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Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Florida [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population	1998	1999	2000	2001
Total children under 18 years	3,539,932	3,569,878	3,646,340	3,791,066
Race/ethnicity (%)¹
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Asian	N/A	N/A	N/A	1.8
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.9	2.0	1.7	N/A
Black	21.1	21.2	20.6	21.2
Hawaiian Native/Other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.1
Hispanic	17.0	17.5	19.3	19.9
White	59.7	59.0	55.4	55.0
Two or more races	N/A	N/A	2.4	1.8
Other	N/A	N/A	0.4	N/A
% Child population in poverty	22.1	18.4	16.0	18.8
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	95.0	95.0	93.2	94.5

Child Welfare	1998	1999	2000	2001
Child maltreatment victims	82,119	67,530	95,849	124,134
Children in foster care on 9/30	26,320	34,292	35,656	32,477
Children adopted	1,549	1,355	1,609	1,761

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	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	186,967	160,105	205,179	266,502	52.8 per 1,000	44.8 per 1,000	56.3 per 1,000	71.4 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims²	82,119	67,530	95,849	124,134	23.2 per 1,000	18.9 per 1,000	26.3 per 1,000	33.3 per 1,000
Child fatalities	54	57	65	91	1.5 per 100,000	1.6 per 100,000	1.8 per 100,000	2.4per 100,000

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Under 1 year	9.3	9.6	9.3	8.8
1-5 years	31.2	30.3	30.4	31.0
6-10 years	30.7	30.5	30.1	29.5
11-15 years	23.4	23.7	24.1	24.6
16+ years	5.4	5.9	6.0	6.1
Unknown	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	82,119	67,530	95,849	124,134

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3
Black	31.8	31.9	29.9	30.1
Hispanic	7.6	8.1	7.2	7.8
White	67.0	66.6	61.4	60.8
Two or more races	-	-	-	-
Other/Unknown	0.7	1.0	0.9	0.9
Total %³	107.6	108.1	100.0	100.0
Number	82,119	67,530	95,849	124,134

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Emotional abuse	3.0	3.0	3.4	3.4
Medical neglect	2.6	2.3	2.2	2.0
Neglect	41.5	39.8	35.9	33.7
Physical abuse	18.8	17.8	16.0	15.8
Sexual abuse	7.3	6.5	5.7	5.2
Other	50.8	54.7	61.6	63.3
Unknown	-	-	-	-
Total %⁴	124.0	124.1	124.8	123.3
Number	82,119	67,530	95,849	124,134

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)	20,274	13,980	7,934	26,320	34,254
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	21,291	21,118	8,117	34,292	42,409
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	32,398	18,765	15,507	35,656	51,163
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01)	30,865	18,673	17,061	32,477	49,538
Median Length of Stay (Months)
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	15.8	N/A	16.1	13.3	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	14.2	N/A	15.2	9.9	N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00)	14.3	N/A	14.7	14.5	N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01)	14.4	N/A	13.8	13.9	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	In Care on 10/1/00	Entered Care During FY 1998	Entered Care During FY 1999	Entered Care During FY 2000	Entered Care During FY 2001	Exited Care During FY 1998	Exited Care During FY 1999	Exited Care During FY 2000	Exited Care During FY 2001	In Care on 9/30/98	In Care on 9/30/99	In Care on 9/30/00	In Care on 9/30/01
Under 1 year	4.3	5.2	6.0	5.8	14.0	14.7	17.8	16.0	2.3	2.6	3.8	3.9	4.9	6.1	5.9	5.8
1-5 years	30.9	30.7	32.1	32.5	33.6	33.3	31.3	32.0	32.3	32.4	33.7	34.2	31.3	32.7	32.4	33.2
6-10 years	29.9	29.3	28.9	28.5	26.9	27.8	26.4	25.9	30.3	30.9	29.5	28.8	29.6	28.9	28.1	27.0
11-15 years	23.8	24.1	23.3	23.4	20.4	19.6	20.0	21.3	20.1	20.3	20.4	21.6	23.5	22.6	23.4	23.9
16-18 years	9.9	9.7	8.9	9.1	4.8	4.5	4.4	4.7	12.9	12.0	11.6	10.7	9.7	9.0	9.3	9.4
19+ years	1.0	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.0	1.6	1.2	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.6
Unknown	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2
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	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	20,274	21,291	32,398	30,865	13,980	21,118	18,765	18,673	7,934	8,117	15,507	17,061	26,320	34,292	36,608	32,477

