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Home > Statistics & Research > Child Welfare Outcomes 2000 > Arizona

 

Child Welfare Outcomes 2000: Annual Report
Chapter IV - State Data

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment
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Arizona [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000
Total children under 18 years	1,263,404	1,334.564	1,366,947
Race/ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	7.1	6.9	6.6
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.0	2.1	1.6
Black	3.4	3.4	3.4
Hispanic	31.8	32.6	36.1
White	55.7	55.1	49.6
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.5
Other	N/A	N/A	0.2
% Child population in poverty	26.3	16.1	21.8
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	82.8	85.0	87.5

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000
Child maltreatment victims	8,983	9,205	7,460
Children in foster care on 9/30	5,608	7,034	6,475
Children adopted	-	761	853

1) The 2000 Census of the United States includes two new race catagories: (1) Persons of two or more races and (2) Other. Back

 

B. Child Maltreatment Data (NCANDS)

	Number			Rate
Maltreatment Information Overview	1998	1999	2000	1998	1998	2000
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	60,610	52,611	51,811	748.0 per 1,000	39.4 per 1,000	37.91 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2	8,983	9,205	7,460	7.1 per 1,000	6.9 per 1,000	5.5 per 1,000
Child fatalities	10	8	7	0.8 per 100,000	0.6 per 100,000	0.5 per 100,000

 

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	14.8	15.7	17.6
1-5 years	29.4	29.4	27.7
6-10 years	28.4	27.7	26.1
11-15 years	22.1	22.4	23.0
16+ years	5.2	4.8	5.4
Unknown	0.2	-	0.2
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	8,983	9,205	7,460

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	5.1	5.7	3.5
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.8	1.0	0.2
Black	8.8	9.2	7.9
Hispanic	29.6	31.0	33.9
White	78.9	78.3	45.9
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	3.6
Other/Unknown	6.4	5.9	85.0
Total %3	129.6	131.0	100.0
Number	8,983	9,205	7,460

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Emotional abuse	1.8	1.2	1.5
Medical neglect	9.0	-	-
Neglect	60.8	58.4	71.4
Physical abuse	23.9	24.8	24.5
Sexual abuse	4.4	5.6	7.5
Other	0.1	10.0	-
Unknown	-	-	0.0
Total %4	100.0	100.0	104.9
Number	8,983	9,205	7,460

2) Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once. Back
3) Percentages may total more than 100 percent because Hispanics may be counted both by Hispanic ethnicity and by race. Back
4) Percentages may total more than 100 percent because children could have been victims of more than one type of maltreatment. Back

C. Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

Number of Children	In Care on 10/1	Entered Care	Exited Care	In Care on 9/30	Total Served
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	3,498	4,300	2,190	5,608	7,798
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	7,515	4,372	4,853	7,034	11,887
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	6,887	4,644	5,056	6,475	11,531
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	16.0	N/A	4.1	10.7	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	17.2	N/A	10.4	18.9	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	19.1	N/A	9.4	18.0	N/A

 

Age of Children in Foster Care (%)	In Care on 10/1/97	In Care on 10/1/98	In Care on 10/1/99	Entered Care During FY 1998	Entered Care During FY 1999	Entered Care During FY 2000	Exited Care During FY 1998	Exited Care During FY 1999	Exited Care During FY 2000	In Care on 9/30/98	In Care on 9/30/99	In Care on 9/30/00
Under 1 year	3.9	3.7	4.2	12.7	12.8	14.1	7.2	4.0	5.2	5.2	4.2	4.8
1-5 years	26.6	27.6	27.0	28.1	28.0	26.7	28.1	28.5	29.0	27.1	26.9	25.9
6-10 years	27.4	26.7	25.3	25.1	22.2	22.0	25.7	24.5	24.2	26.0	25.2	22.9
11-15 years	29.8	28.1	28.7	24.9	26.6	27.1	22.6	22.7	23.3	27.9	29.0	30.8
16-18 years	12.2	13.6	14.3	9.2	10.4	10.2	16.1	19.2	17.3	13.6	14.1	15.2
19+ years	0.1	0.3	0.6	-	0.0	-	0.3	1.0	1.0	0.1	0.6	0.4
Unknown	0.1	-	-	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	3,498	7,515	6,887	4,300	4,372	4,644	2,190	4,853	5,096	5,608	7,034	6,475

