Florida

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Florida [Context Data]

A. Context Statistics1

General Child Population (Census Bureau)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total children under 18 years	3,882,271	3,924,123	4,003,290	4,067,877
Race/ethnicity (%)2
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Asian	1.8	1.9	1.9	2.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	21.2	21.1	21.1	21.0
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	20.7	21.4	22.1	22.8
White (non-Hispanic)	54.2	53.5	52.7	52.0
Two or More Races	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9
Child population in poverty (%)	16.5	19.2	17.0	15.8

Child Welfare Summary
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Child maltreatment victims3	122,131	138,499	129,914	130,633
Children in foster care on 9/30	31,963	30,677	28,864	29,312
Children adopted	2,309	2,786	3,264	3,020

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

Overview Maltreatment Information4
	2002		2003		2004		2005
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	254,856	65.7 per 1,000	350,385	89.3 per 1,000	329,158	82.2 per 1,000	334,293	82.2 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims5	122,131	31.5 per 1,000	138,499	35.3 per 1,000	129,914	32.5 per 1,000	130,633	32.1 per 1,000
Child fatalities	97	2.5 per 100,000	101	2.6 per 100,000	86	2.2 per 100,000	117	2.9 per 100,000

1 A calendar year is the basis for data from the Census Bureau (in Section A. Context Statistics) and the 2002 data only from NCANDS (in Section B. Child Maltreatment Data). All other data on this page are based on the Federal fiscal year, October 1 through September 30. Back
2 Race/ethnicity data represent population estimates from the Census Bureau. Child poverty data are from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS). Back
3 A child victim is defined as a child who is the subject of a substantiated or indicated maltreatment report. Back
4 The rate for maltreatment investigations and victims is per 1,000 children under age 18; for fatalities, the rate is per 100,000 children under age 18. Back
5 Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once. Back

B. Child Maltreatment Data (Continued)

Age of Child Victims (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	9.3	9.3	9.5	9.9
1-5 years	31.8	32.3	33.0	33.3
6-10 years	28.1	27.7	26.7	26.3
11-15 years	24.6	24.6	24.4	23.8
16+ years	6.2	6.1	6.4	6.5
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	122,131	138,499	129,914	130,633

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4
Black (non-Hispanic)	30.4	31.2	29.9	29.7
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	N/A	0.0	0.0	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	8.2	9.4	12.4	12.9
White (non-Hispanic)	60.1	57.8	55.2	54.8
Two or More Races	--	0.1	1.2	1.4
Unknown	0.9	1.0	0.6	0.6
Number	122,131	138,499	129,914	130,633

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)6
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Emotional abuse	2.9	2.4	1.9	1.8
Medical neglect	1.9	1.9	1.6	1.6
Neglect	32.4	30.2	29.8	30.2
Physical abuse	14.5	13.9	13.2	12.0
Sexual abuse	4.9	4.5	4.1	4.0
Unknown	--	--	--	--
Other	66.0	67.3	67.5	69.2
Number	122,131	138,499	129,914	130,633

Time to Investigation (in hours)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Mean	13.0	13.0	11.8	10.7
Median	<24	<24	<24	<24

6 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
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total number	28,503	31,713	30,029	27,704	20,800	20,549	19,932	22,147	17,340	21,585	21,097	20,539	31,963	30,677	28,864	29,312
Median length of stay (months)	14.4	12.9	12.5	12.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	12.2	12.1	12.0	11.8	12.4	12.4	12.2	10.2

