Mississippi

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Mississippi [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	772,753	762,951	761,589	761,268
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Asian	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Black (non-Hispanic)	44.7	44.6	44.1	44.1
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.6
White (non-Hispanic)	51.6	51.6	52.4	52.2
Two or more races	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.9
% Child population in poverty	16.4	23.2	25.3	23.1

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	6,389	4,556	4,003	5,940
Children in foster care on 9/30	3,292	3,443	2,686	2,812
Children adopted	288	266	227	182

B. Child Maltreatment Data [National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)]

Overview Maltreatment Information	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
	2000		2001		2002		2003
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	30,670	39.7 per 1,000	31,086	40.7 per 1,000	18,009	23.6 per 1,000	24,503	32.2 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	6,389	8.3 per 1,000	4,556	6.0 per 1,000	4,003	5.3 per 1,000	5,940	7.8 per 1,000
Child fatalities	12	1.5 per 100,000	5	0.7 per 100,000	7	0.9 per 100,000	13	1.7 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	6.3	6.3	8.1	8.0
1-5 years	30.5	27.2	30.2	28.9
6-10 years	31.5	25.9	30.2	30.4
11-15 years	25.5	25.5	25.7	26.8
16+ years	6.2	15.1	5.9	6.0
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	6,389	4,556	4,003	5,940

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.4	0.1	0.2
Asian	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	50.1	49.4	41.9	41.5
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	10.2	4.3	1.1	0.9
White (non-Hispanic)	49.1	49.7	38.8	39.3
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.6
Unknown	0.0	0.0	17.3	17.5
Number	6,389	4,556	4,003	5,940

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	2.0	2.4	9.7	9.3
Medical neglect	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.1
Neglect	47.0	59.8	54.0	55.0
Physical abuse	25.3	18.9	20.7	22.8
Sexual abuse	22.7	16.6	16.8	15.1
Unknown/missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	3.0	2.3	0.2	0.3
Number	6,389	4,556	4,003	5,940

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	3,013	3,041	2,614	2,681	2,005	2,094	1,582	1,658	1,726	1,692	1,510	1,527	3,292	3,443	2,686	2,812
Median length of stay (months)	18.0	15.7	16.2	17.2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	10.1	10.2	12.5	11.4	16.0	14.1	17.1	15.9

