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Home > Statistics & Research > Child Welfare Outcomes 2001 > Chapter Four > Kansas

 

Kansas

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Kansas [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total children under 18 years 697,452 698,637 712,993 702,262
Race/ethnicity (%)1
   Alaska Native/American Indian 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0
   Asian N/A N/A N/A 1.9
   Asian/Pacific Islander 2.0 2.1 1.7 N/A
   Black 6.8 6.8 6.9 7.2
   Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A 0.1
   Hispanic 7.9 8.4 10.4 10.7
   White 82.5 81.9 77.0 76.6
   Two or more races N/A N/A 2.9 2.7
   Other N/A N/A 0.2 N/A
% Child population in poverty 13.6 18.5 15.0 14.4
% Child population living in metropolitan areas 63.7 65.6 57.5 58.4
Child Welfare 1998 1999 2000 2001
Child maltreatment victims 5,312 8,452 8,356 7,308
Children in foster care on 9/30 8,488 6,774 6,569 6,409
Children adopted 419 566 469 428

1 The 2000 Census of the United States includes two new race categories: (1) Persons of two or more races and (2) Other. Back

B. Child Maltreatment Data (NCANDS)

blank cell Number Rate
Maltreatment Information Overview 1998 1999 2000 2001 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment 26,751 28,694 30,627 7,814 38.4 per 1,000 41.1 per 1,000 43.0 per 1,000 10.9 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2 5,312 8,452 8,356 7,308 7.6 per 1,000 12.1 per 1,000 11.7 per 1,000 10.2 per 1,000
Child fatalities 13 6 7 7 1.9 per 100,000 0.9 per 100,000 1.0 per 100,000 1.0 per 100,000
Age of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 22.5 6.9 7.5 7.1
1-5 years 24.5 31.5 31.4 32.9
6-10 years 28.0 31.7 30.4 30.0
11-15 years 20.1 24.2 25.0 24.4
16+ years 4.9 5.4 5.6 5.1
Unknown — 0.4 — 0.6
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 5,312 8,452 8,356 7,308
Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.8 0.7 1.1 1.0
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.4
Black 13.4 14.3 14.7 13.5
Hispanic 3.6 4.9 2.7 2.1
White 77.3 75.9 74.3 75.2
Two or more races — — 1.4 1.7
Other/Unknown 8.1 8.8 5.3 6.1
Total %3 103.6 104.8 100.0 100.0
Number 5,312 8,452 8,356 7,308
Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Emotional 11.1 14.0 88.1 17.0
Medical neglect 2.5 3.0 26.2 2.5
Neglect 45.5 49.5 77.0 27.6
Physical abuse 28.7 30.8 54.3 27.4
Sexual abuse 19.3 15.7 27.4 13.9
Other — — 82.5 23.0
Unknown 27.6 — 4.2 0.6
Total %4 134.6 113.0 359.8 112.0
Number 5,312 8,452 8,356 7,308

