Skip ACF banner and navigation
Department of Health and Human Services logo
Questions?  
Privacy  
Site Index  
Contact Us  
  Home   |   Services   |   Working with ACF   |   Policy/Planning   |   About ACF   |   ACF News Search  
Administration for Children and Families US Department of Health and Human Services

Children's Bureau Safety, Permanency, Well-being  Advanced
 Search

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

 

Mississippi

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Mississippi [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total children under 18 years 756,875 752,866 775,187 764,796
Race/ethnicity (%)1
   Alaska Native/American Indian 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
   Asian N/A N/A N/A 0.7
   Asian/Pacific Islander 0.8 0.8 0.7 N/A
   Black 45.0 44.8 44.7 44.6
   Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A 0.0
   Hispanic 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.6
   White 52.8 52.8 51.6 51.6
   Two or more races N/A N/A 0.9 1.0
   Other N/A N/A 0.1 N/A
% Child population in poverty 22.9 22.3 17.3 23.2
% Child population living in metropolitan areas 37.8 35.8 35.7 31.2
Child Welfare 1998 1999 2000 2001
Child maltreatment victims 6,079 6,523 6,389 4,556
Children in foster care on 9/30 3,359 3,196 3,292 3,261
Children adopted 170 237 288 266

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 32,404 29,422 30,670 31,086 42.8 per 1,000 39.1 per 1,000 39.6 per 1,000 40.0 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2 6,079 6,523 6,389 4,556 8.0 per 1,000 8.7 per 1,000 8.2 per 1,000 5.9 per 1,000
Child fatalities 5 7 12 5 0.7 per 100,000 0.9 per 100,000 1.5 per 100,000 0.6 per 100,000
Age of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 5.0 6.1 6.3 6.3
1-5 years 29.3 28.9 30.5 27.2
6-10 years 31.8 29.6 31.5 25.9
11-15 years 25.0 25.8 25.5 25.6
16+ years 8.9 9.6 6.2 15.1
Unknown — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 6,079 6,523 6,389 4,556
Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.4
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.5
Black 51.5 52.8 50.1 49.4
Hispanic 1.1 1.6 10.2 4.3
White 47.8 46.3 49.1 49.7
Two or more races — — — —
Other/Unknown 0.4 0.2 — —
Total %3 101.1 101.6 110.2 104.3
Number 6,079 6,523 6,389 4,556
Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Emotional abuse 2.5 2.7 2.0 2.4
Medical neglect — — — —
Neglect 62.0 47.0 47.0 59.8
Physical abuse 19.7 26.6 25.3 18.9
Sexual abuse 13.4 21.1 22.7 16.6
Other 2.4 2.6 3.0 2.3
Unknown — — — —
Total %4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 6,079 6,523 6,389 4,556

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) 2,852 1,821 1,325 3,359 4,673
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 3,121 1,750 1,676 3,196 4,871
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 3,013 2,005 1,726 3,292 5,018
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 3,008 1,923 1,670 3,261 4,931
Median Length of Stay (Months)          
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 18.9 N/A 10.1 17.4 N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 18.3 N/A 12.5 17.9 N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 18.0 N/A 10.1 16.0 N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 15.7 N/A 10.2 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 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 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.8 12.1 11.3 11.0 12.8 4.6 3.3 3.9 4.3 3.7 3.5 3.7 3.7
1-5 years 27.1 25.5 26.3 26.5 28.4 29.4 28.4 28.4 29.9 25.5 27.2 29.6 25.9 26.4 26.2 26.4
6-10 years 27.3 27.5 27.3 26.7 25.3 27.9 27.4 24.9 25.7 30.8 30.0 28.7 27.1 26.9 26.9 25.1
11-15 years 26.6 27.4 27.0 27.2 25.9 24.1 25.6 25.0 24.3 23.1 23.9 22.2 26.5 27.1 26.5 26.4
16-18 years 13.5 14.4 14.1 14.4 6.6 6.9 7.0 7.4 11.8 14.7 12.6 12.8 14.4 13.9 14.5 15.9
19+ years 1.5 1.2 1.6 1.2 — 0.1 0.0 0.1 2.7 2.2 2.4 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8
Unknown 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 1.6 0.3 0.5 1.3 1.1 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.6
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 2,852 3,121 3,013 3,008 1,821 1,750 2,005 1,923 1,325 1,676 1,726 1,670 3,359 3,196 3,292 3,261
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 — — 0.0 0.0 — 0.1 — — — — — — — 0.0 0.0 0.0
Asian — — 0.3 0.2 — — 0.0 0.2 — — 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.3 — —
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.5 0.2 — — 0.1 0.2 — — 0.3 0.1 — — 0.4 0.3 — —
Black 56.8 58.6 59.4 57.7 55.5 55.7 53.9 51.2 50.7 54.4 57.3 57.1 58.4 59.2 57.1 54.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Hispanic 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.8 2.0 0.9 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.4
White 41.4 40.3 39.6 41.4 42.9 43.3 45.1 42.7 47.2 44.9 41.7 41.8 40.0 39.5 41.9 42.0
Two or more races — — — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — — — 0.0
Unknown 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.2 0.1 3.8 0.9 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1 2.2
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 2,852 3,121 3,013 3,008 1,821 1,750 2,005 1,923 1,325 1,676 1,726 1,670 3,359 3,196 3,292 3,261

