Massachusetts

Context Data | Outcomes Data | State Comment | Federal Comment

Massachusetts [Context Data]

A. Context Statistics1

General Child Population (Census Bureau)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total children under 18 years	1,463,340	1,487,118	1,464,189	1,458,036
Race/ethnicity (%)2
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Asian	4.4	4.5	4.7	4.8
Black (non-Hispanic)	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.4
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	11.1	11.4	11.6	11.8
White (non-Hispanic)	75.0	74.5	74.1	73.7
Two or More Races	1.9	2.0	2.1	2.2
Child population in poverty (%)	13.0	12.0	10.1	11.6

Child Welfare Summary
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Child maltreatment victims3	34,995	36,500	36,201	35,887
Children in foster care on 9/30	12,510	12,608	12,562	12,244
Children adopted	808	733	812	832

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	64,343	44.0 per 1,000	83,258	56.0 per 1,000	81,219	55.5 per 1,000	79,909	54.8 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims5	34,995	23.9 per 1,000	36,500	24.5 per 1,000	36,201	24.7 per 1,000	35,887	24.6 per 1,000
Child fatalities	17	1.2 per 100,000	14	0.9 per 100,000	11	0.8 per 100,000	7	0.5 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	8.3	8.2	8.7	9.2
1-5 years	29.4	29.5	29.7	29.1
6-10 years	29.4	28.6	27.8	27.7
11-15 years	26.7	27.2	27.2	27.2
16+ years	5.8	6.2	6.3	6.5
Unknown	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.2
Number	34,995	36,500	36,201	35,887

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1
Asian	1.7	1.5	1.8	1.8
Black (non-Hispanic)	14.0	14.1	14.0	13.5
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	N/A	0.0	0.0	0.0
Hispanic (of any race)	19.9	20.7	21.2	20.8
White (non-Hispanic)	46.9	47.3	45.6	45.4
Two or More Races	1.9	2.3	2.2	2.6
Unknown	15.5	14.0	15.1	15.7
Number	34,995	36,500	36,201	35,887

Maltreatment Types of Child Victims (%)6
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Emotional abuse	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2
Medical neglect	--	--	--	--
Neglect	89.0	89.8	90.5	91.1
Physical abuse	16.9	16.2	15.0	14.1
Sexual abuse	3.5	3.0	2.9	2.7
Unknown	--	--	--	--
Other	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	34,995	36,500	36,201	35,887

Time to Investigation (in hours)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Mean	19.3	19.8	19.0	18.6
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	11,503	12,240	12,293	12,275	6,555	6,507	6,616	6,413	5,548	6,139	6,347	6,444	12,510	12,608	12,562	12,244
Median length of stay (months)	19.1	19.2	19.1	18.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	12.7	13.0	12.6	13.1	18.6	18.7	18.4	18.4

