California

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

California [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	9,271,687	9,355,719	9,375,121	9,419,970
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Asian	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5
Black (non-Hispanic)	7.1	7.2	6.8	6.7
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.4	0.3	0.3
Hispanic (of any race)	43.8	44.3	43.6	44.2
White (non-Hispanic)	34.8	35.2	36.3	35.7
Two or more races	3.9	3.0	3.0	3.0
% Child population in poverty	19.2	16.4	18.7	18.5

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	129,678	128,251	132,181	106,198
Children in foster care on 9/30	112,807	107,168	100,451	97,261
Children adopted	8,818	9,156	8,840	7,433

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	486,127	52.4 per 1,000	485,911	51.9 per 1,000	512,880	54.7 per 1,000	464,110	49.3 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	129,678	14.0 per 1,000	128,251	13.7 per 1,000	132,181	14.1 per 1,000	106,198	11.3 per 1,000
Child fatalities	53	0.6 per 100,000	0	— per 100,000	—	— per 100,000	—	— 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	9.5	9.6	9.8	10.2
1-5 years	29.1	28.4	28.3	27.9
6-10 years	30.8	30.8	30.1	29.0
11-15 years	24.5	25.0	25.8	26.3
16+ years	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.6
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	129,678	128,251	132,181	106,198

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.1
Asian	3.8	3.5	3.4	3.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	15.6	14.6	14.4	15.0
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.4
Hispanic (of any race)	39.6	41.3	18.3	44.0
White (non-Hispanic)	32.9	32.0	31.3	31.7
Two or more races	0.0	2.5	2.7	0.0
Unknown	7.1	5.3	29.1	4.8
Number	129,678	128,251	132,181	106,198

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	18.7	18.2	16.3	17.7
Medical neglect	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Neglect	56.7	42.2	44.3	66.5
Physical abuse	16.1	14.5	13.2	14.9
Sexual abuse	8.3	8.3	7.5	8.4
Unknown/missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	10.5	31.2	33.0	0.2
Number	129,678	128,251	132,181	106,198

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	117,223	106,081	99,513	95,808	45,685	45,176	46,557	45,796	50,112	44,096	45,625	44,350	112,807	107,168	100,451	97,261
Median length of stay (months)	24.5	26.2	24.8	22.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	18.2	17.0	15.5	14.9	26.6	25.3	22.9	22.0

	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	3.5	3.5	3.7	4.1	14.0	13.9	14.4	15.5	3.6	3.8	4.1	4.6	3.4	3.6	4.0	4.4
1 year	4.5	4.6	4.5	4.8	6.0	5.9	6.0	6.2	5.1	5.2	5.4	6.0	4.5	4.4	4.8	5.0
2 years	4.9	4.6	4.7	4.4	5.4	5.7	5.3	5.6	6.0	6.3	6.3	6.5	4.5	4.7	4.4	4.6
3 years	5.1	4.5	4.4	4.4	5.1	5.1	5.1	4.8	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.5	4.5	4.3	4.4	4.1
4 years	5.3	4.7	4.3	4.1	5.0	4.7	4.7	4.7	6.1	5.5	5.4	5.4	4.6	4.2	4.1	4.1
5 years	5.0	4.8	4.5	4.0	5.1	4.8	4.7	4.6	5.7	5.3	5.0	5.0	4.8	4.4	4.0	3.8
6 years	5.3	4.9	4.6	4.3	5.1	4.8	4.8	4.4	5.7	5.5	5.2	4.6	4.8	4.5	4.3	3.8
7 years	5.4	5.2	4.8	4.4	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.5	5.3	5.1	5.0	4.7	5.1	4.7	4.5	4.2
8 years	5.6	5.3	5.2	4.6	4.7	4.6	4.4	4.4	5.2	4.9	4.8	4.6	5.2	5.0	4.6	4.4
9 years	5.5	5.5	5.2	4.9	4.6	4.5	4.3	4.2	5.2	4.8	4.6	4.5	5.4	5.1	5.0	4.4
10 years	5.5	5.4	5.6	5.1	4.3	4.4	4.1	4.0	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.3	5.3	5.4	5.1	4.8
11 years	5.3	5.6	5.5	5.5	4.0	4.3	4.1	4.0	4.2	4.1	4.0	4.1	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.0
12 years	5.1	5.4	5.8	5.6	4.4	4.5	4.3	4.5	4.0	4.0	4.2	4.3	5.3	5.7	5.6	5.5
13 years	5.3	5.6	5.8	6.0	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.0	4.0	3.9	4.0	4.1	5.5	5.7	6.0	5.8
14 years	5.7	6.0	6.2	6.5	5.9	5.9	6.1	6.1	4.2	4.1	4.4	4.4	6.0	6.1	6.5	6.6
15 years	6.1	6.7	6.8	7.2	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.5	4.4	4.9	4.7	4.9	6.6	6.8	7.1	7.3
16 years	6.6	7.0	7.2	7.9	6.2	6.5	6.8	6.6	4.8	5.4	5.4	5.0	6.8	7.3	7.7	8.0
17 years	6.7	6.7	6.9	7.5	3.7	4.0	4.1	4.3	6.0	6.2	6.9	7.1	6.8	7.0	7.3	8.1
18 years	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.9	<.1	0.1	0.1	<.1	8.3	9.1	8.5	8.7	3.5	3.2	3.0	3.4
19 years	0.6	0.9	0.9	1.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.1	1.3
20 years	0.1	0.2	0.4	0.5	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.6
Missing data	<.1	<.1	0.2	0.5	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.1	<.1	0.1	0.2	0.5	0.9