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) 5,205 6,683 3,400 8,488 11,888
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 4,959 3,376 1,562 6,774 8,335
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 5,166 3,191 1,788 6,569 8,357
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 5,376 2,834 1,801 6,409 8,210
Median Length of Stay (Months)          
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 11.1 N/A 12.7 8.8 N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 11.4 N/A 12.9 13.9 N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 12.3 N/A 13.2 14.8 N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 13.3 N/A 15.5 16.9 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 0.6 3.3 3.9 3.1 4.1 10.9 10.0 11.0 0.9 2.0 2.3 1.9 2.0 3.6 3.0 3.1
1-5 years 3.6 20.0 21.3 22.6 7.2 21.7 21.4 21.8 7.3 16.4 18.3 17.0 5.3 21.5 23.5 24.0
6-10 years 4.8 21.3 21.3 21.8 8.5 20.6 20.2 20.4 7.0 17.6 16.4 17.7 6.4 21.5 21.3 21.8
11-15 years 15.1 34.4 32.5 32.1 19.9 33.5 35.0 33.8 21.4 28.3 28.6 26.7 13.0 30.4 30.3 30.4
16-18 years 13.7 20.1 20.2 19.7 11.5 12.6 13.0 12.7 30.1 33.7 32.9 34.8 9.2 21.5 20.7 19.8
19+ years 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 1.8 1.7 1.3 1.7 0.4 1.0 0.8 0.7
Unknown 61.8 0.1 0.2 0.1 48.7 0.7 0.3 0.2 31.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 63.7 0.5 0.3 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 5,205 4,959 5,166 5,376 6,683 3,376 3,191 2,834 3,400 1,562 1,788 1,801 8,488 6,774 6,569 6,409
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 1.5 1.3 1.5 0.8 1.2 1.4 0.7 1.0 1.2 1.3 2.1 0.7 1.4 1.4 0.9 0.9
Asian — — 0.4 0.4 — — 0.5 0.3 — — 0.6 0.6 — — 0.4 0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.9 0.4 — — 0.8 0.5 — — 1.1 0.7 — — 0.7 0.4 — —
Black 21.1 22.3 22.3 22.7 16.9 18.3 18.1 15.9 16.9 15.4 16.8 16.8 19.5 21.9 21.8 21.4
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — 0.0 — — — — 0.1 — — — — — — 0.0 0.0
Hispanic 7.7 6.7 6.2 5.5 7.0 6.8 3.8 3.8 7.4 7.2 5.0 3.8 7.3 6.6 5.4 5.2
White 66.7 67.4 67.1 67.3 71.6 70.4 72.6 72.7 70.6 72.2 72.8 73.8 69.0 67.8 68.2 67.8
Two or more races — — 0.6 1.0 — 0.0 1.0 1.8 — — 0.6 0.9 — 0.0 0.8 1.4
Unknown 2.2 1.9 1.9 2.4 2.6 2.6 3.3 4.4 2.8 3.2 2.2 3.4 2.2 1.9 2.5 3.0
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 5,205 4,959 5,166 5,376 6,683 3,376 3,191 2,834 3,400 1,562 1,788 1,801 8,488 6,774 6,569 6,409

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 1,528 1,757 1,910 2,063
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR) 789 987 1,190 1,350
Age of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 2.0 2.0 1.7 1.9
1-5 years 5.0 26.0 27.3 28.2
6-10 years 5.8 28.9 27.2 27.2
11-15 years 9.8 32.2 31.8 32.0
16+ years 2.8 9.4 10.0 8.8
Unknown 74.7 1.5 2.0 1.9
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,528 1,757 1,910 2,063
Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 1.9 1.6 1.2 1.1
Asian — — 0.1 0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.3 — —
Black 27.5 29.3 29.0 29.8
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 5.8 5.7 6.6 6.8
White 61.6 60.7 60.1 58.9
Two or more races — 0.1 1.1 1.0
Unknown 3.0 2.4 1.9 2.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,528 1,757 1,910 2,063

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 2001
Under 1 year 0.5 0.2 — —
1-5 years 37.9 39.4 39.7 41.8
6-10 years 36.5 34.8 32.7 34.1
11-15 years 19.8 21.9 20.9 18.7
16+ years 3.6 3.7 6.4 5.4
Unknown 1.7 — 0.2 —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 419 566 468 428
Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 1.7 1.8 1.5 0.7
Asian — — 0.9 —
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 — — —
Black 21.5 26.9 27.8 20.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 6.2 8.3 5.3 2.8
White 67.3 58.8 59.4 71.5
Two or more races — 1.4 1.9 1.4
Unknown 3.1 2.8 3.2 3.5
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 419 566 468 428

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Kansas [ 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 — — 92.2 91.7
Children with one or more recurrences — — 7.8 8.3
Total % — — 100.0 100.0
Number — — 4,080 3,533

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 — — 0.49 0.50
Children not maltreated while in foster care — — 99.51 99.50
Total % — — 100.00 100.00
Number — — 7,961 7,796

Bar chart describing Percentage of Children Maltreated While in Foster Care data from Table 2.1 above.

