Connecticut

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Connecticut [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	841,894	839,079	837,964	835,375
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Asian	2.5	2.7	2.7	2.8
Black (non-Hispanic)	11.1	11.5	10.8	10.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	13.7	14.0	13.2	13.4
White (non-Hispanic)	69.6	69.5	71.1	70.7
Two or more races	2.5	2.1	1.9	2.0
% Child population in poverty	9.2	9.3	11.0	10.1

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	14,462	12,120	12,818	12,256
Children in foster care on 9/30	6,996	7,440	6,007	6,742
Children adopted	499	444	617	342

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	45,111	53.6 per 1,000	47,378	56.5 per 1,000	53,414	63.7 per 1,000	50,115	60.0 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	14,462	17.2 per 1,000	12,120	14.4 per 1,000	12,818	15.3 per 1,000	12,256	14.7 per 1,000
Child fatalities	8	0.9 per 100,000	8	0.9 per 100,000	9	1.1 per 100,000	6	0.7 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	9.2	10.0	9.3	9.2
1-5 years	29.8	29.2	29.6	29.0
6-10 years	30.3	28.6	28.7	28.2
11-15 years	25.6	27.0	26.9	27.9
16+ years	4.3	4.8	4.9	5.2
Unknown	0.9	0.4	0.6	0.4
Number	14,462	12,120	12,818	12,256

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Asian	1.0	0.8	0.6	0.6
Black (non-Hispanic)	23.9	24.8	24.3	23.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	24.7	26.2	26.0	25.7
White (non-Hispanic)	43.7	43.2	43.6	44.1
Two or more races	2.1	2.6	3.1	3.5
Unknown	4.5	2.3	2.3	2.0
Number	14,462	12,120	12,818	12,256

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	33.9	28.6	28.3	33.6
Medical neglect	3.5	3.2	3.0	3.1
Neglect	60.2	64.6	68.8	68.1
Physical abuse	14.8	14.2	12.1	11.5
Sexual abuse	3.8	3.9	4.3	4.5
Unknown/missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.2
Other	2.7	2.6	2.1	0.9
Number	14,462	12,120	12,818	12,256

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	6,636	6,635	6,157	5,755	2,763	2,713	2,763	3,130	2,368	1,943	2,787	2,143	6,996	7,440	6,007	6,742
Median length of stay (months)	25.1	25.7	29.3	21.7	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	18.0	19.4	17.4	12.1	24.6	25.2	28.2	20.0

	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	3.2	2.8	2.9	3.5	13.6	12.9	13.3	13.7	4.8	3.6	4.1	5.2	2.9	3.0	3.5	3.7
1 year	4.5	4.3	3.8	4.4	6.2	6.1	6.3	5.8	5.4	5.2	5.5	5.9	4.1	3.8	4.0	4.7
2 years	4.7	4.8	4.5	3.9	5.1	5.6	5.0	5.3	6.0	6.3	5.6	6.0	4.6	4.6	3.7	4.4
3 years	4.9	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.3	4.6	5.1	5.4	6.5	5.8	6.6	5.6	4.3	4.6	4.0	4.1
4 years	4.7	4.4	4.2	3.8	4.3	4.9	5.4	5.1	6.3	6.0	6.5	5.7	4.0	4.3	4.0	4.1
5 years	5.3	4.5	4.2	3.6	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.0	6.5	4.9	5.0	5.5	4.0	4.2	3.7	3.6
6 years	5.2	5.1	4.0	3.5	3.9	4.3	3.9	4.3	5.8	6.1	5.0	4.9	4.5	4.1	3.7	3.3
7 years	5.7	5.3	4.8	3.7	4.6	4.2	3.6	3.3	5.6	4.6	4.6	4.4	4.8	4.7	3.7	3.2
8 years	6.1	5.5	5.1	4.4	3.8	3.5	4.3	3.6	5.8	4.7	5.2	3.8	5.1	5.0	4.2	3.7
9 years	5.4	5.9	5.3	4.6	4.5	3.3	3.8	3.9	5.2	4.1	4.9	4.3	5.4	4.9	4.7	4.1
10 years	5.1	5.8	5.9	4.8	4.1	5.0	3.7	4.4	4.8	4.0	3.7	3.8	5.0	5.8	4.9	4.5
11 years	5.3	5.4	5.6	5.6	4.4	3.5	3.9	4.8	3.9	4.5	4.2	4.9	5.0	5.5	6.0	5.0
12 years	5.0	6.0	5.3	5.7	4.8	4.5	5.0	5.1	3.8	4.5	3.9	3.7	5.6	5.1	5.5	5.7
13 years	5.5	6.0	6.9	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.4	6.6	3.6	3.7	4.2	5.1	5.7	6.5	6.1	6.1
14 years	7.2	6.8	7.0	8.5	9.0	9.1	8.3	8.2	4.6	5.1	4.7	4.4	6.8	7.0	8.2	7.5
15 years	8.0	8.5	9.3	9.7	10.7	12.1	11.1	10.3	3.8	5.9	7.2	6.2	9.3	8.7	8.8	9.8
16 years	6.7	6.6	7.7	9.2	4.3	4.6	5.6	4.4	6.9	10.0	9.9	9.7	8.9	8.4	9.3	9.4
17 years	3.8	4.0	4.5	5.2	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.5	4.1	4.3	5.2	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.5	6.6
18 years	2.1	1.8	2.0	2.3	0.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	3.7	4.2	2.2	3.0	2.6	2.5	3.3	3.4
19 years	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.4	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.0	1.5	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.1	1.6	1.5
20 years	0.3	0.4	0.8	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.8	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.9	0.9
Missing data	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.2	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.9	0.3	0.3	0.9	0.6

