Illinois

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Illinois [Context Data]

A. Context Statistics1

General Child Population (Census Bureau)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total children under 18 years	3,254,523	3,230,606	3,238,150	3,241,039
Race/ethnicity (%)2
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Asian	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.5
Black (non-Hispanic)	18.5	18.3	18.2	18.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	18.1	18.6	19.2	19.6
White (non-Hispanic)	58.3	57.7	57.2	56.7
Two or More Races	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.9
Child population in poverty (%)	17.7	17.4	18.0	15.6

Child Welfare Summary
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Child maltreatment victims3	28,160	28,344	29,150	29,325
Children in foster care on 9/30	24,344	21,608	19,931	19,431
Children adopted	3,634	2,706	2,227	1,838

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	137,321	42.2 per 1,000	134,919	41.8 per 1,000	142,727	44.1 per 1,000	146,091	45.1 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims5	28,160	8.7 per 1,000	28,344	8.8 per 1,000	29,150	9.0 per 1,000	29,325	9.1 per 1,000
Child fatalities	70	2.2 per 100,000	61	1.9 per 100,000	85	2.6 per 100,000	68	2.1 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	13.8	13.4	13.7	13.6
1-5 years	34.0	33.5	34.2	35.0
6-10 years	28.1	28.1	27.3	26.8
11-15 years	20.3	20.7	20.9	20.7
16+ years	3.8	3.9	3.8	3.9
Unknown	0.1	0.4	0.0	0.1
Number	28,160	28,344	29,150	29,325

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Asian	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.5
Black (non-Hispanic)	36.3	35.2	33.9	33.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	N/A	0.0	0.1	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	9.3	10.3	10.1	10.1
White (non-Hispanic)	51.0	52.1	53.4	54.1
Two or More Races	--	--	--	--
Unknown	3.1	1.9	2.1	2.1
Number	28,160	28,344	29,150	29,325

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)6
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Emotional abuse	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Medical neglect	3.5	3.4	3.1	2.7
Neglect	55.3	58.3	63.5	66.2
Physical abuse	35.5	34.8	28.3	26.5
Sexual abuse	16.2	19.2	20.3	18.9
Unknown	--	--	--	--
Other	6.2	0.0	--	--
Number	28,160	28,344	29,150	29,325

Time to Investigation (in hours)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Mean	16.3	14.1	13.8	12.8
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	26,353	22,814	20,693	19,819	5,973	5,794	5,669	5,718	7,986	7,002	6,472	6,106	24,344	21,608	19,931	19,431
Median length of stay (months)	40.6	39.3	35.4	33.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	38.4	35.1	34.5	31.0	40.0	36.2	33.6	31.7

