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

 

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

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

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000
Total children under 18 years	2,844,005	2,844,071	2,888,339
Race/ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.3	1.4	1.1
Black	14.5	14.5	14.2
Hispanic	2.3	2.4	2.8
White	81.7	81.6	79.2
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.3
Other	N/A	N/A	0.3
% Child population in poverty	16.1	17.6	14.6
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	84.6	89.5	80.7

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000
Child maltreatment victims	58,938	55,921	54,084
Children in foster care on 9/30	-	20,078	20,365
Children adopted	1,015	1,868	2,044

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	135,613	128,924	120,712	47.7 per 1,000	45.3 per 1,000	41.8 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2	58,938	55,921	54,084	20.7 per 1,000	19.7 per 1,000	18.7 per 1,000
Child fatalities	60	58	58	2.1 per 100,000	2.0 per 100,000	2.0 per 100,000

 

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	7.6	7.6	8.2
1-5 years	30.6	29.6	30.2
6-10 years	30.0	29.9	29.6
11-15 years	23.0	23.8	23.7
16+ years	6.1	6.2	6.3
Unknown	2.7	2.8	1.9
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	58,938	55,921	54,084

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.4	0.3	0.4
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.2	0.2	0.3
Black	31.8	30.1	31.2
Hispanic	1.3	1.3	1.1
White	62.6	64.0	63.5
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	-
Other/Unknown	4.1	4.8	5.4
Total %3	100.4	100.7	101.8
Number	58,938	55,921	54,084

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Emotional abuse	3.1	4.2	5.5
Medical neglect	0.0	0.0	0.0
Neglect	55.0	53.3	52.7
Physical abuse	27.3	28.0	27.7
Sexual abuse	14.1	14.1	14.0
Other	-	-	-
Unknown	0.4	0.3	0.1
Total %4	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	58,938	55,921	54,084

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)	16,951	15,946	12,819	20,078	32,897
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	19,100	15,396	14,131	20,365	34,496
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	-	N/A	-	-	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	12.6	N/A	4.8	13.4	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	14.0	N/A	7.4	14.4	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	-	5.3	5.4	-	12.7	12.9	-	5.7	5.4	-	5.5	5.4
1-5 years	-	24.0	24.9	-	24.8	24.7	-	25.5	27.3	-	24.8	24.8
6-10 years	-	23.0	23.8	-	21.5	21.1	-	20.2	21.5	-	23.5	23.0
11-15 years	-	29.0	28.5	-	28.6	28.5	-	25.3	24.0	-	28.6	28.8
16-18 years	-	17.2	16.1	-	12.0	12.6	-	21.7	20.4	-	15.9	16.6
19+ years	-	0.7	0.8	-	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.2	-	0.9	0.8
Unknown	-	0.9	0.6	-	0.3	0.2	-	0.5	0.2	-	0.9	0.6
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	16,951	19,100	-	15,946	15,396	-	12,819	14,131	-	20,078	20,365

 

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	-	-	0.1	-	-	0.2	-	-	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	0.2	-	-	0.3	-	-	0.3	-	-	0.1
Black	-	-	46.9	-	0.1	41.0	-	-	40.3	-	0.1	47.0
Hispanic	-	0.7	2.6	-	0.8	2.8	-	1.2	2.9	-	0.5	2.5
White	-	0.3	44.2	-	0.5	50.5	-	0.2	50.7	-	0.5	44.4
Two or more races	-	-	5.1	-	-	4.2	-	-	4.3	-	-	4.9
Unknown	-	99.0	0.9	-	98.6	1.3	-	98.6	1.2	-	98.9	1.0
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	16,951	19,100	-	15,946	15,396	-	12,819	14,131	-	20,078	20,365

 

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	-	3,476	4,439
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	-	590	3,035

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	-	3.1	2.8
1-5 years	-	27.7	26.6
6-10 years	-	30.4	29.3
11-15 years	-	30.5	31.4
16+ years	-	6.9	8.2
Unknown	-	1.5	1.7
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3,476	4,439

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	-
Black	-	0.2	48.0
Hispanic	-	0.4	2.0
White	-	0.3	44.2
Two or more races	-	-	5.4
Unknown	-	99.1	0.4
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3,476	4,439

