Puerto Rico

Context Data | Outcomes Data | Federal Comment

Puerto Rico [ Context Data ]

A. Context Statistics

General Child Population (Census Bureau)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total children under 18 years	—	—	—	—
Race/Ethnicity (%)1
Alaska Native/American Indian	—	—	—	—
Asian	—	—	—	—
Black (non-Hispanic)	—	—	—	—
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—
Hispanic (of any race)	—	—	—	—
White (non-Hispanic)	—	—	—	—
Two or more races	—	—	—	—
% Child population in poverty	0.0	0.0	—	—

Child Welfare Summary	2000	2001	2002	2003
Child maltreatment victims2	0	0	0	0
Children in foster care on 9/30	0	8,476	8,179	7,585
Children adopted	454	592	431	443

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	—	— per 1,000	—	— per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims3	—	— per 1,000	—	— per 1,000	—	— per 1,000	—	— per 1,000
Child fatalities	—	— per 100,000	—	— 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	—	—	—	—
1-5 years	—	—	—	—
6-10 years	—	—	—	—
11-15 years	—	—	—	—
16+ years	—	—	—	—
Unknown	—	—	—	—
Number	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)4	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	—	—	—	—
Asian	—	—	—	—
Black (non-Hispanic)	—	—	—	—
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	—	—	—	—
Hispanic (of any race)	—	—	—	—
White (non-Hispanic)	—	—	—	—
Two or more races	—	—	—	—
Unknown	—	—	—	—
Number	—	—	—	—

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)5	2000	2001	2002	2003
Emotional abuse	—	—	—	—
Medical neglect	—	—	—	—
Neglect	—	—	—	—
Physical abuse	—	—	—	—
Sexual abuse	—	—	—	—
Unknown/missing data	—	—	—	—
Other	—	—	—	—
Number	—	—	—	—

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	—	6,195	7,061	7,565	—	3,254	3,483	2,652	—	977	2,369	2,624	—	8,476	8,179	7,585
Median length of stay (months)	—	27.4	21.2	21.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	—	11.7	11.0	12.1	—	22.4	22.4	27.5

	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	3.5	3.5	—	12.5	12.3	12.9	—	4.3	4.4	3.6	—	3.4	3.4	2.8
1 year	—	3.9	5.0	4.6	—	7.7	6.9	6.2	—	7.7	7.9	6.8	—	4.5	4.4	4.2
2 years	—	4.6	4.9	5.1	—	6.7	7.2	6.1	—	7.9	7.1	6.6	—	4.7	4.9	4.4
3 years	—	5.4	5.2	5.4	—	7.1	6.7	5.8	—	9.0	8.3	7.2	—	5.0	5.0	4.8
4 years	—	5.2	5.6	5.2	—	6.6	6.2	6.1	—	8.6	7.6	6.8	—	5.6	4.9	4.8
5 years	—	5.6	5.9	5.6	—	6.9	6.6	6.9	—	7.1	6.9	7.3	—	5.6	5.3	5.2
6 years	—	6.0	6.1	5.9	—	7.2	6.1	6.9	—	8.1	7.2	7.1	—	5.9	5.7	5.5
7 years	—	6.0	6.3	6.4	—	6.3	6.4	5.3	—	6.9	7.6	7.7	—	6.0	6.1	5.6
8 years	—	6.2	6.2	6.0	—	5.4	5.7	4.9	—	6.2	7.5	7.3	—	5.9	5.7	5.5
9 years	—	6.7	6.2	5.8	—	5.8	4.7	4.4	—	5.9	5.8	5.8	—	5.9	5.6	5.4
10 years	—	6.6	6.8	6.4	—	4.9	5.4	4.9	—	5.6	5.1	6.0	—	6.3	6.1	5.4
11 years	—	6.5	6.3	6.6	—	4.3	4.8	4.1	—	4.5	4.9	5.4	—	5.8	6.2	6.0
12 years	—	6.2	6.4	6.4	—	4.7	4.2	4.4	—	4.7	4.8	4.4	—	6.1	6.0	6.3
13 years	—	6.9	5.9	6.5	—	3.9	4.0	4.6	—	5.2	3.6	4.9	—	5.6	6.2	6.4
14 years	—	6.1	6.3	6.0	—	3.8	3.8	3.8	—	4.5	3.6	4.2	—	5.9	5.7	6.4
15 years	—	6.5	5.7	6.3	—	2.4	3.4	4.3	—	2.3	3.2	3.0	—	5.2	6.0	6.0
16 years	—	6.0	4.2	4.0	—	2.0	2.3	2.1	—	1.2	2.5	2.8	—	5.5	5.4	6.3
17 years	—	2.2	3.2	3.8	—	0.9	0.7	1.5	—	0.1	0.8	1.3	—	4.9	3.5	3.9
18 years	—	0.1	0.0	0.0	—	<.1	<.1	<.1	—	0.0	0.0	0.6	—	1.7	3.0	3.8
19 years	—	<.1	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	<.1	0.0	0.0
20 years	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	<.1	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	<.1	0.3	0.4	—	0.9	2.6	4.9	—	0.2	1.1	1.0	—	0.2	0.8	1.5

