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

 

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

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment
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Delaware [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000
Total children under 18 years	179,071	182,450	194,587
Race/ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.3	0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.2	2.3	2.0
Black	23.7	24.0	23.7
Hispanic	5.2	5.5	7.0
White	68.7	67.9	64.2
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.5
Other	N/A	N/A	0.3
% Child population in poverty	16.6	17.6	17.4
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	82.6	81.8	81.9

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000
Child maltreatment victims	2,894	2,111	1,813
Children in foster care on 9/30	1,480	1,193	1,098
Children adopted	62	33	103

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	9,693	8,330	8,683	54.1 per 1,000	45.7 per 1,000	44.6 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2	2,894	2,111	1,813	16.2 per 1,000	11.6 per 1,000	9.3 per 1,000
Child fatalities	3	3	-	1.7 per 100,000	1.6 per 100,000	- per 100,000

 

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	5.4	5.4	8.9
1-5 years	28.7	25.8	26.5
6-10 years	33.4	33.0	31.5
11-15 years	23.8	25.6	25.5
16+ years	8.5	8.8	7.6
Unknown	0.0	1.4	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	2,894	2,111	1,813

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	0.1	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	0.5	0.3
Black	48.3	44.6	44.1
Hispanic	4.9	7.9	7.0
White	50.3	52.4	48.3
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	-
Other/Unknown	1.5	0.9	0.3
Total %3	104.9	106.5	100.0
Number	2,894	2,111	1,813

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Emotional abuse	16.2	15.5	18.7
Medical neglect	2.6	1.8	3.5
Neglect	39.4	37.5	32.0
Physical abuse	25.4	25.3	20.5
Sexual abuse	8.6	11.1	9.4
Other	7.8	9.0	16.0
Unknown	0.1	-	-
Total %4	100.0	100.2	100.0
Number	2,894	2,111	1,813

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)	781	1,023	333	1,480	1,804
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	1,002	1,002	811	1,193	2,004
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	1,033	950	886	1,098	1,983
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	12.7	N/A	3.5	9.5	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	11.5	N/A	3.7	12.5	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	14.1	N/A	5.4	13.7	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	5.6	4.2	4.4	7.7	11.1	10.0	-	4.8	4.5	3.6	4.5	3.9
1-5 years	21.5	25.0	25.1	18.0	15.5	14.9	-	17.5	20.7	24.6	23.0	20.8
6-10 years	23.3	26.3	24.5	17.0	14.7	15.2	-	18.0	16.8	25.0	22.9	22.4
11-15 years	26.2	25.0	25.3	30.2	29.8	32.1	29.1	20.7	22.6	26.4	28.0	29.2
16-18 years	23.3	19.4	20.5	27.1	28.9	27.8	70.6	38.3	34.9	19.9	21.4	23.6
19+ years	-	0.2	0.3	-	-	-	0.3	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.1
Unknown	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.1	-	-	-
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	781	1,002	1,033	1,023	1,002	950	333	811	886	1,480	1,193	1,098

 

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	-	-	-	0.2	-	0.3	-	-	0.2	0.1	-	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	0.1	-	0.3	-	-	0.2	-	-	0.1	0.1
Black	58.0	62.5	61.9	59.4	59.8	61.4	59.5	58.2	59.8	59.6	63.1	63.0
Hispanic	4.7	6.4	7.6	5.7	6.6	5.6	6.0	5.5	5.6	5.1	7.1	7.5
White	32.3	30.6	30.2	30.7	32.8	32.7	32.4	34.8	34.1	31.2	29.7	29.3
Two or more races	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Unknown	5.0	0.5	0.2	4.0	0.5	-	2.1	1.2	0.2	4.9	-	-
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	781	1,002	1,033	1,023	1,002	950	333	811	886	1,480	1,193	1,098

 

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	138	271	334
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	0	123	181

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	1.4	0.7	2.4
1-5 years	39.1	40.2	36.8
6-10 years	45.7	45.8	41.3
11-15 years	13.0	12.9	18.6
16+ years	0.7	0.4	0.6
Unknown	-	-	0.3
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	138	271	334

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	-
Black	57.2	66.8	67.7
Hispanic	5.8	6.3	6.3
White	26.8	26.9	26.0
Two or more races	-	-	-
Unknown	10.1	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	138	271	334

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	-	-	-
1-5 years	38.7	57.6	58.3
6-10 years	46.8	42.4	32.0
11-15 years	14.5	-	9.7
16+ years	-	-	-
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	62	33	103

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	-
Black	51.6	39.4	55.3
Hispanic	8.1	6.1	3.9
White	14.5	51.5	38.8
Two or more races	-	-	-
Unknown	25.8	3.0	1.9
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	62	33	103