	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	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.1	<.1	0.1	<.1	<.1	0.2	0.2	<.1	0.1	<.1	0.1
Asian	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.6	1.0	0.3	1.1	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	37.7	37.3	36.1	34.4	32.0	30.3	29.8	29.5	33.7	33.8	30.1	30.1	36.7	35.6	35.9	33.4
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	25.7	25.0	26.1	27.4	26.2	27.6	28.1	28.8	28.0	27.1	27.3	27.2	25.1	25.4	26.5	28.1
White (non-Hispanic)	32.3	33.4	33.2	33.4	35.4	35.3	35.8	35.9	32.1	33.0	36.8	36.5	33.6	34.2	32.8	33.6
Two or more races	2.7	2.8	3.3	3.6	3.3	3.9	3.7	3.4	3.1	3.2	4.0	3.5	2.8	3.1	3.2	3.5
Unknown	1.3	1.0	1.0	0.8	2.4	1.0	2.1	1.7	2.4	1.6	1.4	1.4	1.3	0.9	1.4	1.0
Missing data	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	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	—	—	1,036	1,310
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	—	—	589	678

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	—	—	2.8	2.7
1 year	—	—	7.2	6.8
2 years	—	—	7.2	8.8
3 years	—	—	7.3	6.9
4 years	—	—	5.3	7.6
5 years	—	—	4.7	5.0
6 years	—	—	5.0	5.5
7 years	—	—	5.6	5.6
8 years	—	—	7.0	5.9
9 years	—	—	6.9	7.7
10 years	—	—	8.6	7.2
11 years	—	—	8.0	6.6
12 years	—	—	6.1	6.3
13 years	—	—	5.4	5.0
14 years	—	—	6.7	4.7
15 years	—	—	3.9	4.4
16 years	—	—	1.2	2.2
17 years	—	—	0.9	0.6
18 years	—	—	0.2	0.3
19 years	—	—	0.0	<.1
20+ years	—	—	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	—	—	<.1	0.2
Asian	—	—	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	—	—	33.9	33.2
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	—	—	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	—	—	28.2	29.6
White (non-Hispanic)	—	—	32.1	30.4
Two or more races	—	—	5.3	6.3
Unknown	—	—	0.4	0.3
Missing data	—	—	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	499	444	617	342

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	0.4	0.7	0.5	0.6
1 year	4.2	7.4	5.0	8.2
2 years	8.0	12.4	8.6	12.9
3 years	12.2	13.3	13.0	11.1
4 years	13.2	12.4	10.5	9.1
5 years	8.8	9.2	7.8	6.1
6 years	10.4	8.6	7.1	7.3
7 years	7.4	6.5	7.5	6.1
8 years	8.2	6.3	9.1	7.3
9 years	6.4	5.2	8.6	7.3
10 years	5.8	5.0	5.0	4.1
11 years	3.4	5.2	6.2	8.8
12 years	5.0	1.8	4.4	3.8
13 years	1.8	2.0	3.7	2.0
14 years	2.6	1.6	1.6	1.2
15 years	0.6	1.4	0.6	2.6
16 years	1.0	1.1	0.8	1.2
17 years	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.3
18 years	0.0	0.0	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	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Asian	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	30.9	32.2	27.4	25.4
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	18.4	31.1	26.1	31.0
White (non-Hispanic)	38.3	28.2	35.3	34.8
Two or more races	0.0	8.1	9.9	8.2
Unknown	12.4	0.5	1.3	0.6
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

