Delaware

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Delaware [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	194,132	190,940	195,068	198,842
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2
Asian	2.0	2.2	2.2	2.3
Black (non-Hispanic)	23.7	23.7	22.9	22.7
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	7.0	7.2	7.1	7.4
White (non-Hispanic)	64.2	64.3	65.2	65.0
Two or more races	2.5	2.3	2.3	2.4
% Child population in poverty	16.9	9.3	12.6	11.0

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	1,813	1,666	1,304	1,236
Children in foster care on 9/30	1,098	1,023	886	814
Children adopted	103	117	133	101

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	8,683	44.7 per 1,000	8,437	44.2 per 1,000	8,042	41.2 per 1,000	12,497	62.8 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	1,813	9.3 per 1,000	1,666	8.7 per 1,000	1,304	6.7 per 1,000	1,236	6.2 per 1,000
Child fatalities	0	0.0 per 100,000	2	1.0 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	8.9	9.1	9.3	8.1
1-5 years	26.5	25.9	30.2	30.2
6-10 years	31.5	30.5	29.1	31.5
11-15 years	25.5	26.2	24.9	24.1
16+ years	7.6	8.2	6.4	6.1
Unknown	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0
Number	1,813	1,666	1,304	1,236

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1
Asian	0.3	0.2	0.2	1.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	44.1	46.3	48.2	46.3
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.3
Hispanic (of any race)	7.0	9.5	8.5	7.5
White (non-Hispanic)	48.3	43.7	42.8	44.5
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.3
Number	1,813	1,666	1,304	1,236

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	18.7	19.3	20.6	22.6
Medical neglect	3.5	1.9	3.3	4.0
Neglect	32.0	31.1	41.3	36.5
Physical abuse	20.5	22.3	21.1	25.1
Sexual abuse	9.4	9.7	8.7	12.4
Unknown/missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	16.0	15.7	14.2	6.6
Number	1,813	1,666	1,304	1,236

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	1,033	1,000	895	761	950	939	918	861	886	916	928	810	1,098	1,023	886	814
Median length of stay (months)	14.1	14.7	15.1	13.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	5.4	4.6	4.6	3.0	13.7	13.3	11.9	11.3

	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	4.4	4.3	4.1	4.1	10.0	9.5	8.5	8.8	4.5	4.4	3.0	3.8	3.9	3.8	4.1	4.5
1 year	5.2	5.8	4.9	6.8	3.1	3.1	4.0	4.4	3.8	4.4	3.2	4.8	5.2	4.4	6.3	5.4
2 years	5.8	4.5	4.8	5.1	3.1	2.3	2.8	2.3	4.6	3.5	3.8	4.1	4.1	4.6	4.5	5.0
3 years	4.6	4.4	3.6	4.2	3.9	2.8	2.4	2.3	5.1	4.4	2.5	3.5	4.2	3.5	4.2	3.9
4 years	4.5	4.6	4.1	3.7	2.4	3.2	2.8	2.0	3.3	3.5	3.1	2.6	3.9	3.9	3.5	2.9
5 years	4.9	3.5	3.9	3.9	2.5	2.3	2.3	2.3	3.8	3.1	3.7	3.2	3.4	3.6	3.5	2.3
6 years	4.9	4.2	3.1	2.5	2.8	2.6	2.5	2.2	3.5	3.7	3.6	2.2	4.0	2.8	2.4	3.4
7 years	5.2	5.0	4.0	2.6	2.2	2.6	1.5	2.1	2.7	2.9	2.7	2.3	4.8	3.6	2.6	2.6
8 years	4.9	4.4	5.1	2.6	3.8	2.8	1.9	2.3	3.5	2.8	3.6	1.6	4.3	4.7	2.4	2.9
9 years	4.5	5.5	4.8	3.4	2.9	3.2	1.7	2.4	3.6	3.5	3.0	2.7	5.0	4.3	3.0	2.7
10 years	4.8	4.5	5.5	4.5	3.4	3.2	2.4	2.8	3.5	3.4	3.9	2.8	4.3	5.2	4.1	3.3
11 years	4.1	5.4	4.0	4.9	2.7	2.6	2.2	1.6	2.1	2.9	1.9	1.7	5.0	3.6	4.4	4.3
12 years	3.2	4.4	5.4	4.5	3.5	2.1	2.9	2.8	2.7	2.3	3.0	2.5	4.3	5.1	4.1	4.5
13 years	4.7	4.3	5.6	5.9	4.7	5.1	4.2	6.2	2.0	2.5	3.2	4.4	4.6	5.4	6.2	5.3
14 years	6.2	5.9	6.0	7.4	9.6	9.3	8.5	9.8	5.8	6.3	5.9	6.9	7.0	6.7	7.8	8.1
15 years	7.1	7.8	8.2	8.5	11.6	13.6	16.0	12.7	9.9	9.9	11.7	9.3	8.4	9.4	9.4	11.2
16 years	9.2	9.7	9.6	11.4	14.0	13.8	18.4	15.7	10.9	11.0	13.3	14.0	10.5	11.6	13.3	11.5
17 years	9.3	9.2	10.6	11.4	12.6	14.1	13.5	16.5	13.4	14.1	15.7	18.1	10.4	10.5	12.2	12.8
18 years	2.0	2.5	2.5	2.4	1.2	1.9	1.3	0.8	10.5	10.9	8.6	8.8	2.7	3.0	2.0	2.8
19 years	<.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.6	<.1	0.2	0.1	0.2
20 years	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	<.1	0.0	0.1	0.1
Asian	<.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.1	<.1	<.1	0.1	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	61.9	62.0	61.2	61.4	61.4	57.1	57.4	57.1	59.8	57.8	56.0	58.6	63.0	61.3	62.8	59.7
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	7.6	8.0	6.8	6.7	5.6	7.7	8.9	6.5	5.6	9.3	9.7	6.7	7.5	6.5	6.0	6.5
White (non-Hispanic)	30.2	29.9	31.8	31.9	32.7	35.0	33.0	35.9	34.1	32.8	33.7	34.3	29.3	32.1	31.0	33.7
Two or more races	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
Unknown	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
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	334	319	210	144
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	181	192	135	84

