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Home > Statistics & Research > Child Welfare Outcomes 2000 > West Virginia

 

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

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment
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West Virginia [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000
Total children under 18 years	404,254	403,481	402,393
Race/ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.6	0.5	0.5
Black	3.8	3.5	3.6
Hispanic	0.8	0.7	1.0
White	94.7	95.1	93.0
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	1.5
Other	N/A	N/A	0.2
% Child population in poverty	23.7	22.6	18.0
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	48.5	51.1	42.6

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000
Child maltreatment victims	7,791	8,609	8,244
Children in foster care on 9/30	3,082	3,169	3,388
Children adopted	211	312	352

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	33,601	36,142	27,145	83.1 per 1,000	89.6 per 1,000	67.5 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2	7,791	8,609	8,244	19.3 per 1,000	21.3 per 1,000	20.5 per 1,000
Child fatalities	1	1	4	0.2 per 100,000	0.2 per 100,000	1.0 per 100,000

 

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	3.6	3.2	6.2
1-5 years	27.4	25.2	27.9
6-10 years	27.7	28.2	26.6
11-15 years	22.3	23.2	23.8
16+ years	7.6	7.8	5.5
Unknown	11.3	12.3	9.9
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	7,791	8,609	8,244

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.1	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.2	0.1	0.3
Black	5.6	5.1	4.2
Hispanic	1.1	0.6	0.6
White	86.2	84.0	83.8
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.7
Other/Unknown	7.9	10.7	8.4
Total %3	101.1	100.6	100.0
Number	7,791	8,609	8,244

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Emotional abuse	8.4	9.9	10.4
Medical neglect	1.4	1.4	1.2
Neglect	43.3	43.8	47.5
Physical abuse	27.1	25.1	29.1
Sexual abuse	10.2	8.6	7.7
Other	14.3	18.7	18.7
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %4	104.7	107.7	114.6
Number	7,791	8,609	8,244

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)	2,838	2,011	1,767	3,082	4,849
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	2,989	2,151	1,973	3,169	5,140
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	3,252	2,392	2,256	3,388	5,644
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	17.3	N/A	8.7	16.8	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	17.8	N/A	9.1	16.3	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	17.8	N/A	8.7	15.1	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	2.6	2.6	2.3	7.8	7.8	8.4	2.8	2.7	2.8	2.9	2.8	3.3
1-5 years	16.1	16.9	15.7	16.6	17.4	17.8	13.0	17.5	14.5	17.5	16.4	17.4
6-10 years	19.7	20.6	19.8	16.2	16.5	15.4	12.5	15.4	15.7	21.0	20.5	18.9
11-15 years	33.1	32.6	34.2	37.4	37.8	37.3	27.3	26.3	27.4	32.2	33.5	34.1
16-18 years	26.5	25.5	26.0	21.7	20.3	21.1	40.5	35.0	36.8	24.5	24.7	24.4
19+ years	2.0	1.8	1.9	0.1	0.1	-	3.7	2.9	2.5	1.8	2.0	1.9
Unknown	-	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.1	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	2,838	2,989	3,252	2,011	2,151	2,392	1,767	1,973	2,256	3,082	3,169	3,388

 

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	-	-	0.1	0.0	-	-	0.1	-	-	-	-	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.2	0.1	0.0	-	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1
Black	11.8	12.5	9.1	11.3	8.0	6.8	11.3	9.5	8.2	11.7	11.4	8.1
Hispanic	1.3	1.1	1.1	0.9	0.6	1.3	1.1	0.8	1.2	1.1	0.9	1.2
White	85.7	85.3	84.2	85.0	86.1	81.9	85.2	86.9	83.2	85.5	84.9	83.3
Two or more races	-	-	3.9	-	0.2	3.0	-	-	3.0	-	0.2	3.8
Unknown	1.0	0.9	1.7	2.8	5.0	6.8	2.2	2.7	4.3	1.5	2.5	3.5
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	2,838	2,989	3,252	2,011	2,151	2,392	1,767	1,973	2,256	3,082	3,169	3,388

 

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	843	779	766
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	13	12	23

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	3.7	3.6	3.9
1-5 years	33.5	30.8	28.7
6-10 years	39.7	40.9	38.8
11-15 years	20.8	22.5	24.5
16+ years	2.1	1.8	3.8
Unknown	0.2	0.4	0.3
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	843	779	766

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	0.1	0.1
Black	14.6	15.7	10.3
Hispanic	1.4	1.3	1.3
White	83.4	81.9	81.2
Two or more races	-	0.4	5.9
Unknown	0.6	0.6	1.2
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	843	779	766

