Maryland

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Maryland [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	1,358,275	1,366,100	1,372,243	1,378,092
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2
Asian	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.9
Black (non-Hispanic)	31.9	31.8	31.0	30.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.6
White (non-Hispanic)	55.9	56.2	57.1	56.9
Two or more races	2.7	2.4	2.4	2.4
% Child population in poverty	6.9	7.6	7.4	10.6

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	0	19,750	15,843	16,688
Children in foster care on 9/30	13,113	12,564	12,026	11,521
Children adopted	552	815	949	734

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	—	— per 1,000	—	— per 1,000	37,177	27.1 per 1,000	31,919	23.2 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	—	— per 1,000	19,750	14.5 per 1,000	15,843	11.6 per 1,000	16,688	12.1 per 1,000
Child fatalities	—	— per 100,000	27	2.0 per 100,000	—	— per 100,000	27	2.0 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	—	5.1	6.3	7.6
1-5 years	—	26.9	27.0	27.4
6-10 years	—	30.6	29.5	28.7
11-15 years	—	26.7	27.6	28.9
16+ years	—	10.7	7.8	7.4
Unknown	—	0.0	1.8	0.0
Number	—	19,750	15,843	16,688

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	—	0.1	0.1	0.2
Asian	—	1.0	0.7	0.7
Black (non-Hispanic)	—	55.0	50.4	50.4
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	—	N/A	N/A	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	—	3.2	4.0	4.1
White (non-Hispanic)	—	38.7	39.4	38.7
Two or more races	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	—	2.0	5.5	5.8
Number	—	19,750	15,843	16,688

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	—	0.3	0.2	0.3
Medical neglect	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Neglect	—	56.8	55.8	57.5
Physical abuse	—	31.3	32.4	32.0
Sexual abuse	—	12.5	14.1	12.5
Unknown/missing data	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	—	19,750	15,843	16,688

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	12,295	11,966	11,848	11,113	3,928	3,662	3,563	3,470	3,110	3,064	3,445	3,062	13,113	12,564	12,026	11,521
Median length of stay (months)	31.7	33.4	34.4	33.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	17.5	18.8	22.0	20.2	33.6	34.6	34.0	32.3