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	In Care on 10/1/00	Entered Care During FY 1998	Entered Care During FY 1999	Entered Care During FY 2000	Entered Care During FY 2001	Exited Care During FY 1998	Exited Care During FY 1999	Exited Care During FY 2000	Exited Care During FY 2001	In Care on 9/30/98	In Care on 9/30/99	In Care on 9/30/00	In Care on 9/30/01
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1
Asian	-	-	0.1	0.1	-	-	0.2	0.2	-	-	0.2	0.2	-	-	0.1	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.1	0.2	-	-	0.2	0.1	-	-	0.2	0.1	-	-	0.1	0.2	-	-
Black	52.7	51.0	47.2	44.9	45.4	42.8	39.1	38.8	49.6	48.4	41.7	40.7	49.7	46.5	45.4	43.6
Hawaiian Native/Other Pacific Islander	-	-	0.0	0.0	-	-	0.0	0.0	-	-	-	0.0	-	-	0.0	0.0
Hispanic	4.4	4.8	9.0	8.9	4.5	5.4	8.8	7.9	4.1	4.4	7.6	8.8	4.6	5.3	9.5	8.3
White	42.2	43.5	40.3	42.5	49.3	49.9	48.9	50.4	45.4	46.6	47.5	46.6	45.0	46.7	41.7	44.9
Two or more races	-	-	2.9	3.2	-	0.8	0.4	0.7	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.4
Unknown	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.7	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.4
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	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	20,274	21,291	33,353	30,865	13,980	21,118	18,765	18,673	7,934	8,117	15,510	17,061	26,320	34,292	36,608	32,477

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

D. Children Waiting to Be Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)⁶

Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99	9/30/00	9/30/01
Children waiting to be adopted	4,203	4,610	5,318	7,850
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	0	0	0	3,720

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Under 1 year	2.9	4.3	3.0	3.9
1-5 years	31.7	32.2	32.7	35.4
6-10 years	37.3	36.6	34.5	29.9
11-15 years	24.8	23.6	25.9	26.1
16+ years	3.0	2.8	3.5	4.3
Unknown	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.4
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4,203	4,610	5,318	7,850

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2
Asian	-	-	0.0	0.0
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1	-	-
Black	50.3	49.7	48.4	44.9
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	-	-	0.0	0.0
Hispanic	4.4	4.5	10.9	9.4
White	44.5	44.4	36.2	41.6
Two or more races	-	0.3	3.9	3.5
Unknown	0.5	0.9	0.4	0.4
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4,203	4,610	5,395	7,850

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	2001
Under 1 year	0.8	1.3	1.4	1.7
1-5 years	46.8	46.7	49.1	51.0
6-10 years	35.4	34.5	33.9	31.7
11-15 years	15.0	15.9	13.8	13.3
16+ years	1.9	1.7	1.7	2.3
Unknown	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,549	1,355	1,609	1,761

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	0.1	-	0.1
Asian	-	-	0.1	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4	-	-	-
Black	40.1	39.6	35.1	34.3
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	-	-	-	-
Hispanic	10.3	11.3	15.2	12.9
White	48.7	48.2	45.0	47.0
Two or more races	-	-	3.7	5.3
Unknown	0.5	0.7	1.0	0.4
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,549	1,355	1,609	1,761

Florida [ Outcomes Data ]

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect
(NCANDS)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Children without a recurrence	91.8	93.8	93.3	91.6
Children with one or more recurrences	8.2	6.2	6.7	8.4
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	38,823	37,374	42,749	51,084

Bar chart describing Percentage of Children With One or More Recurrences of Maltreatment within 6 months data from Table 1.1 above.

