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

 

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

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

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000
Total children under 18 years	1,457,703	1,468,554	1,500,064
Race/ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	4.9	5.2	4.0
Black	7.8	8.1	6.5
Hispanic	10.0	10.4	10.5
White	77.1	76.2	75.2
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.7
Other	N/A	N/A	0.8
% Child population in poverty	21.1	19.5	15.8
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	97.1	96.9	96.3

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000
Child maltreatment victims	27,559	29,633	32,334
Children in foster care on 9/30	-	11,169	11,619
Children adopted	1,100	922	861

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	52,899	56,620	61,226	36.3 per 1,000	38.6 per 1,000	40.8 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2	27,559	29,633	32,334	18.9 per 1,000	20.2 per 1,000	21.6 per 1,000
Child fatalities	13	-	4	0.9 per 100,000	- per 100,000	0.3 per 100,000

 

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	-	-	8.1
1-5 years	-	-	28.8
6-10 years	-	-	30.5
11-15 years	-	-	26.0
16+ years	-	-	5.5
Unknown	-	-	1.1
Total %	-	-	100.0
Number	-	-	32,334

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	1.8
Black	-	-	12.4
Hispanic	-	-	11.4
White	-	-	39.0
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	0.9
Other/Unknown	-	-	34.3
Total %3	-	-	100.0
Number	-	-	32,334

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Emotional abuse	-	-	0.4
Medical neglect	-	-	-
Neglect	-	-	87.4
Physical abuse	-	-	18.9
Sexual abuse	-	-	3.2
Other	-	-	0.1
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %4	-	-	110.0
Number	-	-	32,334

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)	-	-	-	-	-
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	11,550	7,368	7,749	11,169	18,918
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	10,630	7,381	6,392	11,619	18,011
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	-	N/A	-	-	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	22.1	N/A	10.7	18.5	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	19.2	N/A	8.3	17.4	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	-	2.4	2.6	-	8.5	9.2	-	3.0	3.0	-	2.6	3.0
1-5 years	-	22.4	20.0	-	19.5	18.9	-	21.4	19.7	-	20.0	19.5
6-10 years	-	24.4	23.4	-	19.1	19.2	-	21.3	20.0	-	22.9	21.1
11-15 years	-	30.2	32.0	-	39.1	40.2	-	28.4	30.5	-	32.6	34.0
16-18 years	-	18.0	19.2	-	13.3	12.2	-	23.1	23.9	-	19.2	19.4
19+ years	-	1.9	2.3	-	0.2	0.1	-	1.6	1.6	-	2.2	2.4
Unknown	-	0.6	0.6	-	0.3	0.1	-	1.2	1.2	-	0.6	0.6
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	11,550	10,630	-	7,368	7,381	-	7,749	6,392	-	11,169	11,619

 

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	-	0.3	0.2	-	0.3	0.2	-	0.2	0.2	-	0.3	0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	1.6	1.5	-	1.6	1.9	-	1.7	1.9	-	1.5	1.6
Black	-	20.1	19.0	-	15.4	13.5	-	18.4	15.8	-	18.2	17.3
Hispanic	-	21.0	20.6	-	16.7	16.5	-	18.2	16.6	-	20.0	20.3
White	-	48.7	48.4	-	47.1	45.1	-	47.9	48.2	-	48.3	46.4
Two or more races	-	0.4	0.6	-	0.2	1.1	-	0.3	0.6	-	0.4	0.9
Unknown	-	8.0	9.6	-	18.7	21.6	-	13.4	16.8	-	11.3	13.2
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	11,550	10,630	-	7,368	7,381	-	7,749	6,392	-	11,169	11,619

 

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	-	3,278	3,147
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	-	927	897

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	-	2.5	3.0
1-5 years	-	39.5	38.6
6-10 years	-	41.2	38.5
11-15 years	-	16.1	19.2
16+ years	-	0.7	0.5
Unknown	-	0.1	0.1
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3,278	3,147

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	0.3	0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	2.1	1.9
Black	-	19.5	16.4
Hispanic	-	24.9	24.8
White	-	44.2	45.0
Two or more races	-	0.9	1.1
Unknown	-	8.1	10.6
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3,278	3,147

6) Waiting children are children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parents’ 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	0.3	1.4
1-5 years	46.9	44.7	48.1
6-10 years	39.2	41.8	37.4
11-15 years	12.7	12.7	12.5
16+ years	0.6	0.5	0.6
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,100	922	861