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
<1 year	3.7	3.8	3.7	4.3	11.0	12.0	12.8	13.6	3.9	4.3	3.6	4.3	3.7	3.7	4.3	4.3
1 year	5.1	5.1	5.8	5.0	5.7	6.6	6.4	7.0	4.5	5.4	6.2	7.0	5.1	5.7	5.1	5.5
2 years	5.1	5.3	5.4	5.8	6.6	5.6	6.4	5.9	7.0	6.3	7.1	5.8	5.1	5.5	5.6	5.2
3 years	4.8	5.3	4.9	4.7	6.2	5.4	5.2	5.5	5.6	6.7	6.3	6.4	5.1	4.7	4.8	5.4
4 years	5.3	5.7	4.6	5.0	4.2	5.2	5.4	5.1	4.4	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.6	5.1	4.7	4.7
5 years	5.9	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.7	5.1	5.0	4.2	5.7	5.7	5.2	5.6	5.3	5.2	5.0	4.4
6 years	5.8	5.8	4.7	4.3	5.4	5.2	3.9	5.5	6.1	5.9	5.3	4.9	5.8	4.9	4.3	4.7
7 years	5.6	4.8	5.2	4.5	5.8	5.2	5.4	4.6	6.1	6.1	5.3	5.1	5.1	5.2	4.5	4.5
8 years	5.8	5.5	4.5	5.0	5.7	5.4	4.7	5.1	6.1	5.9	5.0	4.5	5.5	4.7	5.0	4.8
9 years	6.0	5.2	5.2	4.7	4.6	4.3	5.9	4.6	6.0	5.4	6.0	4.4	5.1	5.0	4.6	5.0
10 years	4.2	5.4	4.9	5.0	5.9	4.5	4.7	4.8	5.6	5.4	4.6	5.1	5.4	5.1	5.0	4.6
11 years	4.6	4.8	4.6	4.9	0.5	0.8	0.1	0.1	4.5	4.7	4.2	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.9	5.3
12 years	5.5	4.5	4.3	5.1	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	5.2	3.5	3.6	4.8	4.5	4.4	5.0	5.1
13 years	4.9	5.6	4.8	5.6	5.0	6.1	6.3	5.9	4.6	5.4	5.0	5.3	5.5	5.2	5.5	5.3
14 years	5.8	5.8	7.0	5.1	6.5	5.3	5.5	5.0	4.6	3.7	5.0	4.6	5.7	6.7	5.3	5.8
15 years	6.1	6.3	6.4	7.0	4.6	6.3	5.9	4.8	5.0	4.8	5.0	4.4	6.2	6.4	7.1	5.8
16 years	6.0	6.3	7.0	6.6	4.7	4.7	4.3	4.9	4.1	4.3	5.4	4.8	6.2	6.9	6.6	6.5
17 years	5.5	5.3	5.6	6.3	2.1	3.6	2.3	3.1	4.5	4.2	3.6	5.4	5.3	5.4	6.3	6.4
18 years	2.6	2.8	4.4	3.4	0.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	3.9	4.3	4.7	5.2	2.9	4.0	3.5	3.3
19 years	1.5	1.2	1.3	2.5	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.1	1.8	1.3	1.3	1.2	2.5	1.6
20 years	<.1	<.1	0.3	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.4	0.9	1.4	1.3	0.6	0.4	0.4	1.6
Missing data	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.0	0.5	0.8	0.1	0.1	<.1	0.5	<.1	0.2	0.3	0.3	<.1	0.2

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
Alaska Native/American Indian	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Asian	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.1	<.1	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.2	<.1	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	59.4	57.7	55.6	52.9	53.9	52.0	47.9	45.2	57.3	57.2	52.6	48.3	57.1	54.5	52.7	50.9
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	0.6	0.7	0.9	1.0	0.8	1.4	1.4	1.4	0.7	0.8	1.3	1.4	0.7	1.1	0.9	1.0
White (non-Hispanic)	39.6	41.4	42.3	41.7	45.1	44.2	41.1	39.7	41.7	41.8	41.7	42.2	41.9	42.9	41.9	40.2
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.8	0.0	0.2	1.0	1.1	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.0	0.0	0.1	0.8	0.9
Unknown	<.1	<.1	0.3	0.5	<.1	0.7	0.8	1.0	<.1	0.2	0.5	0.3	<.1	0.3	0.4	0.9
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.4	2.9	0.0	1.3	7.2	11.4	0.0	0.0	3.1	6.5	0.0	0.8	2.9	5.9

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

Waiting for Adoption	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total waiting children	520	510	816	832
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	255	242	220	223

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	1.3	3.1	3.4	2.6
1 year	2.3	2.9	4.8	5.0
2 years	4.0	3.7	6.0	5.6
3 years	4.6	2.5	5.0	7.0
4 years	5.2	4.9	5.4	4.3
5 years	6.7	4.5	6.0	4.9
6 years	5.6	6.1	5.6	5.8
7 years	6.0	5.5	6.5	5.8
8 years	6.0	5.9	6.9	6.1
9 years	7.7	7.1	5.8	5.9
10 years	6.0	5.5	6.6	6.1
11 years	5.0	5.3	6.9	7.0
12 years	4.8	5.9	6.4	6.9
13 years	6.7	4.7	6.7	6.4
14 years	6.0	7.1	4.4	6.0
15 years	6.3	6.5	5.9	4.9
16 years	5.0	7.1	3.3	5.2
17 years	5.6	5.1	2.8	2.8
18 years	2.9	3.9	0.6	1.2
19 years	1.9	2.2	0.6	0.2
20+ years	0.4	0.6	0.2	0.2
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1
Asian	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	68.8	62.2	54.5	52.8
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	0.0	0.2	0.4	1.0
White (non-Hispanic)	31.0	37.5	42.6	42.1
Two or more races	0.0	0.2	1.1	1.0
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.6	2.4