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

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 4.1 2.1 1.7 1.3
Guardianship 0.4 6.2 5.6 6.8
Reunification 33.5 75.8 79.6 78.3
Other 9.4 15.9 13.0 13.6
Missing data 52.6 — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,400 1,562 1,788 1,801

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 44.4 8.3 22.2 7.1
Guardianship — — 5.6 7.1
Reunification 11.1 66.7 66.7 64.3
Other — 25.0 5.6 21.4
Missing data 44.4 — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 9 12 18 14
3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.2
Guardianship 0.2 3.9 4.6 5.1
Reunification 32.9 72.1 73.5 69.9
Other 9.8 23.9 21.7 24.8
Missing data 56.6 — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,412 727 808 830
3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry 17.7 23.7 19.5 12.5
Children older than 12 at entry 45.8 76.3 80.5 87.5
Missing data 36.5 — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 96 114 149 160
3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)
blank cell 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 20.0 — — — — — — — — — — — 5.2 3.7 2.3 0.7 — — — —
Guardianship — — — 33.3 — — — — — — — — — 10.4 5.3 6.3 — — — —
Reunification 5.0 80.0 64.9 58.3 — — 81.8 63.6 47.2 90.9 — — 24.0 65.1 79.7 77.8 — — — —
Other 20.0 20.0 35.1 8.3 — — 18.2 36.4 — 9.1 — — 10.9 20.7 12.7 15.2 — — — —
Missing data 55.0 — — — — — — — 52.8 — — — 59.9 — — — — — — —
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 40 20 37 12 — — 11 11 36 11 — — 576 241 300 302 — — — —
blank cell 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 4.4 2.7 2.2 1.4 3.4 1.6 1.5 1.4 8.3 6.0 — — — — 9.1 6.3 — — — —
Guardianship 0.8 4.4 3.4 5.8 0.4 5.9 6.3 6.5 1.0 — — 12.9 — — — — — — — —
Reunification 34.9 78.8 86.5 65.2 36.3 77.2 79.3 79.5 25.0 84.0 89.7 75.8 — — 72.7 81.3 — — — —
Other 3.2 14.2 7.9 27.5 9.6 15.3 12.8 12.5 10.4 10.0 10.3 11.3 — — 18.2 12.5 — — — —
Missing data 56.7 — — — 50.3 — — — 55.2 — — — — — — — — — — —
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 — — — —
Number 252 113 89 69 2,400 1,127 1,301 1,329 96 50 39 62 — — 11 16 — — — —

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. 50.4 50.3 47.8 47.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 28.2 31.8 33.0 33.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 9.1 9.6 11.9 11.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 2.8 4.3 3.7 3.7
48 or more mos. 3.3 2.8 3.2 3.2
Missing data 6.1 1.2 0.4 0.4
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,140 1,184 1,424 1,424

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 92.3 91.1 89.6 89.9
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode 2.3 2.4 4.3 3.1
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode 0.7 0.7 1.1 2.8
Missing data 4.7 5.8 5.1 4.2
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 6,683 3,376 3,191 2,834

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. 13.7 30.3 16.7 4.3
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 21.6 27.3 20.0 34.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 30.2 6.1 36.7 34.8
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 12.9 18.2 6.7 —
48 or more mos. 18.7 18.2 20.0 26.1
Missing data 2.9 — — —
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 139 33 30 23

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		 61.1
64.2
67.0
67.0		 38.9
27.2
27.8
28.3		 —
8.6
5.2
4.7		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 6,930
3,732
3,591
3,192
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 30.0
44.5
42.5
42.2		 70.0
50.7
55.2
55.6		 —
4.9
2.2
2.2		 100.0
100.0
100.0
 2,284
2,377
2,339
2,319
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 14.4
30.2
28.3
27.8		 85.6
66.3
69.4
70.3		 —
3.5
2.3
1.9		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 952
1,040
1,224
1,254
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 10.3
21.2
20.7
19.5		 89.7
76.8
76.8
78.5		 —
2.0
2.5
2.0		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 447
449
569
697
48 or more mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 14.7
18.1
14.0
12.2		 85.3
79.5
85.0
86.7		 -
2.4
1.0
1.1
 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 876
701
628
744
Missing data 1998
1999
2000
2001		 58.5
75.0
66.7
75.0		 41.5
11.1
16.7
—		 —
13.9
16.7
25.0		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 299
36
6
4

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 4.2 3.2 1.6 1.6
Institutions 3.7 2.3 2.9 1.3
Other settings 92.1 93.5 94.2 96.1
Missing data — 1.1 1.2 1.0
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 976 1,806 1,701 1,585

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Kansas [ State Comment ]

Jaymee Metzenthin, Assistant Director
Children and Family Policy
Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services
785-348-6448

Kansas's comments on the State data presented in Child Welfare Outcomes 2001: Report to Congress are the following:

With regard to information in section B, the 2001 NCANDS submission inadvertently omitted information for those victims alleged, but not substantiated as a subject of an investigation. Efforts are underway to correct this omission for our 2002 child file data.