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	2001
Children maltreated while in foster care	1.00	0.87	0.14	0.32
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.00	99.13	99.86	99.68
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	32,587	40,268	48,223	43,917

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Adoption	15.6	12.5	10.3	8.8
Guardianship	-	-	1.7	2.3
Reunification	71.5	73.6	78.1	80.8
Other	12.8	13.8	9.9	8.0
Missing data	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	7,934	8,117	15,507	17,061

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Adoption	-	66.7	21.3	19.1
Guardianship	-	-	1.9	2.3
Reunification	-	-	61.4	63.0
Other	-	33.3	15.5	15.6
Missing data	-	-	-	-
Total %	-	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	-	3	1,782	1,823

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Adoption	3.0	2.1	0.6	1.0
Guardianship	-	-	2.8	3.1
Reunification	53.8	54.4	63.0	68.8
Other	43.2	43.5	33.5	27.1
Missing data	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,406	1,347	2,386	2,742

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry	27.8	28.0	32.6	28.5
Children older than 12 at entry	71.8	71.6	67.3	71.5
Missing data	0.4	0.3	0.1	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	684	649	900	828

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.				Asian				Asian/Pacific Islander				Black				Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001
Adoption	6.7	22.2	11.8	7.7	-	-	5.7	-	11.1	9.1	-	-	12.8	10.0	8.4	7.3	-	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.6	1.9	-	-	-	-
Reunification	86.7	55.6	82.4	69.2	-	-	88.6	94.6	77.8	63.6	-	-	74.6	76.3	79.2	82.0	-	-	-	66.7
Other	6.7	22.2	5.9	23.1	-	-	5.7	5.4	11.1	27.3	-	-	12.6	13.7	10.8	8.7	-	-	-	33.3
Missing data	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	-	-	-	100.0
Number	15	9	17	26	-	-	35	37	18	11	-	-	3,937	3,932	6,469	6,946	-	-	-	3
	Hispanic				White				Unable to Determine				Two or More Races				Missing Data
	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001	1998	1999	2000	2001
Adoption	11.0	12.7	17.4	12.2	19.1	15.0	10.0	9.0	25.0	22.6	9.6	5.8	-	-	24.5	17.7	-	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	-	0.9	3.9	-	-	1.8	2.5	-	-	1.9	1.4	-	-	1.6	1.3	-	-	-	-
Reunification	76.8	72.6	69.0	74.5	67.6	71.2	79.1	81.3	66.7	58.1	75.0	81.2	-	-	69.7	75.2	-	-	-	-
Other	12.2	14.7	12.6	9.4	13.2	13.8	9.0	7.2	8.3	19.4	13.5	11.6	-	-	4.2	5.7	-	-	-	-
Missing data	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	-	-	-	-
Number	327	354	1,182	1,505	3,601	3,780	7,376	7,951	36	31	52	69	-	-	379	524	-	-	-	-

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Less than 12 mos.	44.3	44.6	48.0	50.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	28.1	30.1	28.5	31.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	12.7	12.2	10.4	9.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	6.4	5.1	4.7	3.9
48 or more mos.	8.3	7.6	7.7	5.2
Missing data	0.2	0.4	0.8	0.4
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	5,674	5,978	12,117	13,788

Bar chart describing reunification percentages data in Table 4.1 above.

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Children entering care for the first time	87.7	87.6	88.2	86.2
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	4.7	5.4	7.6	5.3
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	7.6	6.4	4.2	2.2
Missing data	-	0.7	-	6.2
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	13,980	21,118	18,765	18,673

Bar chart describing re-entries into Foster Care within 12 months from data in Table 4.2 above.