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	3.8	4.1	4.3	4.4	23.9	23.0	22.8	23.7	2.8	3.2	3.2	3.7	3.9	4.1	4.5	4.5
1 year	4.9	5.8	5.7	5.8	8.2	7.5	8.3	8.2	4.6	5.8	5.2	4.9	5.5	5.5	5.9	6.3
2 years	5.5	5.2	6.1	5.9	6.5	6.6	6.2	6.6	7.0	6.4	7.2	7.5	5.1	6.0	5.9	6.1
3 years	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.7	5.5	6.0	5.6	7.7	6.6	7.3	6.9	5.0	5.0	5.7	5.6
4 years	4.5	4.8	4.8	4.9	5.5	5.3	4.9	5.3	6.7	6.3	5.8	6.7	4.8	4.6	4.9	5.1
5 years	4.5	4.1	4.6	4.5	4.7	4.5	5.0	4.7	5.0	6.0	5.5	6.3	4.1	4.4	4.6	4.5
6 years	4.2	4.3	3.9	4.3	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.9	5.4	5.1	5.8	4.3	3.7	4.2	4.2
7 years	4.6	4.1	4.2	3.7	4.1	4.3	4.3	4.2	5.2	4.6	4.9	4.6	4.1	4.1	3.7	3.8
8 years	4.4	4.2	4.1	4.0	4.2	4.3	3.8	3.6	5.4	5.0	4.4	4.8	4.2	4.0	4.0	3.5
9 years	4.6	4.1	4.1	3.9	3.8	4.2	3.4	3.7	5.5	4.8	4.0	4.4	4.1	3.9	3.9	3.7
10 years	4.4	4.2	4.2	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.0	3.2	4.6	4.4	4.4	4.1	4.2	4.1	4.0	3.7
11 years	4.7	4.3	4.1	4.1	4.0	3.8	4.2	3.3	4.4	3.8	4.3	4.1	4.3	4.0	4.1	3.7
12 years	4.5	4.6	4.4	4.2	4.0	4.6	4.6	4.1	4.0	4.0	4.3	4.0	4.7	4.4	4.2	4.0
13 years	4.7	4.6	5.0	4.5	4.2	4.5	3.8	3.8	3.5	3.7	4.5	3.9	4.7	4.9	4.4	4.3
14 years	5.0	5.0	4.9	5.1	3.9	4.1	4.1	4.3	3.2	3.2	3.8	3.6	5.0	4.9	5.0	4.6
15 years	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.2	3.9	3.8	3.9	4.4	2.6	2.8	3.6	3.5	5.4	5.3	5.0	5.4
16 years	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	2.7	3.2	3.4	3.5	2.6	2.6	2.8	2.7	5.6	5.9	5.4	5.5
17 years	6.1	6.2	5.8	6.3	1.5	1.7	1.9	2.0	2.2	2.1	2.5	2.0	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9
18 years	5.2	5.7	5.6	5.4	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.7	4.7	4.6	4.3	3.8	5.6	5.7	5.1	5.9
19 years	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.8	<.1	0.1	<.1	0.3	3.2	3.4	2.8	2.5	4.4	4.7	4.8	4.5
20+ years	3.3	3.7	3.5	3.5	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	7.7	8.3	5.0	5.6	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.4
Missing data	0.2	0.2	0.2	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	2.3	3.1	5.3	4.5	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.8

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	0.1	<.1	0.1	<.1	<.1	0.2	<.1	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.2	<.1	<.1	0.1	<.1	<.1
Asian	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
Black (non-Hispanic)	72.4	69.6	67.6	65.4	53.4	53.6	49.9	48.7	66.1	62.4	58.9	55.5	69.7	67.7	65.4	63.6
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	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
Hispanic (of any race)	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.7	6.8	5.5	4.9	6.2	5.8	5.4	5.2	5.9	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.8
White (non-Hispanic)	20.3	22.4	24.6	26.8	36.1	38.1	43.0	42.7	25.7	29.2	33.6	36.6	22.5	24.4	27.0	28.4
Two or More Races	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
Unknown	1.8	2.1	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.4	1.8	2.0	2.1	2.7	1.8	1.8	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0
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

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

Children Waiting for Adoption
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total waiting children	6,193	3,780	3,432	3,347
Number of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	3,552	3,169	2,882	2,811

Age of Children Waiting for Adoption (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	2.9	1.0	0.7	0.7
1 year	6.2	3.5	3.0	3.9
2 years	7.2	6.3	6.1	6.8
3 years	7.8	6.2	7.5	8.6
4 years	7.3	6.3	6.7	8.2
5 years	6.2	6.3	6.7	6.9
6 years	6.3	5.4	6.3	6.1
7 years	6.0	5.9	5.3	6.1
8 years	6.2	5.6	6.1	4.2
9 years	6.2	6.3	6.0	5.9
10 years	6.5	6.5	6.4	5.6
11 years	6.5	6.8	6.2	6.3
12 years	7.0	7.2	6.9	6.0
13 years	6.1	8.1	7.3	6.6
14 years	5.3	7.5	7.7	7.1
15 years	4.7	7.4	7.3	7.3
16 years	1.1	2.5	2.4	2.5
17 years	0.5	1.2	1.4	1.1
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	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Asian	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	69.9	69.6	67.8	64.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	3.8	3.5	4.3	5.2
White (non-Hispanic)	23.8	24.6	25.4	28.1
Two or More Races	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	2.4	2.1	2.5	2.5
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	3,634	2,706	2,227	1,838