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	2.4	4.4	2.9	4.2
1 year	7.8	7.5	13.3	9.0
2 years	8.4	7.8	8.6	9.7
3 years	8.7	5.6	8.1	11.1
4 years	6.0	7.2	7.1	5.6
5 years	6.0	6.0	7.1	5.6
6 years	7.5	4.7	4.8	6.3
7 years	9.6	7.5	2.9	4.2
8 years	7.8	7.5	7.1	4.9
9 years	8.1	7.5	5.2	6.3
10 years	8.4	9.1	6.7	4.9
11 years	7.8	6.3	5.7	6.9
12 years	4.8	8.8	5.2	6.3
13 years	2.7	4.7	8.6	6.3
14 years	2.7	2.2	3.8	2.8
15 years	0.6	2.5	2.9	4.2
16 years	0.6	0.3	0.0	2.1
17 years	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0
18 years	0.3	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)	67.7	62.4	61.0	63.2
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	6.3	5.3	3.8	3.5
White (non-Hispanic)	26.0	32.3	35.2	33.3
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
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	103	117	133	101

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	0.0	1.7	0.0	0.0
1 year	8.7	11.1	3.0	13.9
2 years	17.5	9.4	12.8	17.8
3 years	13.6	13.7	8.3	9.9
4 years	9.7	7.7	9.8	10.9
5 years	8.7	9.4	3.8	9.9
6 years	3.9	8.5	5.3	5.0
7 years	5.8	8.5	7.5	4.0
8 years	9.7	4.3	10.5	2.0
9 years	7.8	7.7	7.5	7.9
10 years	4.9	6.8	7.5	4.0
11 years	4.9	3.4	6.8	5.0
12 years	2.9	2.6	6.8	4.0
13 years	1.0	2.6	4.5	3.0
14 years	1.0	0.9	1.5	1.0
15 years	0.0	0.9	3.8	2.0
16 years	0.0	0.0	0.8	0.0
17 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
18 years	0.0	0.9	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)	55.3	61.5	60.9	52.5
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	3.9	10.3	9.8	7.9
White (non-Hispanic)	38.8	28.2	29.3	39.6
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	1.9	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

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Delaware [ 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	97.0	97.2	98.8	97.0
Children with one or more recurrences	3.0	2.8	1.2	3.0
Number	922	1,058	737	675

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	—	0.11	0.12	0.14
Children not maltreated while in foster care	—	99.89	99.88	99.86
Number	—	1,750	1,627	1,419

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	10.9	13.0	14.7	13.0
Guardianship	1.8	3.3	4.4	3.8
Reunification	79.3	76.5	72.7	72.2
Other	7.9	7.1	8.2	11.0
Missing data	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0
Number	886	916	928	810

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	12.8	12.2	29.6	21.7
Guardianship	3.8	8.1	8.5	10.1
Reunification	67.9	55.4	49.3	42.0
Other	15.4	24.3	12.7	26.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	78	74	71	69

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.2
Guardianship	0.4	0.9	0.6	0.8
Reunification	85.5	87.7	86.1	82.9
Other	14.1	11.3	12.9	16.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	447	470	505	473

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	10.9	24.0	14.3	16.4
Children older than 12 at entry	87.0	76.0	84.3	80.6
Missing data	2.2	0.0	1.4	3.0
Number	46	50	70	67

