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

 

Maryland

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Maryland [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total children under 18 years 1,287,190 1,309,432 1,356,172 1,368,380
Race/ethnicity (%)1
   Alaska Native/American Indian 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
   Asian N/A N/A N/A 3.8
   Asian/Pacific Islander 4.3 4.4 3.7 N/A
   Black 31.3 31.6 31.9 31.8
   Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A 0.1
   Hispanic 4.5 4.7 5.3 5.5
   White 59.6 58.9 55.9 56.2
   Two or more races N/A N/A 2.7 2.4
   Other N/A N/A 0.3 N/A
% Child population in poverty 14.4 6.6 8.5 7.6
% Child population living in metropolitan areas 86.7 89.2 93.1 92.7
Child Welfare 1998 1999 2000 2001
Child maltreatment victims 14,234 — — 19,750
Children in foster care on 9/30 12,890 13,455 13,113 12,564
Children adopted 477 592 548 815

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 55,964 — — — 43.5 per 1,000 blank cell blank cell - per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2 14,234 — — 19,750 11.1 per 1,000 blank cell blank cell 14.4 per 1,000
Child fatalities 24 blank cell blank cell 27 1.9 per 100,000 blank cell blank cell - per 100,000
Age of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year — — — 5.1
1-5 years — — — 26.9
6-10 years — — — 30.6
11-15 years — — — 26.7
16+ years — — — 10.7
Unknown — — — —
Total % — — — 100.0
Number — — — 19,750
Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian — — — 0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander — — — 1.0
Black — — — 55.0
Hispanic — — — 3.2
White — — — 38.7
Two or more races — — — —
Other/Unknown — — — 2.0
Total %3 — — — 100.0
Number — — — 19,750
Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Emotional — — — 0.3
Medical neglect — — — —
Neglect — — — 56.8
Physical abuse — — — 31.3
Sexual abuse — — — 12.5
Other — — — —
Unknown — — — —
Total %4 — — — 100.9
Number 14,234 — — 19,750

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) 11,719 4,467 3,296 12,890 16,186
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 12,452 3,936 2,933 13,455 16,388
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 12,295 3,928 3,110 13,113 16,223
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 11,966 3,662 3,064 12,564 15,628
Median Length of Stay (Months)          
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 25.6 N/A 14.0 26.2 N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 28.8 N/A 16.7 31.9 N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 31.7 N/A 17.5 33.6 N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 33.4 N/A 18.8 34.6 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 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.1 14.2 16.9 17.5 17.9 4.7 5.0 5.8 6.9 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.1
1-5 years 25.1 21.8 20.1 19.7 26.6 26.4 26.0 24.2 27.4 27.3 24.8 25.6 22.6 20.2 20.3 19.4
6-10 years 30.5 30.1 28.5 26.3 26.3 24.4 24.3 21.8 25.9 28.8 27.1 25.3 30.4 28.3 26.1 23.2
11-15 years 27.2 29.2 30.3 31.6 26.1 26.2 25.8 28.7 23.4 21.8 23.0 23.1 27.8 29.3 30.2 31.4
16-18 years 12.9 14.0 15.9 16.6 6.8 6.0 6.3 7.3 15.7 13.7 16.0 15.0 13.2 15.4 16.1 16.0
19+ years 1.7 2.1 2.3 2.8 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 2.8 3.3 3.3 4.1 3.0 3.7 4.3 4.9
Unknown 0.0 — — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 11,719 12,452 12,295 11,966 4,467 3,936 3,928 3,662 3,296 2,933 3,110 3,064 12,890 13,455 13,113 12,564
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 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1
Asian — — 0.3 0.2 — — 0.4 0.4 — — 0.5 0.3 — — 0.3 0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.3 0.3 — — 0.2 0.3 — — 0.2 0.3 — — 0.3 0.3 — —
Black 79.2 79.4 78.6 78.5 70.4 68.7 68.7 67.8 67.5 70.8 68.2 68.8 79.2 78.1 78.1 77.7
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — 0.0 0.0 — — 0.0 0.0 — — 0.0 0.0 — — 0.0 0.0
Hispanic 0.9 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.8 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.7 1.3 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.3
White 18.7 18.2 18.7 18.5 25.2 26.4 26.2 26.7 28.7 24.2 27.7 26.0 18.4 19.3 18.8 19.0
Two or more races — — 0.5 0.7 — — 1.2 1.7 — — 0.7 1.3 — — 0.6 0.9
Unknown 0.7 1.0 0.8 0.7 2.6 2.6 1.1 1.0 1.5 2.4 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.2 0.8 0.7
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 11,719 12,452 12,295 11,966 4,467 3,936 3,928 3,662 3,296 2,933 3,110 3,064 12,890 13,455 13,113 12,564

