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

 

Washington

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Washington [ Context Data ]

A. Key Context Statistics

General Population 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total children under 18 years 1,472,490 1,486,340 1,513,843 1,510,230
Race/ethnicity (%)1
   Alaska Native/American Indian 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.8
   Asian N/A N/A N/A 5.5
   Asian/Pacific Islander 6.5 6.8 5.5 N/A
   Black 3.8 3.9 3.7 4.1
   Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A 0.5
   Hispanic 9.7 10.1 11.7 12.0
   White 77.9 77.2 71.5 71.2
   Two or more races N/A N/A 5.5 4.8
   Other N/A N/A 0.3 N/A
% Child population in poverty 15.0 10.7 15.0 13.7
% Child population living in metropolitan areas 76.5 77.0 83.0 77.7
Child Welfare 1998 1999 2000 2001
Child maltreatment victims 12,926 8,039 7,095 6,010
Children in foster care on 9/30 8,872 8,688 8,945 9,101
Children adopted 878 1,047 1,141 1,204

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 47,281 53,060 38,070 35,491 32.1 per 1,000 35.7 per 1,000 25.1 per 1,000 23.2 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims2 12,926 8,039 7,095 6,010 8.8 per 1,000 5.4 per 1,000 4.7 per 1,000 3.9 per 1,000
Child fatalities 8 6 7 5 0.5 per 100,000 0.4 per 100,000 0.5 per 100,000 0.3 per 100,000
Age of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 12.7 12.0 11.6 12.1
1-5 years 31.2 32.4 32.5 34.3
6-10 years 32.0 30.5 31.6 29.0
11-15 years 20.5 20.6 19.8 20.0
16+ years 3.7 4.1 3.0 3.0
Unknown 0.0 0.4 1.6 1.7
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 12,926 8,039 7,095 6,010
Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 7.0 9.1 6.6 6.7
Asian/Pacific Islander 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.4
Black 9.5 10.5 8.8 8.3
Hispanic 8.3 12.8 12.9 13.3
White 71.3 75.0 66.5 66.2
Two or more races — — — —
Other/Unknown 9.8 8.5 2.7 3.1
Total %3 108.3 118.4 100.0 100.0
Number 12,926 8,039 7,095 6,010
Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Emotional 9.8 10.9 6.4 7.0
Medical neglect 4.9 6.6 3.7 3.7
Neglect 65.4 70.8 71.0 72.0
Physical abuse 29.9 27.1 21.7 21.4
Sexual abuse 11.2 9.0 7.0 6.7
Other 1.3 2.3 0.3 0.3
Unknown — — — —
Total %4 122.4 126.8 110.1 111.1
Number 12,926 8,039 7,095 6,010

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) 8,454 7,541 7,123 8,872 15,995
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 8,695 7,369 7,376 8,688 16,064
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 8,484 7,590 7,129 8,945 16,074
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 8,266 7,273 6,438 9,101 15,539
Median Length of Stay (Months)          
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98) 18.9 N/A 2.9 16.8 N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99) 17.0 N/A 5.1 16.5 N/A
FY2000 (10/1/99-9/30/00) 16.8 N/A 3.6 15.9 N/A
FY2001 (10/1/00-9/30/01) 16.2 N/A 4.1 15.4 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 5.4 5.5 6.2 6.8 12.5 14.3 14.5 15.3 5.0 5.3 5.6 5.3 5.6 6.3 6.7 7.1
1-5 years 32.7 32.1 32.0 32.2 24.1 24.8 24.4 25.3 24.8 26.7 26.5 27.5 32.2 31.8 31.9 32.7
6-10 years 26.0 26.8 26.9 24.9 20.7 20.3 20.4 19.4 21.4 21.4 22.9 20.5 26.6 26.5 24.7 23.8
11-15 years 23.2 23.9 24.4 25.1 32.1 30.1 29.9 29.3 30.7 28.9 28.5 29.0 24.1 24.7 25.4 24.8
16-18 years 11.6 11.1 10.2 10.7 10.5 10.4 10.7 10.6 16.8 16.8 16.0 17.2 11.0 10.4 10.9 11.1
19+ years 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.4
Unknown 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 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 8,454 8,695 8,484 8,266 7,541 7,369 7,590 7,273 7,123 7,376 7,129 6,438 8,872 8,688 8,945 9,101
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 8.2 8.8 8.8 8.4 9.0 8.7 7.3 8.2 8.4 8.6 7.4 7.4 8.8 8.9 8.7 9.0
Asian — — 0.9 0.9 — — 1.4 1.6 — — 1.5 1.6 — — 0.9 0.9
Asian/Pacific 1.4 1.3 — — 1.6 1.5 — — 1.8 1.8 — — 1.3 1.1 — —
Black 15.7 14.8 14.0 13.1 11.0 9.4 8.7 8.6 11.9 10.5 10.2 10.0 14.8 13.9 12.6 11.7
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — 0.1 0.2 — — 0.3 0.4 — — 0.3 0.3 — — 0.2 0.2
Hispanic 9.4 10.3 11.8 11.5 11.0 12.8 12.0 12.2 9.9 11.0 12.2 12.1 10.4 11.8 11.6 11.6
White 59.3 58.7 57.7 58.4 60.9 60.8 62.0 60.4 61.5 62.2 61.4 60.2 58.8 57.6 58.4 58.7
Two or more races 5.4 5.5 6.0 6.9 5.3 5.5 5.7 4.4 5.3 4.8 4.9 4.9 5.4 6.1 6.6 6.3
Unknown 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 1.1 1.3 2.5 4.3 1.2 1.2 2.1 3.4 0.5 0.6 1.0 1.6
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 8,454 8,695 8,484 8,266 7,541 7,369 7,590 7,273 7,123 7,376 7,129 6,438 8,872 8,688 8,945 9,101

