District of Columbia

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

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District of Columbia [State Comment]

Uma S. Ahluwalia, Interim Director
Child and Family Services Agency
District of Columbia

The following are the District of Columbia's comments on the State data presented in Child Welfare Outcomes 2002-2005: Report to Congress.

Section B (Child Maltreatment Data): Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims: The District would like to clarify that there has been greater emphasis in the past on ensuring the accuracy and completeness of race/ethnicity data for children in out-of-home care, as opposed to those served in the in-home population. For example, in FY 2005, only 3.6% of the foster care population was missing race/ethnicity data. Only 0.3% had race/ethnicity listed as "unknown." Recently, the agency has begun to emphasize the importance of entering timely, accurate, and complete demographic data for all children served, whether a child is in in-home care, out-of-home care, or referred to a community agency.

Outcome Measure 3.1: Fluctuation in these data is partly the result of CFSA's consistent reform efforts and vast improvements in system-wide performance for achieving timely permanence for children. By lowering social worker caseloads and implementing better practices, children and families are protected from languishing in the system without closure. This trend also highlights the emphasis the District has placed on preventing re-entry into foster care by providing families with a timely and easily accessible array of supportive, community-based service. Caution should be used, however, in comparing data from FY 2002 to subsequent years. Data quality improved as users became more familiar with the application and the mapping logic to capture various data elements was standardized. In addition, CFSA's reform efforts have significantly picked up momentum since 2004 with significant program improvements manifested in the last two years, thus contributing to fluctuations in the data.

Outcome Measure 3.2: It should be noted that in FY 2004, the agency began an initiative to adjust the mapping of disability data for children in foster care, based upon AFCARS definitions. At that time, the mapping of disabilities encompassed an overly broad category of conditions, which resulted in an inflated number of children being categorized as disabled. Subsequently, the agency sought technical assistance both from another state and from the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology. This strategy led to a more accurate count of disabled children in care for FY 2005. Technical assistance concluded and the project was completed in FY 2006. As a result of this initiative, the agency anticipates a further but slight adjustment to these numbers for FY 2006.

Outcome Measures 3.3 and 3.4: The increase in children remaining in foster care until the age of 21 in part reflects the past legacy of failure to achieve permanency. It is also the result of an increase in adolescents entering care. The District would like to emphasize however, caution should be used in comparing data from FY 2002 to subsequent years as the data integrity without our SACWIS application has matured since implementation in FY 1999. Data quality improved as users became more familiar with the application and the mapping logic to capture various data elements was standardized. In addition, CFSA's reform efforts have significantly picked up momentum since 2004, with significant program improvement manifested in the last two years, thus contributing to the fluctuations in the data.

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District of Columbia [Federal Comment]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

The District of Columbia's performance in achieving outcomes related to the safety and permanency of children served by the child welfare system is discussed below. The discussion focuses on performance in 2005 and change in performance over time, which is determined by calculating the percent change from a prior year to 2005. The prior year selected varies depending on the availability and reliability of data. A percent change that is less than 5.0 (either positive or negative) is considered to represent "no change." 

The discussion incorporates information about performance on the seven outcomes that have been part of the Report to Congress since its inception. In general, data are provided for these outcomes from 2002 to 2005 and their measures are identified using the labels provided in the data pages (e.g., measure 1.1, 2.1, etc.). The discussion also incorporates information about performance on measures included in four composite data indicators recently developed for the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews. (See appendix B for a discussion of these measures.) The composites and measures are presented on the last page of the data pages and are identified below using the labels provided on the data page (e.g., measure C1.2, C1.3, etc.). Data are available for these outcome measures for 2004 and 2005 only.

Outcomes Pertaining to Safety

• In 2005, 5.3 percent of the children who were victims of child maltreatment in the first 6 months of the fiscal year experienced another maltreatment incident within a 6-month period (measure 1.1). This percentage is less than the national median of 6.6 percent and represents an improvement in performance compared to 2002 (17.2 percent change).   
• In 2005, 0.34 percent of children in foster care in the District of Columbia were found to be victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1). This percentage is less than the national median of 0.42 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2003 (51.4 percent change).  