	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	3.0	3.1	3.0	3.7	17.5	17.9	18.4	18.4	5.8	6.9	5.3	4.9	3.0	3.1	3.6	3.6
1 year	3.9	4.3	3.8	3.8	6.1	6.4	5.7	5.8	3.9	5.9	4.9	6.7	4.2	3.8	3.7	4.3
2 years	3.7	4.3	4.3	3.8	5.7	5.0	4.8	5.0	5.0	5.8	6.1	5.6	4.4	4.3	3.8	3.7
3 years	4.1	3.6	4.2	3.7	5.1	4.9	4.2	4.9	5.7	4.7	5.8	5.5	3.8	4.3	3.6	3.5
4 years	4.0	3.9	3.6	4.0	4.4	4.0	5.3	4.1	4.8	5.0	4.9	5.0	4.1	3.6	4.1	3.6
5 years	4.4	3.6	3.4	3.4	4.8	4.0	3.8	4.0	5.4	4.1	4.6	4.0	3.8	3.4	3.4	3.8
6 years	5.3	4.2	3.6	3.2	4.9	3.7	3.9	3.8	5.1	4.4	4.6	3.9	4.4	3.7	3.3	3.4
7 years	5.5	4.7	4.0	3.3	4.4	4.7	3.9	3.7	6.0	4.9	4.6	3.5	4.8	4.0	3.3	3.3
8 years	5.9	5.5	4.7	4.2	5.1	4.8	4.3	4.4	4.8	5.1	4.4	4.1	5.4	4.7	4.1	3.4
9 years	5.9	5.9	5.5	4.6	5.0	4.2	4.5	4.4	5.4	5.8	4.4	4.2	5.8	5.4	4.6	4.1
10 years	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.7	4.9	4.5	4.8	4.0	5.8	5.2	4.7	5.1	5.7	5.5	5.5	4.6
11 years	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.7	4.9	5.0	5.7	4.6	4.7	4.5	5.1	4.2	5.7	5.9	5.6	5.5
12 years	5.9	6.2	6.0	6.3	4.8	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.0	4.1	4.4	4.9	6.0	6.0	6.1	5.8
13 years	5.8	6.1	6.7	6.7	5.1	5.4	5.3	5.8	4.2	4.5	3.8	4.5	5.9	6.5	6.4	6.4
14 years	6.5	6.2	6.9	7.5	5.3	6.8	6.3	6.6	4.2	4.1	4.5	4.8	5.9	6.6	7.2	7.1
15 years	6.2	7.3	6.6	7.4	5.6	6.1	6.2	6.3	4.9	5.8	5.2	5.2	6.8	6.5	7.2	7.9
16 years	6.5	6.4	7.3	7.1	3.5	4.2	4.5	5.0	5.0	5.4	5.1	5.6	6.0	7.1	6.7	7.4
17 years	5.6	6.2	6.1	7.3	2.7	2.9	2.8	3.5	4.5	4.2	4.4	5.6	6.0	6.0	7.0	6.7
18 years	3.7	4.0	4.9	4.8	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.1	6.5	5.5	6.0	7.6	4.1	4.9	4.8	5.6
19 years	2.2	2.7	2.9	3.7	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	2.4	3.2	2.7	3.1	2.6	2.8	3.6	3.4
20 years	<.1	<.1	1.1	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	0.9	3.5	1.9	1.7	2.1	2.3	2.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.9	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	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	<.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
Asian	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Black (non-Hispanic)	78.6	78.5	78.1	76.7	68.7	67.8	62.6	63.2	68.2	68.8	68.3	66.6	78.1	77.7	76.3	75.3
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	1.1	1.3	1.3	1.5	2.3	2.2	2.8	2.4	1.7	2.3	2.0	2.5	1.3	1.3	1.5	1.5
White (non-Hispanic)	18.7	18.5	18.7	19.6	26.2	26.7	31.0	28.7	27.7	26.0	26.9	27.5	18.8	19.0	20.0	20.3
Two or more races	0.5	0.7	0.9	0.9	1.2	1.7	1.2	1.9	0.7	1.3	1.5	1.5	0.6	0.9	0.8	1.0
Unknown	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.8	1.1	1.0	2.0	3.3	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.5	0.8	0.7	0.9	1.4
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	3,073	3,299	2,998	2,584
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	1,688	1,746	1,579	1,416

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	1.5	1.4	0.9	0.6
1 year	3.3	3.9	4.4	4.0
2 years	6.5	5.8	5.6	4.9
3 years	5.3	6.9	5.5	6.2
4 years	6.4	5.1	6.8	5.2
5 years	6.1	6.0	5.2	5.7
6 years	6.5	6.3	5.2	5.0
7 years	7.2	5.6	5.7	5.0
8 years	8.4	7.1	5.6	5.4
9 years	7.5	8.5	6.8	5.8
10 years	7.8	6.7	8.0	5.8
11 years	7.3	7.1	6.6	7.6
12 years	6.4	6.3	7.4	6.7
13 years	5.8	6.4	6.4	7.5
14 years	5.0	5.9	6.3	6.5
15 years	4.2	4.3	5.3	6.5
16 years	2.4	3.7	3.6	4.7
17 years	1.3	1.5	2.4	3.8
18 years	0.8	0.9	1.1	2.1
19 years	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.7
20+ years	<.1	0.2	0.5	0.5
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Asian	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	79.7	80.6	79.2	79.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	0.8	0.8	0.9	1.0
White (non-Hispanic)	18.1	16.9	17.8	16.9
Two or more races	0.7	0.9	1.0	1.0
Unknown	0.7	0.5	0.8	1.1
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	552	815	949	734