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%)	1998	1999	2000	2001
Less than 12 mos.	27.6	25.0	4.1	10.1
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	13.9	18.5	17.6	19.5
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	19.3	17.9	25.1	26.0
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	14.4	16.4	18.3	17.1
48 or more mos.	22.9	21.6	34.8	27.2
Missing data	1.9	0.6	0.1	0.1
Total (%)	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	1,241	1,017	1,593	1,506

Bar Chart describing Percentage of Adoptions Occurring in Less Than 24 or greater than 48 Months of Entry data from Table 5.1 above

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 2001	- 20.5 82.9 86.4	- 3.3 7.9 8.1	- 76.2 9.3 5.5	- 100.0 100.0 100.0	- 22,730 21,640 22,371
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999 2000 2001	- - 75.9 79.0	- - 18.5 18.0	- - 5.5 3.0	- 100.0 100.0 100.0	- -8,674 13,575 12,156
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999 2000 2001	- - 65.8 69.5	- - 29.6 28.7	- 100.0 4.6 1.8	- 100.0 100.0 100.0	- 4,296 6,082 6,241
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999 2000 2001	- - 58.9 59.0	- - 37.3 39.1	- - 3.8 1.9	- 100.0 100.0 100.0	- 2,390 3,462 3,022
48 or more mos.	1998 1999 2000 2001	- - 53.7 52.4	- - 42.6 46.0	- 100.0 3.8 1.9	- 100.0 100.0 100.0	- 4,198 7,232 5,670
Missing data	1998 1999 2000 2001	- 15.7 76.2 53.9	- 0.8 2.4 1.3	- 83.5 21.4 44.9	- 100.0 100.0 100.0	- 121 126 78

Bar chart describing foster care placements over time percentages data from Table 6.1 above.

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	2001
Group homes	-	1.3	0.9	1.4
Institutions	-	0.1	0.3	4.2
Other settings	-	95.3	75.0	90.5
Missing data	-	3.3	23.7	3.9
Total (%)	-	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	-	4,093	13,744	14,790

Florida [ State Comment ]

Florida?s Comments to be included in Child Welfare Outcomes 2001: Report to Congress are the following:

1. Florida?s high percentage of "Other" maltreatments (shown in Section B: Maltreatment Type) reflects the state category Threatened Harm. Almost a quarter of these relate to domestic violence.

2. The number and rate of child victims (shown in Section B: Maltreatment Overview) increased due to increased reporting and a higher volume of reports closed in the computer system in 2000 and 2001.

3.With regard to Sections C and D, beginning FFY 2000, Florida reported data on Hispanic ethnicity, guardianship, placement date, and number of placements. Data on termination of parental rights and all short-term emergency placements were first reported during FFY 2001. (Prior exclusion of many short-term placements artificially increased length of stay.)

4. Based on the ACF method of creating the annual foster care file and the limitations of the state?s legacy system data, children entering care during the report year, but not recorded in the computer until later, were included, but late discharges were not. Due to this, the federal data show higher entrants than discharges and a higher end count. This also explains why the number in care the first day of one fiscal year is less than the last day of the prior fiscal year. Because the state increased its efforts to enter discharges timely, the number of discharges improved in FFY 2000. FFY 2001 submission from HomeSafenet have corrected this problem.

5. With regard to Section E and outcome measure 5.1, the discrepancy between discharges to adoption in the foster care file and the number of records in the adoption file is being addressed during FFY 2002.

6. Variations in law, rule and practice among states have been shown to have significant impact on the context and outcome data presented in this report. The reader is cautioned against assuming that differences in Florida data compared to other states reflect performance variances. This same issue calls to question the national standards that do not take practice variations into account.

Florida [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Florida?s performance with regard to each of the outcomes assessed in the Child Welfare Outcomes Annual Reports to Congress. The Florida Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) was completed in fiscal year (FY) 2001, and compliance with the national standards was based on data from 1999. The final report for that review is available from Reports and Results of the Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs) . A discussion of the implications of CFSR findings for Florida?s performance on the Report to Congress Outcomes is provided in Child Welfare Outcomes 2000.