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 616 581 520 455
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR) 174 289 256 240
Age of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 1.0 1.7 1.4 1.3
1-5 years 26.3 21.2 22.9 18.5
6-10 years 35.9 33.9 31.2 29.9
11-15 years 25.8 27.7 28.9 29.7
16+ years 8.8 11.7 10.6 13.4
Unknown 2.3 3.8 5.2 7.3
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 616 581 520 455
Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian — — — —
Asian — — 0.2 —
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.6 0.2 — —
Black 64.6 68.8 68.8 64.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic — 0.2 — 0.2
White 34.6 30.5 31.0 35.6
Two or more races — — — —
Unknown 0.2 0.3 — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 616 581 520 455

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 1.8 0.8 1.4 —
1-5 years 27.6 32.5 33.3 41.7
6-10 years 37.6 47.3 42.7 36.5
11-15 years 25.3 18.6 18.4 19.2
16+ years 7.1 0.8 4.2 2.6
Unknown 0.6 — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 170 237 288 266
Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 1.2 — — —
Asian — — — 0.4
Asian/Pacific Islander — 1.7 — —
Black 48.8 49.4 55.2 63.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 1.8 — 0.3 —
White 47.6 48.5 44.4 36.5
Two or more races — — — —
Unknown 0.6 0.4 — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 170 237 288 266

Back to Top

Mississippi [ 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 8.8 13.4 16.3 14.8
Guardianship 2.5 3.6 3.4 2.5
Reunification 73.8 74.5 73.2 77.1
Other 6.6 6.6 5.4 4.5
Missing data 8.3 1.9 1.7 1.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,325 1,676 1,726 1,670

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 16.6 23.4 24.5 19.9
Guardianship 5.1 3.6 7.4 7.3
Reunification 52.6 59.5 53.7 59.6
Other 16.0 11.7 13.3 11.9
Missing data 9.7 1.8 1.1 1.3
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 175 222 188 151
3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption — 0.3 1.6 0.3
Guardianship 2.1 3.6 3.6 2.9
Reunification 66.8 77.9 77.0 82.5
Other 19.6 16.2 15.6 13.5
Missing data 11.4 2.1 2.2 0.9
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 280 389 365 349
3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry 30.4 36.8 35.5 37.1
Children older than 12 at entry 69.6 61.8 64.5 61.3
Missing data — 1.3 — 1.6
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 56 76 62 62
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 — — — — — — — 100.0 — — — — 7.4 12.4 15.9 16.5 — — — —
Guardianship — — — — — — — — — — — — 2.7 2.4 3.4 1.9 — — — —
Reunification — — — — — — 100.0 — 25.0 — — — 75.1 77.7 73.3 76.2 — — — —
Other — — — — — — — — 50.0 100.0 — — 5.7 5.9 5.9 4.4 — — — —
Missing data — — — — — — — — 25.0 — — — 9.1 1.5 1.5 1.0 — — — —
Total % — — — — — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — — —
Number — — — — — — 4 1 4 1 — — 672 912 989 954 — — — —
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 50.0 — 8.3 — 9.4 14.9 17.2 12.8 8.3 — — — — — — — — — — —
Guardianship — — — 7.1 2.4 5.2 3.3 3.3 — — — — — — — — — — — —
Reunification 41.7 62.5 83.3 85.7 73.3 70.9 72.6 78.4 75.0 33.3 100.0 66.7 — — — — — — — —
Other 8.3 25.0 8.3 7.1 7.5 7.0 4.9 4.6 — — — — — — — — — — — —
Missing data — 12.5 — — 7.4 2.0 1.9 1.0 16.7 66.7 — 33.3 — — — — — — — —
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 12 8 12 14 625 752 720 698 12 3 1 3 — — — — — — — —

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. 60.9 61.9 67.7 69.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 18.6 19.3 19.6 17.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 8.6 9.8 6.4 7.1
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 2.8 3.8 2.3 3.1
48 or more mos. 6.2 4.9 4.0 2.9
Missing data 2.9 0.4 0.1 0.8
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 978 1,248 1,263 1,288

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 98.8 98.6 98.0 98.5
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode — 0.1 0.9 0.4
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode — — 0.6 0.4
Missing data 1.2 1.3 0.4 0.7
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,821 1,750 2,005 1,923

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. 2.6 — 6.0 2.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 5.2 8.9 11.7 14.6
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 12.9 17.8 20.2 24.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 10.3 19.1 22.7 23.5
48 or more mos. 69.0 54.2 39.4 34.8
Missing data — — — 0.8
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 116 225 282 247

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		 87.2
91.7
93.2
86.6		 7.7
7.2
6.5
5.9		 5.1
1.1
0.3
7.5		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 1,993
1,992
2,297
2,290
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 74.0
77.4
80.1
82.7		 22.5
21.2
19.5
17.1		 3.5
1.4
0.4
0.2		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 915
1,053
945
1,047
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 68.7
62.9
70.9
73.3		 30.1
34.8
29.1
26.7		 1.2
2.2
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 515
580
611
510
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 62.7
65.6
59.6
65.0		 34.2
34.4
40.4
35.0		 3.0
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 330
323
369
369
48 or more mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 47.2
46.9
46.3
42.9		 50.1
51.8
52.6
56.4		 2.7
1.3
1.1
0.7		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 886
898
789
697
Missing data 1998
1999
2000
2001		 70.6
88.0
100.0
94.4		 8.8
—
—
—		 20.6
12.0
—
5.6		 100.0
100.0
100.0		 34
25
7
18

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)