With regard to information in Section C, data give the appearance that nearly 1,200 fewer children were in care from one day to the next. We are examining our data submissions to identify any problems that would present such a file record incidence.

Data in Section E indicate that 428 children were adopted in FY 2001 (from the AFCARS Adoption Database). However, as shown in outcome 3.1 and 5.1, only 23 of the exits from foster care were reported as discharges to adoption. This issue is apparent in data across the past 3 years, and Kansas will continue to pursue an explanation or mapping issue for the variance in number. It would appear that staff is not entering an accurate reason for discharge, or the data are not mapped correctly into the file.

With regard to outcome measure 1.1, although we did not submit child file information (DCDC), Kansas did receive safety profile information for 1999 as part of the CFSR indicating a victim recurrence rate of 3.1%. In addition, our safety profile of 1999 indicated maltreatment in foster care was 1.5%.

With regard to outcomes 4.1 and 6.1, Kansas is aware that performance does not meet the national standard, and program improvement has been implemented for these items.

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Kansas [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Kansas' performance with regard to each of the outcomes assessed in the Child Welfare Outcomes Annual Reports to Congress. The Kansas Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) was completed in fiscal year (FY) 2001, and compliance with 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 Kansas' 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 8.3 percent, which does not meet the national standard of 6.1 percent or less and is greater than the national median of 8.0 percent. Change in performance from 1999 to 2001 cannot be evaluated because the State did not provide data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for calculating this outcome for 1999. Performance on this measure declined slightly from 2000 to 2001 (+6.0 percent change).

Outcome 2. Reduce incidence of maltreatment in foster care
In CY 2001, the incidence of maltreatment in foster care was 0.50 percent, which meets the national standard of 0.57 percent but exceeds the national median of 0.47 percent. Change in performance from 1999 to 2001 cannot be evaluated because the State did not provide data to NCANDS for calculating this outcome for 1999. Performance on this measure did not change from 2000 to 2001.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In FY 2001, 86.4 percent of children exiting foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is higher than the national median of 85.3 percent); 75.2 percent of children exiting foster care who entered foster care when they were older than age 12 were discharged to permanent homes (which is higher than the national median of 72.3); and only 12.5 percent of children exiting foster care through emancipation were age 12 or younger at the time of entry into foster care (which is lower than the national median of 28.0). (Also in FY 2001, 78.5 percent of children with a diagnosed disability who exited foster care were discharged to permanent homes, but only 14 children were reported in this category.) Performance related to the percent of children exiting foster care through emancipation who were age 12 or younger at the time of entry into foster care improved considerably from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (-47.2 percent change). There were no substantive changes in performance on other measures for this outcome.

Outcome 4. Reduce time to reunification without increasing re-entry
In FY 2001, the percentage of reunifications occurring within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care was 43.2, which is lower than the national standard of 76.2 percent or more and the national median of 69.2 percent. Performance on this measure declined from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (-14.0 percent change).

Kansas' performance with regard to reunifications 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 3.1, which is lower than both the national standard of 8.6 percent or less and the national median of 10.4 percent. However, performance on this measure declined from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (+27.8 percent change).

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption
The data reported in the State Data Pages regarding time in foster care to adoption (outcome measure 5.1) cannot be interpreted in a meaningful way. In FY 2001, the State reported 428 adoptions to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Adoption Database. However, the State reported only 23 children as discharged to finalized adoptions to the AFCARS Foster Care Database. Consequently, the finding regarding the percentage of finalized adoptions achieved within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care is based on only 5.4 percent of the children adopted in 2001. The State comment letter indicated that the State is investigating the reason for this discrepancy.

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 67.0, which is less than the national standard of 86.7 percent or more and the national median of 83.3 percent. Performance on this measure did not exhibit substantive change from FY 1999 to FY 2001.

Outcome 7. Reduce placements of young children in group homes and institutions
In FY 2001, the percentage of children age 12 or younger placed in a group home or institution was 2.9, which is lower than the national median of 8.7. Performance on this measure improved considerably between FY 1999 and FY 2001 (-47.1 percent change).

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