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	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.4	10.8	10.8	10.9	10.9	3.2	3.0	3.1	3.0	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4
1 year	4.0	3.9	4.0	4.1	4.9	4.3	4.7	4.9	4.8	4.5	4.6	4.7	3.9	3.9	4.2	4.3
2 years	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.9	4.1	4.1	4.3	4.3	4.7	4.9	4.2	5.0	3.9	3.7	3.9	3.8
3 years	4.0	3.9	3.6	3.9	4.2	3.6	3.9	3.6	4.3	4.1	4.3	5.0	3.9	3.6	3.8	3.3
4 years	3.7	3.9	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.7	3.6	3.5	3.9	4.3	4.2	4.0	3.8	3.6	3.4	3.3
5 years	3.2	3.7	3.7	3.1	3.9	3.4	3.2	3.8	3.8	4.1	3.9	4.0	3.7	3.7	3.2	3.4
6 years	3.8	3.2	3.4	3.5	3.3	3.5	3.4	3.6	3.2	3.7	3.8	3.5	3.2	3.4	3.4	3.0
7 years	3.6	3.7	3.2	3.3	2.9	3.0	3.2	3.1	3.5	3.2	3.6	3.9	3.7	3.1	3.3	3.2
8 years	4.1	3.5	3.5	3.2	3.3	2.8	3.0	3.3	3.4	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.4	3.5	3.1	3.3
9 years	4.3	4.1	3.5	3.4	3.6	3.4	3.3	3.5	3.6	3.2	3.3	3.0	4.1	3.5	3.3	3.3
10 years	4.4	4.3	4.2	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.5	2.8	3.5	3.4	3.3	3.4	4.3	4.1	3.6	3.2
11 years	4.8	4.4	4.6	4.2	3.6	4.2	3.7	4.1	3.6	3.7	3.8	3.4	4.5	4.6	4.1	3.9
12 years	5.7	5.0	4.9	4.7	5.5	5.3	5.2	4.9	3.6	3.7	4.1	3.3	5.0	4.9	4.7	4.4
13 years	6.3	6.8	6.2	6.3	7.8	7.7	8.2	6.8	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	7.0	6.3	6.3	6.0
14 years	7.8	7.8	8.5	7.8	9.8	10.7	10.3	9.5	6.0	6.6	6.7	6.0	7.9	8.6	8.0	7.7
15 years	9.0	9.6	9.7	10.2	12.0	11.6	12.0	12.9	8.8	8.8	9.2	9.2	9.8	9.9	10.3	10.1
16 years	9.3	9.9	9.8	10.1	9.8	9.9	9.5	9.9	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.7	9.9	9.9	10.1	10.9
17 years	8.2	8.3	9.0	9.0	2.8	3.6	3.6	3.4	9.9	12.3	9.5	7.9	8.2	8.9	8.9	9.1
18 years	3.3	3.2	3.3	4.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.7	7.4	5.2	7.2	8.5	3.1	3.2	3.9	4.3
19 years	1.5	1.9	2.0	2.3	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.3	1.7	1.8	1.4	1.8	1.8	2.0	2.3	2.8
20+ years	1.0	0.9	1.3	1.4	<.1	0.0	<.1	0.1	1.1	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.9	1.3	1.4	1.8
Missing data	0.7	0.8	0.9	1.2	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.1	1.6	1.3	1.8	2.0	0.8	0.9	1.1	1.4

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	0.1	0.2	<.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	<.1	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2
Asian	1.8	1.9	1.8	1.8	2.5	1.9	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.1	2.1	2.5	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.7
Black (non-Hispanic)	18.6	17.9	17.9	17.2	15.8	16.1	15.3	15.7	17.1	15.8	16.5	15.5	17.8	18.0	17.2	17.4
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	24.8	25.3	25.0	24.8	24.4	24.3	25.0	23.9	23.6	25.4	26.1	24.5	25.2	24.7	24.4	24.5
White (non-Hispanic)	49.8	49.6	49.5	49.6	49.8	49.5	48.9	49.3	50.0	50.0	48.5	49.8	49.7	49.4	49.7	49.4
Two or More Races	2.2	2.4	2.7	3.1	2.7	2.6	3.1	3.2	2.2	2.3	2.6	3.2	2.4	2.5	3.0	3.1
Unknown	2.1	2.7	2.9	3.2	3.7	3.8	4.0	3.7	2.6	3.2	3.1	3.6	2.7	3.0	3.4	3.3
Missing data	0.5	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.9	1.6	1.4	1.7	2.1	1.0	0.9	0.8	<.1	0.4	0.3	0.5

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

Children Waiting for Adoption
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total waiting children	3,107	3,052	3,006	2,869
Number of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	1,177	957	1,159	1,286

Age of Children Waiting for Adoption (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	3.3	3.2	3.7	3.8
1 year	7.7	7.9	8.8	9.6
2 years	8.2	8.4	8.7	8.5
3 years	8.4	8.2	8.1	7.6
4 years	8.5	8.0	8.1	7.9
5 years	7.5	8.4	7.2	7.2
6 years	6.7	6.7	8.2	6.7
7 years	7.7	7.0	6.9	6.8
8 years	6.8	7.0	6.0	6.5
9 years	7.4	6.3	6.6	6.0
10 years	6.6	6.9	5.8	5.4
11 years	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.5
12 years	5.0	5.3	4.8	5.0
13 years	4.5	4.2	4.0	4.6
14 years	2.7	3.3	3.4	3.7
15 years	2.0	1.8	2.7	3.1
16 years	0.8	1.1	0.8	1.8
17 years	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.3
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	0.1	<.1	<.1	0.2
Asian	1.8	1.4	1.0	1.0
Black (non-Hispanic)	15.8	16.2	15.3	15.1
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Hispanic (of any race)	31.2	29.9	29.6	28.0
White (non-Hispanic)	44.7	45.0	45.6	47.0
Two or More Races	3.3	3.6	4.3	4.4
Unknown	3.0	3.6	4.0	4.3
Missing data	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1