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	288	266	227	182

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
1 year	5.2	4.9	4.8	4.9
2 years	5.9	9.0	11.0	7.1
3 years	8.7	9.4	6.6	8.2
4 years	4.9	7.9	7.0	8.8
5 years	8.7	10.5	7.9	9.9
6 years	10.4	6.8	7.9	6.0
7 years	9.0	9.0	7.9	8.2
8 years	9.0	4.1	5.7	7.1
9 years	8.3	8.6	5.3	5.5
10 years	5.9	7.9	5.7	4.9
11 years	5.6	7.5	5.3	4.4
12 years	4.5	1.5	4.0	6.0
13 years	4.5	5.3	5.3	7.1
14 years	2.4	2.3	4.0	4.9
15 years	1.4	2.6	5.7	2.7
16 years	1.4	1.1	4.4	1.1
17 years	2.4	0.8	1.3	2.2
18 years	0.3	0.8	0.0	0.5
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	0.4	0.9	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	55.2	63.2	50.7	45.1
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	0.3	0.0	1.8	1.1
White (non-Hispanic)	44.4	36.5	46.3	51.1
Two or more races	0.0	0.0	0.4	2.2
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Mississippi [ 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	—	—	95.4	95.7
Children with one or more recurrences	—	—	4.6	4.3
Number	—	—	2,065	2,604

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	—	—	0.59	0.40
Children not maltreated while in foster care	—	—	99.41	99.60
Number	—	—	3,887	3,964

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	16.3	14.8	15.5	12.7
Guardianship	3.4	2.5	1.5	1.3
Reunification	73.2	77.0	63.4	55.2
Other	5.4	4.4	7.1	6.9
Missing data	1.7	1.2	12.5	23.8
Number	1,726	1,692	1,510	1,527

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	24.5	20.0	17.8	12.7
Guardianship	7.4	7.7	1.8	2.4
Reunification	53.7	59.4	64.0	53.0
Other	13.3	11.6	12.0	14.3
Missing data	1.1	1.3	4.4	17.5
Number	188	155	225	251

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.6
Guardianship	3.6	2.8	2.1	0.9
Reunification	77.0	82.4	63.0	54.6
Other	15.6	13.4	21.7	17.9
Missing data	2.2	1.1	11.4	26.0
Number	365	352	332	346

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	35.5	37.1	31.5	33.8
Children older than 12 at entry	64.5	61.3	68.5	66.2
Missing data	0.0	1.6	0.0	0.0
Number	62	62	89	68

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	100.0	100.0	0.0	15.9	16.5	14.6	12.5
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.4	1.9	0.9	0.8
Reunification	0.0	0.0	100.0	50.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	73.3	76.1	64.2	55.6
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.9	4.3	9.4	7.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	1.1	10.8	23.9
Number	0	0	1	2	4	1	2	0	989	967	794	737

	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	8.3	0.0	20.0	9.5	17.2	12.6	17.6	14.7
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.1	5.0	0.0	3.3	3.4	2.2	2.2
Reunification	0.0	0.0	0.0	50.0	83.3	85.7	65.0	66.7	72.6	78.2	62.5	53.6
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	8.3	7.1	0.0	0.0	4.9	4.5	4.8	7.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	100.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	10.0	23.8	1.9	1.3	12.9	21.7
Number	0	0	4	2	12	14	20	21	720	707	630	645

	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	0.0	0.0	0.0	20.0	0.0	0.0	20.0	26.7	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	2.1	0.0
Reunification	100.0	66.7	85.7	40.0	0.0	0.0	80.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	63.8	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.7	0.0	0.0	4.3	0.0
Missing data	0.0	33.3	14.3	40.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	29.8	0.0
Number	1	3	7	5	0	0	5	15	0	0	47	100