 

Race/Ethnicity of Children in Foster Care (%)5	In Care on 10/1/97	In Care on 10/1/98	In Care on 10/1/99	Entered Care During FY 1998	Entered Care During FY 1999	Entered Care During FY 2000	Exited Care During FY 1998	Exited Care During FY 1999	Exited Care During FY 2000	In Care on 9/30/98	In Care on 9/30/99	In Care on 9/30/00
Alaska Native/American Indian	4.1	2.9	2.8	4.9	3.6	3.4	4.8	3.8	3.8	4.4	2.8	2.5
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.1	0.0
Black	14.6	12.8	12.5	11.1	8.5	9.1	12.1	9.5	9.5	12.8	12.4	12.4
Hispanic	23.9	27.9	31.2	27.6	33.4	32.5	23.1	28.1	30.5	27.0	31.2	32.7
White	55.3	52.0	48.5	50.2	48.4	48.4	55.9	53.4	50.5	51.2	48.7	46.9
Two or more races	-	3.7	4.7	-	4.4	4.0	-	3.0	4.2	-	4.6	4.7
Unknown	1.8	0.6	0.2	5.9	1.4	2.5	3.7	2.0	1.5	4.2	0.2	0.9
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	3,498	7,515	6,887	4,300	4,372	4,644	2,190	4,853	5,056	5,608	7,034	6,475

 

5) In this and subsequent race/ethnicity tables, data for two or more races may be provided for 1998 and 1999 because of States' resubmissions. However, data for 1998 and 1999 may not capture all children of two or more races and therefore may not be comparable to the 2000 data pertaining to two or more races. Back

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D. Children Waiting to Be Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)⁶

 

Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99	9/30/00
Children waiting to be adopted	1,375	3,051	2,370
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	7	2,633	1,817

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	4.9	6.1	4.3
1-5 years	38.0	40.6	38.9
6-10 years	39.1	34.6	32.7
11-15 years	17.2	18.3	22.9
16+ years	0.6	0.4	1.2
Unknown	0.1	0.0	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,375	3,051	2,370

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	4.1	2.3	2.0
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4	0.0	0.0
Black	14.1	11.4	10.6
Hispanic	25.7	33.1	37.0
White	53.2	48.1	44.9
Two or more races	-	4.8	5.1
Unknown	2.5	0.2	0.5
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,375	3,051	2,370

6) Waiting children are children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parentsÂ’ rights have been terminated. Children 16 years and older with TPR, but with a goal of emancipation, have been excluded from the waiting children and TPR populations. Back

E. Children Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

 

Age of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	-	0.5	0.7
1-5 years	-	44.8	44.5
6-10 years	-	39.0	36.9
11-15 years	-	14.5	16.6
16+ years	-	1.2	1.2
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	761	853

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	1.1	2.5
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	0.3	-
Black	-	12.7	10.6
Hispanic	-	28.1	25.8
White	-	55.8	56.4
Two or more races	-	1.8	4.8
Unknown	-	0.1	-
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	761	853

 

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Arizona [ Outcomes Data ]

 

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect
(NCANDS)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children without a recurrence	95.2	95.2	93.9
Children with one or more recurrences	4.8	4.8	6.1
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4,244	3,064	3,558

 

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care
(NCANDS, AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database Jan —Sept)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children maltreated while in foster care	0.2	0.1	0.3
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.8	99.9	99.7
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	7,543	9,419	10,450

 

 

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	17.9	18.4
Guardianship	-	0.5	0.5
Reunification	10.2	72.3	71.8
Other	0.5	9.3	9.3
Missing data	98.3	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	2,190	4,853	5,056

 

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	8.6	19.5
Guardianship	-	-	-
Reunification	22.5	81.4	72.7
Other	-	10.0	7.8
Missing data	77.5	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	40	70	128

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	1.3	0.7
Guardianship	-	0.6	0.5
Reunification	7.6	70.7	71.3
Other	1.2	27.4	27.6
Missing data	91.2	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	567	1,333	1,312

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children age 12 or younger at entry	50.0	18.9	23.1
Children older than 12 at entry	50.0	81.1	76.9
Missing data	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4	444	450