 

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Delaware [ 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	93.1	97.9	97.0
Children with one or more recurrences	6.9	2.1	3.0
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,506	1,070	922

 

 

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	0.1	0.1	-
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.9	99.9	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	-
Number	1,730	1,869	-

 

 

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	4.7	10.9
Guardianship	-	3.9	1.8
Reunification	94.6	83.5	79.3
Other	5.1	7.9	7.9
Missing data	0.3	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	333	811	886

 

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	1.6	12.8
Guardianship	-	8.2	3.8
Reunification	93.3	80.3	67.9
Other	6.7	9.8	15.4
Missing data	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	30	61	78

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	2.4	0.4
Reunification	94.5	84.3	85.5
Other	5.2	13.3	14.1
Missing data	0.3	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	325	414	447

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children age 12 or younger at entry	-	17.0	10.9
Children older than 12 at entry	100.0	83.0	87.0
Missing data	-	-	2.2
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	3	47	46

 

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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4.2	10.0	-	4.4	6.0
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3.4	1.3	-	-	2.0
Reunification	-	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	94.9	84.7	81.3	95.0	86.7	88.0
Other	-	-	-	-	-	-	4.5	7.6	7.4	5.0	8.9	4.0
Missing data	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.5	-	-	-	-	-
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	-	-	2	-	2	-	198	472	530	20	45	50
	White			Unable to Determine			Two or More Races			Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	4.6	13.2	-	30.0	50.0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	5.7	2.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reunification	94.4	81.6	74.5	85.7	60.0	50.0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other	5.6	8.2	9.6	14.3	10.0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Missing data	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	-	-	-	-	-	-
Number	108	282	302	7	10	2	-	-	-	-	-	-

 

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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.	88.6	83.6	83.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	6.7	12.4	11.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	1.3	2.4	2.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.3	0.6	1.4
48 or more mos.	-	0.6	0.9
Missing data	3.2	0.4	0.3
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	315	677	703

 

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children entering care for the first time	75.3	72.8	69.2
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	17.5	15.5	16.5
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	3.9	10.2	11.4
Missing data	3.3	1.6	2.9
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,023	1,002	950

 

 

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.	-	-	1.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	7.9	18.6
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	26.3	36.1
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	26.3	21.6
48 or more mos.	-	39.5	22.7
Missing data	-	-	-
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	38	97

 

 

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	97.7 97.7 97.3	2.3 2.3 2.7	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	1,111 1,192 1,136
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000	84.0 82.9 84.2	16.0 17.1 15.8	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	288 357 323
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000	83.0 72.7 73.1	17.0 27.3 26.9	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	159 183 219
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000	83.3 71.2 69.9	16.7 28.8 30.1	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	96 104 123
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000	73.6 71.6 57.5	26.4 28.4 42.5	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	140 162 179
Missing data	1998 1999 2000	100.0 100.0 100.0	- - -	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	10 6 3

 

 

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	2.4	1.1	0.9
Institutions	2.0	3.9	5.9
Other settings	95.4	94.8	92.7
Missing data	0.2	0.2	0.5
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	502	466	438

 

Delaware [ State Comment ]

Carlyse Giddins, Director
Division of Family Services
Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
302-633-2657

Delaware?s comments on the State data presented in Child Welfare Outcomes 2000: Report to Congress are as follows:

1. The data in Section B indicate a decrease in the rate of child maltreatment victims from 16.2 per 1,000 in 1998 to 9.3 per 1,000 in 2000. Two factors contribute to this decrease:
• In 1998 a bill was implemented establishing a child abuse registry for perpetrators involved in substantiated abuse and neglect cases. People on this registry would be prohibited from employment in day care or health care facilities. Following implementation of this legislation, we saw an approximate 20% increase in investigation dispositions of Unfounded Refer to Treatment and a similar 20% decrease in Founded Refer to Treatment dispositions. We believe that workers became more cautious about substantiating cases subject to the appeal process that is a part of the law establishing the registry.
• Also, in 1998, we revised our intake criteria to screen out parent-child conflict cases with no abuse or neglect, individual adolescent adjustment problems, out-of-State runaways, and truancy cases.
• Finally, the number of substantiated cases dropped 37% from 2,019 in 1998 to 1,263 in 2000.

2. Data were not available for computing outcome measure 2.1, Maltreatment in Foster Care, for FY 2000 but these data were available for FY 1998 and FY 1999. Our data for this measure represent an estimate, as we have not yet produced a satisfactory report on Abuse and Neglect in Foster Care.

