Colorado

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Colorado [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	1,107,306	1,136,972	1,146,872	1,152,751
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Asian	2.2	2.3	2.2	2.3
Black (non-Hispanic)	4.3	4.6	4.3	4.2
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	23.5	24.0	23.9	24.7
White (non-Hispanic)	66.2	65.8	66.3	65.5
Two or more races	2.9	2.6	2.6	2.6
% Child population in poverty	10.9	10.6	12.5	11.9

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	7,467	4,837	7,570	8,137
Children in foster care on 9/30	7,533	7,138	9,209	8,754
Children adopted	711	749	992	1,024

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	35,483	32.0 per 1,000	30,983	27.2 per 1,000	40,552	35.4 per 1,000	43,217	37.5 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	7,467	6.7 per 1,000	4,837	4.2 per 1,000	7,570	6.6 per 1,000	8,137	7.1 per 1,000
Child fatalities	31	2.8 per 100,000	20	1.8 per 100,000	25	2.2 per 100,000	27	2.3 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	10.0	9.9	10.8	10.3
1-5 years	30.8	30.4	31.6	33.0
6-10 years	30.5	30.0	29.5	29.0
11-15 years	23.5	23.6	23.7	23.2
16+ years	4.7	5.4	4.3	4.5
Unknown	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0
Number	7,467	4,837	7,570	8,137

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.2	1.8	1.0	0.6
Asian	0.8	1.3	1.0	0.7
Black (non-Hispanic)	7.0	10.2	8.7	7.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	21.4	30.0	34.3	34.0
White (non-Hispanic)	64.9	79.5	51.1	52.7
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	1.9	2.2
Unknown	4.6	0.0	2.0	1.8
Number	7,467	4,837	7,570	8,137

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	15.9	16.9	5.5	5.0
Medical neglect	71.4	1.3	1.6	1.4
Neglect	72.2	41.0	44.9	46.6
Physical abuse	26.8	25.1	25.0	21.5
Sexual abuse	14.4	11.2	11.8	11.5
Unknown/missing data	0.0	14.4	16.7	18.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	7,467	4,837	7,570	8,137

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	6,103	5,331	7,814	8,425	6,942	7,007	7,738	7,613	5,512	5,200	6,343	7,284	7,533	7,138	9,209	8,754
Median length of stay (months)	12.2	11.9	12.6	12.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	3.7	4.0	5.5	6.8	12.0	9.6	12.3	13.1

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	4.0	4.5	4.1	4.4	8.8	8.6	10.1	11.0	4.4	4.5	4.4	5.0	4.0	4.5	4.5	4.7
1 year	4.6	5.1	4.3	4.8	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.4	4.6	5.0	5.6	6.4	4.9	4.6	4.8	4.6
2 years	3.4	5.0	4.5	4.0	4.5	4.4	4.5	5.1	4.2	5.7	5.0	5.5	4.8	4.4	4.1	4.2
3 years	3.4	4.1	4.0	4.1	3.8	3.7	4.0	4.8	3.7	4.4	4.6	4.8	3.6	4.1	4.1	4.2
4 years	3.1	4.1	3.1	3.8	3.9	3.0	3.6	4.5	3.6	3.8	3.6	4.7	3.7	3.1	3.7	3.7
5 years	3.3	3.2	3.5	2.8	3.1	3.0	3.2	3.8	3.2	3.4	3.9	3.8	3.1	3.6	2.9	3.6
6 years	3.7	4.0	3.2	3.1	3.2	3.5	3.0	3.8	3.4	3.2	3.2	3.5	3.5	3.2	3.1	3.0
7 years	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.0	3.8	3.3	3.2	4.1	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.8	3.6	3.7	3.1	3.7
8 years	4.6	3.4	4.0	3.4	3.4	3.7	2.9	3.5	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.8	3.3	3.1
9 years	4.7	4.6	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.3	3.5	3.5	3.9	3.3	3.3	4.6	3.7	3.8	3.6
10 years	4.4	5.0	4.7	3.5	3.6	4.0	3.3	3.5	3.0	4.0	3.7	3.1	4.9	4.5	3.5	4.1
11 years	5.6	4.9	4.7	4.3	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.9	3.0	3.5	3.4	3.3	4.6	4.7	4.3	3.9
12 years	5.7	5.6	4.7	5.0	4.8	4.2	4.4	4.2	4.2	3.8	3.7	3.5	5.7	4.7	4.9	4.7
13 years	7.8	5.8	6.2	5.4	6.8	6.2	6.0	5.3	5.6	4.4	5.0	4.0	6.3	6.3	5.4	5.8
14 years	8.3	7.8	7.6	7.2	9.7	9.1	8.5	7.3	9.0	7.1	6.3	5.7	8.8	8.1	7.5	6.7
15 years	9.4	7.9	8.7	8.6	10.5	11.6	10.2	9.3	10.4	9.9	9.3	7.9	8.9	9.6	8.9	8.4
16 years	8.9	9.1	9.3	9.8	10.4	10.0	11.0	9.1	11.5	10.7	9.8	9.0	9.5	9.3	10.0	9.2
17 years	8.0	7.6	9.0	9.6	7.0	8.2	7.7	6.9	10.2	9.4	9.2	9.0	7.6	8.7	9.3	9.6
18 years	2.1	3.0	4.7	5.6	0.2	1.2	1.5	0.9	4.6	5.2	6.2	5.9	3.0	3.9	5.3	5.4
19 years	1.0	0.9	1.7	2.5	<.1	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.7	0.8	2.0	2.8	0.9	1.1	2.3	2.6
20 years	0.4	0.6	0.5	1.1	<.1	<.1	0.1	<.1	0.3	0.6	1.1	1.7	0.6	0.4	1.0	1.0
Missing data	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.3	0.2	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.0	<.1	0.1