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Connecticut [ 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	88.6	89.0	88.2	89.9
Children with one or more recurrences	11.4	11.0	11.8	10.1
Number	6,905	5,328	5,730	5,331

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	—	—	—	—
Children not maltreated while in foster care	—	—	—	—
Number	—	—	—	—

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	20.1	21.0	22.3	15.5
Guardianship	5.9	5.0	4.3	5.4
Reunification	67.1	54.7	67.7	73.8
Other	6.9	6.8	5.6	5.2
Missing data	<.1	12.6	<.1	<.1
Number	2,368	1,943	2,787	2,143

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	25.8	20.9	20.1	16.7
Guardianship	2.2	3.2	2.1	4.3
Reunification	63.8	51.2	69.5	70.3
Other	8.2	10.6	8.1	8.7
Missing data	0.0	14.1	0.2	0.0
Number	279	340	816	630

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.2
Guardianship	3.4	2.4	1.6	2.4
Reunification	72.9	64.9	84.4	87.2
Other	23.4	19.1	13.8	10.2
Missing data	0.2	13.7	0.0	0.0
Number	531	498	751	580

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	26.4	31.3	37.5	43.5
Children older than 12 at entry	73.6	68.8	59.4	54.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	3.1	2.2
Number	53	32	32	46

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	0.0	0.0	20.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	19.9	20.2	21.7	16.3
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.8	5.9	6.4	7.3
Reunification	100.0	100.0	80.0	50.0	92.9	73.7	100.0	100.0	66.9	56.5	66.9	71.4
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.3	5.9	4.8	5.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	26.3	0.0	0.0	0.1	11.4	0.1	0.0
Number	2	1	5	4	14	19	9	23	798	657	838	646
	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	18.8	21.5	21.4	14.1	21.6	22.4	23.4	15.9
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.3	3.8	3.0	5.0	5.3	5.3	3.7	4.3
Reunification	0.0	100.0	0.0	100.0	70.3	54.2	70.2	76.8	63.7	52.3	65.9	72.8
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.6	6.8	5.3	4.0	9.5	7.9	7.0	7.0
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	13.7	0.1	0.2	0.0	12.0	0.0	0.0
Number	0	1	0	1	664	526	761	582	760	642	1,025	782
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	15.8	12.9	0.0	3.3	24.7	22.2	31.5	25.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	7.0	6.5	0.0	3.3	8.2	3.2	4.5	6.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	73.7	71.0	100.0	93.3	65.8	50.8	60.4	66.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	3.5	3.2	0.0	0.0	1.4	7.9	3.6	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.0	6.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	15.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Number	57	31	38	30	73	63	111	75	0	3	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.	49.3	40.5	48.8	60.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	23.5	24.8	22.6	21.3
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	7.7	11.9	6.8	6.0
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	6.4	6.2	4.7	2.8
48 or more mos.	5.5	8.3	7.1	6.3
Missing data	7.7	8.4	10.0	3.2
Number	1,590	1,062	1,888	1,581

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	88.3	85.4	83.6	83.6
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	6.7	5.2	8.6	7.0
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	4.7	9.1	7.0	8.3
Missing data	0.4	0.3	0.8	1.1
Number	2,763	2,713	2,763	3,130

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.	0.6	1.0	1.6	0.9
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	5.9	11.3	9.0	12.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	15.8	20.6	20.1	30.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	32.8	20.6	20.9	21.6
48 or more mos.	44.6	46.1	48.3	34.5
Missing data	0.2	0.5	0.0	0.0
Number	475	408	621	333