	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	—	0.2	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.2	0.0	0.0
Asian	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	<.1	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	—	0.1	0.2	0.1	—	0.3	0.3	0.2	—	0.0	0.6	0.1	—	0.2	0.1	0.2
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.6	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.3	0.0	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	—	98.7	99.0	99.1	—	98.6	98.9	99.3	—	99.3	98.5	99.4	—	98.6	99.1	99.1
White (non-Hispanic)	—	0.6	0.7	0.6	—	0.5	0.6	0.5	—	0.3	0.8	0.5	—	0.6	0.6	0.6
Two or more races	—	<.1	0.0	0.0	—	<.1	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	<.1	0.0	0.0
Unknown	—	<.1	0.2	0.2	—	0.0	0.2	<.1	—	0.4	0.1	0.0	—	0.0	0.2	0.2
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

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

Waiting for Adoption	2000	2001	2002	2003
Total waiting children	—	384	1,454	1,416
Numbers of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	—	35	55	55

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	—	9.9	5.8	3.5
1 year	—	7.8	7.1	6.2
2 years	—	3.1	8.1	7.1
3 years	—	3.9	7.5	8.3
4 years	—	4.2	8.0	8.7
5 years	—	4.4	9.8	8.1
6 years	—	5.5	10.4	9.3
7 years	—	4.7	10.2	9.5
8 years	—	5.5	8.7	9.5
9 years	—	5.2	6.5	8.3
10 years	—	5.2	5.3	5.9
11 years	—	5.7	3.9	5.1
12 years	—	4.7	2.6	3.5
13 years	—	4.9	1.7	2.3
14 years	—	6.3	1.6	1.7
15 years	—	5.2	1.4	1.2
16 years	—	4.9	0.6	1.2
17 years	—	5.7	0.4	0.4
18 years	—	2.9	0.3	0.3
19 years	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	—	0.3	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	—	—	—

Race/Ethnicity (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Alaska Native/American Indian	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Asian	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	—	0.3	0.3	0.3
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	—	0.3	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	—	99.0	99.2	99.2
White (non-Hispanic)	—	0.5	0.4	0.4
Two or more races	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	—	0.0	<.1	<.1
Missing data	—	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	454	592	431	443

Age (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
<1 year	4.4	3.0	4.9	2.9
1 year	7.5	6.9	11.4	14.2
2 years	12.1	7.4	7.4	10.4
3 years	4.6	12.2	8.8	9.7
4 years	8.6	13.2	7.4	9.7
5 years	10.8	6.4	9.0	7.9
6 years	8.1	10.1	4.9	11.7
7 years	13.7	5.4	7.4	9.3
8 years	4.4	8.3	4.6	6.8
9 years	4.6	4.6	8.6	3.6
10 years	2.6	2.9	6.3	3.4
11 years	3.7	3.4	3.7	4.1
12 years	1.3	4.1	4.6	0.5
13 years	1.3	1.9	0.9	0.9
14 years	1.5	2.5	0.9	1.8
15 years	1.5	1.0	2.3	0.9
16 years	1.3	1.9	3.9	0.9
17 years	3.1	1.9	0.9	0.5
18 years	0.7	0.0	0.5	0.0
19 years	0.0	0.3	0.9	0.5
20+ years	2.9	2.0	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)	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	98.9	99.5	99.1	100.0
White (non-Hispanic)	0.9	0.5	0.9	0.0
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

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Puerto Rico [ 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	—	—	—	—
Children with one or more recurrences	—	—	—	—
Number	—	—	—	—

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	—	7.6	7.9	6.5
Guardianship	—	0.0	<.1	0.0
Reunification	—	89.8	86.9	89.6
Other	—	2.1	1.9	1.4
Missing data	—	0.5	3.3	2.5
Number	—	977	2,369	2,624

3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	—	15.8	7.8	7.2
Guardianship	—	0.0	0.6	0.0
Reunification	—	80.7	76.5	85.2
Other	—	3.5	9.6	4.5
Missing data	—	0.0	5.4	3.1
Number	—	57	166	223

3.3 Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry into Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	—	0.0	0.5	0.0
Guardianship	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	—	92.4	91.8	90.1
Other	—	7.6	4.6	7.3
Missing data	—	0.0	3.2	2.6
Number	—	66	219	274

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children age 12 or younger at entry	—	62.5	53.8	40.0
Children older than 12 at entry	—	25.0	46.2	56.0
Missing data	—	12.5	0.0	4.0
Number	—	8	13	25