Age of Children in Foster Care (%)
	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	5.8	6.2	6.8	6.8	16.1	16.6	16.8	16.9	3.9	4.3	4.5	4.6	6.4	6.8	6.9	7.7
1 year	7.5	7.6	7.9	8.5	7.4	7.5	8.2	8.1	7.0	7.2	7.8	8.3	7.8	8.0	8.5	8.8
2 years	7.5	7.4	7.6	7.6	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.6	7.5	7.9	8.2	7.4	7.6	7.6	7.8
3 years	6.7	6.8	7.0	6.9	6.1	6.5	6.4	6.9	7.2	7.2	7.4	7.6	6.8	7.0	6.9	7.0
4 years	5.8	6.2	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.3	6.7	6.7	6.9	6.3	6.2	6.4	6.3
5 years	5.3	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.9	5.9	6.1	6.5	6.3	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.9
6 years	4.9	5.0	5.1	5.1	4.9	5.0	4.9	5.4	5.2	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.0	5.2	5.1	5.2
7 years	5.4	4.9	4.8	4.8	5.0	4.7	4.9	4.7	5.1	4.9	5.3	5.2	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8
8 years	5.4	5.1	4.6	4.4	4.8	4.5	4.5	4.4	5.7	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	4.6	4.4	4.5
9 years	5.5	5.0	4.7	4.2	4.6	4.5	4.2	4.0	5.2	4.8	4.6	4.3	5.0	4.7	4.3	4.0
10 years	5.4	5.1	4.7	4.2	4.6	4.4	4.1	3.9	5.2	4.9	4.5	4.3	5.0	4.7	4.2	4.1
11 years	5.1	5.1	4.9	4.6	4.4	4.3	4.2	3.7	4.9	4.6	4.5	4.0	5.0	4.9	4.6	3.9
12 years	4.8	5.0	4.9	4.7	4.6	4.4	4.4	3.9	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.2	5.0	4.9	4.7	4.4
13 years	5.1	4.9	5.0	4.9	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.6	4.3	4.4	4.1	4.9	5.0	5.0	4.6
14 years	4.8	5.0	5.1	5.2	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.2	4.9	5.0	5.2	5.3
15 years	4.9	4.8	5.3	5.5	3.9	4.3	4.5	4.3	4.5	3.9	4.0	4.1	4.7	5.3	5.5	5.2
16 years	4.6	4.6	5.1	5.7	3.4	3.5	3.4	3.7	3.8	3.4	3.5	3.8	4.5	5.0	5.5	5.4
17 years	3.9	4.1	4.6	5.0	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	4.9	6.1	4.7	3.3	3.9	4.4	4.8	5.2
18 years	0.9	0.9	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	2.9	2.7	4.0	5.8	1.0	<.1	<.1	<.1
19 years	0.4	0.3	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.7	<.1	<.1	0.4	<.1	0.0	<.1
20+ years	0.2	0.2	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.4	<.1	0.0	0.2	<.1	<.1	<.1
Missing data	0.2	0.2	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.3	0.4	<.1	<.1	0.2	<.1	<.1	<.1

C. Characteristics of Children in Foster Care (Continued)

Race/Ethnicity of Children in Foster Care (%)
	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY				Entered Foster Care in FY				Exited Foster Care in FY				In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Asian	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	44.6	42.7	42.6	40.8	36.9	37.7	36.1	34.7	39.9	38.4	39.1	37.4	42.2	42.4	40.7	38.7
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	8.4	8.7	9.3	9.5	8.6	8.7	8.9	9.9	8.4	8.2	8.8	9.1	8.5	9.0	9.3	10.1
White (non-Hispanic)	44.0	45.5	45.3	46.6	51.5	51.0	52.1	52.4	48.8	50.3	49.3	50.6	46.2	45.8	47.0	48.1
Two or More Races	2.4	2.1	2.0	2.3	1.5	1.3	1.9	2.2	1.9	1.9	1.7	2.1	2.0	1.8	2.1	2.4
Unknown	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.2	1.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.3
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	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

D. Characteristics of Children "Waiting for Adoption"7 (AFCARS Foster Care File)

Children Waiting for Adoption
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total waiting children	8,043	8,166	7,684	7,374
Number of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	3,495	4,331	3,996	3,958

Age of Children Waiting for Adoption (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	3.0	3.1	2.9	3.4
1 year	5.7	5.7	7.2	7.2
2 years	7.6	7.2	7.7	7.6
3 years	6.9	7.1	7.1	6.7
4 years	6.8	6.3	6.4	6.3
5 years	6.2	5.8	5.9	6.1
6 years	5.2	5.0	5.0	5.4
7 years	5.0	5.0	4.6	4.6
8 years	5.7	4.9	4.2	4.3
9 years	5.7	5.9	4.7	4.1
10 years	6.2	5.6	5.1	4.8
11 years	6.6	6.3	5.6	5.0
12 years	6.4	6.7	6.0	6.0
13 years	5.7	6.4	6.5	6.1
14 years	6.1	5.9	6.5	7.0
15 years	5.1	5.9	5.9	6.3
16 years	3.8	4.5	5.4	5.1
17 years	2.4	2.9	3.5	4.0
18 years	--	--	--	--
19 years	--	--	--	--
20+ years	--	--	--	--