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	1.6	0.7	0.5	0.8
1 year	4.9	4.4	4.2	6.4
2 years	6.0	9.4	9.1	9.8
3 years	8.7	9.3	11.9	9.9
4 years	7.1	9.8	8.3	9.9
5 years	10.0	9.6	9.0	7.5
6 years	9.4	7.9	8.4	5.7
7 years	12.3	8.7	8.6	5.7
8 years	10.7	6.0	7.0	5.9
9 years	7.2	9.2	7.1	5.9
10 years	5.6	6.7	5.9	7.5
11 years	6.5	5.0	6.0	3.7
12 years	2.9	2.9	4.7	4.9
13 years	3.3	2.7	2.5	4.0
14 years	1.1	2.7	3.3	4.2
15 years	1.3	2.5	1.8	3.3
16 years	0.9	1.1	0.9	1.6
17 years	0.4	0.9	0.5	2.0
18 years	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.2
19 years	0.0	0.1	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	0.1	0.0
Asian	0.5	0.1	0.1	0.7
Black (non-Hispanic)	68.1	72.8	72.8	68.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	2.4	2.0	1.1	0.7
White (non-Hispanic)	26.6	22.0	23.3	25.9
Two or more races	2.4	3.2	2.3	2.7
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

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Maryland [ 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	—	—	92.0	93.1
Children with one or more recurrences	—	—	8.0	6.9
Number	—	—	7,400	7,862

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	—	—	—	<.1
Children not maltreated while in foster care	—	—	—	99.98
Number	—	—	—	13,901

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	15.5	19.8	22.5	21.6
Guardianship	4.6	3.3	0.6	1.2
Reunification	60.4	60.2	58.5	52.7
Other	10.0	10.4	14.7	14.6
Missing data	9.5	6.3	3.8	9.9
Number	3,110	3,064	3,445	3,062

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	13.7	17.9	19.4	20.9
Guardianship	2.2	2.8	0.7	1.0
Reunification	59.0	55.7	49.5	48.0
Other	16.0	16.6	26.5	21.4
Missing data	9.2	7.1	3.9	8.7
Number	556	609	717	631

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	1.3	1.8	1.5	2.0
Guardianship	2.9	3.7	1.3	1.4
Reunification	56.0	58.0	52.5	49.6
Other	27.6	29.3	37.3	34.2
Missing data	12.2	7.2	7.5	12.7
Number	682	652	751	695

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	33.9	36.8	43.5	44.7
Children older than 12 at entry	66.1	63.2	56.5	55.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	230	231	384	295

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	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	26.7	0.0	14.3	44.4	16.8	22.0	24.9	23.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.0	3.9	0.6	1.3
Reunification	50.0	100.0	50.0	60.0	46.7	77.8	42.9	33.3	59.4	57.4	57.3	49.1
Other	0.0	0.0	50.0	0.0	6.7	22.2	28.6	11.1	8.9	10.6	13.7	14.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	40.0	13.3	0.0	14.3	11.1	8.9	6.0	3.4	11.9
Number	4	4	4	5	15	9	7	9	2,122	2,109	2,353	2,039
	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	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	9.6	9.9	10.0	10.4	11.7	14.9	17.1	19.7
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.4	0.0	6.5	1.5	2.1	0.5	0.8
Reunification	0.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	67.3	73.2	67.1	61.0	63.1	65.7	61.0	59.9
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	17.3	8.5	17.1	14.3	12.4	10.4	17.0	14.5
Missing data	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	5.8	7.0	5.7	7.8	11.2	6.8	4.4	5.0
Number	1	1	1	0	52	71	70	77	860	797	925	841
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	20.6	12.5	3.0	13.0	18.2	29.3	40.4	15.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	58.8	78.1	75.8	60.9	54.5	56.1	46.2	64.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	11.8	9.4	12.1	4.3	9.1	0.0	9.6	20.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	8.8	0.0	9.1	21.7	18.2	12.2	3.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	34	32	33	46	22	41	52	45	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.	55.3	54.6	50.3	45.1
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	17.2	18.7	22.0	27.1
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	11.9	11.5	9.2	11.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	6.3	5.3	5.8	4.9
48 or more mos.	9.3	9.9	10.1	11.5
Missing data	0.0	<.1	2.5	0.0
Number	1,879	1,846	2,014	1,615

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	79.5	79.6	79.7	79.3
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	9.0	9.6	8.5	8.8
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	11.0	10.7	11.7	11.8
Missing data	0.4	0.1	<.1	<.1
Number	3,928	3,662	3,563	3,470

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.	6.7	4.8	3.6	3.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	7.3	11.2	11.2	12.7
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	16.4	14.5	18.6	20.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	15.0	17.3	16.3	17.1
48 or more mos.	54.7	52.1	50.1	45.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0
Number	481	606	775	660

