Idaho

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Idaho [Context Data]

A. Context Statistics1

General Child Population (Census Bureau)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total children under 18 years	370,439	372,027	372,411	374,180
Race/ethnicity (%)2
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4
Asian	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Black (non-Hispanic)	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	12.3	12.6	12.9	13.2
White (non-Hispanic)	83.1	82.8	82.4	82.2
Two or More Races	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.0
Child population in poverty (%)	15.0	13.8	12.5	12.4

Child Welfare Summary
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Child maltreatment victims3	1,947	1,527	1,856	1,912
Children in foster care on 9/30	1,246	1,401	1,565	1,818
Children adopted	118	138	176	149

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	9,412	25.4 per 1,000	9,458	25.4 per 1,000	9,669	26.0 per 1,000	9,646	25.8 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims5	1,947	5.3 per 1,000	1,527	4.1 per 1,000	1,856	5.0 per 1,000	1,912	5.1 per 1,000
Child fatalities	2	0.5 per 100,000	2	0.5 per 100,000	4	1.1 per 100,000	0	0.0 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	9.8	12.0	14.4	14.7
1-5 years	34.5	34.6	31.5	33.8
6-10 years	26.6	26.0	24.7	23.9
11-15 years	23.8	22.3	23.0	22.1
16+ years	5.3	5.1	6.4	5.5
Unknown	--	--	--	--
Number	1,947	1,527	1,856	1,912

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	4.3	3.5	4.2	4.5
Asian	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.4
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	N/A	0.2	0.1	0.2
Hispanic (of any race)	14.7	13.0	12.9	14.4
White (non-Hispanic)	74.7	77.1	76.6	75.5
Two or More Races	0.6	1.2	0.7	1.6
Unknown	4.7	3.7	4.1	3.4
Number	1,947	1,527	1,856	1,912

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)6
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Emotional abuse	0.8	0.5	0.5	0.4
Medical neglect	2.3	2.0	1.5	1.6
Neglect	67.4	70.1	69.7	71.9
Physical abuse	19.7	16.9	18.9	18.0
Sexual abuse	7.9	7.7	6.3	6.1
Unknown	--	--	--	--
Other	7.9	9.4	8.6	7.4
Number	1,947	1,527	1,856	1,912

Time to Investigation (in hours)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Mean	100.3	89.9	64.8	60.3
Median	>24, but <48	>24, but <48	>24, but <48	>24, but <48

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	1,080	1,210	1,345	1,505	1,213	1,292	1,557	1,722	1,047	1,101	1,337	1,409	1,246	1,401	1,565	1,818
Median length of stay (months)	11.2	12.4	13.2	12.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2.9	3.2	4.4	5.3	12.3	12.9	11.8	10.8