7 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 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

D. Characteristics of Children "Waiting for Adoption" (Continued)

Race/Ethnicity of Children Waiting for Adoption (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian	<.1	<.1	0.1	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	46.4	45.4	44.8	42.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	9.8	9.6	8.9	8.8
White (non-Hispanic)	40.0	41.2	42.6	45.0
Two or More Races	3.0	3.0	2.9	3.2
Unknown	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

E. Characteristics of Children Adopted (AFCARS Adoption File)

Children Adopted
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total children adopted	2,309	2,786	3,264	3,020

Age of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	1.8	1.3	1.3	2.0
1 year	10.1	7.7	7.3	10.1
2 years	13.0	11.8	10.5	12.6
3 years	12.5	12.4	11.6	12.8
4 years	8.5	11.0	9.8	9.7
5 years	7.5	8.3	9.0	8.8
6 years	6.1	7.4	6.6	6.9
7 years	6.0	5.5	6.6	5.2
8 years	5.1	5.6	5.8	4.7
9 years	6.6	5.1	5.8	4.3
10 years	4.8	4.7	5.3	3.9
11 years	4.3	5.0	4.2	3.8
12 years	4.4	4.2	4.2	3.4
13 years	3.0	3.2	4.2	3.5
14 years	2.3	2.0	3.0	3.1
15 years	1.9	2.0	2.1	2.0
16 years	1.2	1.7	1.6	1.7
17 years	0.7	0.8	1.0	1.3
18 years	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.1
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

Race/Ethnicity of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.6	0.2	0.2
Asian	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	35.6	34.1	35.4	35.2
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.0	<.1	0.1	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	9.3	8.8	9.5	7.5
White (non-Hispanic)	50.2	51.8	50.6	52.8
Two or More Races	4.2	3.6	3.3	3.7
Unknown	0.5	0.8	0.6	0.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Florida [Outcomes Data]

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect (NCANDS)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children without a recurrence	91.3	90.8	90.8	88.7
Children with one or more recurrences	8.7	9.2	9.2	11.3
Number	56,714	57,625	58,497	60,963

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (NCANDS and AFCARS Foster Care File8)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children maltreated while in foster care	N/A	0.47	0.45	0.53
Children not maltreated while in foster care	N/A	99.53	99.55	99.47
Number	N/A	52,262	49,961	49,851

8 For the years 2003, 2004, and 2005, the denominator for this measure includes all children served in foster care during the 12-month fiscal year. In 2002, only children served in the first 9 months of the calendar year were included in the denominator because of differences in the NCANDS and AFCARS reporting periods. Therefore, the data for 2002 are not provided for this measure. Back

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care (AFCARS Foster Care File)

3.1 Exits of Children From Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	11.1	12.9	15.2	14.6
Guardianship	3.8	3.8	4.0	3.9
Reunification	77.6	73.3	73.7	74.1
Other	7.3	8.7	7.1	7.3
Missing data	0.2	1.3	0.0	<.1
Number	17,340	21,585	21,097	20,539

3.2 Exits of Children With a Diagnosed Disability (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	26.6	29.8	34.7	33.7
Guardianship	2.7	3.9	3.5	2.9
Reunification	56.2	46.0	46.0	44.4
Other	14.4	19.4	15.8	18.9
Missing data	0.1	0.9	0.0	<.1
Number	2,092	2,574	2,463	2,264

3.3 Exits of Children Older Than Age 12 at Entry Into Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	1.0	1.4	1.7	1.8
Guardianship	4.6	4.7	6.1	6.5
Reunification	66.5	60.2	64.6	64.8
Other	27.6	32.3	27.6	26.9
Missing data	0.2	1.5	0.0	0.0
Number	3,347	4,092	3,765	3,786

