Arkansas

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Arkansas [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	680,208	680,051	681,975	682,013
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6
Asian	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8
Black (non-Hispanic)	20.6	20.7	20.2	20.3
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	4.7	4.9	4.8	5.0
White (non-Hispanic)	71.3	71.1	71.8	71.5
Two or more races	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6
% Child population in poverty	27.3	28.3	31.2	26.8

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	7,479	6,927	7,302	7,232
Children in foster care on 9/30	3,045	2,959	2,971	3,014
Children adopted	325	362	297	385

B. Child Maltreatment Data [National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)]

	2000		2001		2002		2003
Overview Maltreatment Information	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	23,335	34.3 per 1,000	25,655	37.7 per 1,000	26,237	38.5 per 1,000	44,666	65.5 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	7,479	11.0 per 1,000	6,927	10.2 per 1,000	7,302	10.7 per 1,000	7,232	10.6 per 1,000
Child fatalities	12	1.8 per 100,000	22	3.2 per 100,000	13	1.9 per 100,000	10	1.5 per 100,000

1 Race/ethnicity data for 2001, 2002, and 2003 represent population estimates. Back
2 A child victim is defined as a child who is the subject of a substantiated or indicated maltreatment report. Back
3 Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once. Back

Age of Child Victims (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	5.9	5.0	5.8	6.3
1-5 years	27.4	27.8	27.9	28.3
6-10 years	29.3	27.3	28.1	27.4
11-15 years	30.0	31.5	30.5	30.5
16+ years	6.9	7.8	7.2	6.8
Unknown	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.8
Number	7,479	6,927	7,302	7,232

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	22.4	21.5	21.2	21.5
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	2.2	3.7	4.6	4.3
White (non-Hispanic)	72.5	68.4	69.3	69.1
Two or more races	0.0	3.8	3.9	4.3
Unknown	2.6	2.2	0.5	0.3
Number	7,479	6,927	7,302	7,232

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	0.6	0.9	0.7	1.1
Medical neglect	3.4	3.4	2.8	3.0
Neglect	52.7	47.2	50.4	54.5
Physical abuse	22.3	26.5	21.0	18.9
Sexual abuse	27.9	30.6	32.7	29.2
Unknown/missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	1.2	0.4	0.2	0.3
Number	7,479	6,927	7,302	7,232

4 Percentages may total more than 100 because Hispanics may be counted by Hispanic ethnicity and race. Back
5 Percentages may total more than 100 because children can be victims of more than one type of maltreatment. Back

C. Characteristics of Children in Foster Care [Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS): Foster Care File]

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total Number	3,180	2,855	2,816	2,864	3,542	3,347	3,350	3,561	3,679	3,244	3,196	3,411	3,045	2,959	2,971	3,014
Median length of stay (months)	12.3	12.6	12.4	12.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	4.6	3.0	2.8	2.2	12.6	11.8	12.6	12.5