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	4.4	3.2	5.5	5.9	9.6	13.1	14.5	14.6	5.5	6.4	7.5	7.3	3.4	5.6	6.0	6.2
1 year	5.8	6.9	6.2	7.5	8.3	7.0	6.1	7.5	6.8	5.7	5.8	6.3	7.1	6.0	7.4	8.4
2 years	5.6	6.1	5.5	5.6	7.2	6.5	4.9	6.4	6.9	8.0	5.8	6.5	6.2	5.5	5.6	6.9
3 years	5.5	6.6	6.3	6.3	6.0	7.0	7.2	5.3	5.7	6.7	6.7	5.7	6.6	6.5	6.3	6.1
4 years	4.9	5.6	6.3	5.6	4.9	5.5	5.1	5.9	5.0	5.8	6.1	6.1	5.5	6.1	5.5	6.1
5 years	5.0	4.0	6.1	6.0	5.3	5.3	5.6	5.5	5.6	4.6	6.1	5.6	4.1	6.1	5.8	5.2
6 years	4.6	5.1	4.6	4.9	4.2	4.5	3.4	5.3	4.3	3.9	4.3	5.8	5.0	4.8	4.8	5.6
7 years	4.4	4.1	5.1	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.2	4.8	5.3	4.1	3.8	4.0	4.3	5.0	4.7	5.5
8 years	5.7	4.6	4.6	4.1	4.7	3.9	4.5	4.2	5.3	3.8	4.2	4.6	4.3	4.6	4.4	4.0
9 years	5.5	5.0	4.4	4.5	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.5	3.9	4.4	5.3	4.8	5.0	4.3	4.5	4.4
10 years	5.6	5.1	4.4	4.5	4.7	3.7	4.8	3.1	5.0	4.3	4.7	4.0	5.2	4.3	4.4	4.1
11 years	4.2	5.2	5.1	4.1	4.7	4.0	5.1	4.2	4.7	4.2	4.6	3.6	5.2	5.1	4.3	3.9
12 years	6.4	5.4	5.1	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.2	4.3	5.0	5.0	4.8	4.2	5.2	4.9	5.4	5.0
13 years	4.3	6.6	4.8	6.4	4.8	3.9	5.7	5.1	3.8	5.4	4.5	5.3	6.4	4.8	6.3	5.2
14 years	6.2	5.2	6.5	4.5	6.9	5.7	4.7	5.7	5.7	5.3	4.9	5.5	5.2	6.4	4.7	5.6
15 years	6.5	6.9	6.2	6.4	5.5	6.7	5.4	4.8	4.8	5.7	4.9	4.3	6.9	6.1	6.4	5.3
16 years	7.5	7.6	7.1	6.4	5.7	6.0	5.5	5.1	5.3	5.4	5.4	4.8	7.7	7.5	6.6	6.4
17 years	7.5	6.3	6.2	6.5	3.1	3.2	4.1	3.7	6.5	10.1	6.2	4.6	6.3	6.3	6.5	6.1
18 years	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.8	1.3	4.4	6.7	0.4	0.3	0.6	0.2
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	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
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

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	9.2	10.0	9.2	8.8	4.8	4.4	5.1	5.3	5.2	4.4	5.6	7.4	8.3	9.3	8.2	6.6
Asian	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.1	<.1	0.2	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.5	0.3	<.1	0.0	0.1	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	2.0	1.3	1.9	1.6	0.8	1.5	1.2	0.8	1.5	1.0	1.4	0.8	1.3	1.7	1.7	1.5
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.4	0.2	0.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.3	0.2	<.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	<.1	0.2
Hispanic (of any race)	12.7	12.0	14.2	14.6	11.0	14.5	13.7	15.7	11.7	12.3	13.5	13.3	11.8	14.1	14.4	16.7
White (non-Hispanic)	75.4	74.8	72.2	72.3	81.2	77.0	77.0	75.7	80.5	80.3	76.7	75.9	76.7	72.5	73.1	72.7
Two or More Races	0.4	1.4	2.2	2.5	0.9	1.1	1.3	1.7	0.0	0.6	1.0	1.7	1.2	1.7	2.4	2.4
Unknown	0.0	0.2	<.1	0.0	1.2	1.2	1.0	0.3	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	<.1
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	258	254	310	373
Number of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	258	192	243	278

Age of Children Waiting for Adoption (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	1.9	0.8	1.9	3.5
1 year	4.3	4.3	5.5	6.4
2 years	6.2	6.3	5.5	9.7
3 years	4.3	6.3	5.8	5.1
4 years	5.4	8.7	7.4	5.4
5 years	1.9	7.9	6.1	6.2
6 years	5.0	6.7	7.1	5.4
7 years	4.3	7.1	4.5	5.1
8 years	4.3	6.7	5.5	4.0
9 years	5.0	6.3	5.5	5.9
10 years	8.5	5.1	5.8	5.9
11 years	6.6	6.7	4.5	5.4
12 years	6.2	5.9	6.8	4.6
13 years	9.7	4.3	6.8	6.4
14 years	7.0	6.3	5.8	6.2
15 years	8.5	3.9	5.8	5.1
16 years	6.6	5.1	4.5	4.0
17 years	4.3	1.6	5.2	5.9
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	9.3	13.4	11.0	7.2
Asian	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.4	0.3	0.3
Hispanic (of any race)	9.7	17.7	16.8	20.9
White (non-Hispanic)	79.5	65.4	67.4	65.7
Two or More Races	0.0	2.8	3.5	4.8
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
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	118	138	176	149

