State Data Pages: North Carolina

State Data Pages

North Carolina Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	1,873,403
• Alaska Native/American Indian	2%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	27%
• Hispanic	3%
• White	67%
Child population in poverty	16%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	75%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	33,347
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	11,314
Children adopted during FY 1998	882

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	104,950	56 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	33,347	18 per 1,000
Child fatalities	36	1.9 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	7%	36%	29%	19%	8%	0%	99%	33,347

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	3%	1%	38%	9%	50%	0%	9%	110%	33,347

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

87%

100%

33,347

(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	9,843	5,464	3,993	11,314	15,307
Median length of stay (months)	16.1	N/A	13.4	16.3	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%	28%	27%	29%	11%	0%	0%	100%	9,843
Entered care (FY 1998)	15%	29%	24%	28%	5%	0%	0%	101%	5,464
Exited care (FY 1998)	4%	30%	25%	22%	18%	1%	0%	100%	3,993
In care on 9/30/98	5%	28%	26%	29%	12%	1%	0%	101%	11,314

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1 /97	2%	0%	54%	5%	39%	0%	100%	9,843
Entered care (FY 1998)	2%	1%	44%	8%	45%	0%	100%	5,464
Exited care (FY 1998)	3%	1%	45%	6%	44%	1%	100%	3,993
In care on 9/30/98	1%	0%	52%	6%	40%	0%	99%	11,314

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	4,298
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	2,486

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	5%	35%	33%	22%	4%	0%	99%	4,298

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	1%	0%	54%	5%	39%	1%	100%	4,298

(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	4%	44%	33%	16%	2%	0%	99%	882

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	1%	1%	54%	3%	40%	1%	100%	882

North Carolina 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	17%
Guardianship	10%
Reunification	63%
Other	10%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	3,993

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	28%
Guardianship	10%
Reunification	47%
Other	15%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	642

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	3%
Guardianship	8%
Reunification	66%
Other	23%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	1,155

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	9%	5%	19%	11%	16%	14%	0%
Guardianship	20%	10%	13%	9%	7%	9%	0%
Reunification	67%	67%	58%	71%	66%	59%	0%
Other	4%	19%	10%	10%	10%	18%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	101%	100%	101%	99%	100%	0%
Number	109	21	1,813	252	1,776	22	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	27%
Children older than 12 at entry	73%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	256

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	57%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	25%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	9%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	4%
48 or more months	5%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	2,503

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	97%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	1%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	2%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	5,464

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	15%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	22%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	21%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	16%
48 or more months	26%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	682

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	19%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	19%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	19%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	18%
48 or more months	24%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	318

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	59%	47%	41%	41%	36%	88%
Children with 3 or more placements	41%	53%	59%	59%	64%	12%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	6,263	3,631	1,894	1,188	2,306	25

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	3%
Institutions	3%
Other settings	94%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	4,096

North Carolina State Comments

Charles C. Harris, Chief
Children's Services Section, Division of Social Services
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
(919) 733-3055

Regarding the children reported to Child Protective Services, North Carolina reports each incident of maltreatment so that children with more than one incident are counted more than once in these data.

Of the 36 child fatalities in the State during 1997, 13 of the children had previously been reported to Child Protective Services.

Regarding the statistic that 87 percent of child victims are victims of neglect, readers should understand that the State has a very broad statutory definition of neglect.

Regarding the median length of stay for children in foster care, the Annual Report data are based on point-in-time data. The State's longitudinal analyses that track cohorts of children entering foster care each year indicate a declining median length of stay for foster children in North Carolina.

Regarding the number of children waiting to be adopted, State data indicate that there were 3,023 children waiting on September 30, 1998.

Regarding the missing data on recurrence of maltreatment, these data are omitted from the Annual Report pending clarification from the State on identification numbers. State data indicate that 10 percent of victim children experience a second maltreatment event.