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	91.3	98.4	87.7	85.4	70.9	93.8	67.5	64.5	48.3	92.2	33.9	36.8	87.1	77.3	80.8	94.2
Children with 3 or more placements	8.2	1.5	12.2	14.1	26.3	5.5	28.5	32.7	43.1	7.3	46.2	59.5	12.9	16.0	18.3	5.8
Number	2,901	2,863	2,787	3,420	1,871	1,754	1,483	1,756	4,464	4,656	4,316	3,640	163	75	334	69

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	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.4
Institutions	14.6	23.8	18.7	15.9
Other settings	83.3	72.2	78.0	79.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.1	1.0
Number	1,807	1,751	1,752	2,103

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Connecticut [ State Comment ]

Darlene Dunbar, Commissioner
Connecticut Department of Children and Families

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

We are currently analyzing data quality issues in consultation with ACF and expect some changes to our AFCARS program that will increase the reliability of the logic that determines admissions, discharges and the number of adoptions.

Other improvements to our SACWIS have begun. As of June 26, 2005, we now have the ability to identify the relationship between a perpetrator and victim. We will soon begin to change the NCANDS logic in order to make it possible for us to report on those maltreated in foster care.

Additionally, we are in the planning stages of a significant system improvement known as the Placement and Legal Streamlining (PALS) initiative. PALS will put in place a long-term solution to data quality issues by streamlining the way that legal and placement data are recorded in our SACWIS, eliminating missing removals and discharges ("dropped cases"), preventing gaps in placement and ensuring that the legal status of children is logically tied to placement episodes (at the point of data entry).

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Connecticut [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Connecticut'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, 10.1 percent of the children in Connecticut 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 percentage exceeds the national median of 7.1 percent, performance on this measure improved from 2000 to 2003 (-11.4 percent change). The child victim rate also decreased from 17.2 child victims per 1,000 children in the population in 2000 to 14.7 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

Connecticut's performance on outcome 2 cannot be assessed because the State does not provide data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for calculating this outcome. To ensure consistency across States, the Report to Congress presents only data submitted through NCANDS.

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

In 2003, 94.7 percent of children exiting foster care in Connecticut were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.1), which exceeds the national median of 86.3 percent. Similarly, 91.3 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.2), which far exceeds the national median of 79.5 percent. Finally, 89.8 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 exceeds the national median of 72.2 percent.

However, 43.5 percent of the children reported as emancipated from foster care in 2003 (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). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 29.6 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (+64.8 percent change). Also in 2003, 98 of the children exiting foster care were age 18 or older at the time of exit, while only 46 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 as likely to be discharged to a permanent home (95.0 percent) as were White (non-Hispanic) children (93.0 percent) or Hispanic children (95.9 percent). However, the percent of Black (non-Hispanic) children in the foster care population in 2003 (33.4 percent) was more than three times larger than the percent of Black children in the State's child population (10.8 percent). Also, the percent of Hispanic children in the foster care population (28.1 percent) was more than twice as large as the percent of Hispanic children in the State's child population (13.4 percent).

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

In 2003, 60.5 percent of reunifications occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1). Although this percent was less than the national median of 72.0 percent, performance on the measure improved from 2000 to 2003 (+22.7 percent change). Similarly, while the percentage of reunifications occurring after a child had been in foster care for 36 months or longer (9.1 percent) exceeded the national median of 3.5 percent, performance on this measure also improved from 2000 to 2003 (-23.5 percent change).

Although Connecticut had a relatively low percentage of children reunified within 12 months of entry into foster care, the State also had a relatively low percentage of children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode. In 2003, 7.0 percent of the children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior foster care episode (measure 4.2), which is less than the national median of 9.5 percent.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, 12.9 percent of adoptions occurred within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). Although this percent was less than the national median of 23.9 percent, performance on this measure improved from 2000 to 2003 (+98.5 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 85.4 percent of children in foster care for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings (measure 6.1). Although this percent exceeded the national median of 84.2 percent, it represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-6.5 percent change). Also in 2003, 64.5 percent of the children in foster care for at least 12 months, but less than 24 months, experienced no more than two placement settings. Again, although this percent exceeds the national median of 59.1 percent, it represents a decline in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-9.0 percent change). However, it is important to note that Connecticut's performance on measure 6.1 is somewhat difficult to interpret because of extreme variations in performance over the years that may indicate a data quality issue rather than an actual performance change.

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

In 2003, 19.3 percent of the children entering foster care in Connecticut 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 (+14.9 percent change).

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