Age of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	2.5	3.6	0.6	2.7
1 year	11.0	8.7	8.0	3.4
2 years	11.0	12.3	6.3	8.7
3 years	10.2	12.3	10.8	8.1
4 years	9.3	8.7	11.4	8.1
5 years	6.8	5.8	8.5	6.7
6 years	5.1	5.1	5.7	7.4
7 years	7.6	6.5	4.5	8.1
8 years	7.6	5.1	8.0	5.4
9 years	5.9	1.4	8.5	2.7
10 years	5.1	6.5	5.1	5.4
11 years	4.2	5.8	4.0	3.4
12 years	3.4	3.6	5.7	5.4
13 years	4.2	5.1	3.4	6.7
14 years	1.7	4.3	5.1	4.7
15 years	0.8	1.4	0.6	4.0
16 years	3.4	0.7	2.8	4.0
17 years	0.0	2.9	1.1	4.0
18 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
20+ years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Race/Ethnicity of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	2.5	8.0	9.7	13.4
Asian	1.7	2.2	1.1	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	14.4	2.2	0.0	0.7
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	13.6	7.2	18.2	14.8
White (non-Hispanic)	66.9	80.4	68.2	69.1
Two or More Races	0.0	0.0	2.8	2.0
Unknown	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Idaho [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	95.8	93.5	93.9	96.2
Children with one or more recurrences	4.2	6.5	6.1	3.8
Number	990	633	902	912

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	0.12	0.31	0.19
Children not maltreated while in foster care	N/A	99.88	99.69	99.81
Number	N/A	2,502	2,902	3,227

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	8.8	11.0	12.1	10.4
Guardianship	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.8
Reunification	81.8	80.5	79.2	80.6
Other	9.2	8.2	8.2	8.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	1,047	1,101	1,337	1,409

3.2 Exits of Children With a Diagnosed Disability (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	41.9	58.1	67.4	28.4
Guardianship	0.0	0.8	2.8	1.7
Reunification	41.9	31.0	20.6	53.8
Other	16.3	10.1	9.2	16.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	86	129	141	359

3.3 Exits of Children Older Than Age 12 at Entry Into Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	1.0	1.0	1.7	2.0
Guardianship	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.6
Reunification	73.3	77.0	74.9	76.1
Other	25.3	21.7	23.1	21.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	288	304	351	351

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children age 12 or younger at entry	15.5	19.7	16.9	25.8
Children older than 12 at entry	84.5	80.3	83.1	74.2
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	71	66	77	89

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	7.4	22.9	22.7	19.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.3	0.0	0.0	9.1
Guardianship	1.9	0.0	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	74.1	64.6	60.0	65.4	0.0	100.0	100.0	75.0	81.3	90.9	89.5	72.7
Other	16.7	12.5	16.0	15.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	25.0	12.5	9.1	10.5	18.2
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
Number	54	48	75	104	0	4	7	4	16	11	19	11

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	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.6	6.7	17.8	11.2	8.8	11.4	10.5	9.4
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.8	0.7	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.3	0.6	0.7
Reunification	100.0	0.0	50.0	100.0	81.3	85.2	75.0	79.8	82.2	80.2	81.2	82.3
Other	0.0	100.0	50.0	0.0	7.3	7.4	7.2	7.4	8.9	8.0	7.7	7.5
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
Number	2	1	2	3	123	135	180	188	843	884	1,026	1,070