Age of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.4
1 year	4.2	6.2	5.6	5.9
2 years	10.0	9.5	11.7	11.9
3 years	11.7	9.9	12.3	11.0
4 years	9.1	10.0	9.3	10.3
5 years	7.0	8.9	7.9	9.5
6 years	6.4	7.4	7.8	8.2
7 years	7.3	6.3	6.5	6.8
8 years	6.8	6.7	5.9	7.0
9 years	7.7	6.3	5.5	5.8
10 years	6.3	6.6	5.4	5.2
11 years	6.1	5.5	5.3	4.2
12 years	4.8	5.4	4.3	3.6
13 years	4.6	4.1	4.4	4.0
14 years	2.9	3.0	3.2	2.2
15 years	2.0	1.9	2.3	2.0
16 years	1.3	0.8	1.2	1.0
17 years	0.7	0.6	0.9	0.7
18 years	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.2
19 years	0.1	<.1	0.0	0.0
20+ years	<.1	0.1	0.0	0.0

Race/Ethnicity of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.0	<.1	0.0
Asian	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.1
Black (non-Hispanic)	72.3	68.4	66.1	60.5
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	5.3	4.4	4.0	4.4
White (non-Hispanic)	20.4	24.0	27.3	32.6
Two or More Races	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unknown	1.6	3.1	2.3	2.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Illinois [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	92.5	92.5	92.4	92.2
Children with one or more recurrences	7.5	7.5	7.6	7.8
Number	13,232	13,172	13,299	13,124

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	0.69	0.60	0.54
Children not maltreated while in foster care	N/A	99.31	99.40	99.46
Number	N/A	28,608	26,362	25,537

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	42.8	37.8	32.6	29.6
Guardianship	<.1	0.3	8.7	9.5
Reunification	37.1	41.5	41.3	44.4
Other	16.3	18.3	16.2	15.3
Missing data	3.8	2.1	1.2	1.1
Number	7,986	7,002	6,472	6,106

3.2 Exits of Children With a Diagnosed Disability (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	41.7	38.0	31.6	30.7
Guardianship	0.1	0.4	8.3	8.9
Reunification	26.2	27.8	25.3	21.8
Other	26.9	31.7	32.1	36.6
Missing data	5.0	2.2	2.6	2.0
Number	1,998	2,070	1,797	1,466

3.3 Exits of Children Older Than Age 12 at Entry Into Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	2.6	3.0	4.5	2.5
Guardianship	0.2	0.3	5.0	5.0
Reunification	43.2	47.4	45.0	47.3
Other	47.2	45.3	42.6	42.9
Missing data	6.8	4.1	2.9	2.4
Number	1,057	981	892	844

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children age 12 or younger at entry	61.0	65.1	63.4	61.1
Children older than 12 at entry	38.9	34.9	36.4	38.8
Missing data	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.1
Number	1,250	1,238	1,020	916

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	57.1	0.0	7.1	0.0	33.3	21.4	31.6	25.0	47.7	41.8	36.5	32.1
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	20.0	0.0	0.0	10.5	0.0	<.1	0.2	10.9	11.9
Reunification	28.6	40.0	92.9	40.0	50.0	42.9	57.9	37.5	29.4	33.9	31.4	35.0
Other	14.3	60.0	0.0	40.0	16.7	28.6	0.0	25.0	19.0	22.0	19.7	19.5
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.1	0.0	12.5	3.8	2.1	1.4	1.4
Number	14	5	14	5	12	14	19	8	5,279	4,368	3,812	3,389