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	3.6	4.8	4.4	3.6	9.7	9.6	10.7	12.0	4.8	5.2	6.2	6.9	4.7	4.3	3.6	4.3
1 year	5.3	5.1	5.9	6.5	6.5	7.1	6.8	6.5	6.2	6.6	6.5	6.5	5.0	6.2	6.5	5.9
2 years	5.3	4.9	5.5	5.7	5.3	5.9	7.4	7.2	6.0	6.3	7.1	7.3	4.8	5.4	5.9	5.9
3 years	4.1	4.6	4.1	5.6	5.1	5.1	5.7	5.6	5.1	5.7	6.0	6.3	4.6	4.1	5.7	5.6
4 years	4.6	4.2	4.0	4.0	4.6	4.9	4.8	5.8	4.7	5.4	4.9	5.9	4.1	4.1	4.0	5.2
5 years	4.1	4.3	3.8	3.9	4.7	4.8	4.6	4.8	4.4	5.1	4.3	4.7	4.4	3.8	4.1	4.0
6 years	4.4	4.4	3.7	4.2	5.1	4.6	4.3	5.1	4.9	4.9	4.3	5.4	4.4	3.8	4.2	3.6
7 years	4.0	4.4	4.3	3.9	4.6	4.9	4.8	4.3	4.6	5.1	4.6	3.9	4.5	4.2	4.1	4.4
8 years	4.9	3.7	4.3	4.2	4.7	4.7	4.1	4.5	4.8	4.9	4.3	4.7	3.7	4.2	4.2	3.9
9 years	4.2	5.0	4.1	4.0	4.9	4.9	4.3	3.9	4.5	4.2	4.1	4.2	5.0	4.1	4.0	4.0
10 years	4.1	4.1	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.2	4.8	4.0	4.8	4.6	4.3	4.3	4.0	4.7	4.6	3.8
11 years	4.8	4.0	4.9	5.5	4.3	5.1	4.7	3.8	4.6	4.1	4.5	4.0	3.9	5.0	5.4	4.1
12 years	5.4	5.0	5.0	4.8	5.2	5.2	4.4	5.2	4.6	4.5	4.8	4.9	5.0	5.1	4.7	5.2
13 years	5.6	6.1	6.0	5.2	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.2	4.5	5.1	3.5	6.3	5.9	5.2	6.0
14 years	7.0	6.7	7.3	6.6	7.2	6.3	5.6	5.8	6.0	5.2	4.8	5.0	6.8	7.3	6.5	6.3
15 years	7.5	7.7	7.6	8.4	6.4	6.7	6.1	6.5	6.2	6.0	5.4	5.9	7.9	7.7	8.5	8.2
16 years	8.6	8.8	8.4	8.0	6.6	5.7	6.9	5.7	6.1	5.6	6.2	5.6	8.7	8.3	7.8	8.9
17 years	8.5	8.2	8.5	8.3	4.3	4.5	4.1	4.0	6.7	6.2	7.1	7.1	8.0	8.2	8.1	7.1
18 years	2.5	2.6	2.2	2.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.5	4.9	4.4	3.0	2.7	2.2	2.0	2.2
19 years	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.9	0.9	0.7	0.9
20 years	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.4
Missing data	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.2	0.2	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.4	<.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.1	<.1	0.3	0.2	0.2
Asian	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.1	<.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	40.5	38.2	33.8	31.7	30.7	26.4	25.0	27.0	32.1	29.0	26.5	27.3	39.4	34.9	31.8	31.0
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	2.1	1.9	2.2	3.2	2.2	3.2	5.4	4.3	2.4	3.1	4.7	4.1	1.9	2.0	3.2	3.5
White (non-Hispanic)	54.9	56.0	57.9	57.8	62.5	63.5	64.2	61.7	61.4	61.6	64.1	62.1	55.8	58.3	58.4	57.5
Two or more races	0.7	2.6	5.0	6.6	1.8	5.0	4.6	6.5	1.7	4.3	3.7	5.9	0.7	3.4	6.0	7.4
Unknown	1.2	1.1	0.7	0.5	2.3	1.3	0.3	0.2	1.7	1.4	0.5	0.3	1.9	0.9	0.4	0.3
Missing data	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

D. Characteristics of Children "Waiting for Adoption"6 (AFCARS: Foster Care File)

Waiting for Adoption	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total waiting children	817	808	982	986
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	63	248	414	414

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	3.7	3.2	2.0	3.1
1 year	5.4	5.7	8.6	7.1
2 years	6.6	6.4	8.9	6.9
3 years	6.2	6.4	6.9	6.5
4 years	6.1	5.9	6.1	6.9
5 years	6.4	5.8	6.0	4.4
6 years	5.4	5.8	6.0	5.6
7 years	6.2	6.1	5.2	5.6
8 years	6.2	5.9	6.0	6.6
9 years	8.4	6.9	5.1	6.3
10 years	7.0	7.8	7.0	5.5
11 years	6.2	6.1	7.1	6.0
12 years	7.3	6.9	5.7	7.9
13 years	6.5	6.7	5.9	6.1
14 years	6.1	5.4	5.9	5.6
15 years	2.7	5.8	5.5	5.7
16 years	2.7	1.6	1.6	2.9
17 years	0.7	0.9	0.3	1.1
18 years	0.0	0.4	0.1	0.3
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.1
Asian	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	41.4	37.9	30.8	28.9
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	2.1	1.7	2.5	2.8
White (non-Hispanic)	54.1	55.4	59.1	59.7
Two or more races	0.6	3.6	6.4	7.9
Unknown	1.7	1.1	0.9	0.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