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	0.0
Guardianship	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	100.0	100.0
Other	—	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
Number	—	0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—	0	15	2
	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	—	7.5	7.8	6.5	—	33.3	22.2	0.0
Guardianship	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	<.1	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	89.8	86.9	89.6	—	66.7	77.8	100.0
Other	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	2.2	1.9	1.4	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.5	3.4	2.5	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	—	0	0	0	—	970	2,334	2,608	—	3	18	13
	Unable to Determine				Two or more Races				Missing Data
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Adoption	—	0.0	50.0	100.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	<.1
Guardianship	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	<.1
Reunification	—	100.0	50.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	<.1
Other	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	<.1
Missing data	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	0.0	0.0	<.1
Number	—	4	2	1	—	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.	—	56.1	59.3	52.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	—	28.6	28.1	32.1
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	—	6.0	7.2	8.0
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	—	4.3	2.0	2.8
48 or more mos.	—	3.3	2.2	4.0
Missing data	—	1.6	1.2	0.3
Number	—	877	2,058	2,352

4.2 Children Re-entering Foster Care (%)	2000	2001	2002	2003
Children entering care for the first time	—	90.7	94.4	91.2
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	—	2.4	1.3	1.9
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	—	5.6	3.5	5.1
Missing data	—	1.3	0.8	1.9
Number	—	3,254	3,483	2,652

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.	—	4.1	6.5	5.3
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	—	10.8	20.4	24.1
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	—	21.6	14.0	22.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	—	16.2	16.1	10.0
48 or more mos.	—	47.3	42.5	38.2
Missing data	—	0.0	0.5	0.0
Number	—	74	186	170

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	—	99.6	99.8	99.7	—	98.9	99.8	99.7	—	99.0	98.7	98.8	—	100.0	100.0	100.0
Children with 3 or more placements	—	0.4	0.2	0.3	—	1.1	0.2	0.3	—	1.0	1.3	1.2	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	—	3,417	4,143	3,436	—	1,725	2,046	2,123	—	4,296	4,316	4,634	—	11	40	25

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	—	1.0	0.5	0.3
Institutions	—	6.7	3.1	5.2
Other settings	—	92.3	96.4	94.4
Missing data	—	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	—	2,719	2,598	2,053

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Puerto Rico [ Federal Comment ]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The following is a discussion of Puerto Rico's performance on the national outcomes established for the Report to Congress. The discussion focuses on Puerto Rico'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

Puerto Rico's performance with regard to achieving outcome 1 cannot be assessed because it does not provide data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for calculating the measure for this outcome (measure 1.1). To ensure consistency across States, the Report to Congress presents only data submitted through NCANDS.

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

Puerto Rico's performance with regard to achieving outcome 2 cannot be assessed because it does not provide data to NCANDS for calculating the measure for this outcome (measure 2.1). 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, 96.1 percent of children exiting foster care in Puerto Rico (measure 3.1) were discharged to a permanent home, which exceeds the national median of 86.3 percent. Also, 92.4 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability (measure 3.2) were discharged to a permanent home, which exceeds the national median of 79.5 percent. Furthermore, 90.1 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 exceeds the national median of 72.2 percent.

In 2003, 40.0 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), which exceeds the national median of 29.6 percent. However, only 25 of the 2,642 children exiting foster care had a discharge reason of emancipation.

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

In 2003, only 52.8 percent of reunifications in Puerto Rico occurred within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care (measure 4.1). This percent not only is less than the national median of 72.0 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2001 (-5.9 percent change). (Data for this measure in 2000 are not available). In addition, 6.8 percent of reunifications occurred after the child had been in foster care for at least 36 months, which exceeds the national median of 3.5 percent.

Puerto Rico's relatively low percentage of reunifications occurring within 12 months of a child's entry into foster care corresponds to a very low percentage of re-entries into foster care. In 2003, only 1.9 percent of the children entering foster care were re-entering within 12 months of a prior episode. This percent is not only less than the national median of 9.5 percent, but also represents an improvement in performance from 2000 (-20.8 percent change). In addition, only 5.1 percent of the children entering foster care in 2003 were re-entering more than 12 months after a prior foster care episode. Consequently, only 7.0 percent of all children entering foster care in 2003 had been in foster care at a prior time.

Outcome 5. Reduce time in foster care to adoption

Puerto Rico's performance with regard to outcome measure 5.1 cannot be assessed because the number of finalized adoptions reported to the Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Adoption File (443 finalized adoptions) exceeds the number of children reported to the AFCARS Foster Care File as exiting to adoption (170 children).

Outcome 6. Increase placement stability

In 2003, 90.2 percent of the children in foster care in Puerto Rico who were in care for less than 12 months experienced no more than two placement settings (measure 6.1), which exceeds the national median of 84.2 percent. However, in 2003, 56.6 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, 5.5 percent of the children entering foster care 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 an improvement in performance from 2000 (-28.6 percent change).

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