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	39.8	31.0	25.2	22.5	31.3	30.2	26.8	26.5
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	5.6	6.4	0.0	0.5	5.2	6.5
Reunification	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	47.3	52.0	56.7	58.3	53.6	54.9	55.7	56.4
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.3	14.9	12.2	12.5	11.3	12.2	11.2	9.7
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.6	1.1	0.3	0.3	3.9	2.2	1.1	0.8
Number	0	0	0	0	467	377	337	360	2,050	2,046	2,174	2,236

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	34.1	43.2	36.2	38.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	7.8	8.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Reunification	51.2	50.0	44.8	48.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	10.4	5.7	10.3	5.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Missing data	4.3	1.0	0.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	164	192	116	108	0	0	0	0	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.	52.3	58.5	56.6	58.8
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	19.3	16.5	17.9	18.4
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	10.3	9.2	9.9	10.1
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	5.2	5.5	4.6	5.3
48 or more mos.	11.7	9.0	8.6	6.3
Missing data	1.2	1.3	2.4	1.0
Number	2,965	2,904	2,673	2,714

4.2 Children Reentering Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children entering care for the first time	83.7	81.5	83.0	83.1
Children reentering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	8.2	9.1	8.6	8.4
Children reentering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	7.8	9.0	8.1	8.2
Missing data	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.3
Number	5,973	5,794	5,669	5,718

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.	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	8.5	11.9	10.2	11.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	19.2	18.3	23.0	23.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	19.9	18.3	20.0	20.4
48 or more mos.	50.2	49.3	44.4	42.3
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	3,415	2,646	2,110	1,805

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	80.8	82.6	82.3	83.4	64.0	63.7	64.4	65.2	31.3	29.9	30.1	29.8	93.0	93.2	87.1	98.1
Children with 3 or more placements	19.2	17.3	17.7	16.6	36.0	36.3	35.6	34.8	68.7	70.1	69.9	70.2	7.0	6.8	12.9	1.9
Number	6,436	6,231	5,998	6,112	4,834	4,349	4,192	4,267	20,999	17,955	16,102	15,104	57	73	70	54

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	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Institutions	2.0	1.8	1.6	1.3
Other settings	97.7	98.0	98.2	98.5
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	4,882	4,680	4,581	4,554

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

Composite One: Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	45.7
C1.1: Percent of reunifications that occur in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	46.0	46.6
C1.2: Median length of stay in months of children exiting to reunification (with adjustments)	13.7	13.2
C1.3: Percent of children in entry cohort who are reunified in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	17.7	19.8
C1.4: Percent of children reentering foster care in less than 12 months	15.4	16.2

Composite Two: Timeliness of Adoptions
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	77.7
C2.1: Percent of adoptions occurring in less than 24 months	12.6	13.4
C2.2: Median length of stay in months of children who are adopted	43.7	43.3
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	16.9	15.5
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	10.0	9.6
C2.5: Percent of children legally free for adoption who are adopted in less than 12 months of becoming legally free	61.6	56.8

Composite Three: Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	97.4
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	24.2	23.4
C3.2: Percent of children who are legally free for adoption who exit to a permanent home	99.0	98.9
C3.3: Percent of children emancipated or reaching age 18 who were in foster care for at least 3 years	76.9	76.2

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	80.4	81.0
C4.2: Percent of children in care for 12 to 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	64.6	65.4
C4.3: Percent of children in care for at least 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	34.4	34.7

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

Illinois [State Comment]

Erwin McEwen, Acting Director
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

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

In Table 3.1, we wish to present alternative results for exits to guardianship. In 2004, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services rewrote much of our AFCARS computer program specifically targeting exits from foster care. Prior to that time, exits to guardianship in particular were not being captured properly. While this primarily affected exits to guardianship, overall exits and the percentage breakouts were impacted. We wish to provide a more accurate depiction of Illinois guardianship exit data for 2002-2003; the data for 2004 forward appears to be accurate. In 2002-2003, approximately 9% of exits were to subsidized guardianship.