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children age 12 or younger at entry	21.2	26.9	27.8	28.7
Children older than 12 at entry	78.8	73.1	72.2	71.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	939	1,594	1,332	1,344

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care (Continued)

3.5 Exits by Race/ethnicity (%)
	Alaska Native/Am. In.				Asian				Black (non-Hispanic)
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	11.5	28.1	15.7	8.8	0.0	6.7	4.8	8.2	10.1	11.4	13.7	13.7
Guardianship	11.5	1.6	13.7	10.5	6.7	4.4	6.3	2.0	3.8	4.1	4.2	4.2
Reunification	73.1	65.6	64.7	78.9	90.0	77.8	81.0	79.6	77.7	72.1	74.1	73.2
Other	3.8	1.6	5.9	1.8	3.3	11.1	7.9	10.2	8.2	10.7	8.0	8.9
Missing data	0.0	3.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.7	0.0	0.0
Number	26	64	51	57	30	45	63	49	6,917	8,282	8,252	7,672

3.5 Exits by Race/ethnicity (%)
	Native Hawaiian/Other Pac. Is.				Hispanic (of any race)				White (non-Hispanic)
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	0.0	7.7	26.7	0.0	11.7	13.8	16.7	12.0	11.5	13.2	15.7	15.3
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	50.0	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.9	3.8	3.9	4.0	3.8
Reunification	100.0	92.3	73.3	0.0	75.8	70.5	71.4	76.4	78.2	74.8	74.1	74.7
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	50.0	9.1	11.2	8.7	7.6	6.3	7.0	6.3	6.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	<.1	1.2	0.0	<.1	0.2	1.1	0.0	0.0
Number	2	13	15	2	1,463	1,770	1,866	1,872	8,459	10,866	10,405	10,397

3.5 Exits by Race/ethnicity (%)
	Unable to Determine				Two or More Races				Missing Data
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	8.3	16.4	22.5	24.5	23.9	24.9	28.2	25.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	5.6	2.1	3.8	0.0	2.1	1.2	1.6	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	79.6	77.1	68.8	69.8	69.0	67.4	64.9	68.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	6.5	2.9	5.0	5.7	5.1	5.7	5.2	4.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.0	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	108	140	80	53	335	405	365	437	0	0	0	0

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Reentry (AFCARS Foster Care File)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Less than 12 mos.	57.7	60.7	62.7	63.3
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	26.4	27.1	26.8	27.4
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	9.2	6.7	6.5	6.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	3.1	2.8	2.1	1.7
48 or more mos.	3.3	2.4	1.7	1.3
Missing data	0.3	0.1	<.1	<.1
Number	13,464	15,817	15,540	15,228

4.2 Children Reentering Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children entering care for the first time	85.6	84.0	82.3	80.8
Children reentering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	6.9	8.2	9.1	9.4
Children reentering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	2.3	5.1	6.5	8.3
Missing data	5.2	2.7	2.1	1.5
Number	20,800	20,549	19,932	22,147

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption (AFCARS Foster Care File)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Less than 12 mos.	4.8	4.3	4.0	5.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	23.4	18.4	19.8	23.9
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	27.6	28.3	28.4	29.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	18.7	20.7	19.0	19.1
48 or more mos.	25.5	28.3	28.7	21.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	1,931	2,775	3,212	3,002

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
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children with 2 or fewer placements	84.4	83.4	82.8	81.4	75.5	69.9	65.6	61.6	53.6	47.0	39.9	34.2	41.4	77.1	80.4	82.1
Children with 3 or more placements	11.6	13.9	15.5	17.2	24.2	29.9	34.3	38.4	46.2	52.9	60.0	65.8	0.9	0.7	0.0	0.0
Number	24,183	25,668	24,829	26,541	10,867	12,133	11,869	11,119	14,137	14,321	13,161	12,085	116	140	102	106

7. Reduce Placement 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 (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Group homes	1.7	1.8	1.7	1.8
Institutions	5.0	5.0	5.3	5.3
Other settings	93.2	93.1	93.0	92.8
Missing data	<.1	0.1	<.1	<.1
Number	16,511	16,353	15,915	17,781

