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

 

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

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

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000
Total children under 18 years	129,406	126,807	128,873
Race/ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	3.0	3.1	2.9
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.9	1.0	0.5
Black	0.7	0.7	0.8
Hispanic	8.3	8.5	9.0
White	87.1	86.7	84.7
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.0
Other	N/A	N/A	0.1
% Child population in poverty	17.8	14.8	15.0
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	38.4	32.9	29.7

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000
Child maltreatment victims	807	1,211	1,332
Children in foster care on 9/30	759	774	815
Children adopted	34	46	61

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	2,209	3,331	3,864	17.1 per 1,000	26.3 per 1,000	30.0 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2	807	1,221	1,332	6.2 per 1,000	9.6 per 1,000	10.3 per 1,000
Child fatalities	3	1	1	2.3 per 100,000	0.8 per 100,000	0.8 per 100,000

 

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	3.7	3.2	8.7
1-5 years	34.1	33.7	32.3
6-10 years	33.3	31.7	32.1
11-15 years	21.6	22.0	21.9
16+ years	4.6	6.4	5.0
Unknown	2.7	2.9	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	807	1,221	1,332

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	3.7	5.7	5.8
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.7	0.3	0.6
Black	1.0	1.8	1.7
Hispanic	6.1	6.6	8.2
White	76.6	75.9	76.8
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	-
Other/Unknown	18.0	16.2	6.9
Total %3	106.1	106.6	100.0
Number	807	1,221	1,332

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000
Emotional abuse	1.5	1.6	1.1
Medical neglect	1.7	1.8	1.2
Neglect	66.5	63.9	63.1
Physical abuse	25.9	29.4	27.3
Sexual abuse	11.2	9.0	10.3
Other	1.0	1.0	0.7
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %4	107.8	106.6	103.6
Number	807	1,221	1,332

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)	758	689	688	759	1,447
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	742	715	683	774	1,457
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	759	786	731	815	1,545
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	15.6	N/A	4.4	16.5	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	16.3	N/A	5.2	13.0	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	13.0	N/A	4.3	12.5	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	1.6	1.5	1.4	5.7	5.5	5.3	3.2	3.4	3.7	1.4	1.4	1.1
1-5 years	20.8	20.9	16.5	21.6	18.3	19.5	20.2	21.4	22.3	20.4	16.3	11.2
6-10 years	20.1	21.4	21.5	11.9	16.6	11.8	12.5	16.7	15.7	20.9	21.1	18.2
11-15 years	34.4	31.7	35.3	39.6	38.3	42.0	30.4	26.5	26.9	32.4	36.2	41.2
16-18 years	21.6	23.3	23.2	23.4	21.0	21.1	32.1	31.2	29.8	23.6	23.0	26.4
19+ years	1.1	0.7	1.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	1.0	0.6	1.4	0.7	1.4	1.2
Unknown	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.4	0.1	-	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.7
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	758	742	759	589	715	786	688	683	731	759	774	815

 

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	2.8	3.4	3.6	3.3	2.8	1.8	2.8	2.3	2.6	3.3	3.7	2.7
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.8	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.8	0.6	0.5
Black	3.3	3.2	4.3	0.9	2.9	2.2	1.0	1.6	1.8	3.2	4.4	4.5
Hispanic	9.8	8.1	9.5	8.7	8.7	11.2	10.6	7.0	12.7	8.0	9.6	8.2
White	81.1	83.3	80.5	83.5	80.7	79.4	80.8	84.0	78.2	83.5	80.2	81.5
Two or more races	-	-	-	-	-	0.8	-	-	0.5	-	-	0.2
Unknown	2.2	1.2	1.4	3.3	4.8	3.9	4.5	4.7	3.1	1.2	1.4	2.3
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	758	742	759	689	715	786	688	683	731	759	774	815

 

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	140	145	125
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	109	107	89

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Under 1 year	4.3	2.1	2.4
1-5 years	40.0	35.2	23.2
6-10 years	41.4	40.0	43.2
11-15 years	12.1	18.6	25.6
16+ years	2.1	4.1	5.6
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	140	145	125