 

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.			Asian/P.I.			Black			Hispanic
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	9.3	13.6	-	20.0	-	-	23.8	20.9	-	17.6	16.2
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.4	0.2	-	0.4	0.6
Reunification	16.0	82.5	81.7	-	70.0	83.3	10.2	61.1	66.8	7.9	73.7	74.8
Other	-	8.2	4.7	-	10.0	16.7	0.8	14.7	12.1	0.6	8.4	8.4
Missing data	84.0	-	-	100.0	-	-	89.1	-	-	91.5	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	106	183	191	7	10	6	266	463	479	506	1,363	1,543
	White			Unable to Determine			Two or More Races			Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	18.7	20.0	-	-	2.7	-	11.6	19.5	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	0.6	0.4	-	-	-	-	-	1.0	-	-	-
Reunification	10.4	71.5	69.4	15.0	94.7	97.3	-	84.2	73.3	-	-	-
Other	0.5	9.3	10.2	-	5.3	-	-	4.1	6.2	-	-	-
Missing data	89.1	-	-	85.0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	-	-
Number	1,225	2,593	2,553	80	95	74	-	146	210	-	-	-

 

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4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%)	1998	1999	2000
Less than 12 mos.	68.6	68.0	71.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	10.8	17.8	15.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	5.8	6.7	8.0
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.9	3.5	2.8
48 or more mos.	2.7	3.9	2.7
Missing data	11.2	0.1	0.1
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	223	3,511	3,632

 

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children entering care for the first time	84.3	87.1	84.7
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	10.0	10.7	11.5
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	2.8	2.2	3.9
Missing data	2.8	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4,300	4,372	4,644

 

 

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%)	1998	1999	2000
Less than 12 mos.	-	8.4	3.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	11.4	14.4
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	24.7	28.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	23.4	26.2
48 or more mos.	-	32.1	27.3
Missing data	-	-	-
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	870	930

 

 

6. Increase Placement Stability
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

6.1 Number of Placements by Time in Care (%)	Year	Children With 2 or Fewer Placements	Children With 3 or More Placements	Missing Data	Total %	Number
Less than 12 mos.	1998 1999 2000	32.0 81.9 82.4	65.8 13.9 14.9	2.2 4.2 2.7	100.0 100.0 100.0	4,496 4,921 5,171
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000	0.3 52.2 51.5	99.7 47.0 47.9	- 0.8 0.6	100.0 100.0 100.0	1,263 2,614 2,121
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 38.4 35.8	100.0 61.3 64.0	- 0.3 0.1	100.0 100.0 100.0	692 1,697 1,688
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000	0.2 33.8 28.4	99.8 65.7 71.5	- 0.5 0.1	100.0 100.0 100.0	501 935 1,006
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 31.1 23.5	99.6 68.8 76.3	0.4 0.2 0.2	100.0 100.0 100.0	757 1,697 1,530
Missing data	1998 1999 2000	47.2 78.3 66.7	32.6 - -	20.2 21.7 33.3	100.0 100.0 100.0	89 23 15

 

 

7. Reduce Placements of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

7.1 Most Recent Placement Settings of Children Who Entered Care During the Fiscal Year and Were Age 12 or Younger at the Time of This Placement (%)	1998	1999	2000
Group homes	6.4	5.7	6.6
Institutions	22.0	17.3	20.6
Other settings	71.5	63.4	67.0
Missing data	0.1	13.7	5.7
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	3,010	3,124	3,292

 

Arizona [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Arizona?s performance with regard to each of the outcomes assessed in the Child Welfare Outcomes Annual Reports to Congress. Information from the State?s Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Final Report is used to provide a context for interpreting the State?s performance. In using CFSR information to interpret performance, it is important to note that the Arizona CFSR was conducted in 2001 and the national data used for the review to assess performance regarding national standards was from 1999. However, the discussion of State performance relevant to the national standards in the Federal Comment section focuses on data from the year 2000, as provided in the State Data Pages. In addition, because data reported in the State Data Pages do not address child well-being issues, the last section of this discussion provides information from the CFSR Final Report relevant to the State?s performance in meeting children?s educational and physical and mental health needs.