6 There is no Federal definition for a child waiting to be adopted. The definition used in the table above includes children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parental rights have been terminated. It excludes children 16 years old and older whose parental rights have been terminated and who have a goal of emancipation. A State's own definition may differ from that used here. Furthermore, some numbers in this table may be lower than the numbers reported in the prior Child Welfare Outcomes reports. Only children with terminations prior to the end of the fiscal year of interest are included in the current table. Back

E. Characteristics of Children Adopted (AFCARS: Adoption File)

Adoptions	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children adopted	325	362	297	385

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	3.4	1.7	3.0	2.6
1 year	6.2	6.6	5.7	7.0
2 years	9.2	8.6	9.8	14.5
3 years	10.5	9.4	9.8	10.6
4 years	7.7	8.0	7.1	10.1
5 years	5.8	8.3	5.4	6.8
6 years	5.8	8.0	5.7	7.5
7 years	6.5	7.5	7.7	3.6
8 years	4.3	4.7	7.1	4.2
9 years	6.8	4.7	7.7	5.2
10 years	3.7	8.0	5.4	6.0
11 years	7.1	5.8	5.7	5.2
12 years	5.5	5.5	4.4	2.9
13 years	4.6	2.2	3.4	3.9
14 years	4.6	3.6	3.4	4.9
15 years	2.8	2.2	3.7	2.3
16 years	3.1	4.1	3.0	1.6
17 years	0.9	0.8	2.0	1.0
18 years	0.9	0.3	0.0	0.0
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.6	0.0	0.3	0.0
Asian	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	36.6	32.9	33.0	30.9
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	4.0	2.8	1.7	4.4
White (non-Hispanic)	57.2	61.9	60.9	61.0
Two or more races	0.9	1.7	3.4	3.6
Unknown	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.0
Missing data	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0

Back to Top

Arkansas [ Outcomes Data ]

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect (NCANDS)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children without a recurrence	94.4	94.6	94.1	94.9
Children with one or more recurrences	5.6	5.4	5.9	5.1
Number	3,887	3,372	3,523	3,214

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (NCANDS and AFCARS: Foster Care File, Jan.-Sept.)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children maltreated while in foster care	0.17	0.26	0.26	0.25
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.83	99.74	99.74	99.75
Number	5,991	5,428	5,436	5,669

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care (AFCARS: Foster Care File)

3.1 Exits of Children from Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	10.7	10.9	9.3	11.0
Guardianship	0.0	1.0	1.7	2.3
Reunification	59.7	71.5	81.0	80.3
Other	5.3	6.2	8.0	6.4
Missing data	24.4	10.4	<.1	<.1
Number	3,679	3,244	3,196	3,411

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	15.8	21.7	20.7	20.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.7	1.9	1.1
Reunification	51.1	54.8	59.9	61.9
Other	8.9	13.6	17.4	17.0
Missing data	24.1	9.1	0.0	0.0
Number	783	538	362	370

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	2.0	1.8	1.7	1.1
Guardianship	0.0	1.7	2.7	3.7
Reunification	54.4	66.8	73.7	76.5
Other	14.3	15.0	21.8	18.7
Missing data	29.2	14.7	0.1	0.0
Number	1,136	946	966	937

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	14.5	19.9	14.3	16.4
Children older than 12 at entry	85.5	80.1	85.7	83.6
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	172	166	223	195