Outcomes Pertaining to Permanency

Performance with regard to exits from foster care to a permanent home (i.e., children discharged from foster care to adoption, guardianship, or reunification).

• In 2005, 84.5 percent of all children exiting foster care were discharged to a permanent home (measure 3.1). This percentage is less than the national median of 87.8 percent. However, the data for outcome measures 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 indicate extensive variations in population size, suggesting possible data quality issues with regard to those measures.  
• In 2005, 32.9 percent of children in foster care for 24 months or longer on the first day of the fiscal year were discharged to a permanent home by the end of the fiscal year and prior to their 18th birthday (measure C3.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 26.4 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2004 (7.9 percent change).
• In 2005, 99.7 percent of the children exiting foster care who were legally free for adoption (i.e., a parental rights termination date was reported for both parents) were discharged to a permanent home (measure C3.2). This percentage is among the highest in the nation.   

Performance with regard to children remaining in foster care until emancipated.

• In 2005, 25.0 percent of the children who exited foster care with a discharge reason of "emancipation" were age 12 or younger when they entered foster care (measure 3.4). Comparisons across years are not feasible because of considerable variation in the total numbers of children reported as exits to emancipation.
• In 2005, 60.5 percent of the children who exited foster care with a discharge reason of emancipation had been in foster care for 3 years or longer (measure C3.3). This percentage exceeds the national median of 48.1 percent.

Performance with regard to the timeliness and permanency of reunifications.

• In 2005, 71.3 percent of reunifications of children who were in foster care for 8 days or longer occurred in less than 12 months from the time of the child's entry into foster care (measure C1.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 70.4 percent.
• Measure C1.3 indicates that 29.4 percent of all children entering foster care in the last 6 months of 2005 were reunified in less than 12 months from the time of entry into foster care. This percentage is less than the national median of 38.7 percent.
• Measure C1.4 indicates that 24.8 percent of children exiting foster care to reunification in 2005 reentered foster care in less than 12 months. This percentage not only exceeds the national median of 14.8 percent, but also represents a decline in performance on this measure from 2004 (31.9 percent change). Because outcome measure C1.4 is a longitudinal measure of foster care reentry, it is intended to replace outcome measure 4.2 as the assessment of foster care reentry.

Performance with regard to the timeliness of adoptions.

• In 2005, 7.5 percent of finalized adoptions occurred within 24 months of the child's entry into foster care (measures 5.1 and C2.1). This percentage is the lowest in the nation. However, it represents an improvement in performance from 2002 (27.1 percent change).
• In 2005, 21.1 percent of children in foster care for 17 months or longer at the start of the fiscal year who did not exit to reunification or guardianship were discharged from foster care to a finalized adoption by the end of the year (measure C2.3). This percentage exceeds the national median of 20.9 percent.  
• Measure C2.5 indicates that 87.7 percent of children who became legally free for adoption in 2005 (i.e., there was a termination of parental rights date reported for mother and father) were adopted in less than 12 months of becoming legally free. This percentage exceeds the national median of 45.1 percent and represents improvement in performance from 2004 (14.3 percent change).

Outcomes Pertaining to the Stability and Appropriateness of Placements

• In 2005, 82.4 percent of the children in foster care for at least 8 days but less than 12 months experienced two or fewer placement settings (measure C4.1). This percentage is equal to the national median.
• In 2005, 38.7 percent of children in foster care for 24 months or longer experienced two or fewer placement settings (measure 6.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 32.3 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2002 (22.6 percent change).
• In 2005, 12.6 percent of the children entering foster care at age 12 or younger were placed in a group home or institution (measure 7.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 7.2 percent. However, the data for this measure exhibit wide variation, suggesting potential data quality concerns.    

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