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

Vermont

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Vermont [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total children under 18 years 141,347 139,346 147,523 141,415
Race/ethnicity (%)1
   Alaska Native/American Indian 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4
   Asian N/A N/A N/A 1.1
   Asian/Pacific Islander 1.0 1.0 1.0 N/A
   Black 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.8
   Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A 0.0
   Hispanic 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.2
   White 97.3 97.3 94.7 94.6
   Two or more races N/A N/A 1.8 1.8
   Other N/A N/A 0.2 N/A
% Child population in poverty 13.6 12.5 18.1 12.2
% Child population living in metropolitan areas 26.8 28.5 27.5 39.9
Child Welfare 1998 1999 2000 2001
Child maltreatment victims 887 1,080 1,347 1,139
Children in foster care on 9/30 1,316 1,445 1,318 1,360
Children adopted 118 139 122 116

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 1,973 2,470 3,609 3,558 14.0 per 1,000 17.7 per 1,000 24.5 per 1,000 24.0 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2 887 1,080 1,347 1,139 6.3 per 1,000 7.8 per 1,000 9.1 per 1,000 7.7 per 1,000
Child fatalities 0 4 1 0 — per 100,000 2.9 per 100,000 0.7 per 100,000 — per 100,000
Age of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 3.8 4.2 5.0 6.9
1-5 years 21.6 25.1 22.4 25.8
6-10 years 34.0 31.6 29.9 30.0
11-15 years 30.7 29.0 34.7 29.7
16+ years 8.2 10.1 7.9 7.6
Unknown 1.6 0.1 — 0.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 887 1,080 1,347 1,139
Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian — 0.1 0.2 0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander 1.0 0.6 1.4 0.8
Black 0.7 0.6 1.6 0.7
Hispanic 0.1 0.6 0.4 —
White 98.1 97.9 95.8 97.5
Two or more races — — — —
Other/Unknown 0.2 0.8 0.6 0.9
Total %3 100.1 100.6 100.0 100.0
Number 887 1,080 1,347 1,139
Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Emotional 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.1
Medical neglect 2.7 1.9 2.2 2.3
Neglect 36.8 43.7 38.2 41.9
Physical abuse 26.5 22.0 22.1 20.5
Sexual abuse 41.8 40.4 40.8 37.8
Other — — — —
Unknown — — — —
Total %4 108.9 108.9 104.2 103.6
Number 887 1,080 1,347 1,139

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) 1,188 783 655 1,316 1,971
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 1,417 750 722 1,445 2,167
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 1,211 788 684 1,318 1,999
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 1,227 697 581 1,360 1,924
Median Length of Stay (Months)          
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 20.9 N/A 13.7 17.5 N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 20.5 N/A 16.0 19.9 N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 20.1 N/A 15.1 15.9 N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 19.2 N/A 13.4 18.9 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 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.4 5.5 7.2 7.2 8.3 1.1 2.1 2.5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.6
1-5 years 12.8 13.1 11.1 14.0 14.3 14.5 15.9 15.8 15.3 16.2 14.5 16.2 12.4 12.4 12.4 13.1
6-10 years 14.6 16.6 14.1 15.5 15.6 16.3 14.6 15.5 11.9 14.8 14.2 14.1 15.6 15.4 13.7 15.8
11-15 years 40.9 39.6 41.5 40.9 50.2 49.9 48.4 44.5 30.4 27.3 27.9 31.0 39.4 42.2 40.2 37.5
16-18 years 29.2 28.5 31.1 28.1 14.4 12.1 14.0 15.9 38.3 37.5 39.8 35.1 30.2 27.6 31.0 30.4
19+ years 0.7 0.1 0.1 — — — — — 3.1 2.1 1.2 1.4 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.6
Unknown — — — 0.1 — — — — — — — 0.2 — — 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 1,188 1,417 1,211 1,227 783 750 788 697 655 722 684 581 1,316 1,445 1,318 1,360
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 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 — 0.1 0.3 — 0.2 — 0.1 — 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3
Asian — — 0.3 0.3 — — 0.5 0.7 — — 0.9 0.7 — — 0.2 0.4
Asian/Pacific 0.3 0.1 — — 0.6 0.8 — — 1.1 0.4 — — 0.2 0.3 — —
Black 1.9 2.2 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.3 2.4 3.6 0.9 2.4 2.5 2.9 2.0 1.7 1.8 1.8
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — 0.1 — — — — — — — — — — — 0.1
Hispanic 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.1 0.4 0.4 — 0.5 0.4 0.6 — 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5
White 96.1 96.3 96.5 97.0 96.9 97.1 95.4 95.4 96.8 96.0 95.5 95.9 96.3 96.8 96.4 96.7
Two or more races — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Unknown 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.4 1.0 0.3 1.0 0.3 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.5 0.8 0.3 0.7 0.3
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,188 1,417 1,211 1,227 783 750 788 697 655 722 684 581 1,316 1,455 1,318 1,360