	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	1.1	0.9	0.9	0.8	1.3	1.1	0.8	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.2	0.9	0.8	0.8
Asian	1.8	1.3	1.3	1.3	3.1	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.7	2.0	2.1	2.2	1.9	1.4	1.3	1.3
Black (non-Hispanic)	34.3	32.3	31.4	30.2	21.5	19.7	19.0	18.3	24.7	21.9	21.3	20.5	33.3	31.3	30.2	29.0
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4
Hispanic (of any race)	32.9	35.6	36.7	38.0	38.2	39.4	42.1	43.0	35.3	38.3	40.1	40.0	33.9	36.1	37.7	39.4
White (non-Hispanic)	29.3	26.6	26.2	25.9	33.6	32.5	30.5	30.1	34.1	32.0	30.8	31.3	28.9	26.8	26.1	25.4
Two or more races	<.1	2.5	2.9	3.2	0.1	2.9	3.3	3.3	0.3	2.6	3.1	3.4	<.1	2.6	2.9	3.2
Unknown	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.2	1.9	2.0	1.5	1.7	1.3	1.7	1.2	1.3	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.5
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	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	12,004	7,682	6,335	5,473
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	9,080	965	994	1,038

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	3.4	5.9	7.4	10.0
1 year	7.8	8.0	9.7	10.8
2 years	9.4	7.7	6.6	8.7
3 years	10.0	7.3	6.8	5.3
4 years	10.1	8.3	6.5	5.7
5 years	8.8	8.5	6.8	5.3
6 years	7.9	7.9	6.9	5.3
7 years	7.3	7.0	7.3	5.7
8 years	6.6	7.1	5.9	5.8
9 years	6.0	6.4	6.6	5.0
10 years	5.0	5.9	5.9	5.8
11 years	4.4	4.9	5.5	5.3
12 years	3.3	4.3	4.6	5.1
13 years	3.1	3.0	4.0	4.2
14 years	2.5	2.8	2.8	3.7
15 years	1.8	2.3	2.6	2.9
16 years	1.4	1.3	2.2	2.6
17 years	0.9	0.9	1.3	2.1
18 years	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.5
19 years	<.1	<.1	0.1	<.1
20+ years	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.5
Asian	1.6	0.9	1.0	0.8
Black (non-Hispanic)	31.2	34.0	32.3	31.6
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Hispanic (of any race)	35.5	37.5	37.1	38.2
White (non-Hispanic)	30.6	23.3	24.8	24.9
Two or more races	0.0	3.2	3.7	3.5
Unknown	0.2	0.2	0.2	<.1
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	8,818	9,156	8,840	7,433

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	2.3	2.0	2.3	1.6
1 year	8.6	8.7	9.1	11.2
2 years	12.9	12.4	12.6	13.0
3 years	13.0	10.8	11.5	11.0
4 years	12.3	10.9	9.8	9.7
5 years	10.0	9.3	8.1	8.2
6 years	7.7	8.2	7.7	7.2
7 years	6.1	6.9	6.7	6.5
8 years	5.6	5.6	6.0	5.7
9 years	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.2
10 years	4.0	4.9	4.7	4.7
11 years	3.0	3.8	4.0	4.2
12 years	2.8	3.2	3.5	3.2
13 years	1.9	2.3	2.7	2.6
14 years	1.4	1.8	2.2	1.9
15 years	1.0	1.4	1.6	1.4
16 years	0.8	1.1	1.1	1.3
17 years	0.6	0.8	0.9	1.1
18 years	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3
19 years	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
20+ years	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.5
Asian	1.2	1.0	1.4	1.6
Black (non-Hispanic)	22.1	16.8	22.6	20.2
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.2	0.3	0.6	0.3
Hispanic (of any race)	33.9	37.5	40.8	39.8
White (non-Hispanic)	34.7	30.3	28.7	32.0
Two or more races	0.3	1.3	1.6	5.5
Unknown	7.1	12.5	3.8	0.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