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.2	0.6
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.6	0.9	2.3
Black	22.8	23.8	21.5
Hispanic	23.1	20.9	20.3
White	46.2	51.6	49.7
Two or more races	-	-	2.8
Unknown	7.0	2.9	2.8
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,100	922	861

 

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Massachusetts [ 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	-	92.6	89.8
Children with one or more recurrences	-	7.4	10.2
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	14,167	15,354

 

 

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	-	0.9	1.1
Children not maltreated while in foster care	-	99.1	98.9
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	16,590	16,175

 

 

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	16.4	12.1
Guardianship	-	8.9	6.7
Reunification	-	53.2	54.6
Other	-	8.2	9.3
Missing data	-	13.4	17.3
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	7,749	6,392

 

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	29.4	16.7
Guardianship	-	5.9	8.3
Reunification	-	29.4	25.0
Other	-	17.6	33.3
Missing data	-	17.6	16.7
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	17	12

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	0.1	0.1
Guardianship	-	3.0	2.6
Reunification	-	64.2	59.5
Other	-	16.0	16.8
Missing data	-	16.6	21.0
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	2,957	2,694

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children age 12 or younger at entry	-	25.0	24.2
Children older than 12 at entry	-	74.6	75.8
Missing data	-	0.3	-
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	635	557

 

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	-	5.9	-	-	5.3	11.7	-	20.2	17.0	-	21.7	14.6
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	0.8	2.5	-	13.7	9.1	-	7.0	6.3
Reunification	-	88.2	30.0	-	71.2	65.0	-	43.0	43.0	-	49.0	51.4
Other	-	5.9	50.0	-	9.1	5.8	-	8.6	11.6	-	8.2	8.8
Missing data	-	-	20.0	-	13.6	15.0	-	14.5	19.3	-	14.1	18.9
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	17	10	-	132	120	-	1,422	1,010	-	1,414	1,058
	White			Unable to Determine			Two or More Races			Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	16.1	12.9	-	18.0	7.9	-	57.1	41.5	-	0.1	0.1
Guardianship	-	8.9	7.1	-	9.3	8.4	-	-	-	-	4.1	3.4
Reunification	-	53.8	54.8	-	49.4	46.3	-	33.3	51.2	-	77.2	72.3
Other	-	9.1	10.3	-	8.7	15.0	-	-	-	-	2.3	2.8
Missing data	-	12.1	14.8	-	14.7	22.4	-	9.5	7.3	-	16.3	21.4
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3,708	3,079	-	334	214	-	21	41	-	701	860

 

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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.	-	72.9	76.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	15.3	14.4
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	5.4	4.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	2.3	1.9
48 or more mos.	-	1.9	1.7
Missing data	-	2.1	1.1
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	4,121	3,489

 

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children entering care for the first time	-	66.0	68.3
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	-	22.3	20.2
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	-	11.3	11.3
Missing data	-	0.4	0.1
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	7,368	7,381

 

 

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.	-	2.5	2.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	6.8	13.5
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	17.2	20.7
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	21.2	20.3
48 or more mos.	-	52.0	43.2
Missing data	-	0.3	0.1
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	1,271	773

 

 

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	- 77.0 74.3	- 18.4 22.7	- 4.7 3.1	- 100.0 100.0	- 8,170 8,154
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 58.7 53.8	- 40.1 44.8	- 1.2 1.4	- 100.0 100.0	- 3,252 3,386
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 49.4 46.0	- 50.5 53.3	- 0.1 0.7	- 100.0 100.0	- 2,187 1,933
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 39.9 34.1	- 60.1 56.9	- - -	- 100.0 100.0	- 1,460 1,338
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 25.3 18.7	- 74.7 81.3	- 0.0 -	- 100.0 100.0	- 3,626 3,079
Missing data	1998 1999 2000	- 46.6 56.2	- 0.9 0.8	- 52.5 43.0	- 100.0 100.0	- 223 121

 

 

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	-	3.8	3.4
Institutions	-	4.4	3.5
Other settings	-	91.5	92.9
Missing data	-	0.3	0.3
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3,877	3,998

 

Massachusetts [ State Comment ]

Lewis H. Spence, Commissioner
Department of Social Services
Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services
617-748-2000

The following comments relate to the Massachusetts data included in the Children's Bureau Child Welfare Outcomes 2000: Annual Report.