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	0.9	1.0	0.6
1-5 years	45.0	42.9	32.7
6-10 years	37.9	39.7	44.9
11-15 years	13.3	14.4	20.2
16+ years	2.8	1.9	1.7
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	211	312	352

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.4	-	-
Black	10.0	9.3	15.1
Hispanic	1.4	0.6	2.8
White	83.4	86.9	76.4
Two or more races	-	-	5.4
Unknown	3.8	3.2	0.3
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	211	312	352

 

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West Virginia [ 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	95.4	94.4	93.6
Children with one or more recurrences	4.6	5.6	6.4
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	2,325	2,500	3,997

 

 

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	-	-	0.0
Children not maltreated while in foster care	-	-	100.0
Total %	-	-	100.0
Number	-	-	5,208

 

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	6.6	12.6	12.3
Guardianship	0.8	0.1	0.1
Reunification	41.1	40.9	39.9
Other	12.8	9.9	9.7
Missing data	38.7	36.6	38.0
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,767	1,973	2,256

 

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	2.8	9.7	-
Guardianship	-	-	-
Reunification	34.8	29.9	-
Other	16.9	16.9	-
Missing data	45.5	43.5	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	-
Number	431	154	-

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	0.1	0.1
Guardianship	0.1	0.1	0.1
Reunification	39.2	38.4	39.4
Other	18.5	15.4	14.7
Missing data	42.2	46.1	45.7
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,041	983	1,180

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children age 12 or younger at entry	8.2	29.1	34.5
Children older than 12 at entry	90.4	70.9	65.5
Missing data	1.4	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	73	79	87

 

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	-	-	-	-	-	-	6.5	12.3	26.5	5.0	13.3	11.1
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.0	0.5	0.5	-	-	-
Reunification	100.0	-	-	-	-	100.0	36.0	40.1	30.8	35.0	53.3	48.1
Other	-	-	-	-	-	-	14.5	14.4	8.1	10.0	13.3	-
Missing data	-	-	-	100.0	100.0	-	42.0	32.6	34.1	50.0	20.0	40.7
Total %	100.0	-	-	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1	-	-	2	3	1	200	187	185	20	15	27
	White			Unable to Determine			Two or More Races			Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	6.7	13.0	11.1	3.7	-	1.0	-	-	22.1	-	-	-
Guardianship	0.8	-	0.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reunification	41.5	40.3	40.3	63.0	64.7	46.9	-	-	41.2	45.5	62.2	-
Other	12.8	9.6	10.2	7.4	5.9	6.1	-	-	8.8	-	2.7	-
Missing data	38.2	37.2	38.4	25.9	29.4	45.9	-	-	27.9	54.5	35.1	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	-	-	100.0	100.0	100.0	-
Number	1,506	1,714	1,877	27	17	98	-	-	68	11	37	-

 

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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.	77.2	77.3	79.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	18.2	16.1	14.7
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	3.4	4.2	3.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.4	1.1	0.9
48 or more mos.	0.7	1.2	1.1
Missing data	0.1	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	727	807	901

 

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children entering care for the first time	97.4	99.9	99.9
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	1.8	0.0	0.1
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	0.0	-	-
Missing data	0.8	0.0	0.0
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	2,011	2,151	2,392

 

 

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.	0.9	3.2	1.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	13.8	24.2	15.9
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	28.4	29.0	29.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	24.1	17.7	19.1
48 or more mos.	32.8	25.8	33.9
Missing data	-	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	116	248	277

 

 

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	89.4 99.8 99.9	10.6 0.2 0.1	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	2,306 2,518 2,827
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000	85.9 99.6 99.6	14.1 0.4 0.4	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	944 902 999
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000	83.0 99.6 99.3	17.0 0.4 0.7	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	499 553 558
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000	86.9 100.0 99.7	13.1 - 0.3	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	312 366 354
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000	81.6 99.9 99.4	18.4 0.1 0.6	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	773 792 904
Missing data	1998 1999 2000	100.0 100.0 100.0	- - -	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	15 9 2

 

 

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	4.8	4.3	9.6
Institutions	1.5	3.1	1.1
Other settings	80.7	77.4	89.3
Missing data	13.0	15.2	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	870	967	1,072

 

West Virginia [ State Comment ]

Ann M. Burds, Director
Office of Social Services
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
304-558-7980

A review of the data pages that are included in the Report as well as a previous review of data prior to the on-site portion of the Child and Family Services Review indicates that some of the information reported by the Department is not accurate. Specifically, the number of child fatalities, the number of children who were the subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment, and the number of children maltreated in foster care are in all likelihood incorrect.

The Department previously submitted revised data for 1998 and 1999 on the number of children who were the subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment. The revised data, which does not appear in the 2000 Report, reduces the number of children by several thousand. We believe that the data reporting problem has been corrected and that the numbers for 2000 are accurate.

