termination of parental rights or waiver of parental consent cases.

These data may have been influenced by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in 2020.

According to the data source, a new statistical reporting system was adopted in 2022, which may impact how cases are counted and that caution should be used when comparing pre-2022 data to post-2022 data.

Data Source

Reports of CHIPS petitions filed each year can be found on the Wisconsin Court System website under their Circuit Court Caseload Statistics publications. The data, by state and county, can be found in the Caseload Summary reports, here: https://www.wicourts.gov/publications/statistics/circuit/historicalcircuitstats.htm. For 2022 and 2023, these data came from these reports. In 2024, these data were provided by the Wisconsin Court System, and may differ slightly from the reports due to updates in the data systems that can occur over time.

Notes

N.A. indicates data are not available.

Last Updated

2025-04