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	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	35.7	12.5	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	0.0	0.0
Reunification	88.9	90.9	92.9	100.0	0.0	100.0	57.1	75.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	11.1	9.1	7.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.1	12.5	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	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	9	11	14	5	0	7	14	24	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.	83.5	84.5	83.9	79.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	13.0	13.4	11.4	16.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	2.3	1.2	2.5	2.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.8	0.3	1.0	1.1
48 or more mos.	0.1	0.2	1.0	1.1
Missing data	0.2	0.2	<.1	<.1
Number	856	886	1,059	1,136

4.2 Children Reentering Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children entering care for the first time	83.6	81.0	81.4	83.2
Children reentering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	11.5	11.9	10.1	8.9
Children reentering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	4.9	7.0	8.5	7.8
Missing data	0.0	<.1	0.0	0.2
Number	1,213	1,292	1,557	1,722

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.	6.5	1.7	2.5	6.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	23.9	19.8	19.8	19.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	26.1	44.6	40.1	30.1
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	26.1	21.5	19.8	22.6
48 or more mos.	17.4	12.4	17.9	21.9
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	92	121	162	146

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	84.9	85.5	86.6	86.2	48.8	53.2	57.7	56.4	33.4	35.8	32.2	31.7	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Children with 3 or more placements	15.1	14.5	13.4	13.5	51.2	46.8	42.3	43.6	66.6	64.2	67.8	68.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	1,364	1,448	1,733	1,927	455	506	513	637	464	542	650	654	10	6	6	9

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	6.3	3.3	4.0	4.2
Institutions	3.0	2.4	2.8	2.8
Other settings	90.6	94.3	93.2	93.0
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	886	952	1,152	1,299

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

Composite One: Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	125.4
C1.1: Percent of reunifications that occur in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	81.5	76.0
C1.2: Median length of stay in months of children exiting to reunification (with adjustments)	4.0	4.8
C1.3: Percent of children in entry cohort who are reunified in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	60.5	55.0
C1.4: Percent of children reentering foster care in less than 12 months	15.0	15.5

Composite Two: Timeliness of Adoptions
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	88.1
C2.1: Percent of adoptions occurring in less than 24 months	22.2	25.3
C2.2: Median length of stay in months of children who are adopted	31.2	34.4
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	25.7	22.7
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	15.2	11.0
C2.5: Percent of children legally free for adoption who are adopted in less than 12 months of becoming legally free	38.0	41.4

Composite Three: Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	116.1
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	32.2	31.4
C3.2: Percent of children who are legally free for adoption who exit to a permanent home	97.7	91.0
C3.3: Percent of children emancipated or reaching age 18 who were in foster care for at least 3 years	32.2	44.4

Composite Four: Placement Stability While in Foster Care
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	91.5
C4.1: Percent of children in care for less than 12 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	84.0	84.2
C4.2: Percent of children in care for 12 to 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	57.8	56.3
C4.3: Percent of children in care for at least 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	32.0	31.6

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

Idaho [State Comment]

Michelle Britton, Administrator
Division of Family and Community Services
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare

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

Outcome Measure 2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care: The number of children placed in foster care increased at a rapid rate in Idaho. Even with this swift increase, the percent of children maltreated while in foster care has decreased and remains well below the national median.

Outcome Measure 3.2 Exits of Children with a Diagnosed Disability: The number of children exiting foster care with a diagnosed disability has risen significantly. The percent that are exiting to adoption has declined by almost 40%. Instead of exiting to adoption, these children with diagnosed disabilities are exiting mostly to reunification and to a lesser extent they are exiting to "other."

Outcome Measure 4.1 Time to Reunification: It would appear that the time to reunification is slipping out of the "Less than 12 months" category and into the "At least 12 months but less than 24 months" category with all other categories remaining static. This trend is of interest, but it should also be noted that Idaho's measure for this outcome is well above the national median.

