Although it is well documented that child maltreatment exertsa deleterious impact on child adaptation, much less is known about the precise etiologicalpathways that eventuate in child abuse and neglect. This paper reports on a multimethodecological study of the relationship between neighborhood structural factors and childmaltreatment reports in African American and European American census tracts. The study hadtwo major components. First, in an aggregate analysis, the effects of four measures ofcommunity structure (impoverishment, child care burden, instability, and geographic isolation)on child maltreatment report rates were examined separately for predominantly AfricanAmerican (n = 94) and predominantly European American (n = 189)census tracts. Impoverishment in particular had a significantly weaker effect on maltreatmentrates in African American than in European American neighborhoods. Second, focusedethnographies were conducted in four selected census tracts with child maltreatment report ratesin the highest and lowest quartiles. Ethnographic data point to the importance of the social fabricin accounting for differences in child maltreatment report rates by predominant neighborhoodethnicity.