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	95.4	94.9	94.3	94.4	81.9	79.8	77.8	80.1	55.6	51.6	50.4	50.8	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Children with 3 or more placements	4.6	5.1	5.5	5.6	18.1	20.2	21.6	19.9	44.4	48.4	49.4	49.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	4,246	4,053	3,957	3,844	2,733	2,574	2,539	2,552	9,238	8,999	8,904	8,178	6	2	11	9

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	4.2	5.9	5.7	6.2
Institutions	4.1	1.4	1.2	0.6
Other settings	90.1	91.2	91.7	90.9
Missing data	1.6	1.5	1.4	2.3
Number	3,029	2,699	2,643	2,492

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Maryland [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Maryland'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, 6.9 percent of the children in Maryland 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 about equal to the national median of 7.1 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2002 to 2003 (-13.8 percent change). No data are available for this measure in 2000 or 2001.

In 2003, the rate of child maltreatment victims in Maryland was 12.1 child victims per 1,000 children in the population, which exceeds the national median of 10.6 child victims per 1,000 children in the population. The child victim rate declined from 2001 (14.5 child victims per 1,000 children in the population) to 2003.

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

In 2003, 0.02 percent of the children in foster care in Maryland were found to be maltreated by a foster parent or facility staff member (measure 2.1). This percentage not only is less than the national median of 0.39 percent, but also represents an improvement in performance from 2002 to 2003 (-96.2 percent change).

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

In 2003, 75.5 percent of children exiting foster care in Maryland (measure 3.1) were discharged to a permanent home, which is less than the national median of 86.3 percent. Also, 69.9 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability (measure 3.2) were discharged to a permanent home, which is less than the national median of 79.5 percent. Furthermore, 53.0 percent of the children exiting foster care who were older than age 12 when they entered foster care (measure 3.3) were discharged to a permanent home, which is less than the national median of 72.2 percent. These data are difficult to interpret, however, because 10 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 did not have a discharge reason.

In 2003, 44.7 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). This percent not only exceeds the national median of 29.6 percent, but also represents a performance decline from 2000 to 2003 (-31.9 percent change). An additional finding is that the number of children exiting to emancipation (295 children) is less than the number of children exiting foster care who were age 18 or older at the time of exit (386 children).

It is not possible to assess differences with regard to exits to permanency as a function of children's race (measure 3.5) because there were no discharge reasons for almost 12 percent of the Black (non-Hispanic) children exiting foster care. However, the percent of Black (non-Hispanic) children in the foster care population (75.3 percent) far exceeded the percent of Black (non-Hispanic) children in the State's child population (30.8 percent).

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

In 2003, only 45.1 percent of all reunifications in Maryland occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1). This percent is not only less than the national median of 72.0 percent, but also represents a decline in performance on the measure from 2000 to 2003 (-18.4 percent change). Furthermore, 16.4 percent of reunifications occurred after the child had been in foster care for at least 36 months, which is substantially more than the national median of 3.5 percent.

Although Maryland had a relatively low percent of reunifications within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care, the State also had a relatively low percentage of re-entries into foster care within 12 months of a prior episode. In 2003, 8.8 percent of the children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode (measure 4.1), which is less than the national median of 9.5 percent. There was no change in performance on this measure from 2000 to 2003. However, also in 2003, 11.8 percent of the children entering foster care were entering more than 12 months after a prior foster care episode. Consequently, 20.6 percent of all children entering foster care in Maryland in 2003 had been in foster care at a prior time.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

In 2003, only 16.2 percent of all finalized adoptions occurred within 24 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). Although this percent is less than the national median of 23.9 percent, it represents an improvement in performance from 2000 to 2003 (+15.7 percent change).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 94.4 percent of the children in foster care in Maryland for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings (measure 6.1), which exceeds the national median of 84.2 percent. Also in 2003, 80.1 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 considerably more than the national median of 59.1 percent and among the highest percentages in the nation for this measure.

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

In 2003, 6.8 percent of the children entering foster care in Maryland who were age 12 or younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). This percentage not only is less than the national median of 8.3 percent, but also represents improved performance from 2000 to 2003 (-18.1 percent change).

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