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California [ 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	89.3	88.8	88.8	90.8
Children with one or more recurrences	10.7	11.2	11.2	9.2
Number	60,886	59,715	61,017	49,327

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	—	0.34	0.33	0.20
Children not maltreated while in foster care	—	99.66	99.67	99.80
Number	—	140,134	134,724	131,639

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	15.4	17.7	18.3	17.3
Guardianship	7.1	5.4	5.2	5.2
Reunification	61.7	59.2	58.2	61.8
Other	14.4	15.6	15.3	15.4
Missing data	1.5	2.1	3.0	0.3
Number	50,112	44,096	45,625	44,350

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	24.7	27.5	27.2	24.6
Guardianship	6.0	5.1	4.9	5.3
Reunification	56.1	51.6	49.9	52.6
Other	12.4	13.8	15.0	17.4
Missing data	0.8	1.9	3.0	0.2
Number	4,441	6,587	10,700	13,213

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.8
Guardianship	2.2	2.1	2.3	2.6
Reunification	56.0	54.1	55.2	60.0
Other	39.9	41.3	39.0	36.3
Missing data	1.3	1.8	2.7	0.3
Number	11,795	11,150	11,393	10,927

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	34.7	36.2	43.3	45.3
Children older than 12 at entry	65.3	63.8	56.7	54.7
Missing data	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Number	4,489	4,046	4,011	4,486

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	10.0	7.8	12.4	9.4	8.5	10.1	11.4	12.7	15.9	17.6	19.6	17.3
Guardianship	13.5	13.6	9.0	12.0	3.6	1.6	2.2	2.8	9.2	6.8	6.5	6.2
Reunification	58.0	58.3	59.3	60.4	76.5	75.5	72.1	76.0	54.9	52.0	50.1	52.1
Other	17.3	18.9	16.9	17.7	10.2	10.4	11.7	8.2	19.0	21.9	21.7	24.0
Missing data	1.2	1.4	2.5	0.6	1.1	2.4	2.6	0.3	1.1	1.6	2.1	0.4
Number	572	434	445	351	1,359	887	952	990	12,385	9,647	9,730	9,095
	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	9.3	11.8	15.2	9.1	14.9	17.8	19.0	17.2	16.6	18.7	17.1	17.4
Guardianship	2.1	4.4	9.1	2.0	7.0	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.9	5.2	4.8	5.2
Reunification	71.1	69.1	67.0	76.8	63.8	61.2	59.6	65.2	62.4	59.4	60.2	62.3
Other	15.5	11.3	6.6	10.6	12.6	13.8	12.7	12.6	13.5	14.5	15.3	14.8
Missing data	2.1	3.4	2.0	1.5	1.7	2.3	3.8	0.1	1.5	2.1	2.5	0.3
Number	194	204	197	198	17,696	16,897	18,288	17,756	17,110	14,126	14,047	13,879
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	2.0	3.5	2.4	3.6	35.6	23.7	26.2	27.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	3.3	3.4	2.7	2.0	6.8	5.6	4.9	5.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	86.0	81.2	79.8	85.7	47.0	59.0	57.3	56.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	5.6	9.1	10.7	8.4	10.6	9.7	9.0	10.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	3.2	2.7	4.4	0.4	0.0	2.1	2.6	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	664	733	550	561	132	1,168	1,416	1,520	0	0	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.	53.2	56.0	61.2	61.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	24.2	25.3	22.3	24.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	10.3	8.1	7.0	6.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	4.0	3.4	2.7	2.2
48 or more mos.	6.5	4.8	4.7	4.1
Missing data	1.8	2.3	2.2	1.7
Number	30,908	26,091	26,555	27,402

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	80.1	78.6	78.1	77.8
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	10.7	11.3	11.0	11.2
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	9.0	10.1	10.8	10.9
Missing data	0.2	<.1	<.1	<.1
Number	45,685	45,176	46,557	45,796