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 215 403 252 298
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR) 159 351 184 238
Age of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 3.3 3.7 1.6 1.3
1-5 years 27.9 28.3 22.6 22.2
6-10 years 26.0 29.3 25.8 28.2
11-15 years 33.5 32.0 37.7 40.3
16+ years 8.4 6.2 9.5 7.1
Unknown 0.9 0.5 2.8 1.0
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 215 403 252 298
Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian — 0.2 0.4 0.3
Asian — — — —
Asian/Pacific Islander — — — —
Black 1.9 2.0 1.6 1.7
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic 0.9 1.2 0.8 0.7
White 96.3 95.8 96.0 96.3
Two or more races — — — —
Unknown 0.9 0.7 1.2 1.0
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 215 403 252 298

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 1.7 0.7 1.6 2.6
1-5 years 49.2 43.2 48.4 40.5
6-10 years 38.1 38.8 31.1 33.6
11-15 years 10.2 15.8 18.0 21.6
16+ years 0.9 1.4 0.8 1.7
Unknown — — — —
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 118 139 122 116
Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian — — — —
Asian — — 1.6 —
Asian/Pacific Islander — — — —
Black 1.7 4.3 4.9 —
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — — —
Hispanic — — 2.5 —
White 98.3 95.7 90.2 94.8
Two or more races — — 0.8 3.4
Unknown — — — 1.7
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 118 139 122 116

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Vermont [ 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 93.9 93.4 92.1 93.1
Children with one or more recurrences 6.1 6.6 7.9 6.9
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 495 547 658 563

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 — 0.15 0.59 0.34
Children not maltreated while in foster care 100.00 99.85 99.41 99.66
Total % 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Number 1,808 1,998 1,864 1,783

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 14.4 17.2 14.3 14.6
Guardianship 0.8 0.8 2.3 —
Reunification 57.3 60.4 62.7 71.4
Other 15.3 12.3 10.5 10.8
Missing data 12.4 9.3 10.1 3.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 655 722 684 581

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 11.1 5.9 18.8 17.6
Guardianship — — 6.3 —
Reunification 16.7 35.3 43.8 52.9
Other 50.0 41.2 18.8 17.6
Missing data 22.2 17.6 12.5 11.8
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 18 17 16 17
3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 0.3 — 0.3 —
Guardianship 0.3 0.5 2.9 —
Reunification 61.1 67.6 68.2 82.7
Other 22.4 17.9 15.5 12.7
Missing data 15.9 14.0 13.1 4.6
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 370 364 343 283
3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry 17.0 28.1 27.7 30.8
Children older than 12 at entry 83.0 71.9 72.3 61.5
Missing data — — — 7.7
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 53 57 65 52
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 — — — — — — — — 28.6 — — — 16.7 23.5 11.8 — — — — —
Guardianship — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 5.9 — — — — —
Reunification — — — — — — 83.3 100.0 71.4 100.0 — — 50.0 70.6 58.8 94.1 — — — —
Other — — — — — — 16.7 — — — — — 33.3 5.9 5.9 5.9 — — — —
Missing data 100.0 — 100.0 — — — — — — — — — — — 17.6 — — — — —
Total % 100.0 — 100.0 — — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — — — —
Number 1 — 1 — — — 6 4 7 3 — — 6 17 17 17 — — — —
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 — — 75.0 — 14.2 17.3 13.9 15.3 25.0 — 66.7 — — — — — — — — —
Guardianship — — — — 0.8 0.9 2.3 — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Reunification 100 66.7 — — 57.3 59.6 63.2 70.4 25.0 100.0 33.3 100.0 — — — — — — — 100.0
Other — 33.3 — — 15.1 12.6 10.7 11.1 50.0 — — — — — — — — — — —
Missing data — — 25.0 — 12.6 9.7 9.8 3.2 — — — — — — — — — — — —
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
Number 3 3 4 — 634 693 653 557 4 6 3 2 — — — — — — — 1

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. 70.4 64.9 66.2 62.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 13.1 16.7 18.2 18.1
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 8.3 7.3 6.3 9.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 4.3 5.0 2.6 4.3
48 or more mos. 4.0 6.0 6.3 3.9
Missing data — — 0.5 2.4
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 375 436 429 415

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 77.1 82.9 73.7 78.0
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode 11.7 8.0 14.0 12.3
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode 6.3 9.1 7.7 9.6
Missing data 4.9 — 4.6 —
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 783 750 788 697

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. — 4.8 2.0 —
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 13.8 17.7 16.3 16.5
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 24.5 30.6 32.7 35.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 31.9 16.1 27.6 22.4
48 or more mos. 29.8 30.6 21.4 22.4
Missing data — — — 3.5
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 94 124 98 85