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	2.0	7.4	6.3
1-5 years	53.7	48.6	48.4
6-10 years	29.6	28.7	28.9
11-15 years	13.1	13.1	13.7
16+ years	1.7	2.2	2.7
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,015	1,868	2,044

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.2	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	0.1	0.3
Black	41.6	50.9	42.5
Hispanic	2.0	0.4	3.6
White	50.7	46.6	45.6
Two or more races	-	-	6.8
Unknown	5.6	1.9	0.9
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,015	1,868	2,044

 

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Ohio [ 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	-	-	-
Children with one or more recurrences	-	-	-
Total %	-	-	-
Number	-	-	-

 

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	-	-	-
Children not maltreated while in foster care	-	-	-
Total %	-	-	-
Number	-	-	-

 

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	-	12.0
Guardianship	-	3.9	3.9
Reunification	-	71.6	64.2
Other	-	8.6	8.4
Missing data	-	16.0	11.4
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	12,819	14,131

 

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	-	15.6
Guardianship	-	2.8	3.5
Reunification	-	72.6	59.5
Other	-	15.7	13.7
Missing data	-	8.9	7.7
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	4,391	4,930

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	-	0.4
Guardianship	-	3.1	3.0
Reunification	-	50.8	52.8
Other	-	18.1	20.1
Missing data	-	28.0	23.6
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	4,548	4,601

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children age 12 or younger at entry	-	24.2	22.5
Children older than 12 at entry	-	75.6	77.3
Missing data	-	0.2	0.2
Total %	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	952	1,028

 

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	-	-	9.7	-	-	10.0	-	-	12.0	-	-	15.3
Guardianship	-	-	6.5	-	-	2.5	-	-	4.3	-	4.5	5.8
Reunification	-	-	64.5	-	-	75.0	-	-	62.9	-	68.8	62.0
Other	-	-	6.5	-	-	-	-	-	8.8	-	5.2	8.0
Missing data	-	-	12.9	-	-	12.5	-	-	12.0	-	21.4	8.8
Total %	-	-	100.0	-	-	100.0	-	-	100.0	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	-	31	-	-	40	-	-	5,701	-	154	411
	White			Unable to Determine			Two or More Races			Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	-	11.5	-	-	6.3	-	-	18.0	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	4.3	3.5	-	3.9	3.4	-	-	5.1	-	-	-
Reunification	-	78.3	65.3	-	71.6	66.3	-	-	63.2	-	-	-
Other	-	4.3	8.3	-	8.6	5.7	-	-	7.8	-	-	-
Missing data	-	13.0	11.4	-	16.0	18.3	-	-	5.9	-	-	-
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	-	100.0	100.0	-	-	100.0	-	-	-
Number	-	23	7,167	-	12,642	175	-	-	606	-	-	-

 

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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.	-	74.0	73.9
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	19.3	18.9
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	3.7	3.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	0.9	1.1
48 or more mos.	-	1.2	1.1
Missing data	-	0.9	1.3
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	9,172	9,074

 

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children entering care for the first time	-	68.7	72.0
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	-	12.6	13.7
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	-	11.4	12.4
Missing data	-	7.3	1.9
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	15,946	15,396

 

 

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.	-	-	5.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	-	23.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	-	28.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	-	20.2
48 or more mos.	-	-	22.3
Missing data	-	-	0.1
Total (%)	-	-	100.0
Number	-	-	1,694

 

 

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	- 84.0 85.8	- 12.2 12.0	- 3.7 2.2	- 100.0 100.0	- 18,460 17,945
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 62.1 62.1	- 37.4 37.5	- 0.6 0.3	- 100.0 100.0	- 6,503 6,921
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 47.3 45.2	- 52.2 54.5	- 0.5 0.2	- 100.0 100.0	- 2,883 3,446
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 32.2 34.8	- 67.2 64.9	- 0.5 0.3	- 100.0 100.0	- 1,523 2,096
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000	- 23.7 22.3	- 75.4 77.0	- 1.0 0.7	- 100.0 100.0	- 3,367 3,906
Missing data	1998 1999 2000	- 79.5 68.7	- 0.6 -	- 19.9 31.3	- 100.0 100.0	- 161 182