E. Characteristics of Children Adopted (AFCARS Adoption File)

Children Adopted
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total children adopted	808	733	812	832

Age of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Under 1 year	1.6	1.5	1.4	0.8
1 year	10.4	11.1	10.0	12.7
2 years	11.9	11.6	11.6	14.4
3 years	8.4	9.7	10.2	12.4
4 years	10.6	10.4	10.6	10.7
5 years	7.8	8.0	7.6	8.3
6 years	7.2	8.0	9.6	7.6
7 years	6.8	6.3	5.0	7.0
8 years	6.2	6.4	6.7	5.5
9 years	7.3	6.0	4.9	5.2
10 years	5.0	6.5	5.8	4.3
11 years	4.5	4.2	5.5	3.1
12 years	5.2	3.4	3.3	3.0
13 years	2.8	2.5	3.4	1.6
14 years	1.4	1.8	1.4	1.3
15 years	1.6	0.7	1.4	1.1
16 years	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.5
17 years	0.2	0.7	0.5	0.5
18 years	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.0
19 years	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0
20+ years	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

Race/Ethnicity of Children Adopted (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.2
Asian	1.4	2.2	1.1	0.4
Black (non-Hispanic)	15.0	11.3	16.3	15.4
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	25.4	28.4	25.9	27.4
White (non-Hispanic)	50.4	50.5	49.3	46.6
Two or More Races	5.7	3.4	3.9	4.7
Unknown	2.1	4.0	3.6	5.2
Missing data	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

Massachusetts [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	89.0	89.0	89.4	89.4
Children with one or more recurrences	11.0	11.0	10.6	10.6
Number	16,462	17,359	17,484	16,957

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	1.32	1.13	1.26
Children not maltreated while in foster care	N/A	98.68	98.87	98.74
Number	N/A	18,747	18,909	18,688

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	14.3	12.5	12.6	13.9
Guardianship	7.9	8.0	8.8	7.8
Reunification	60.2	65.1	65.5	64.9
Other	15.5	14.3	13.1	13.4
Missing data	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	5,548	6,139	6,347	6,444

3.2 Exits of Children With a Diagnosed Disability (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	26.8	37.6	46.5	45.1
Guardianship	6.3	6.6	6.1	7.6
Reunification	43.5	39.2	35.0	31.7
Other	21.8	16.5	12.4	15.6
Missing data	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	395	587	637	738

3.3 Exits of Children Older Than Age 12 at Entry Into Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Adoption	0.1	0.3	0.3	0.2
Guardianship	2.7	3.3	3.1	3.2
Reunification	65.0	69.7	72.2	70.8
Other	29.1	26.7	24.4	25.8
Missing data	3.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	2,262	2,527	2,600	2,627

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children age 12 or younger at entry	23.1	23.3	23.7	21.8
Children older than 12 at entry	76.9	76.5	76.2	78.2
Missing data	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.0
Number	726	759	731	771

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	0.0	7.1	0.0	0.0	10.4	7.1	9.6	3.1	12.4	10.0	11.8	13.2
Guardianship	8.3	0.0	11.1	0.0	4.8	3.1	9.6	7.4	11.1	11.2	8.4	8.3
Reunification	83.3	50.0	77.8	40.0	70.4	74.8	68.9	82.2	57.3	63.8	64.0	62.5
Other	8.3	42.9	11.1	60.0	13.6	15.0	11.9	7.4	16.4	15.0	15.7	15.9
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.9	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	12	14	9	5	125	127	135	163	947	973	1,048	997