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.	67.7	69.0	56.8	64.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	19.6	17.3	29.5	21.5
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	6.4	7.1	6.4	8.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	2.3	3.1	3.0	2.3
48 or more mos.	4.0	2.8	4.3	3.9
Missing data	<.1	0.8	0.0	0.0
Number	1,263	1,303	958	843

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	98.0	98.6	94.8	91.9
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	0.9	1.0	4.6	6.3
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	0.6	0.3	0.4	1.9
Missing data	0.4	<.1	0.1	0.0
Number	2,005	2,094	1,582	1,658

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.	6.0	2.0	2.6	0.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	11.7	14.4	16.2	12.9
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	20.2	24.4	23.5	24.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	22.7	23.2	21.4	18.6
48 or more mos.	39.4	35.2	36.3	44.3
Missing data	0.0	0.8	0.0	0.0
Number	282	250	234	194

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	93.2	85.3	55.3	59.2	80.1	82.9	47.4	53.4	57.5	57.8	28.1	31.9	100.0	95.2	71.4	42.9
Children with 3 or more placements	6.5	7.5	9.7	9.4	19.5	16.9	28.4	27.6	41.9	41.9	56.9	55.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	2,297	2,465	1,831	1,935	945	1,060	944	924	1,769	1,589	1,414	1,466	7	21	7	14

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	17.4	24.2	25.5	22.8
Institutions	1.8	2.5	0.0	0.2
Other settings	80.7	73.2	74.5	77.0
Missing data	<.1	0.2	0.0	0.0
Number	1,474	1,332	770	833

Mississippi [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Mississippi'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, 4.3 percent of the children in Mississippi 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 not only is less than the national median of 7.1 percent, but also represents an improvement in performance on the measure from 2002 to 2003 (-6.5 percent change). No data were available for this measure in 2000 or 2001.

Mississippi's data regarding child maltreatment victims indicate a high level of variation from 2000 to 2003. In 2003, the child maltreatment victim rate was 7.8 child victims per 1,000 children in the State population, which is less than the national median of 10.6 child victims per 1,000 children in the population. This 2003 rate represents a considerable increase from the rate in 2002 (5.3 child victims per 1,000 children in the population), but is about equal to the rate in 2000 (8.3 child victims per 1,000 children in the population).

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

In 2003, 0.40 percent of the children in foster care in Mississippi were found to be maltreated by a foster parent or facility staff member (measure 2.1). Although this percentage is about equal to the national median of 0.39 percent, it represents an improvement in performance from 2000 to 2003 (-32.2 percent change).

Outcome 3. Increase permanency for children in foster care

Mississippi's performance with regard to outcome 3 cannot be assessed because almost 24 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 did not have reason for discharge information. Therefore, it is not possible to determine exits to permanency or exits to emancipation for any of the measures..

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

Mississippi's performance with regard to achieving outcome 4 cannot be assessed for timeliness of reunification (measure 4.1) because almost 24 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 did not have reason for discharge information. Therefore, it is not possible to determine exits from foster care that involved discharges to reunification.

Mississippi's performance with regard to re-entries of children into foster care also is difficult to assess because the extensive range in the data over time suggests data quality issues. In 2003, 6.3 percent of the children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode, which is less than the national median of 9.5 percent (measure 4.2).

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

Mississippi's performance with regard to outcome measure 5.1 cannot be assessed because almost 24 percent of the children exiting foster care in 2003 did not have reason for discharge information. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the number of exits from foster care to a finalized adoption.

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

Mississippi's performance with regard to outcome measure 6.1 cannot be assessed because of missing information regarding the number of placements children experience.

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

In 2003, 23 percent of the children entering foster care in Mississippi 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 from 2000 to 2003 (+19.8 percent change).