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.4	1	1.6
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	-
Black	7.1	5.5	6.4
Hispanic	15.0	12.4	12.0
White	76.4	80.0	79.2
Two or more races	-	-	-
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	140	145	125

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	-	2.2	-
1-5 years	47.1	47.8	39.3
6-10 years	32.4	30.4	41.0
11-15 years	20.6	13.0	14.8
16+ years	-	6.5	4.9
Unknown	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	34	46	61

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Alaska Native/American Indian	5.9	2.2	1.6
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-	-
Black	2.9	10.9	8.2
Hispanic	8.8	8.7	11.5
White	82.4	71.7	78.7
Two or more races	-	-	-
Unknown	-	6.5	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	34	46	61

 

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Wyoming [ 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	94.9	94.6	93.7
Children with one or more recurrences	5.1	5.4	6.3
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	568	631	620

 

 

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	0.4
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.9	99.9	99.6
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,556	1,482	1,406

 

 

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	1.9	4.4	4.4
Guardianship	3.6	3.1	6.6
Reunification	72.4	73.9	72.1
Other	19.0	16.5	15.7
Missing data	3.1	2.0	1.2
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	688	683	731

 

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	4.2	7.9	7.2
Guardianship	3.1	3.7	9.2
Reunification	64.6	63.4	63.2
Other	23.4	22.0	17.8
Missing data	4.7	3.0	2.6
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	192	164	152

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	-	-	0.3
Guardianship	0.8	1.2	1.7
Reunification	69.9	64.7	69.0
Other	25.7	32.5	27.8
Missing data	3.6	1.6	1.2
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	362	320	345

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children age 12 or younger at entry	21.7	7.9	13.9
Children older than 12 at entry	78.3	89.5	86.1
Missing data	-	2.6	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	23	38	36

 

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	5.3	-	-	-	-	-	-	36.4	-	1.4	6.2	6.5
Guardianship	-	-	5.3	-	-	-	-	-	30.8	6.8	6.2	6.5
Reunification	94.7	93.8	63.2	100.0	50.0	85.7	57.1	54.5	53.8	65.8	64.6	75.3
Other	-	6.2	31.6	-	50.0	14.3	42.9	-	15.4	21.9	22.9	10.8
Missing data	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9.1	-	4.1	-	1.1
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	19	16	19	2	2	7	7	11	13	73	48	93
	White			Unable to Determine			Two or More Races			Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000	1998	1999	2000
Adoption	2.0	4.0	4.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Guardianship	3.2	3.1	6.1	6.5	-	8.7	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reunification	72.3	73.7	72.0	77.4	90.6	69.6	-	-	100.0	-	-	-
Other	19.6	16.9	15.9	9.7	9.4	21.7	-	-	-	-	-	-
Missing data	2.9	2.3	1.4	6.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	-	-	100.0	-	-	-
Number	556	574	572	31	32	23	-	-	4	-	-	-

 

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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.	71.5	77.6	81.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	17.1	13.5	12.9
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	8.2	4.6	1.1
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	1.6	2.6	2.1
48 or more mos.	1.6	1.8	1.7
Missing data	-	-	0.6
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	498	505	527

 

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000
Children entering care for the first time	86.1	80.4	85.0
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	9.3	9.0	8.0
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	0.1	-	-
Missing data	4.5	10.6	7.0
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	689	715	786

 

 

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.	7.7	20.0	21.9
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	23.1	30.0	18.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	46.2	23.3	21.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	23.1	3.3	21.9
48 or more mos.	-	23.3	15.6
Missing data	-	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	13	30	32

 

 

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	88.3 88.5 87.4	11.7 10.8 11.7	- 0.7 0.9	100.0 100.0 100.0	795 834 907
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000	66.7 67.4 60.5	33.3 32.6 38.8	- - 0.7	100.0 100.0 100.0	273 230 276
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000	52.9 54.1 48.5	47.1 45.9 51.5	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	155 133 97
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000	59.6 43.6 44.0	40.4 56.4 56.0	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	109 94 84
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000	69.3 67.7 59.8	30.7 32.3 40.2	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	114 158 179
Missing data	1998 1999 2000	100.0 87.5 100.0	- 12.5 -	- - -	100.0 100.0 100.0	1 8 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	4.6	9.0	6.4
Institutions	2.8	5.0	4.8
Other settings	92.6	86.0	88.8
Missing data	-	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	282	301	312