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.	2.4	2.2	3.4	3.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	15.7	15.7	17.6	21.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	30.4	25.1	25.0	26.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	23.5	23.4	19.4	18.3
48 or more mos.	27.9	33.3	34.4	29.5
Missing data	0.2	0.3	0.3	<.1
Number	7,693	7,801	8,367	7,664

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	77.7	80.8	80.3	80.0	59.0	59.8	57.8	56.9	52.0	46.5	41.4	37.9	94.6	94.6	94.5	98.0
Children with 3 or more placements	22.2	19.1	19.6	20.0	41.0	40.1	42.1	43.1	48.0	53.4	58.6	62.1	5.4	5.4	5.5	1.9
Number	49,747	48,882	50,785	50,412	32,324	29,988	29,440	29,928	80,094	71,554	64,880	60,581	754	840	971	690

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	3.8	3.9	5.1	6.4
Institutions	9.8	10.0	8.7	6.4
Other settings	86.4	86.0	86.0	87.0
Missing data	<.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Number	32,668	32,040	32,521	32,164

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California [ State Comment ]

Mary Ault, Deputy Director
Children and Family Services Division
Department of Social Services
California Health and Human Services Agency

The following are California's comments on the State's data presented in Child Welfare Outcomes 2003: Report to Congress.

Section C (Children in Foster Care): The decline in the number of children in foster care from 9/30/02 to 10/01/02 is due to the differences in reporting period and partly to late reporting of closures.

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California [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of California's performance on 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, 9.2 percent of the children in California 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). Although this exceeds the national median of 7.1 percent, it represents an improvement in performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (-14.0 percent change).

During the same time period, the child victim rate in California declined from 14.0 child victims per 1,000 children in the population in 2000 to 11.3 child victims per 1,000 children in the population in 2003.

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

In 2003, 0.20 percent of all children in foster care in California were found to be victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1). This percent not only is less than the national median of 0.39, but also represents improvement in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003 (-41.2 percent change).

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

California's performance with regard to outcome 3 varied as a function of the measure being assessed. In 2003, 84.3 percent of children exiting foster care were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.1), which is only slightly less than the national median of 86.3 percent. Also, 82.5 percent of the children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.2), which exceeds the median of 79.5 percent. In contrast, only 66.9 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 is less than the national median of 72.2 percent. However, performance on this measure exhibited a slight improvement from 2000 to 2003 (+7.8 percent change).

With regard to ensuring that children who are emancipated from foster care (either through legal action or because they reach the age of majority) do not spend most of their formative years in foster care, in 2003, 45.3 percent of the children reported as emancipated from foster care entered foster care when they were age 12 or younger (measure 3.4). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 29.6 percent, but also represents a decline in performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (+30.5 percent change).

There were some 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.). In particular, Black (non-Hispanic) children exiting foster care were less likely to exit to permanency (75.6 percent) than were White (non-Hispanic) children (84.9 percent), or Hispanic children (87.3 percent). In addition, the percent of Black children in the foster care population in 2003 (29.0 percent) was more than three times the percent of Black children in the State's child population (6.7 percent).

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

In 2003, 61.4 percent of all reunifications in California occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1), which is less than the national median of 72.0 percent. Also in 2003, 6.3 percent of reunifications occurred after the child had been in foster care for at least 36 months, which exceeds the national median of 3.5 percent. However, performance on both measures exhibited improvement from 2000 to 2003. That is, the percent of reunifications occurring within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care increased (+15.4 percent change), while the percent of reunifications occurring after a child had been in foster care for 36 months or more decreased (-40.0 percent change).

With regard to re-entry into foster care (measure 4.2), in 2003, 11.2 percent of children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode, which exceeds the median of 9.5 percent. Although performance on this measure did not change from 2000 to 2003, there was an overall increase in the total percent of children entering foster care who had been in foster care at a prior time (+12.2 percent change from 2000 to 2003). The data indicate that 22.1 percent of the children entering foster care in 2003 had been in foster care at a prior time, compared to 19.7 percent of the children entering foster care in 2000.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, 25.2 percent of all finalized adoptions in California occurred within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). This percentage not only exceeds the national median of 23.9 percent, but also represents a substantial improvement in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003 (39.2 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 80.0 percent of the children in foster care in California for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings, which is slightly less than the national median of 84.2 percent (measure 6.1). In addition, 56.9 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 less than the national median of 59.1 percent.

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

In 2003, 12.8 percent of the children entering foster care in California who were age 12 or younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). Although this percent exceeds the national median of 8.3 percent, it represents an improvement in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003 (-5.9 percent change).

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