State Data Pages: Delaware

State Data Pages

Delaware Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	177,411
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	2%
• Black	24%
• Hispanic	5%
• White	69%
Child population in poverty	16%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	86%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	4,416
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	1,480
Children adopted during FY 1998	62*

>
* See State Commentary

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	9,657	54 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	4,416	25 per 1,000
Child fatalities	-	-

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	5%	28%	32%	25%	9%	0%	99%	4,416

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	0%	45%	5%	46%	4%	5%	105%	4,416

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

41%

38%

13%

100%

4,416

(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	781	1,023	333	1,480	1,804
Median length of stay (months)	12.7	N/A	3.2	9.4	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	6%	22%	23%	26%	23%	0%	0%	100%	781
Entered care (FY 1998)	8%	18%	17%	30%	27%	0%	0%	100%	1,023
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	0%	29%	71%	0%	0%	100%	333
In care on 9/30/98	4%	25%	25%	26%	20%	0%	0%	100%	1,480

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1 /97	0%	0%	58%	5%	32%	5%	100%	781
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	59%	6%	31%	4%	100%	1,023
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	59%	6%	32%	2%	99%	333
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	59%	5%	31%	5%	100%	1,480

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	138
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	-

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	1%	39%	46%	13%	1%	0%	100%	138

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	57%	6%	27%	10%	100%	138

(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	0%	39%	47%	15%	0%	0%	101%	62

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	0%	52%	8%	15%	26%	101%	62

Delaware 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	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	95%
Other	5%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	333

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	93%
Other	7%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	30

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	94%
Other	5%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	326

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Reunification	0%	0%	95%	95%	94%	86%	0%
Other	0%	0%	5%	5%	6%	14%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	0%	0%	101%	100%	100%	100%	0%
Number	0	0	198	20	108	7	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	0%
Children older than 12 at entry	100%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	3

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	89%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	7%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	1%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	0%
48 or more months	0%
Missing	3%
Total	100%
Number	315

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	75%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	17%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	4%
Missing	3%
Total	99%
Number	1,023

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	-
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	-
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	-
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	-
48 or more months	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	-
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	-
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	-
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	-
48 or more months	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

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	98%	84%	83%	83%	74%	100%
Children with 3 or more placements	2%	16%	17%	17%	26%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	1,111	288	159	96	140	10

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	2%
Institutions	2%
Other settings	95%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	502

Delaware State Comments

Thomas P. Eichler, Cabinet Secretary
Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
(302) 633-2500

Delaware's Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families is an integrated children's services department. The State's data, therefore, include children in alternative residential services in the juvenile justice system as well as the foster care system for abused and neglected children.

The report contains information in Child Welfare Context Data, Section C, dealing with the age of children exiting from care and in Child Welfare Outcome Measure 3.1, about number of exits from foster care to adoptions that immediately identified problems with the mapping of information in the State's data extract. A spot check of data within our automated system identified cases that fell within the categories reported as zero percent in the Child Welfare Outcome Measure 3.1. The State estimates that the number of children exiting care in the age groups of <1 year to 10 years is about 400 children and that the number of children in care at the end of the period was approximately 1,100. The adoption data within the report itself are not consistent. Key statistics data show that 62 children were adopted in FY 1998. Child Welfare Outcome Measure 3.1,“Exits from Foster Care,” indicated no exits from foster care due to adoption. Given these two visible, gross inaccuracies, a full review of the extract is underway. The State plans to submit a revised extract with adjusted numbers once the mapping problems are corrected. Future extracts will use the corrected process and should reflect more accurate data.

Consistent with the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the State has instituted some practice and policy changes to promote improved outcomes for children. Key changes include internal permanency reviews at 9 months for all children in our care, judicial permanency reviews when a child has been in placement for 12 months, and concurrent planning. These efforts are expected to positively impact permanency outcomes for children.

Delaware is committed to continuous quality improvement and to improving outcomes for the children we serve in our child welfare system.

Return to State Data Pages