Outcome Measure 5.1 Time to Adoption: The percentage of children whose adoption is taking place between 24 and 36 months is decreasing and being equally offset by adoptions that are taking place in less than 12 months, between 36 and 48 months, and 48 or more months. This allows for the measure to move closer to the national median.

AREAS OF IMPROVED PERFORMANCE:

Outcome measure 1.1: The percent of children experiencing a recurrence of maltreatment within 6 months decreased from 4.2 in 2002 to 3.8 in 2005, although there were increases in 2003 and 2004. In addition, the 2005 percent is among the lowest in the nation.
Outcome measure 7.1: The percent of children entering foster care at age 12 or younger who were placed in a group home or institution declined from 9.3 in 2002 to 7.0 in 2005. The 2005 percent is less than the national median for this measure of 7.2.

AREAS WHERE IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE NEEDED:

Outcome measure 3.4: The percent of children emancipated from foster care that were age 12 or younger when they entered foster care increased from 15.5 in 2002 to 25.8 in 2005. However, the 2005 percent is less than the national median for this measure of 27.7 percent.
Outcome measure 5.1: The percent of adoptions occurring in less than 24 months from a child's entry into foster care decreased from 30.4 in 2002 to 25.4 in 2005. In addition, the 2005 percent is less than the national median for this measure of 29.1 percent.

Idaho [Federal Comment]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Idaho'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, 3.8 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 improvement in performance from 2002 (9.5 percent change).
In 2005, 0.19 percent of children in foster care in Idaho 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.

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, 91.8 percent of all children exiting foster care (measure 3.1), 83.9 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability (measure 3.2), and 78.7 percent of children exiting foster care who were older than age 12 when they entered foster care (measure 3.3) were discharged to a permanent home. All three percentages 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, 31.4 percent of the children in foster care for 24 months or longer on the first day of the fiscal year were discharged from foster care to a permanent home by the last day of the fiscal year (measure C3.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 26.4 percent.
In 2005, 91.0 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 and represents a decline in performance from 2004 (6.9 percent change).

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

In 2005, 6.3 percent of the children exiting foster care had a discharge reason of "emancipation" and 25.8 percent of these children were age 12 or younger when they entered foster care (measure 3.4). This latter percentage is less than the national median of 27.6 percent, but represents a decline in performance from 2002 (66.5 percent change).
In 2005, 44.4 percent of the children exiting foster care with a discharge reason of emancipation had been in foster care for 3 years or longer (measure C3.3). Although this percentage is less than the national median of 48.1 percent, it represents a decline in performance from 2004 (37.9 percent change).

Performance with regard to the timeliness and permanency of reunifications.

In 2005, 76.0 percent of the reunifications of children who were in foster care for 8 days or longer occurred 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, but represents a decline in performance from 2004 (6.7 percent change).
Measure C1.3 indicates that 55.0 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, but represents a decline in performance from 2004 (9.1 percent change).
Measure C1.4 indicates that 15.5 percent of children exiting foster care to reunification in 2005 reentered foster care in less than 12 months. This percentage exceeds the national median of 14.8 percent. 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 a State's rate of foster care reentry.

Performance with regard to the timeliness of adoptions.

In 2005, 25.4 percent of finalized adoptions occurred within 24 months of the child's entry into foster care (measure 5.1). This percentage is less than the national median of 29.1 percent and represents a decline in performance from 2002 (16.4 percent change).
In 2005, 22.7 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 (11.7 percent change).
Measure C2.5 indicates that 41.4 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 is less than the national median of 45.1 percent, but represents improvement in performance from 2004 (8.9 percent change).

Outcomes Pertaining to the Stability and Appropriateness of Placements

In 2005, 84.2 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 exceeds the national median of 82.4 percent.
In 2005, 31.6 percent of children in foster care for 24 months or longer experienced two or fewer placement settings (measure 6.1). This percentage is less than the national median of 32.3 percent.
In 2005, 7.0 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 and represents improvement in performance from 2002 (24.7 percent change).