	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	2.7	2.1	1.6	1.3	2.0	1.5	0.9	0.9	2.7	1.9	1.2	0.9	2.1	1.7	1.2	1.3
Asian	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.4	1.0	0.8	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.5
Black (non-Hispanic)	16.3	16.8	15.0	12.9	11.1	12.8	11.2	9.6	10.3	13.8	13.3	10.7	15.9	15.1	12.9	12.0
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	25.5	28.1	31.5	32.2	28.7	31.0	34.3	36.0	27.9	30.2	33.3	35.2	26.7	29.4	32.6	33.0
White (non-Hispanic)	51.4	49.5	49.0	50.3	47.3	50.0	50.5	50.1	49.3	48.5	49.3	50.0	49.2	50.7	50.0	50.4
Two or more races	0.0	0.6	1.9	2.3	0.0	1.3	2.5	2.8	0.0	0.8	2.1	2.7	0.0	1.1	2.2	2.4
Unknown	3.3	2.3	0.4	0.2	10.0	2.2	<.1	<.1	8.9	3.8	<.1	<.1	5.4	1.1	0.3	0.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	<.1	<.1

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

Waiting for Adoption	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total waiting children	1,776	1,445	1,886	1,492
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	1,252	647	1,072	757

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	2.0	4.0	4.6	2.9
1 year	5.4	7.6	8.2	7.1
2 years	7.2	7.0	7.6	7.3
3 years	5.9	8.4	7.3	5.7
4 years	5.5	5.9	7.0	6.1
5 years	4.9	6.6	5.5	6.2
6 years	5.9	5.5	5.8	5.0
7 years	6.5	7.5	6.2	5.6
8 years	6.0	6.1	6.0	6.0
9 years	8.0	5.5	6.1	5.8
10 years	9.0	7.8	5.4	6.7
11 years	6.3	7.6	7.1	5.1
12 years	7.7	5.1	6.4	6.2
13 years	6.1	4.8	5.0	6.9
14 years	5.3	3.7	4.6	6.1
15 years	4.4	3.0	3.7	4.6
16 years	2.6	2.1	1.9	3.4
17 years	0.9	1.2	1.1	2.3
18 years	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5
19 years	0.2	<.1	0.2	<.1
20+ years	0.1	<.1	<.1	0.2
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	2.3	1.3	1.3	0.7
Asian	0.3	0.3	<.1	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	20.6	18.9	16.4	16.4
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.1	<.1	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	30.5	31.4	33.0	32.7
White (non-Hispanic)	44.8	45.7	45.9	47.0
Two or more races	0.0	1.1	2.7	2.5
Unknown	1.5	1.1	0.4	0.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2