The Massachusetts Department of Social Services' staff are addressing the issues that have been raised in the review of our State's data tables. All of the discrepancies noted pertain to placement dynamics (entries/exits) and placement discharge reasons. These data quality issues are being addressed as part of an ongoing effort to improve the accuracy of the data we submit to the AFCARS and NCANDS system. Efforts have been and continue to be made to improve the data collected in FamilyNet, the Massachusetts SACWIS system, and extracted in the AFCARS and NCANDS data files. This undertaking includes edits to require the entry of key data elements, such as child's race and Hispanic origin identity of a child's parent/caretakers, and discharge reason. Edits have also been implemented to increase the quality of data, such as requiring verification for the use of adoption as a discharge reason. In tandem with these edits, data cleanups have been completed to ensure compliance with available federal definitions such as home removal episodes including "trial home visits." Many of these enhancements were recently implemented. We expect the quality of our data to continue to improve over time as the aforementioned changes take effect and future changes are initiated.

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Massachusetts [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Massachusetts? 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 on the outcome measures. In using CFSR information to interpret performance, it is important to note that the Massachusetts 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 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 10.2 percent, which exceeds both the national standard of 6.1 percent and the national median of 7.9 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to preventing maltreatment recurrence: (1) an inconsistency in the quality of child and family assessments, particularly with regard to identifying underlying issues leading to maltreatment such as substance abuse or domestic violence; (2) delays in providing services to parents in some cases in which children remain in their own homes; and (3) provision of services that do not always adequately address identified needs.

Outcome 2. Reduce incidence of maltreatment in foster care
In CY 2000, the incidence of maltreatment in foster care was 1.1 percent, which is higher than both the national standard of 0.57 percent and the national median of 0.47 percent. The CFSR Final Report indicates that the following recent changes in agency practices and policies are designed to reduce the incidence of maltreatment in foster care: (1) revising standards for approving or licensing foster homes, (2) increasing supports and training for foster and adoptive parents, (3) reducing the number of children who can be placed in any one foster home, and (4) developing a centralized Special Investigations Unit for investigating reports of maltreatment in foster homes and institutions.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
Data for outcome 3 indicate that in fiscal year (FY) 2000, 73.4 percent of children leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes, which is lower than the national median of 84.7 percent. However, the State?s performance relevant to outcome 3 cannot be meaningfully interpreted because 17 percent of all exits from foster care in FY 2000 did not have "reason for discharge" information, and 21 percent of exits from foster care of children who were older than age 12 at the time of entry into care did not have "reason for discharge" information. In addition, only 12 of the 6,392 children who exited foster care in FY 2000 were reported to have a diagnosed disability.

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 76.6, which is greater than the national standard of 76.2 percent and the national median of 68.0 percent. However, because 17 percent of exits from foster care in FY 2000 did not have “reason for discharge” information, the number of children reported as exiting to reunification in outcome measure 4.1 may not be accurate. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that Massachusetts? effectiveness in attaining timely reunifications may be attributed to the following: (1) diligent efforts by agency staff and foster care providers to promote parent-child contacts and relationships, (2) implementation of permanency mediation as an alternative to court action, and (3) implementation of the Family Based Services initiative.

Massachusetts? 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 20.2, which is greater than the national standard of 8.6 and is twice the national median of 10.3. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that a key barrier to preventing foster care re-entries is the lack of post-reunification support services for families, particularly for families in which child neglect is a chronic problem, and for adolescents with multiple behavioral and emotional problems.

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 15.7, which is less than both the national median of 19.7 percent and the national standard of 32.0 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving timely adoptions: (1) agency delays in completing paperwork and finalizing permanency plans, and (2) court delays in scheduling termination of parental rights (TPR) or obtaining decisions on TPR appeals.

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability
In FY 2000, the percentage of children in foster care for less than 12 months who experienced no more than 2 placements was 74.3, which is lower than both the national standard of 86.7 percent and the national median of 84.3 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that a key barrier to achieving placement stability is the scarcity of placement resources for adolescents, particularly adolescents with substance abuse or behavioral 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 6.9, which is lower than the national median of 9.0. Information in the CFSR Final Report suggests that the State's performance on this measure may be attributed to the agency's case practice guidelines that direct staff to place all children, regardless of age, in the least restrictive and most family-like settings that can assure their safety.

Child well-being
With respect to child well-being, information from the CFSR Final Report indicates that while the State is effective in meeting children?s educational needs it is not consistently effective in meeting their physical and mental health needs. The Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to meeting children?s physical and mental health needs: (1) a lack of provision of services to meet identified health needs, (2) a scarcity of dental services that will accept Medicaid, and (3) inadequate mental health screenings and delays in service provision, due in large part to a scarcity of mental health services.

 

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