Outcome 1. Reduce recurrence of child abuse and/or neglect
In calendar year (CY) 2000, the State?s rate of maltreatment recurrence within 6 months was 6.1 percent, which equals the national standard and is lower than the national median of 7.9 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that the State?s performance on this measure may be attributed in part to the following: (1) a wide array of available services to prevent maltreatment, (2) the provision of preventive services in a timely manner, and (3) the development of special policies and procedures for investigating reports on families that have a prior history with child protective services.

Outcome 2. Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care
In CY 2000, the incidence of maltreatment in foster care was 0.3 percent, which meets the national standard of 0.57 percent and is lower than the national median of 0.47 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that performance on this measure may be attributed to the State?s practice of applying a consistent set of licensing standards to all foster homes and routinely monitoring compliance with those standards.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In fiscal year (FY) 2000, 90.7 percent of children leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes, which is higher than the national median of 84.7 percent. In addition, 92.2 percent of children with a diagnosed disability who exited foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is higher than the national median of 79.5 percent), and 72.5 percent of children who were older than age 12 at entry into foster care exited to a permanent home (which is higher than the national median of 72.6). Finally, 23.1 percent of children exiting foster care through emancipation were age 12 or younger at the time of entry, which is lower than the national median of 24.2 percent. These data suggest that the State is effective in achieving permanency for children, although a substantial percentage of children who emancipate from foster care appear to have “grown up” in foster care. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that State performance on this outcome may be attributed to the State?s adherence to the permanency time-frames established by the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the use of mediation as an approach to facilitating attainment of permanency goals.

Outcome 4. Reduce time to reunification without increasing re-entry
In FY 2000, the percentage of all reunifications occurring within 12 months of children?s entry into foster care was 71.5, which does not meet the national standard of 76.2 percent but exceeds the national median of 68.0 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving timely reunifications: (1) inconsistent agency efforts to involve parents in the case planning process; (2) insufficient services to promote reunification; and (3) lack of consistent implementation of concurrent planning.

Also in FY 2000, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 11.5, which does not meet the national standard of 8.6 percent and exceeds the national median of 10.3 percent. According to information provided in the CFSR Final Report, the State believes that these data may be inaccurate because children who are living with their families on a trial reunification basis and are then returned to out of home care may be erroneously recorded as exiting and then re-entering foster care. Information from the CFSR Final Report indicates that the State does attempt to prevent foster care re-entry by providing intensive family preservation services as soon as children are reunified and maintaining these services for up to 4 months after reunification.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption
In FY 2000, the percentage of all finalized adoptions occurring within 24 months of the child?s entry into foster care was 18.2, which does not meet the national standard of 32.0 percent and was slightly less than the national median of 19.7 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving adoptions in a timely manner: (1) disruptions in adoptive placements that occur because families are not adequately prepared to meet the child?s special needs, (2) disruptions in adoptive placements that occur because children?s behavioral and attachment issues are not adequately addressed prior to or during the adoptive placement; and (3) inconsistent implementation of concurrent planning.

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability
In FY 2000, the percentage of children who experienced no more than 2 placements during their first 12 months in foster care was 82.4, which does not meet the national standard of 86.7 percent, and was less than the national median of 84.3 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to placement stability: (1) inadequate preparation of, and support for, foster parents; (2) use of shelter care either at entry into foster care or when there are placement disruptions; and (3) an insufficient number of therapeutic foster homes to meet the needs of children with behavioral and emotional problems.

Outcome 7. Reduce placements of young children in group homes and institutions
In FY 2000, the percentage of children age 12 or younger placed in a group home or institution was 27.2, which is the highest percentage reported nationally. According to information in the CFSR Final Report, the high percentage of children who are placed in group homes when they are age 12 or younger may be attributed to the State?s practice of placing children, even young children, in emergency shelters at the time of entry into foster care.

Child well-being outcomes
With respect to child well-being, information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that the State is not effective in meeting children?s educational and physical and mental health needs. The Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to meeting these needs: (1) inconsistencies in agency efforts to conduct educational assessments and provide educational advocacy; (2) failure to provide health screenings in all cases at the time of entry into foster care; and (3) a lack of routine mental health assessments and referrals for mental health services.

 

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