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/Am. In.				Asian				Black (non-Hispanic)
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	6.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.9	13.8	10.6	11.5
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.4	0.5	1.7
Reunification	40.0	60.0	100.0	100.0	72.7	100.0	90.9	100.0	61.5	65.9	79.9	78.5
Other	6.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	9.1	0.0	5.0	6.3	8.9	8.3
Missing data	46.7	40.0	0.0	0.0	27.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	22.5	12.6	0.1	0.0
Number	15	5	7	4	11	8	11	5	1,180	941	846	932
	Native Hawaiian/Other Pac. Is.				Hispanic (of any race)				White (non-Hispanic)
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	13.5	9.9	4.7	10.6	10.9	10.3	9.1	10.5
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.3	0.7	0.0	1.0	2.2	2.6
Reunification	0.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	55.1	78.2	89.3	87.9	58.7	72.5	80.7	80.7
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.4	5.9	4.7	0.7	5.8	6.4	8.0	6.1
Missing data	0.0	66.7	0.0	0.0	28.1	4.0	0.0	0.0	24.7	9.8	<.1	<.1
Number	0	3	0	0	89	101	150	141	2,260	1,999	2,049	2,118
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	4.8	14.9	26.7	45.5	1.6	1.4	6.8	12.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.5	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	64.5	70.2	66.7	54.5	66.1	89.9	83.9	80.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	3.2	6.4	6.7	0.0	0.0	2.9	6.8	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	27.4	8.5	0.0	0.0	32.3	5.8	0.0	0.5	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Number	62	47	15	11	62	139	118	200	0	1	0	0

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry (AFCARS Foster Care File)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Less than 12 mos.	86.2	85.7	86.1	87.9
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	9.4	10.4	9.4	8.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	2.4	1.6	2.4	2.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.6
48 or more mos.	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.3
Missing data	0.5	1.3	0.8	0.7
Number	2,196	2,319	2,589	2,740

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	85.8	81.4	81.5	81.8
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	10.5	12.1	11.2	11.4
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	2.6	5.8	7.0	6.7
Missing data	1.1	0.6	0.3	0.1
Number	3,542	3,347	3,350	3,561

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption (AFCARS Foster Care File)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Less than 12 mos.	8.7	5.9	7.1	3.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	25.5	29.3	27.0	35.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	21.2	28.7	30.7	34.0
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	16.3	17.2	17.9	18.2
48 or more mos.	11.7	18.9	16.2	9.4
Missing data	16.6	0.0	1.0	0.0
Number	392	355	296	374

6. Increase Placement Stability (AFCARS Foster Care File)

6.1 Number of Placements by Time in Care (%)	In Care less than 12 Months				In Care at Least 12 Months but less than 24 Months				In Care for 24 Months or Longer				Missing Time in Care
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children with 2 or fewer placements	73.8	75.3	76.8	77.8	49.2	39.4	40.7	38.7	44.5	30.6	24.4	23.0	75.0	70.3	69.8	78.9
Children with 3 or more placements	18.3	23.2	21.7	21.5	47.8	60.0	59.0	61.2	52.3	68.6	73.7	77.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	4,048	3,797	3,773	3,992	1,163	1,086	1,073	1,071	1,421	1,283	1,268	1,324	92	37	53	38

7. Reduce Placements of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions (AFCARS Foster Care File)

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 (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Group homes	0.0	0.7	1.7	0.6
Institutions	3.8	8.3	11.5	12.8
Other settings	96.0	90.9	86.8	86.5
Missing data	0.2	<.1	<.1	0.1
Number	2,277	2,318	2,336	2,540

Back to Top

Arkansas [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Arkansas performance with regard to achieving the national outcomes established for the Report to Congress. The discussion focuses on the State's performance in 2003 and on change in performance over time. Change over time was determined by calculating the percent change in performance from 2000 to 2003. A percent change that was less than 5.0 in either direction (i.e., positive or negative) was considered to represent "no change in performance."