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	50.0	0.0	50.0	15.4	13.7	13.0	15.8	14.5	12.5	12.7	13.0
Guardianship	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.0	5.7	7.6	6.3	8.3	8.9	9.9	8.5
Reunification	0.0	50.0	100.0	50.0	62.9	67.8	68.3	65.4	58.7	62.9	63.8	64.3
Other	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	14.3	12.8	11.0	12.4	16.5	15.6	13.7	14.1
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	1	2	1	2	1,308	1,562	1,657	1,577	2,774	3,068	3,078	3,208

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	13.3	15.9	14.2	18.9	35.2	20.9	15.8	22.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Guardianship	6.3	2.1	4.6	6.9	4.9	10.1	10.9	7.7	4.3	0.0	1.8	3.8
Reunification	69.9	72.3	66.5	63.9	55.7	61.2	65.5	63.3	68.1	98.3	91.2	86.5
Other	8.4	9.7	14.7	10.3	4.1	7.9	7.9	6.8	22.4	1.7	7.0	9.6
Missing data	2.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	5.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	143	195	197	233	122	139	165	207	116	59	57	52

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.	71.6	66.7	68.4	67.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	16.8	18.7	18.7	19.6
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	5.8	7.6	6.3	6.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	2.2	3.6	2.5	2.6
48 or more mos.	2.9	3.0	3.8	3.6
Missing data	0.7	0.5	0.4	<.1
Number	3,338	3,998	4,158	4,180

4.2 Children Reentering Foster Care (%)
	2002	2003	2004	2005
Children entering care for the first time	74.9	75.8	76.6	75.8
Children reentering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	11.2	11.7	11.4	11.4
Children reentering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	13.9	12.5	12.0	12.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	<.1	0.0
Number	6,555	6,507	6,616	6,413

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.	2.0	1.6	1.8	1.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	17.2	18.0	17.6	22.3
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	26.3	26.7	29.6	23.8
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	24.4	22.0	24.3	20.8
48 or more mos.	30.2	31.7	26.7	31.8
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	796	767	797	895

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	75.8	75.8	79.6	80.3	52.5	51.9	52.8	51.9	29.5	28.7	26.5	25.7	41.7	34.0	90.7	96.7
Children with 3 or more placements	21.4	21.5	20.0	19.7	47.4	48.0	47.2	48.1	70.5	71.3	73.5	74.3	1.7	0.0	0.0	3.3
Number	7,356	7,584	7,746	7,598	3,700	3,838	3,867	3,919	6,942	7,278	7,253	7,141	60	47	43	30

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	3.3	3.3	3.7	2.8
Institutions	3.6	3.4	3.5	2.9
Other settings	93.0	93.2	92.7	94.1
Missing data	0.1	<.1	0.1	0.2
Number	3,562	3,476	3,517	3,414

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

Composite One: Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	116.3
C1.1: Percent of reunifications that occur in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	71.7	71.0
C1.2: Median length of stay in months of children exiting to reunification (with adjustments)	6.1	6.4
C1.3: Percent of children in entry cohort who are reunified in less than 12 months (with adjustments)	46.3	45.8
C1.4: Percent of children reentering foster care in less than 12 months	16.9	15.8

Composite Two: Timeliness of Adoptions
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	78.0
C2.1: Percent of adoptions occurring in less than 24 months	19.3	23.6
C2.2: Median length of stay in months of children who are adopted	36.5	37.0
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	13.1	14.8
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	5.7	5.3
C2.5: Percent of children legally free for adoption who are adopted in less than 12 months of becoming legally free	51.3	49.3

Composite Three: Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	120.2
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	22.8	24.8
C3.2: Percent of children who are legally free for adoption who exit to a permanent home	99.2	98.0
C3.3: Percent of children emancipated or reaching age 18 who were in foster care for at least 3 years	46.9	44.6

Composite Four: Placement Stability While in Foster Care
	2004	2005
Composite Score	--	83.8
C4.1: Percent of children in care for less than 12 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	78.5	78.5
C4.2: Percent of children in care for 12 to 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	52.5	51.9
C4.3: Percent of children in care for at least 24 months with 2 or fewer placement settings	27.1	26.3

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

Massachusetts [State Comment]

Lewis H. Spence, Commissioner
Department of Social Services
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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

