State Data Pages: Oklahoma

State Data Pages

Oklahoma Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	878,305
• Alaska Native/American Indian	10%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	9%
• Hispanic	6%
• White	74%
Child population in poverty	18%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	67%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	13,800
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	7,233
Children adopted during FY 1998	493

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	51,001	58 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	13,800	16 per 1,000
Child fatalities	42	4.8 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	8%	32%	30%	23%	5%	2%	100%	13,800

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	13%	0%	13%	4%	63%	4%	6%	103%	13,800

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

10%

122%

26%

10%

171%

13,800

(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	6,214	6,346	5,337	7,233	12,560
Median length of stay (months)	13.2	N/A	4.1	12.8	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	4%	27%	27%	27%	15%	0%	0%	100%	6,214
Entered care (FY 1998)	11%	28%	23%	25%	13%	0%	0%	100%	6,346
Exited care (FY 1998)	6%	28%	24%	23%	19%	1%	0%	101%	5,337
In care on 9/30/98	5%	27%	26%	26%	16%	0%	0%	100%	7,233

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1 /97	14%	0%	26%	4%	55%	0%	99%	6,214
Entered care (FY 1998)	15%	0%	20%	5%	58%	1%	99%	6,346
Exited care (FY 1998)	14%	0%	21%	6%	59%	1%	101%	5,337
In care on 9/30/98	15%	0%	24%	4%	55%	0%	98%	7,233

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	1,422
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	11

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	3%	33%	36%	25%	3%	0%	100%	1,422

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	14%	0%	35%	5%	46%	0%	100%	1,422

(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	2%	45%	34%	16%	2%	0%	99%	493

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	11%	0%	26%	3%	59%	1%	100%	493

Oklahoma 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	87%
Children with one or more recurrences within 12 months	13%
Total	100%
Number	11,189

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	8%
Guardianship	1%
Reunification	57%
Other	5%
Missing	29%
Total	100%
Number	5,337

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	20%
Guardianship	1%
Reunification	36%
Other	9%
Missing	34%
Total	100%
Number	991

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	1%
Guardianship	1%
Reunification	48%
Other	11%
Missing	40%
Total	101%
Number	1,809

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	7%	9%	8%	7%	8%	0%	0%
Guardianship	1%	0%	0%	0%	1%	3%	0%
Reunification	60%	64%	56%	64%	56%	40%	0%
Other	6%	0%	5%	4%	5%	3%	0%
Missing	26%	27%	30%	25%	29%	54%	0%
Total	100%	100%	99%	100%	99%	100%	0%
Number	759	11	1,097	294	3,141	35	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	32%
Children older than 12 at entry	68%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	92

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	82%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	12%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	4%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	1%
48 or more months	1%
Missing	1%
Total	101%
Number	3,042

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	82%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	12%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	4%
Missing	2%
Total	100%
Number	6,346

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	11%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	22%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	20%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	21%
48 or more months	26%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	428

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	7%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	21%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	21%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	25%
48 or more months	25%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	220

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	75%	48%	41%	45%	55%	98%
Children with 3 or more placements	25%	52%	59%	55%	45%	2%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	7,192	2,282	1,211	709	1,124	42

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	18%
Institutions	1%
Other settings	81%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	4,225

Oklahoma State Comments

Farilyn Ballard, Division Administrator
Division of Children and Family Services, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
(405) 521-6602

Child Welfare Outcome Data, Measure 3: For the Federal FY98 AFCARS reports, Oklahoma had an error in coding that resulted in children moving from one placement to another showing an exit date, although the children remained in care (the child had merely moved from one placement setting to another with the placement/removal episode remaining open). Reasons for exit were excluded from AFCARS reporting due to not being part of the reportable exit reasons. Upon getting clarification that such children should not be reported as having an exit date, Oklahoma changed the code accordingly, and the Federal FY 1999 data show no missing information for exit reason. Had we excluded these children from our Federal FY 1998 data, the Annual Report to Congress would have shown us to have no missing data for this element.

Child Welfare Outcome Data, Measure 7: Oklahoma includes brief stays in shelters in the “Group homes” category of placement settings. This may account for the higher percentage Oklahoma has in group home care as compared to the National average.

Child Welfare Context Data, Section B: Although the data on child fatalities are context data rather than outcomes data, we would like to comment on this as well. Oklahoma investigates child deaths due to maltreatment even when there are no surviving siblings. Oklahoma's definition of neglect includes children dying in a house fire, improperly supervised children who die by drowning, etc. We also maintain tight mandatory controls on child death reporting statewide and are not depending solely on information captured in our SACWIS data system. These factors may account for the higher rate of child fatalities in Oklahoma due to maltreatment.

Child Welfare Context Data, Section D: The number of children whose parental rights were terminated is shown as 5. This number cannot be correct. Oklahoma internal reports from our SACWIS system show 625 children in the permanent custody of Oklahoma DHS.

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