Outcome 1. Reduce recurrence of child abuse and/or neglect

In 2003, 5.1 percent of the children in Arkansas who were victims of maltreatment during the first 6 months of the year experienced another maltreatment incident within a 6-month period (measure 1.1). This percent is not only less than the national median of 7.1 percent, but also represents improvement in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-8.9 percent change). The child victim rate in 2003 was 10.6 victims per 1,000 children in the State population, which is equal to the national median.

Outcome 2. Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care

In 2003, only 0.25 percent of children in foster care in Arkansas were found to be victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1). Although this percent is less than the national median of 0.39, performance on this measure declined from 2000 to 2003 (+47.1 percent change).

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

In 2003, 93.6 percent of children exiting foster care in Arkansas were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.1), which exceeds the national median of 86.3 percent. Also in 2003, 83.0 percent of the children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.2), which exceeds the national median of 79.5 percent. Finally, 81.3 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 who were older than age 12 when they entered foster care were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.3), which exceeds the national median of 72.2 percent. Change in performance on these measures from 2000 to 2003 cannot be assessed because of missing information in 2000 and 2001 regarding discharge reasons.

In 2003, only 16.4 percent of the children reported as emancipated from foster care (either through legal action or because they reach the age of majority) entered foster care when they were age 12 or younger (measure 3.4). Although this percent is less than the national median of 29.6, performance on this measure declined from 2000 to 2003 (+13.1 percent change).

The data reported in measure 3.4 suggest that some children might be emancipated from foster care before their 18th birthday. For example, in 2003, 130 of the children exiting foster care were age 18 or older. However, 195 children exiting foster care in that year were reported to have a discharge reason of emancipation.

There were no real differences in exits to permanency as a function of children's race or ethnicity (measure 3.5). (This was assessed only when a particular race or ethnicity accounted for at least 10 percent of the exits from foster care.) Black (non-Hispanic) children exiting foster care were about as likely to be discharged to a permanent home (91.7 percent) as were White (non-Hispanic) children (93.8 percent). However, the percent of Black (non-Hispanic) children in the foster care population in 2003 (31.0 percent) exceeded the percent of these children in the State's child population (20.3 percent).

Outcome 4. Reduce time in foster care to reunification without increasing re-entry

In 2003, 87.9 percent of all reunifications occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1), which exceeds the national median of 72.0 percent. Performance on this measure did not change from 2000 to 2003. Also, only 0.9 percent of reunifications occurred after a child had been in foster care for at least 36 months, which is less than the national median of 3.5 percent.

Although a high percentage of children are reunified within 12 months of entering foster care, a high percentage of children also are re-entering foster care. In 2003, 11.4 percent of children entering foster care in Arkansas were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode (measure 4.2). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 9.5 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (+8.6 percent change). In addition, 6.7 percent of children entering foster care were re-entering more than 12 months after a prior foster care episode. Consequently, 18.1 percent of the children entering foster care in 2003 had been in foster care at a prior time, compared to 13.1 percent of the children entering foster care in 2000.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, 38.5 percent of all finalized adoptions in Arkansas occurred within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 23.9 percent, but also represents an improvement in performance from 2000 to 2003 (+12.6 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 77.8 percent of the children in foster care in Arkansas for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings, which is less than the national median of 84.2 percent (measure 6.1). In addition, only 38.7 percent of the children in foster care for at least 12 months, but less than 24 months, experienced no more than two placement settings, which is considerably less than the national median of 59.1 percent. Children in foster care for 12 months were far more likely to experience placement stability than were children in foster care for 12 to 24 months.

Outcome 7. Reduce placements of young children in group homes and institutions

The data relevant to performance on outcome 7 suggest that there may be data quality issues associated with this measure. In 2000, only 3.8 percent of the children entering foster care who were age 12 and younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). However, in 2003, that percentage was 13.4, reflecting a 252.6 percent change. It may be possible that the change is due to implementation of a group home or institution placement policy for children after 2000 that is reflected in a steadily increasing percentage for this measure from 2001 to 2003.

Back to Top