State Data Pages: Missouri

State Data Pages

Missouri Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	1,406,425
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	14%
• Hispanic	2%
• White	82%
Child population in poverty	18%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	70%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	15,845
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	12,495
Children adopted during FY 1998	640

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	80,185	57 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	15,845	11 per 1,000
Child fatalities	41	2.9 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	6%	29%	33%	28%	4%	0%	100%	15,845

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	0%	28%	1%	70%	1%	0%	100%	15,845

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

56%

21%

17%

11%

110%

15,845

(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	10,941	6,504	4,950	12,495	17,445
Median length of stay (months)	19.3	N/A	10.3	18.8	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	3%	25%	26%	30%	14%	2%	0%	100%	10,941
Entered care (FY 1998)	13%	25%	23%	32%	7%	0%	0%	100%	6,504
Exited care (FY 1998)	4%	25%	23%	27%	18%	3%	0%	100%	4,950
In care on 9/30/98	4%	23%	26%	30%	15%	2%	0%	100%	12,495

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%	43%	1%	55%	0%	99%	10,941
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	36%	1%	62%	0%	99%	6,504
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	33%	2%	64%	0%	99%	4,950
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	43%	1%	55%	0%	99%	12,495

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	2,459
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	1,323

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	2%	30%	35%	26%	5%	2%	100%	2,459

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	45%	1%	53%	0%	99%	2,459

(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	1%	43%	37%	17%	3%	0%	101%	640

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	0%	40%	0%	59%	0%	99%	640

Missouri 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	13%
Guardianship	3%
Reunification	70%
Other	14%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	4,950

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	18%
Guardianship	3%
Reunification	61%
Other	18%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	1,378

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	1%
Guardianship	2%
Reunification	74%
Other	24%
Missing	0%
Total	101%
Number	1,789

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	21%	9%	15%	3%	12%	7%	0%
Guardianship	7%	0%	3%	0%	3%	7%	0%
Reunification	57%	87%	67%	83%	71%	80%	0%
Other	14%	4%	14%	14%	14%	7%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	99%	100%	99%	100%	100%	101%	0%
Number	14	23	1,655	77	3,166	15	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	49%
Children older than 12 at entry	51%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	489

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	65%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	16%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	8%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	4%
48 or more months	6%
Missing	1%
Total	100%
Number	3,473

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	77%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	11%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	10%
Missing	2%
Total	100%
Number	6,504

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	3%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	15%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	20%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	22%
48 or more months	39%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	640

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	5%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	13%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	15%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	21%
48 or more months	46%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	263

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	81%	54%	43%	35%	26%	98%
Children with 3 or more placements	19%	46%	57%	65%	74%	2%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	7,105	3,485	2,291	1,439	3,075	50

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	12%
Other settings	86%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	4,464

Missouri State Comments

Denise Cross, Director
Division of Family Services, Missouri Department of Social Services
(573) 751-3221

Missouri's Child Welfare system has made tremendous strides in implementing the ASFA mandates. We have significantly increased adoptions and are intensifying efforts to safely return children to their families. We also aggressively investigate child deaths in an effort to accurately identify child maltreatment deaths through Child Fatality Review Panels (CFRPs), which are legislatively mandated.

Unfortunately, our data do not accurately reflect the work we have done in Missouri. While examining the data, we have found incidences of misreporting data for our AFCARS transmissions. We are thoroughly investigating these problems and hope to have all of them corrected for our next transmission.

Child Welfare Context Data, Section D, “Children Waiting to be Adopted,” reflects children who have had any TPR activity, which includes filing of a TPR petition, granting of TPR, or denying of TPR. The actual number of children with TPR complete is much smaller. Child Welfare Context Data, Section E, “Children Adopted,” is an undercount of the actual number because adoptions aren't recorded in our data system until we receive final court orders. Child Welfare Outcome 3.2, “Exits of Disabled Children,” is incorrect due to a data programming error.

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