 

 

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	-	1.1	1.1
Institutions	-	3.5	2.8
Other settings	-	95.4	96.1
Missing data	-	0.0	-
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0
Number	-	10,527	10,102

 

Ohio [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Ohio?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 (the Ohio CFSR was conducted in FY 2002). 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
Ohio?s performance with regard to outcome 1 cannot be assessed in the Federal Comment section because the State does not provide data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for calculating this measure. Only data from NCANDS are presented for this measure in the Report to Congress. However, for the CFSR, the State provided data for this measure using an alternative source. These data are presented in Ohio?s CFSR Final Report.

Outcome 2. Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care
Ohio?s performance with regard to outcome 2 cannot be assessed in the Federal Comment section because the State does not provide data to NCANDS for calculating this measure. Only data from NCANDS are presented for this measure in the Report to Congress. However, for the CFSR, the State provided data for this measure using an alternative source. These data are provided in Ohio?s CFSR Final Report.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In fiscal year (FY) 2000, 80.1 percent of children leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is lower than the national median of 84.7 percent), and 78.6 percent of children with a diagnosed disability leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is lower than the national median of 79.5 percent). (The data for children older than age 12 at the time of entry into foster care cannot be assessed because “reason for discharge” information was not reported for almost 24 percent of those children.) In general, the data pertaining to outcome 3 suggest that the State is not consistently effective in attaining permanency for children exiting foster care. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving permanency: (1) a lack of adequate collaboration between the agency and the courts, and (2) a frequent agency practice of establishing a case goal of long-term foster care when reunification efforts fail, without first considering the permanency goals of guardianship or adoption.

Outcome 4. Reduce time to reunification without increasing re-entry
In FY 2000, the percentage of all reported reunifications occurring within 12 months of children?s entry into foster care was 73.9, which is lower than the national standard of 76.2 percent, but higher than the national median of 68.0 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report notes that the State believes that the rate of reunification within 12 months is actually higher than the rate reported to the Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) because the State may not be reporting “reason for discharge” information to AFCARS for all children. The table for outcome measure 3.1 supports this contention because for FY 2000, “reason for discharge” information was not reported for 11.4 percent of children exiting from foster care. The CFSR Final Report also identifies lack of access to services, waiting lists for services, and crowded court dockets as key barriers to timely reunifications.

In FY 2000, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 13.7, which exceeds the national standard of 8.6 percent and the national median of 10.3 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential reasons for foster care re-entries: (1) families are reunified in some cases without adequate assessments of parents? progress in making the necessary changes, (2) the fact that the agency does not use trial home visits or increased visitation prior to reunification to ensure family stability, and (3) a scarcity of supportive services to families provided at the time of 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 29.2, which does not meet the national standard of 32.0, but is higher than the national median of 19.7. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving adoptions in a timely manner: (1) agency related delays including delays in finding adoptive placements and lack of concurrent planning efforts, and (2) court-related delays due to crowded dockets and attorney?s requests for continuances.

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability
In FY 2000, the percentage of children experiencing no more than 2 placements during their first 12 months in foster care was 85.8, which does not meet the national standard of 86.7 percent, but is higher than the national median of 84.3. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving placement stability: (1) a scarcity of appropriate placements for children with behavior problems, (2) lack of services to caregivers to assist them in parenting children with behavior or emotional problems, and (3) the frequent practice of placing children in shelters on an emergency basis at the point of entry into the system.

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 3.9, which is lower than the national median of 9.0. According to information in the CFSR Final Report, the low percentage of young children placed in group homes may be attributed to the State?s efforts to place children in foster placements that are in their own neighborhoods.

Child well-being outcomes
With respect to child well-being, information from the CSFR Final Report indicates that the State is not consistently 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) lack of adequate assessments of children?s educational needs; (2) insufficient attention to children?s needs for health care services; (3) scarcity of doctors and dentists who will accept Medicaid in some areas of the State (4) failure in some cases to provide mental health services to children with identified mental health needs; and (5) lack of sufficient mental health services in most areas of the State.

 

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