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 4,131 3,720 2,669 2,302
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR) 3,911 3,368 2,216 1,854
Age of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Under 1 year 8.3 7.3 3.7 3.3
1-5 years 45.6 44.6 41.4 39.6
6-10 years 31.4 31.1 31.7 30.5
11-15 years 12.1 14.4 19.7 21.6
16+ years 2.3 2.5 3.3 4.8
Unknown 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,131 3,720 2,669 2,302
Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.8
Asian — — 0.6 0.7
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.8 0.9 — —
Black 16.6 16.9 17.9 17.5
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — 0.2 0.3
Hispanic 11.1 11.6 11.4 11.7
White 59.5 58.8 57.7 57.0
Two or more races 6.2 6.3 6.6 7.3
Unknown 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,131 3,720 2,669 2,302

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 1.3 1.6 1.3 1.3
1-5 years 56.2 57.6 55.9 57.1
6-10 years 33.8 31.6 32.3 30.9
11-15 years 8.1 8.2 9.3 9.9
16+ years 0.7 1.0 1.2 0.7
Unknown — — — 0.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 878 1,047 1,141 1,204
Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alaska Native/American Indian 3.3 2.1 3.9 4.8
Asian — — 0.7 1.0
Asian/Pacific Islander 1.0 0.3 — —
Black 13.7 5.4 13.2 12.4
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander — — 0.1 0.2
Hispanic 9.0 10.8 12.2 11.3
White 66.6 36.5 63.6 63.0
Two or more races 5.6 3.2 5.9 6.5
Unknown 0.8 41.7 0.4 0.9
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 878 1,047 1,141 1,204

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Washington [ 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 — 89.6 88.1 88.3
Children with one or more recurrences — 10.4 11.9 11.7
Total % — 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number — 3,378 3,075 3,083

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 — 0.35 0.97 0.79
Children not maltreated while in foster care — 99.65 99.03 99.21
Total % — 100.00 100.00 100.00
Number — 14,192 14,375 13,948

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 12.1 13.7 15.2 17.6
Guardianship 7.9 7.6 7.9 6.6
Reunification 69.8 65.4 66.3 66.0
Other 10.2 13.0 10.4 9.8
Missing data 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.1
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 7,123 7,376 7,129 6,438

Pie Charts describing data from Table 3.1 above.

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption — — — 22.2
Guardianship — — — 26.7
Reunification — — — 22.2
Other — — — 28.9
Missing data — — — —
Total % — — — 100.0
Number — — — 45
3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Adoption 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2
Guardianship 2.2 3.3 2.2 3.4
Reunification 82.9 76.4 81.6 80.1
Other 14.9 19.9 15.7 16.1
Missing data — 0.2 0.2 0.2
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 2,475 2,372 2,246 2,179
3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%) 1998 1999 2000 2001
Children age 12 or younger at entry 31.6 29.4 30.3 22.0
Children older than 12 at entry 68.4 70.4 69.4 77.7
Missing data — 0.2 0.3 0.3
Total % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 405 405 333 327
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 4.9 7.1 7.6 11.6 — — 7.5 8.7 8.0 3.0 — — 14.2 14.5 19.6 22.4 — — 4.5 9.1
Guardianship 9.7 9.0 11.2 6.5 — — 2.8 6.7 8.0 10.5 — — 14.6 16.6 12.8 9.8 — — 9.1 —
Reunification 62.9 51.3 43.9 47.3 — — 78.5 78.8 76.0 69.9 — — 62.7 56.7 58.5 60.6 — — 81.8 90.9
Other 22.5 32.5 37.3 34.5 — — 9.3 5.8 8.0 16.5 — — 8.5 12.0 9.1 7.3 — — 4.5 —
Missing data — — — 0.2 — — 1.9 — — — — — — 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
Number 596 633 526 476 — — 107 104 125 133 — — 847 772 728 644 — — 22 22
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 11.5 13.5 15.9 16.5 13.0 14.9 15.7 18.4 6.8 8.2 2.6 4.5 12.9 13.9 18.2 21.6 — — — —
Guardianship 7.9 6.6 5.5 7.4 6.4 6.3 7.3 6.1 8.0 2.4 2.6 2.3 7.1 5.7 10.5 7.6 — — — —
Reunification 73.6 69.0 71.2 68.6 71.0 67.5 68.9 67.4 78.4 77.6 85.0 88.2 71.2 69.9 58.7 59.0 — — — —
Other 7.0 10.8 7.4 7.4 9.7 11.1 8.0 7.9 6.8 11.8 9.8 5.0 8.7 10.2 12.5 11.7 — — — —
Missing data — 0.1 — — 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 — — — — — 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 705 815 868 781 4,383 4,586 4,374 3,875 88 85 153 221 379 352 351 315 — — — —