Composite and Individual Measures Established for the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews9

Composite One: Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	110.7
C1.1: Percent of reunifications that occur in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	60.8	61.2
C1.2: Median length of stay in months of children exiting to reunification (with adjustments)	10.3	10.0
C1.3: Percent of children in entry cohort who are reunified in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	45.3	46.0
C1.4: Percent of children reentering foster care in less than 12 months	10.1	10.9

Composite Two: Timeliness of Adoptions
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	111.5
C2.1: Percent of adoptions occurring in less than 24 months	23.9	29.7
C2.2: Median length of stay in months of children who are adopted	35.1	32.2
C2.3: Percent of children in foster care for 17+ months on first day of fiscal year who are adopted by the end of the year	26.0	24.1
C2.4: Percent of children in foster care for 17+ months on first day of fiscal year who are not legally free for adoption who become legally free within 6 months	10.5	12.5
C2.5: Percent of children legally free for adoption who are adopted in less than 12 months of becoming legally free	47.4	54.0

Composite Three: Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	123.5
C3.1: Percent of children in foster care for 24+ months on the first day of fiscal year who exit to permanency by age 18 or by the end of the fiscal year	35.3	32.6
C3.2: Percent of children who are legally free for adoption who exit to a permanent home	93.8	92.0
C3.3: Percent of children emancipated or reaching age 18 who were in foster care for at least 3 years	47.1	49.2

Composite Four: Placement Stability While in Foster Care
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	92.9
C4.1: Percent of children in care for less than 12 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	83.7	81.7
C4.2: Percent of children in care for 12 to 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	65.7	61.6
C4.3: Percent of children in care for at least 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	39.9	34.2

9 State composite scores for 2004 are not provided because that year's data served as the source data for the establishment of the national standards. Composite scores are not used for performance assessment purposes until 2005; therefore, only 2005 composite scores are provided. Individual measure performance is shown under each composite unless the State did not provide the data necessary to calculate those measures. Back

Florida [State Comment]

No comment submitted.

Florida [Federal Comment]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Florida'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, 11.3 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 not only exceeds the national median of 6.6 percent, but also represents a decline in performance from 2002 (30.0 percent change).
In 2005, 0.53 percent of children in foster care in Florida were found to be victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1). This percentage not only exceeds the national median of 0.42 percent for this measure, but also represents a decline in performance on this measure from 2003 (12.8 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, 92.6 percent of all children exiting foster care (measure 3.1), 84.6 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability (measure 3.2), and 73.1 percent of the children exiting foster care who entered foster care when they were older than age 12 were discharged to a permanent home. All percentages are either equal to or exceed the national medians for these measures (medians for measures 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 are 87.8 percent, 79 percent, and 73.1 percent, respectively).
In 2005, 32.6 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 last day of the year and prior to their 18th birthday (measure C3.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 26.4 percent, but represents a decline in performance from 2004 (7.6 percent change).
In 2005, 92.0 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 less than the national median of 95.7 percent for this measure.

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

In 2005, 28.7 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). This percentage is less than the national median of 27.6 percent and represents a decline in performance from 2002 (35.4 percent change).
In 2005, 49.2 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, 61.2 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 is less than the national median of 70.4 percent for this measure.
Measure C1.3 indicates that 46.0 percent of the 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 exceeds the national median of 38.7 percent.
Measure C1.4 indicates that 10.9 percent of children exiting foster care to reunification in 2005 reentered foster care in less than 12 months. This percentage is less than the national median of 14.8 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2004 (7.9 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, 29.7 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 about equal to the national median of 29.1 percent and represents improvement in performance from 2002 (5.3 percent change).
In 2005, 24.1 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, but represents a decline in performance from 2004 (7.3 percent change).
Measure C2.5 indicates that 54.0 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 not only exceeds the national median of 45.1 percent, but also represents improvement in performance from 2004 (13.9 percent change).

Outcomes Pertaining to the Stability and Appropriateness of Placements

In 2005, 81.7 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 less than the national median of 82.4 percent.
In 2005, 34.2 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, but represents a decline in performance from 2002 (36.2 percent change).
In 2005, 7.1 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 is about equal to the national median of 7.2 percent.