3. The data for outcome measure 3.3 indicate that over 50% of the children who exited foster care in FY 2000 were older than age 12 at the time of entry into foster care. Using the data elements indicated in your document Child Welfare Outcomes: Data Sources and Elements along with our AFCARS data map, we calculate that of 542 children exiting child welfare services, 150 or 28%, were 12 or older when they entered care. At the present time we cannot directly query AFCARS data to verify the data provided in our State?s data pages. The data that we provide to the Children's Bureau is an electronic extract. We have requested a file that would allow us to see and manipulate the data extracted by AFCARS.

4. Data indicate a considerable increase in the number of adoptions from 33 in FFY 1999 to 103 in FFY 2000. These numbers accurately reflect our increase in adoptions, which was substantial after passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

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Delaware [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Delaware?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 Delaware CFSR was conducted in 2001 and the national data used for the review 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 rate of maltreatment recurrence within 6 months was 3.0 percent, which meets the national standard of 6.1 and is the lowest rate nationally. Information provided in the CFSR Final Report suggests that Delaware?s performance on this outcome may be attributed to the following: (1) the wide array of services available to families in cases in which children remain in their homes, (2) increased attention to safety issues in case management, and (3) the use of agency caseworkers as supports for families. However, information from the Final Report also suggests that the reported rate of maltreatment recurrence may be misleading because the agency generally does not conduct a formal investigation of maltreatment reports when they involve children who are already being served by the agency in open cases. Consequently, there may be instances of maltreatment recurrence that are not reported in the agency?s information system.

Outcome 2. Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care
Delaware?s attainment of outcome 2 cannot be evaluated in this Report because the State does not provide data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for calculating this outcome. Only data from NCANDS are presented for this outcome in the Report to Congress. However, for the CFSR, the State provided data for this outcome using an alternative source. These data are presented in Delaware?s CFSR Final Report.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In fiscal year (FY) 2000, 92.0 percent of children leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is higher than the national median of 84.7), 84.5 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), 85.9 percent of children who were older than age 12 at the time of entry into foster care exited foster care to permanent homes (which is substantially higher than the national median of 72.6), and 10.9 percent of children exiting foster care through emancipation were age 12 or younger at the time of entry into foster care (which is lower than the national median of 24.2). These data suggest that the State is effective in establishing permanency for children in foster care, even older children and children with disabilities. Information from the CFSR Final Report notes that Delaware?s performance on this outcome may be attributed to the following: (1) recent increases in permanency staff, (2) a policy of conducting permanency reviews for all children who have been in foster care for 9 out of 15 months, (3) engaging in concurrent planning on a routine basis, and (4) considering all possible permanency goals for a child before establishing long-term foster care or independent living as a case goal.

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 83.6 percent, which exceeds both the national standard of 76.2 percent and the national median of 68.0 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that Delaware?s performance on this measure may be attributed to the following: (1) diligent efforts on the part of the agency to place children in foster care near their parents, (2) involvement of families in the case planning process, and (3) sufficient face-to-face contact between caseworkers and parents.

Delaware?s performance with regard to reunification within 12 months must be balanced by the finding that, in FY 2000, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 16.5, which does not meet the national standard of 8.6, and exceeds the national median of 10.3. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential reasons for re-entries into foster care: (1) failure to conduct comprehensive risk assessments prior to reunification; and (2) failure to provide supportive services to families 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 19.6, which does not meet the national standard of 32.0 percent, but was almost equal to the national median of 19.7 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving finalized adoptions in a timely manner: (1) agency delays in changing permanency goals from reunification to adoption and completing the paperwork necessary to finalize adoptions, (2) a scarcity of adoptive families, and (3) a State policy that requires a child to be in an adoptive home for one year prior to adoption finalization.

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 97.3, which exceeds both the national standard of 86.7 percent and the national median of 84.3 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that Delaware?s performance on this outcome may be attributed to the following: (1) the availability of services to stabilize placements and prevent disruptions, and (2) the establishment of a staff position of foster home coordinator, who is responsible for supporting foster parents and who serves as liaisons between the foster family and the agency caseworker.

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 6.8, which is less than the national median of 9.0. Information in the CFSR Final Report suggests that Delaware?s performance on this outcome may be attributed to the fact that group care settings are not used as placement options for children until all possible family-type placement resources have been considered.

Child well-being outcomes
With respect to child well-being, the CFSR Final Report indicates that the State is effective in meeting children?s physical and mental health needs but is not consistently effective in meeting children?s educational needs. Information from the Final Report suggests that the key issue pertaining to educational needs is that the agency does not consistently assess children to determine educational needs and, often, when needs are identified, they are not addressed.

 

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