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 2,211 2,806 3,076 3,302
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR) 972 1,304 1,693 1,749
Age of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.4
1-5 years 31.3 27.8 27.6 27.6
6-10 years 43.0 41.1 37.5 34.2
11-15 years 21.8 26.1 28.7 29.9
16+ years 2.4 3.5 3.8 5.2
Unknown 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.7
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 2,211 2,806 3,076 3,302
Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.1 0.1 — 0.0
Asian — — — 0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1 — —
Black 77.6 79.2 79.7 80.6
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.8
White 20.2 19.1 18.1 16.8
Two or more races — — 0.7 0.9
Unknown 1.4 1.0 0.7 0.5
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 2,211 2,806 3,076 3,302

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 2.3 1.0 1.6 0.7
1-5 years 44.7 41.4 36.3 42.6
6-10 years 41.5 41.2 45.6 38.5
11-15 years 10.7 15.5 15.1 15.8
16+ years 0.8 0.8 1.3 2.3
Unknown — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 477 592 548 815
Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian — 0.3 — —
Asian — — 0.6 0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.6 0.3 — —
Black 65.2 71.8 67.9 72.8
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 2.5 0.2 2.4 2.0
White 30.8 26.7 26.8 22.0
Two or more races — 0.5 2.4 3.2
Unknown 0.8 0.2 — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 477 592 548 815

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Maryland [ 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 — — — —
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 2001
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 2001
Adoption 7.2 10.8 15.5 19.8
Guardianship 1.9 4.7 4.6 3.3
Reunification 41.7 62.2 60.4 60.2
Other 6.9 8.2 10.0 10.4
Missing data 42.2 14.1 6.3 9.5
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,296 2,933 3,110 3,064

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 9.2 13.5 13.7 17.9
Guardianship 1.1 2.4 2.2 2.8
Reunification 38.1 55.7 59.0 55.7
Other 14.2 16.5 16.0 16.6
Missing data 37.5 12.0 9.2 7.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 544 460 556 609
3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 0.3 1.0 1.3 1.8
Guardianship 1.3 3.0 2.9 3.7
Reunification 39.4 53.2 56.0 58.0
Other 18.1 24.8 27.6 29.3
Missing data 41.0 18.0 12.2 7.2
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 757 596 682 652
3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry 32.2 32.5 33.9 36.8
Children older than 12 at entry 67.8 67.5 66.1 63.2
Missing data — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 143 166 230 231
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 — 25.0 50.0 — — — 26.7 — 12.5 — — — 6.3 10.3 16.8 22.0 — — 100.0 —
Guardianship — — — — — — 6.7 — — 12.5 — — 2.3 5.7 6.0 3.9 — — — —
Reunification 16.7 62.5 50.0 100.0 — — 46.7 77.8 62.5 50.0 — — 40.3 63.3 59.4 57.4 — — — —
Other — 12.5 — — — — 6.7 22.2 12.5 12.5 — — 6.3 7.1 8.9 10.6 — — — —
Missing data 83.3 — — — — — 13.3 — 12.5 25.0 — — 44.6 13.6 8.9 6.0 — — — 100.0
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
Number 6 8 4 4 — — 15 9 8 8 — — 2,224 2,077 2,122 2,109 — — 1 1
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 7.7 5.0 9.6 9.9 9.2 13.0 11.7 14.9 — — 20.6 12.5 — — 18.2 29.3 8.3 10.0 — —
Guardianship 4.6 — — 1.4 0.7 2.3 1.5 2.1 — — — — — — — 2.4 2.1 2.9 — —
Reunification 44.6 63.3 67.3 73.2 44.9 58.3 63.1 65.7 — — 58.8 78.1 — — 54.5 56.1 41.7 67.1 — —
Other 3.1 10.0 17.3 8.5 8.9 11.5 12.4 10.4 — — 11.8 9.4 — — 9.1 — 2.1 5.7 — —
Missing data 40.0 21.7 5.8 7.0 36.3 14.9 11.2 6.8 — — 8.8 — — — 18.2 12.2 45.8 14.3 — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — —
Number 65 60 52 71 945 710 860 797 — — 34 32 — — 22 41 48 70 — —