The Massachusetts Department of Social Services started reporting on children with no alleged maltreatment but who were included in reports alleging the maltreatment of their siblings or other children in the household in 2003. For 2003, 17,231 children (duplicated count) were included in reports of maltreatment although no maltreatment was alleged for these children. This accounts for the increased number and rate of "Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment" from 2002 to 2003.
Outcome measure 2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%). In 2003, Massachusetts started reporting AFCARS IDs on the NCANDS Child File. Although this information was provided for both 2004 and 2005, the numerator for this measure still includes children who were not in DSS custody and placement, and therefore were not in the denominator derived from the AFCARS report for the same period. In 2005, 39 of 236 children who were maltreated by a placement provider were not included in the count of children in placement for the same period. If the numerator were limited to those children who were also reported on AFCARS for the same period, the percentage of children not maltreated would be 98.95%.
Outcome measure 1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months does not fairly represent the recurrence rate for Massachusetts as compared to most other states because investigations in Massachusetts are completed within 10 days rather than 30-60 days (which is the standard across most other states). Consequently, more investigations meet the criteria of having both the report date and the disposition date fall within 6 months. As a result, the percentage of children found to have a recurrence is necessarily higher relative to these other states, as nearly a full 6 months worth of supported investigations is included in the measure for Massachusetts not the 4-5 months included for states with longer investigations. Additionally, Massachusetts policy requires that all reports of child abuse/neglect be screened and investigated based upon the merit of the report, without regard to whether the child is currently receiving services from DSS.
Outcome measure 4.1 Time to Reunification. The decline in the percent of children reunified within 12 months of placement from 71.6% in 2002 to 67.6% in 2005 is not the complete picture. When looking at reunification within 12 months from the perspective of first time entry cohorts, the picture of program performance is more positive. Of the children who entered placement for the first time in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, the percentage of reunified children in those entry cohorts reunified within 12 months were 73%, 73%, 74%, 79% and 88% respectively. If the denominator is limited to those children who were reunified within 24 months, the percentages reunified within 12 months were 79%, 80%, 80% and 82% (excluding 2005). A number of reasons exist for this apparent paradox: e.g., increased success in reunifying children who have been in care for longer periods of time.

Massachusetts [Federal Comment]

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Massachusetts 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, 10.6 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 exceeds the national median of 6.6 percent.
In 2005, 1.26 percent of children in foster care in Massachusetts were found to be victims of maltreatment by foster parents or facility staff members (measure 2.1). This percentage exceeds the national median of 0.42 percent and is one of the highest percentages in the nation.

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, 86.6 percent of all children exiting foster care (measure 3.1), 84.4 percent of children exiting foster care who had a diagnosed disability (measure 3.2), and 74.2 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 percentages exceed the national medians for those measures (national medians for measures 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 are 87.8 percent, 79 percent, and 73.1 percent, respectively).
In 2005, 24.8 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 and represents an improvement in performance from 2004 (8.8 percent change).
In 2005, 98.0 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 among the highest in the nation.

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

In 2005, 12.0 percent of all children exiting foster care had a discharge reason of "emancipation" and 21.8 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 and represents an improvement in performance on this measure.
In 2005, 44.6 percent of the children who were emancipated from foster care had been in foster care for 3 years or longer (measure C3.3). This percentage is less than the national median of 48.1 percent.

Performance with regard to the timeliness and permanency of reunifications.

In 2005, 71.0 percent of the 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 for this measure.
Measure C1.3 indicates that 45.8 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 exceeds the national median of 38.7 percent.
Measure C1.4 indicates that 15.8 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, but represents an improvement in performance from 2004 (6.5 percent change). Because measure C1.4 is a longitudinal measure of foster care reentry (i.e., it follows children for up to 24 months), 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, 23.6 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 less than the national median of 29.1 percent, but represents an improvement in performance from 2002 (22.4 percent change).
In 2005, 14.8 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, but represents an improvement in performance from 2004 (13.0 percent change).
Measure C2.5 indicates that 49.3 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.

Outcomes Pertaining to the Stability and Appropriateness of Placements

In 2005, 78.5 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, 25.7 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 and represents a decline in performance from 2002 (12.9 percent change).
In 2005, 5.7 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 less than the national median of 7.2 percent and represents an improvement in performance from 2002 (17.4 percent change).