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	711	749	992	1,024

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	3.0	3.1	1.5	2.4
1 year	10.4	10.4	11.8	15.4
2 years	10.5	12.1	10.9	12.3
3 years	10.7	12.1	9.4	11.2
4 years	10.1	7.3	9.9	8.9
5 years	6.9	7.5	7.0	8.2
6 years	5.8	6.1	7.2	4.6
7 years	8.3	5.5	5.5	5.9
8 years	5.3	6.3	5.6	4.9
9 years	6.2	6.0	4.6	4.1
10 years	6.3	5.5	6.5	4.4
11 years	4.6	5.9	5.4	4.8
12 years	4.1	4.0	4.5	4.6
13 years	3.2	2.7	3.5	2.6
14 years	1.5	2.3	2.5	2.8
15 years	0.8	1.5	1.4	0.6
16 years	1.1	1.1	1.7	1.6
17 years	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.4
18 years	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.3
19 years	0.1	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	1.8	2.0	1.7	1.2
Asian	0.7	0.7	0.5	<.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	16.6	18.3	18.1	13.9
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2
Hispanic (of any race)	28.3	28.8	31.0	35.9
White (non-Hispanic)	52.3	48.6	46.3	44.7
Two or more races	0.0	1.2	2.3	4.0
Unknown	0.3	0.4	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

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Colorado [ 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	—	—	96.7	97.0
Children with one or more recurrences	—	—	3.3	3.0
Number	—	—	3,597	3,574

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	—	—	0.29	0.44
Children not maltreated while in foster care	—	—	99.71	99.56
Number	—	—	14,218	14,443

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	3.1	9.3	13.6	13.1
Guardianship	1.3	2.3	2.6	3.6
Reunification	71.7	68.8	65.5	68.2
Other	16.2	14.6	14.1	13.7
Missing data	7.6	4.9	4.2	1.4
Number	5,512	5,200	6,343	7,284

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	3.6	8.5	19.4	17.0
Guardianship	0.8	2.2	2.1	2.2
Reunification	67.9	60.8	48.4	49.7
Other	21.9	23.7	22.2	28.6
Missing data	5.9	4.8	8.0	2.5
Number	1,793	1,568	1,683	1,297

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.4	1.4	0.8	1.0
Guardianship	0.8	1.8	1.5	1.6
Reunification	70.0	66.0	61.9	68.2
Other	28.6	28.1	27.3	27.0
Missing data	0.2	2.7	8.5	2.3
Number	2,615	2,288	2,825	2,978

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	18.7	22.9	16.4	19.5
Children older than 12 at entry	81.3	77.1	83.6	80.5
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	252	297	329	436

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	4.8	9.3	20.5	16.7	7.1	2.5	12.5	2.9	4.8	14.5	18.5	17.9
Guardianship	1.4	5.2	2.6	4.5	1.8	0.0	2.5	5.9	1.2	4.0	4.1	3.4
Reunification	70.1	63.9	60.3	57.6	76.8	75.0	72.5	61.8	66.4	59.5	56.6	60.8
Other	17.7	12.4	12.8	21.2	8.9	22.5	5.0	26.5	18.8	16.6	16.5	15.9
Missing data	6.1	9.3	3.8	0.0	5.4	0.0	7.5	2.9	8.8	5.4	4.3	2.1
Number	147	97	78	66	56	40	40	34	565	719	844	776
	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	22.2	2.9	8.6	12.9	12.6	3.2	9.1	12.6	12.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.6	2.3	3.2	3.8	1.3	1.9	1.8	3.4
Reunification	0.0	100.0	100.0	44.4	70.9	69.0	65.2	69.1	70.7	70.4	68.2	69.8
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	33.3	16.0	14.3	13.6	12.8	16.6	14.5	13.7	13.7
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	8.5	5.9	5.1	1.6	8.2	4.0	3.6	1.2
Number	0	2	5	9	1,537	1,569	2,115	2,563	2,716	2,523	3,124	3,639
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.8	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	11.4	15.9	21.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.3	5.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	86.4	81.3	80.0	100.0	0.0	70.5	59.8	62.2	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Other	11.6	12.6	20.0	0.0	0.0	9.1	17.4	11.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.8	5.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	9.1	4.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	491	198	5	1	0	44	132	196	0	8	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.	85.7	83.0	84.0	77.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	10.4	10.6	11.3	15.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	1.7	2.4	1.8	3.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.9
48 or more mos.	1.0	0.9	0.5	0.9
Missing data	0.8	2.5	1.7	2.1
Number	3,954	3,579	4,152	4,968