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. 80.6 79.8 83.5 83.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 7.2 9.6 8.4 8.4
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 3.5 3.3 2.4 3.0
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 1.4 1.5 1.0 1.0
48 or more mos. 2.0 1.8 1.1 1.1
Missing data 5.3 4.0 3.5 3.6
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,969 4,826 4,727 4,247

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 68.3 67.9 69.6 71.2
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode 17.3 15.6 12.4 16.2
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode 10.4 9.6 9.3 11.9
Missing data 3.9 7.0 8.7 0.7
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 7,541 7,369 7,590 7,273

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. 1.6 2.2 1.9 2.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos. 17.3 22.0 17.8 24.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos. 23.9 28.4 32.8 31.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos. 25.2 24.6 22.7 20.0
48 or more mos. 31.9 22.8 24.7 22.4
Missing data — — — —
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 865 1,012 1,084 1,131

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		 79.6
79.5
82.8
83.3		 19.7
20.1
16.8
16.3		 0.7
0.4
0.4
0.4		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 7,691
7,736
7,917
7,565
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 53.6
54.8
55.0
54.7		 46.2
45.0
44.9
45.1		 0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 2,840
3,044
3,108
3,136
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 45.4
44.9
44.3
44.9		 54.6
55.1
55.6
55.0		 0.1
—
0.1
0.1		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 1,791
1,877
1,870
1,962
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 34.1
35.3
36.0
32.7		 65.8
64.7
64.0
67.3		 0.1
—
—
—		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 1,249
1,108
1,097
1,003
48 or more mos. 1998
1999
2000
2001		 31.7
27.9
25.0
21.6		 68.0
71.7
74.6
78.0		 0.3
0.4
0.4
0.4		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 2,038
1,931
1,755
1,575
Missing data 1998
1999
2000
2001		 91.2
92.1
94.8
94.3		 7.8
6.5
3.7
4.0		 1.0
1.4
1.5
1.7		 100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0		 386
368
327
298

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 1.3 1.2 1.1
Institutions 1.7 1.3 1.1 1.3
Other settings 96.8 97.0 97.4 97.0
Missing data 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 3,795 3,890 4,531 4,707

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Washington [ State Comment ]

Ross Dawson, Acting Assistant Secretary
Children's Administration
Washington Department of Social and Health Services
360-902-7820

Washington State continues to focus efforts on achieving stable permanent homes for children in out-of-home care in the shortest time possible. More children were adopted and more quickly than in previous years. A high percentage of children were reunified within twelve months of their placements, and those children remaining in care had more stable placements than ever before.

Washington State has developed many tools to improve the safety of children, including a Reunification Assessment to assess safety before returning children home, and a Transition and Safety Plan used when children are reunified with their parents. Our re-entry rate has shown a steady decline. Using an alternate state calculation method more closely reflects actual practice in Washington State.

Washington State has also developed a Safety Assessment and a Safety Plan used during investigations of abuse and neglect. In spite of this primary emphasis on child safety, our recurrence rate remains high. Recurrence is impacted by multiple reports of the same incident recorded in our information system, but this is not taken into account in the calculation of this measure. In addition, cases of neglect impact the rate, as children who are the victims of neglect are at higher risk of recurrence than children who are abused, particularly those who remain in their own homes after investigation.

The Governor and legislature of Washington State are committed to managing by outcomes. We have been tracking performance on select outcomes for several years. We support the federal effort to evaluate states' performance in comparison to national standards, but some unique characteristics of Washington's child welfare system make this comparison difficult. Because the scope of this report does not permit clarification of laws and policies that may influence the data, some of the results presented may be misleading. We support the federal government's efforts to explore state differences which may impact the comparability of the data. This work will assist us in improving child welfare services for all children and their families.

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Washington [ Federal Comment ]

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

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