We also recognize that the data for the number of children maltreated while in foster care is incorrect. Revisions have been made to our automated case management information system so that accurate data will be reported in the future. It is not possible, however, to go back and capture data for the years covered in the 2000 Report.

Based on recent case reviews, we believe the number of child fatalities may be under reported. The Department will work with the Child Fatality Review Team to explore the possibility of obtaining better data in the future on this important subject. It may not be possible to go back and capture accurate data for the years covered by the Report.

As a result of the Child and Family Services Review, the Department will reexamine its approaches to data collection. Part of the solution may involve changes in our automated case information system. A part of the solution may also involve better case management practices as documentation and record maintenance continue to be concerns of the Department.

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West Virginia [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on West Virginia?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 West Virginia 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
In calendar year (CY) 2000, the State?s rate of maltreatment recurrence within 6 months was 6.4 percent, which does not meet the national standard of 6.1 percent, but is lower than the national median of 7.9 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that maltreatment recurrence may be attributed in part to the inconsistent implementation across caseworkers of the agency?s risk assessment and safety evaluation procedures.

Outcome 2. Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care
In CY 2000, the reported incidence of maltreatment in foster care was 0.0 percent. However, an assessment of the State?s performance on this measure is not possible because, as noted in the State Comment section, the data used to calculate this measure are incorrect. The State Comment section also notes that revisions have been made to the automated case management information system to ensure accurate reporting of data for this measure in the future.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
The State?s performance relevant to this outcome cannot be assessed because the State did not report “reason for discharge” information to the Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) for 38.0 percent of children who exited foster care in fiscal year (FY) 2000.

Outcome 4. Reduce time to reunification without increasing re-entry
The State?s performance with regard to outcome 4 must be considered in the context of the fact that 38.0 percent of children reported to AFCARS as exiting foster care in FY 2000 did not have “reason for discharge” information. Because some of these children may have been reunified at discharge, the percentage of children reunified within 12 months cannot be accurately established. For those children who were reported as reunified, 79.5 percent were reunified within 12 months of entry into foster care, which is higher than both the national standard of 76.2 percent and the national median of 68.0 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report suggests that attainment of reunifications in a timely manner may be attributed in part to the use of Multidisciplinary Treatment Teams to expedite decision making regarding permanency and to the court?s efforts to track permanency timeframes.

Also in FY 2000, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 0.1, which is considerably lower than the national standard of 8.6 percent and the national median of 10.3 percent. However, according to information provided in the CFSR Final Report, the State believes that the data used to calculate this measure are inaccurate and is implementing procedures to ensure greater data accuracy for this measure in the future.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption
The State?s performance with regard to outcome 5 must be considered in the context of the fact that 38.0 percent of children who exited foster care in FY 2000 did not have “reason for discharge” information. Since it is possible that some of these children may have been adopted, the missing data suggest that the actual percentage of children adopted within 24 months of entry into foster care cannot be established. In fact, the number of adoptions reported to the AFCARS Adoption Database (352) exceeds the number reported to the AFCARS Foster Care Database as discharges to adoption (277). The data that are available for this outcome indicate that in FY 2000, the percentage of all reported finalized adoptions that occurred within 24 months of the child?s entry into foster care was 17.3, which is lower than both the national standard of 32.0 and 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) a lack of concurrent planning, (2) delays in making appropriate changes in permanency goals for children, (3) delays in filing for termination of parental rights (TPR), and (4) a lack of consistent agency support for adoption by relatives or foster parents.

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 99.9, which is higher than both the national standard of 86.7 percent and the national median of 84.3. According to information provided in the CFSR Final Report, the State believes that the reported percentage of children experiencing no more than 2 placement is likely to be inaccurate because the State information system only tracks when a child is moved from one private child placement agency to another, not when a child is moved from one foster care placement to another. Information from the CFSR Final Report based on the case reviews and stakeholder interviews indicates that placement stability is an area needing improvement in the State due primarily to a scarcity of specialized placements for children with behavioral problems or special care needs and the frequent use of shelter care as an “emergency” placement for children entering foster care or for children experiencing a placement disruption.

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 10.7, which exceeds the national median of 9.0. 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 use of emergency shelter placements at entry into foster care and when foster care placements disrupt.

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 following were identified as potential barriers to meeting these needs: (1) lack of routine assessment of children?s educational needs, (2) failure in some cases to provide comprehensive health assessments at entry into foster care, (3) the difficulties experienced by foster parents in accessing health services for foster children, and (4) a scarcity of high quality mental health services that are provided for a sufficient amount of time to address children?s needs.

 

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