State Data Pages: Arkansas

State Data Pages

Arkansas Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	662,692
• Alaska Native/American Indian	1%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	21%
• Hispanic	3%
• White	75%
Child population in poverty	27%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	48%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	5,109
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	3,138
Children adopted during FY 1998	258

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	30,441	46 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	5,109	8 per 1,000
Child fatalities	3	0.5 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	3%	24%	24%	21%	7%	21%	100%	5,109

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	0%	22%	2%	69%	1%	8%	102%	5,109

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

5,109

(1) Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once.
(2) Percentages may total more than 100 percent because Hispanics may be counted both by Hispanic ethnicity and by race.
(3) Percentages may total more than 100 percent because children could have been victims of more than one type of maltreatment.

C. Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

OVERVIEW	In Care on 10/1/97	Entered Care (FY 1998)	Exited Care (FY 1998)	In Care on 9/30/98	Total Served
Children	2,490	2,737	2,094	3,138	5,227
Median length of stay (months)	11.3	N/A	3.7	12.2	N/A

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-18 Yrs	19 + Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1/97	5%	23%	22%	30%	20%	1%	0%	101%	2,490
Entered care (FY 1998)	10%	24%	24%	32%	10%	0%	0%	100%	2,737
Exited care (FY 1998)	5%	28%	21%	25%	20%	1%	0%	100%	2,094
In care on 9/30/98	4%	23%	24%	31%	18%	1%	0%	101%	3,138

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1 /97	1%	0%	42%	1%	56%	0%	100%	2,490
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	32%	2%	62%	3%	99%	2,737
Exited care (FY 1998)	1%	0%	30%	2%	64%	3%	100%	2,094
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	41%	1%	56%	1%	99%	3,138

D. Children Waiting to be Adopted on 9/30/1998 (4)
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	335
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	37

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	4%	30%	33%	30%	2%	0%	99%	335

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	43%	0%	55%	2%	100%	335

(4) Waiting children are children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parental rights have been terminated. Children 16 years and older with TPR, but with a goal of emancipation have been excluded from the waiting children and TPR populations.

E. Children Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Adoption Database, FY 1998)

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Children	3%	38%	39%	17%	2%	0%	99%	258

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	1%	0%	22%	2%	74%	0%	99%	258

Arkansas Outcomes Data

1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect
(NCANDS, DCDC 1997)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment
Children without a recurrence within 12 months	-
Children with one or more recurrences within 12 months	-
Total	-
Number	-

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care
Children maltreated while in foster care	To be reported in 2001
Children not maltreated while in foster care	To be reported in 2001
Total	To be reported in 2001
Number	To be reported in 2001

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

3.1 Exits from Foster Care
Adoption	2%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	62%
Other	8%
Missing	29%
Total	101%
Number	2,094

Exits from Foster Care

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	4%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	64%
Other	10%
Missing	22%
Total	100%
Number	166

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	48%
Other	17%
Missing	35%
Total	100%
Number	844

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	19%	0%	1%	0%	2%	0%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Reunification	63%	100%	61%	63%	62%	81%	55%
Other	6%	0%	5%	4%	9%	6%	3%
Missing	13%	0%	32%	33%	28%	14%	42%
Total	101%	100%	99%	100%	101%	101%	100%
Number	16	7	620	46	1,338	36	31

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	10%
Children older than 12 at entry	90%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	49

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

4.1 Time to Reunification
Less than 12 months	83%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	12%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	2%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	1%
48 or more months	1%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	1,297

Time to Reunification

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	90%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	7%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	0%
Missing	3%
Total	100%
Number	2,737

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	8%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	34%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	21%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	24%
48 or more months	13%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	38

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	13%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	20%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	20%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	27%
48 or more months	20%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	15

6. Increase Placement Stability
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

6.1 Number of Placements by Time in Care	Less than 12 mos.	At least 12 mos., but < 24	At least 24 mos., but < 36	At least 36 mos., but < 48	48 or more mos.	Missing
Children with 2 or fewer placements	71%	65%	72%	79%	84%	72%
Children with 3 or more placements	29%	35%	28%	21%	16%	22%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	6%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	3,112	1,014	432	211	440	18

7. Reduce Placements of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998)

7.1 Most Recent Placement Settings of Children Who Entered Care During FY 1998 and Were Age 12 or Younger at the Time of This Placement
Group homes	0%
Institutions	9%
Other settings	89%
Missing	2%
Total	100%
Number	1,547

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