The State?s performance is assessed by examining the percent change in the data for each outcome measure from 1999 to 2001. The percent change was calculated using data carried out to the second decimal point. However, with the exception of outcome measure 2.1, the data presented in the Report to Congress are rounded to one decimal for ease of reading the tables (measure 2.1 must be presented as two decimals because the national standard is less than one percent).

Outcome 1. Reduce recurrence of child abuse and/or neglect
In calendar year (CY) 2001, the rate of maltreatment recurrence within 6 months was 8.4 percent, which exceeds the national standard of 6.1 percent or less and the national median of 8.0 percent. Performance on this measure declined substantially from 1999 to 2001 (+36.0 percent change).

Outcome 2. Reduce incidence of maltreatment in foster care
In CY 2001, the incidence of maltreatment in foster care was 0.32 percent, which meets the national standard of 0.57 percent and is lower than the national median of 0.47 percent. Data for this measure has exhibited considerable variation from 1999 (.87 percent) to 2000 (.14 percent) and to 2001 (.32 percent). This suggests that changes may be attributed to factors other than an actual change in performance, such as the small number of children involved as well as data entry and/or reporting issues.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In FY 2001, 91.9 percent of children leaving foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is higher than the national median of 85.3 percent); 84.4 percent of children with a diagnosed disability who exited foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is higher than the national median of 78.4 percent); and 72.9 percent of children who were older than age 12 at the time of entry into foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is about equal to the national median of 72.3 percent). Performance on all three of these measures exhibited substantial improvement from FY 1999 to FY 2001, ranging from +6.7 percent change to +29.0 percent change.

Also in FY 2001, 28.5 percent of children exiting foster care through emancipation were age 12 or younger at the time of entry, which is about equal to the national median of 28 percent. Performance on this measure did not change substantively from FY 1999 to FY 2001. These findings suggest that although the State is generally effective in achieving permanency for children in foster care, there are a substantial percentage of children who may be said to have “grown up” in the foster care system.

Outcome 4. Reduce time to reunification without increasing re-entry
In FY 2001, the percentage of all reunifications occurring within 12 months of a child?s entry into foster care was 50.2, which is less than the national standard of 76.2 percent or more and the national median of 69.2 percent. Performance on this measure improved from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (+12.6 percent change).

Florida?s performance with regard to reunifications occurring within 12 months must be balanced by the finding that in FY 2001, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 5.3, which is less than both the national standard of 8.6 percent or less and the national median of 10.3 percent. Performance on this measure did not exhibit a substantive change from FY 1999 to FY 2001.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption
In FY 2001, the percentage of all finalized adoptions occurring within 24 months of a child?s entry into foster care was 29.6, which does not meet the national standard of 32.0 percent or more, but is higher than the national median of 21.0 percent. Florida?s performance on this measure declined between FY 1999 and FY 2001 (-31.9 percent change). However, variation in the data over the 3-year time span indicates that change may be attributed to data quality issues rather than to actual performance.

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability
In FY 2001, the percentage of children who experienced no more than 2 placements during their first 12 months in foster care was 86.4, which is slightly less than the national standard of 86.7 percent or more, but is higher than the national median of 83.3 percent. Performance on this measure from FY 1999 to FY 2001 cannot be assessed because of missing data in FY 1999. However, performance did not exhibit a substantive change from FY 2000 to FY 2001.

Outcome 7. Reduce placements of young children in group homes and institutions
In FY 2001, the percentage of children 12 years or younger at the time of entry into foster care who were placed in a group home or institution was 5.6. This is less than the national median of 8.7 percent. Performance on this measure declined from 1.4 percent in FY 1999 to 5.6 percent in 2001.

Return to Chapter IV State Data Pages

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Florida

Florida [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

B. Child Maltreatment Data (NCANDS)

C. Children in Foster Care (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

D. Children Waiting to Be Adopted (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)6

E. Children Adopted (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

Florida [ Outcomes Data ]

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect (NCANDS)

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (NCANDS, AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database Jan —Sept)

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

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

6. Increase Placement Stability (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)

7. Reduce Placements of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions (AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database)