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	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.0	13.6	15.4	12.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	2.3	4.4	4.0
Reunification	100.0	50.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	100.0	81.3	78.1	72.1	70.7
Other	0.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.4	5.9	8.1	13.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0
Number	2	2	1	1	0	0	3	1	530	529	520	475
	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	6.0	16.5	11.1	14.8	13.2	11.0	14.7	14.4
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	8.2	4.4	0.0	2.6	3.7	4.5	4.3
Reunification	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	88.0	67.1	75.6	79.6	74.5	76.7	72.5	73.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.0	8.2	8.9	5.6	9.6	8.7	8.3	8.3
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
Number	0	0	1	0	50	85	90	54	302	300	313	278
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	50.0	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
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
Number	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	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.	83.6	86.0	85.2	92.3
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	11.2	9.0	11.0	5.3
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	2.6	2.0	1.0	0.5
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	1.4	1.7	0.9	0.9
48 or more mos.	0.9	0.9	1.5	0.9
Missing data	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.2
Number	703	701	675	585

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	69.2	71.4	63.4	62.7
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	16.5	16.8	24.1	23.5
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	11.4	11.1	10.8	12.9
Missing data	2.9	0.7	1.7	0.9
Number	950	939	918	861

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.	1.0	1.7	2.9	4.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	18.6	16.0	11.0	27.6
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	36.1	30.3	31.6	29.5
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	21.6	25.2	30.1	21.0
48 or more mos.	22.7	26.9	24.3	17.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	97	119	136	105

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	97.3	96.2	98.3	97.7	84.2	80.9	77.3	78.7	67.0	62.0	52.8	49.6	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Children with 3 or more placements	2.7	3.8	1.7	2.3	15.8	19.1	22.7	21.3	33.0	38.0	47.2	50.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	1,136	1,117	1,057	1,007	323	298	278	244	521	521	470	365	3	3	8	6

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	0.9	3.8	5.2	3.7
Institutions	5.9	2.8	1.4	2.4
Other settings	92.7	93.2	93.1	93.3
Missing data	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.6
Number	438	395	347	327

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Delaware [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Delaware'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 Delaware who were victims of maltreatment during the first 6 months of the year experienced another maltreatment incident within a 6-month period, which is less than the national median of 7.1 percent (measure 1.1). Although performance on this measure did not change from 2000 to 2003, the rate of child victims in the State changed considerably over that time period from 9.3 child victims per 1,000 children in the population in 2000 to 6.2 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, 0.14 percent of children in foster care were found to be the victims of substantiated or indicated maltreatment by a foster parent or facility staff member (measure 2.1). Although this percent is less than the national median of 0.39 percent, performance on the measure declined from 2000 to 2003 (+27.3 percent change).

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

In 2003, 89.0 percent of children exiting foster care were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.1), which exceeds the national median of 86.3 percent. In addition, 83.9 percent of the children exiting foster care who were older than age 12 when they entered foster care were discharged to a permanent home, which exceeds the national median of 72.2 percent (measure 3.3). In contrast, 73.8 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.2), which is less than the national 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, 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 percent, it represents a decline in performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (+50.5 percent change).

There was a slight difference in exits to permanency as a function of children's race or ethnicity (measure 3.5). In particular, Black (non-Hispanic) children exiting foster care were somewhat less likely to exit to permanency (86.7 percent) than were White (non-Hispanic) children (91.7 percent). In addition, the percent of Black (non-Hispanic) children in the foster care population in 2003 (59.7 percent) was more than twice the percent of these children in the State's child population (22.7 percent).

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

In 2003, 92.3 percent of all reunifications in the State occurred within 12 months of the child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1). This percent not only far exceeds the national median of 72.0 percent, but also represents improved performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (+10.4 percent change).

However, Delaware's high percentage of reunifications in 2003 occurring within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care was matched by an equally high percentage of re-entries into foster care. In 2003, 23.5 percent of the children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior foster care episode (measure 4.2). This percent not only far exceeds the national median of 9.5 percent, but also represents a decline in performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (+42.4 percent change). The findings regarding re-entries of children that occurred more than 12 months from a prior foster care episode are similar. Overall, 36.4 percent of the children who entered foster care in 2003 had been in foster care at a prior time.

Delaware's high foster care re-entry rate may be due to the fact that 33 percent of the children entering foster care in 2003 were age 16 or older at the time of entry. A cross-State analysis of State performance on this measure found a substantial positive relationship (Pearson's r = 0.49) between State re-entry percentages and the percentage of children entering foster care who were age 16 and older.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, 32.4 percent of adoptions in Delaware 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 (+65.3 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 97.7 percent of children in foster care in Delaware for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings (measure 6.1), which exceeds the national median of 84.2 percent. In addition, 78.7 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 exceeds the national median of 59.1 percent. Performance on this latter measure also exhibited improvement from 2000 to 2003 (+6.5 percent change).

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

In 2003, 6.1 percent of the children entering foster care in Delaware who were age 12 or younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). This percent not only is less than the national median of 8.3 percent, but also represents an improvement in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003 (-10.3 percent change).

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