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	69.8	67.9	63.8	71.2
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	19.3	20.9	18.5	17.4
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	10.4	10.8	11.7	10.7
Missing data	0.5	0.5	5.9	0.6
Number	6,942	7,007	7,738	7,613

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.	24.9	24.9	11.8	15.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	36.4	26.6	33.8	38.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	22.0	20.6	25.3	25.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	6.9	10.3	14.0	10.7
48 or more mos.	9.8	6.6	13.6	9.3
Missing data	0.0	10.9	1.5	1.3
Number	173	485	865	957

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	86.9	79.1	79.9	80.6	57.7	50.0	54.8	53.1	32.2	24.6	38.6	37.2	100.0	70.3	69.8	72.0
Children with 3 or more placements	13.1	17.8	16.3	15.0	42.3	49.0	43.0	45.9	67.8	74.7	60.4	61.9	0.0	0.6	0.0	0.0
Number	7,870	7,762	8,777	8,776	2,316	2,016	3,034	3,240	2,812	2,388	3,602	3,840	47	172	139	182

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	1.4	2.0	1.3	1.2
Institutions	5.7	10.6	13.5	10.0
Other settings	92.9	82.1	85.3	88.8
Missing data	0.0	5.3	0.0	0.0
Number	3,783	3,062	4,074	4,379

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Colorado [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Colorado'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, 3.0 percent of the children in Colorado 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 considerably less than the national median of 7.1 percent. Change in performance on this measure could not be assessed because Colorado did not report these data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) in 2000 or 2001.

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

In 2003, 0.44 percent (64 children) of children in foster care in Colorado were victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1), which exceeds the national median of 0.39 percent. Change in performance on this measure could not be assessed because Colorado did not report these data to NCANDS in 2000 or 2001.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

Colorado's performance with regard to outcome 3 varied as a function of the measure being assessed. In 2003, 84.9 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. Similarly, 70.8 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 slightly less than the national median of 72.2 percent. However, 68.9 percent of the children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.2), which is considerably less than the median of 79.5 percent.

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, 19.5 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 is less than the national median of 29.6 percent. However, 772 of the children exiting foster care in 2003 were age 18 or older at the time of exit, while only 436 children were reported as having a discharge reason of emancipation.

There were no 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 equally likely to exit to permanency (82.1 percent) as were White (non-Hispanic) children (85.2 percent) or Hispanic children (85.5 percent). However, the percent of Black (non-Hispanic) children in the foster care population in 2003 (12.0 percent) far exceeded the percent of these children in the State's child population (4.2 percent). The percent of Hispanic children in the foster care population (33.0 percent) also exceeded the percent of Hispanic children in the State's child population (24.7 percent).

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

In 2003, 77.5 percent of reunifications occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1). Although this percent exceeded the national median of 72.0 percent, performance on this measure declined from 2000 to 2003 (-9.6 percent change).

Although Colorado had a relatively high percent of reunifications in 2003 occurring within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care, the State also had a relative high percent of children re-entering foster care. In 2003, 17.4 percent of children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode (measure 4.2). This percent far exceeded the national median of 9.5 percent. However, performance on this measure improved from 2000 to 2003 (-9.8 percent change).

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, 53.6 percent of all finalized adoptions in Colorado occurred within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). Although this percent exceeds the national median of 23.9 percent, it represents a decline in performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (-12.6 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 80.6 percent of the children in foster care in Colorado for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings (measure 6.1). This percent is not only less than the national median of 84.2 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-7.2 percent change). In addition, 53.1 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, 11.2 percent of the children entering foster care in Colorado who were age 12 or younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 8.3 percent, but also represents a decline in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003 (+57.7 percent change).

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