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. 58.9 48.4 55.3 54.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 17.9 19.0 17.2 18.7
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 8.7 16.3 11.9 11.5
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 8.1 6.3 6.3 5.3
48 or more mos. 6.1 9.9 9.3 9.9
Missing data 0.3 — — 0.1
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,376 1,823 1,879 1,846

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 74.4 80.6 79.5 79.6
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode 13.5 8.9 9.0 9.6
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode 11.1 9.8 11.0 10.7
Missing data 1.0 0.7 0.4 0.1
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,467 3,936 3,928 3,662

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. 6.3 10.7 6.7 4.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 16.0 13.2 7.3 11.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 25.6 15.5 16.4 14.5
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 22.7 18.3 15.0 17.3
48 or more mos. 29.0 42.3 54.7 52.1
Missing data 0.4 — — —
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 238 317 481 606

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		 95.4
95.4
95.4
94.9		 4.6
4.6
4.6
5.1		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 4,909
4,252
4,246
4,053
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 88.2
82.2
81.9
79.8		 11.8
17.8
18.1
20.2		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 3,221
2,900
2,733
2,574
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 82.8
69.7
70.3
67.5		 17.2
30.3
29.7
32.5		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 2,136
2,361
2,122
1,955
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 78.5
60.8
57.8
58.0		 21.5
39.2
42.2
42.1		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 1,752
1,678
1,666
1,484
48 or more mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 71.9
54.5
49.2
44.3		 28.1
45.5
50.8
55.7		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 4,109
5,184
5,450
5,560
Missing data 1998
1999
2000
2001		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 —
—
—
—		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 59
13
6
2

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 4.7 6.4 4.2 5.9
Institutions 1.3 3.9 4.1 1.4
Other settings 93.0 87.5 90.1 91.2
Missing data 1.0 2.2 1.6 1.5
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,258 3,042 3,029 2,699

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Maryland [ State Comment ]

Linda Mouzon, Executive Director
Social Services Administration
Maryland Department of Human Resources
800-332-6347

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

The blanks in Section B are due to the fact that Maryland did not submit NCANDS Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC) data for 2001. Maryland is submitting its first DCDC data file this spring for Calendar Year 2002.

Maryland's population of children under age 18 grew 1.1% between 2000 and 2001. During the same period, the number of children in out-of-home care declined 4.2%. Entries into out-of-care declined 6.7% in 2001. And, the number of children adopted from out-of-home care rose dramatically.

Despite these trends, length of stay (point in time method) for children in out-of-home care continues to increase —from 33.6 months in 2000 to 34.6 months in 2001. Length of stay in Maryland (see Section C and Outcome Measure 4.1) tends to be longer than some other states because, following federal practice, trial home visits (aftercare) are included in the out-of-home care episode.

Length of stay has also grown in part due to the aging of the out-of-home care caseload. Section C shows that the percentage of children age 16 plus in out-of-home care increased from 16.2% in 1998 to 22.9% in 2001. A rapidly growing caseload (as in the late 1990's) tends to be younger than a caseload where entries have begun to decline.

Federal child welfare measures do not measure length of stay for children who enter out-of-home care in a given year (an entry cohort). The entry cohort method is sensitive to changes in child welfare service practice. By this measure, child welfare practice in Maryland is improving in that the median length of stay for children entering out-of-home care for the first time decreased from 18 months in 2000 to 17.3 months in 2001.

Exits from out-of-home care to a permanent home (Outcome Measure 3.1) improved from 80.5% in 2000 to 83.3% in 2001. Maryland's re-entry rate (Outcome Measure 4.2) rose slightly in 2001 to 9.6%, but is still lower than the national average of 10.7%.

Maryland did not report Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC) data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting System (NCANDS) for 2001. Outcome Measures 1.1 and 2.1 are based on DCDC data. This is the reason Maryland has no entries under these two headings. Thanks to improvements in work procedures, Maryland will have sufficient child protective service data to submit DCDC data for 2002.

The difference between the adoption counts in Section E and exits to adoption reported in Measures 3.1 and 5.1 is due to the fact that the former is a manual count and the latter is derived from Maryland's Client Information System (CIS). The former is used for the semi-annual AFCARS adoption data submission while the latter is used to count exits when reporting AFCARS foster care data. Tracking adoptions on CIS is difficult because the child receives new identifying data in that system when they are adopted. For this reason, manual counts tend to be more accurate than CIS counts of adoption.

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Maryland [ Federal Comment ]

At the time of preparation of this report, the Maryland Child and Family Service Review had not been conducted. States are not accountable for meeting national standards until the time of their review.

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