 

Wyoming [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Wyoming?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 Wyoming 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 6.3 percent, which is slightly higher than the national standard of 6.1, but lower than the national median of 7.9 percent. According to information provided in the CFSR Final Report, the actual rate of maltreatment recurrence may be higher than the reported rate because maltreatment reports involving children in open child protective services cases usually are not treated as new reports and are not subjected to an investigation. Information in the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential reasons for child maltreatment recurrence: (1) insufficient safety assessments in some cases; (2) failure in some cases to provide services that are adequate to reduce the risk of harm; and (3) infrequent face-to-face contact between caseworkers and children in cases in which children remain in their homes.

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 0.5 percent, which is lower than the national standard of 0.57 percent but higher than the national median of 0.47 percent. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential reasons for a relatively low incident of maltreatment in foster care: (1) routine criminal background checks, and (2) annual re-licensure of foster homes and child care facilities.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In fiscal year (FY) 2000, 83.1 percent of children exiting foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is close to the national median of 84.7 percent), 79.6 percent of children with a diagnosed disability leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is close to the national median of 79.5 percent), and 71.0 percent of children who were older than age 12 at entry into foster care exited to a permanent home (which is close to the national median of 72.6 percent). These data suggest that the State is only moderately effective in achieving permanency for children. Information from the CFSR Final Report identifies the following as potential barriers to achieving permanency: (1) a frequent practice of establishing long-term foster care as a permanency goal when reunification efforts fail without consideration of the alternative options of guardianship or adoption, and (2) the reluctance of agency and court personnel in some areas of the State to file for termination of parental rights unless an adoptive family has been identified for the child. In contrast, information from the Final Report suggests that permanency is facilitated by the subsidized guardianship program implemented in 1999.

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 81.6, 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 to the following: (1) the implementation of Family Group Conferencing, (2) diligent efforts to locate absent parents, (3) and the Multidisciplinary Team process. However, information from the CFSR Final Report based on case reviews indicates that the timeliness of reunifications is an area needing improvement for the State. Barriers to timely reunification were noted to be a lack of intensive home-based services and the practice of placing children outside of their communities of origin. There was no information in the CFSR Final Report that might explain the discrepancy between the case review findings and the State data.

Also in FY 2000, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 8.0, which is lower than the national standard of 8.6 and the national median of 10.3. There was no specific information from the CFSR Final Report to explain the State?s performance with regard to preventing foster care re-entry. However, according to the CFSR Final Report, adolescents are more likely to re-enter foster care than younger children.

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 40.7, which is higher than the national standard of 32.0 and the national median of 19.7. Information from the CFSR Final Report identified the following as potential reasons for achieving adoptions in a timely manner: (1) implementation of Family Group Conferencing; (2) diligent efforts to locate absent parents, and (3) increased recruitment efforts. However, information from the CFSR Final Report based on case reviews indicates that the timeliness of adoptions is an area needing improvement for the State. According to the CFSR Final Report, delays in adoptions often are due to the agency?s reluctance to pursue termination of parental rights unless an adoptive family has been identified. The CFSR Final Report does not provide information that explains the discrepancy between the case review findings and the State data.

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 87.4, which is higher than both the national standard of 86.7 percent and the national median of 84.3 percent. However, information from the CFSR Final Report based on case reviews indicates that placement stability is an area needing improvement for the State. The Final Report does not provide information to explain the discrepancy between the case review findings and the State data.

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 11.2, which is higher than 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 scarcity of foster homes.

Child well-being outcomes
With respect to child well-being, 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 in the CFSR Final Report as potential barriers to meeting these needs: (1) a lack of services provided to address identified educational needs; (2) a failure to consistently provide health assessments and routine health care services to children in foster care; and (3) the scarcity of mental health services for children, often resulting in long waiting lists for services.

 

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