There have been data inconsistencies identified by ACF for exits to emancipation and exits of those age 18 or older. To address the inconsistencies, we are in the process of completing additional examinations of our exit data. Once this process has come to fruition, Illinois will likely resubmit prior years' AFCARS data.

While Illinois has several areas of improved performance, there is still an area identified as needing improvement: the percent of children exiting foster care to emancipation involves children younger than 12 when entering care. Illinois has the highest percentage in the nation. This is factual. The Illinois ward population has decreased substantially in recent years as more children move to permanency, but those legacy cases remaining often have been in the system for several years. A recent three-state study by the University of Chicago Chapin Hall Center for Children found that wards who stay in the system longer after age 18 are better prepared economically, socially and educationally for adulthood. Illinois has many programs for these older youth who will be prepared for an independent life either through supervised independent living, transitional living or college and job training programs.

While Illinois was cited as having two areas of improved performance, it was also noted that in both of these areas, Illinois is still among the lowest performing states in the nation. One area of improved performance is that of reunifications achieved within 12 months. Illinois is currently in the process of training and implement a new reunification model that will train both casework staff and foster parents to look at reunification in a different way. Additional work with birth parents before reunification and frequent involvement after reunification will allow children to return home sooner while increasing the likelihood that they will remain safely at home.

The second area of improved performance was that of adoptions in less than 24 months. Illinois continues to perform low on this measure. As part of its Program Improvement Plan, Illinois has begun several steps to ensure more timely adoptions. DCFS staff has met with many court jurisdictions in the state to discuss practice related to facilitating adoptions including timely setting of permanency goals, permanency hearings, and ways to reduce time from termination of parental rights to finalized adoptions. The University of Illinois Child and Family Research Center will be preparing outcome data by court jurisdiction so that DCFS can assess progress as well as on-going deficiencies in specific areas of the state.

Illinois [Federal Comment]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Illinois 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, 7.8 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 greater than the national median of 6.6 percent.
In 2005, 0.54 percent of children in foster care in Illinois were found to be victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1). Although this percentage exceeds the national median of 0.42 percent for this measure, it represents an improvement in performance on this measure from 2003 (21.7 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, 83.5 percent of all children exiting foster care (measure 3.1) were discharged to a permanent home (which is less than the national median of 87.8 percent). For measure 3.2, 61.4 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability were discharged to a permanent home (which is less than the national median of 79.0 percent). In measure 3.2 54.8 percent of children exiting foster care who were older than age 12 when they entered foster care were discharged to a permanent home (which is lower than the national median of 73.1 percent, and is also among the lowest percentages in the nation).
In 2005, 23.4 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 fiscal year and prior to their 18th birthday (measure C3.1). This percentage is less than the national median of 26.4 percent.
In 2005, 98.9 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, 61.1 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 exceeds the national median of 27.6 percent.
In 2005, 76.2 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, 46.6 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 19.8 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 is less than the national median of 38.7 percent, but represents an improvement in performance from 2004 (11.9 percent change).
Measure C1.4 indicates that 16.2 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 and represents a decline in performance from 2004 (5.2 percent change). Because measure C1.4 is a longitudinal measure of foster care reentry, it is intended to replace measure 4.2 as the assessment of foster care reentry.

Performance with regard to the timeliness of adoptions.

In 2005, 13.4 percent of finalized adoptions occurred within 24 months of the child's entry into foster care (measures 5.1 and C2.1). Although this percentage is less than the national median of 29.1 percent, it represents an improvement in performance from 2002 (25.2 percent change).
In 2005, 15.5 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 is less than the national median of 20.9 percent and represents a decline in performance from 2004 (8.3 percent change).
Measure C2.5 indicates that 56.8 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. Although this percentage exceeds the national median of 45.1 percent, it represents a decline in performance from 2004 (7.8 percent change).

Outcomes Pertaining to the Stability and Appropriateness of Placements

In 2005, 81.0 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, 29.8 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, 1.5 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 among the lowest in the nation and represents an improvement in performance from 2002 (31.8 percent change).