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		 68.5
70.0
89.1
69.2		 31.5
30.0
10.9
30.7		 —
—
—
0.1		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 829
839
853
757
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 31.8
35.8
80.6
36.4		 68.2
64.2
19.4
63.6		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 371
433
402
404
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 25.8
30.3
77.8
29.7		 74.2
69.7
22.2
70.3		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 275
297
261
296
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 20.7
27.5
78.3
14.6		 79.3
72.5
21.7
85.4		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 184
211
161
158
48 or more mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 15.2
13.6
66.9
12.0		 84.8
86.4
33.1
87.7		 —
—
—
0.3		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 309
383
320
309
Missing data 1998
1999
2000
2001		 100.0
100.0
100.0
—		 —
—
—
—		 —
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
—		 3
4
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 5.6 9.2 4.0 5.2
Institutions 1.5 1.7 0.9 0.9
Other settings 92.9 89.1 95.2 93.9
Missing data — — — —
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 340 359 352 326

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Vermont [ State Comment ]

Don Mandelkorn, Social Services Director
Social Services Division
Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services
802-241-2407

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

The Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services is a state-supervised child protection, child welfare and juvenile justice system. Twelve local offices investigate reports of child abuse and neglect. We investigate reports of sexual abuse by out-of-home perpetrators, resulting in a high percentage of substantiated abuse that is sexual abuse. Vermont has also seen a substantial increase in substantiated child abuse in the last several years due to an expanded role with parents whose use of drugs are putting children at risk of harm.

The department is responsible for about 1,600 children in custody for abuse and neglect (63% of children in custody), delinquency (22%), or because they are beyond parental control (15%). In addition, social work staff supervise about 300 youth on juvenile probation.

Children can "exit" one part of our system as an abused child and "re-enter" as a delinquent child, making our rate of re-entry appear quite high. About 65% of children in custody are age 12 and older. This reality has substantial impact on placement stability, length of stay and permanency outcomes.

The Vermont data presented in this volume exhibit some discrepancies in descriptive data for children in custody on 9/30 and 10/1 of the same year. These represent two AFCARS report periods. Before each AFCARS submission, we review data to correct temporary stays home that were incorrectly coded as exits. We typically have not re-submitted previous AFCARS reports, which results in this type of discrepant data.

There is an additional discrepancy in our adoption data that we will attempt to correct in our next AFCARS transmissions. The correct figure for 2001 adoption finalizations is 116.

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Vermont [ Federal Comment ]

The following discussion focuses on Vermont's performance with regard to each of the outcomes assessed in the Child Welfare Outcomes Annual Reports to Congress. The Vermont 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 Vermont'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 in less than 6 months was 6.9 percent, which does not meet the national standard of 6.1 percent or less but is lower than the national median of 8.0 percent. According to information in the CFSR Final Report, the State believes that the rate of maltreatment recurrence may be attributed to the fact that the State "substantiates" reports based on "risk of harm" and does not require evidence of actual maltreatment for substantiation. Vermont's performance on this measure declined from 1999 to 2001 (+5.0 percent).

Outcome 2. Reduce incidence of maltreatment in foster care
In CY 2001, the incidence of maltreatment in foster care was 0.34 percent, which meets the national standard of 0.57 percent or less and is lower than the national median of 0.47 percent. Although the State continued to meet the national standard, performance on this measure declined considerably from 1999 to 2001 (+124.1 percent change). However, the small numbers of children involved suggest that this "statistical decline" does not represent an actual performance change.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care
In FY 2001, 86.0 percent of children exiting foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is greater than the national median of 85.3 percent), and 82.7 percent of children exiting foster care who were older than age 12 at the time of entry into foster care were discharged to permanent homes (which is greater than the national median of 72.3 percent). (Only 17 of the 581 children who exited foster care in FY 2001 were reported to have a diagnosed disability.) However, 30.8 percent of children exiting foster care through emancipation were age 12 or younger at the time of entry (which is higher than the national median of 28.0 percent). These data suggest that the State is effective in establishing permanency for children, including children who were older than age 12 at the time of entry. However, the State is not consistently effective in ensuring that children who enter foster care at a young age do not "grow up" in foster care. Although the State's performance related to attaining permanency for children in foster care improved from FY 1999 to FY 2001, performance related to the percentage of children exiting foster care through emancipation who were age 12 or younger at the time of entry declined (+9.6 percent change).

Outcome 4. Reduce time to reunification without increasing re-entry
In FY 2001, the percentage of reported reunifications occurring within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care was 62.2, which is lower than both the national standard of 76.2 percent or more and the national median of 69.2 percent. Vermont's performance on this measure did not change substantively from FY 1999 to FY 2001.

Also in FY 2001, the percentage of children re-entering foster care within 12 months of discharge from a prior foster care episode was 12.3, which is higher than the national standard of 8.6 percent or less and the national median of 10.4 percent. Vermont's performance on this measure declined from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (+54.2 percent change).

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 16.5, which is lower than the national standard of 32.0 percent or more and the national median of 21.0 percent. Vermont's performance on this measure declined from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (-27.1 percent change).

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 69.2, which does not meet the national standard of 86.7 percent or more and is lower than the national median of 83.3 percent. Overall, there was no substantive change in performance on this measure from FY 1999 to 2001; however, performance was considerably higher in FY 2000.

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 6.1, which is lower than the national median of 8.7 percent. Performance on this measure improved from FY 1999 to FY 2001 (-43.5 percent change).

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