State Data Pages: Oregon

State Data Pages

Oregon Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	810,699
• Alaska Native/American Indian	1%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	4%
• Black	2%
• Hispanic	9%
• White	84%
Child population in poverty	16%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	70%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	9,742
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	7,266
Children adopted during FY 1998	665

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	27,499	34 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	9,742	12 per 1,000
Child fatalities	34	4.2 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	12%	35%	31%	19%	3%	0%	100%	9,742

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	3%	1%	5%	8%	61%	0%	30%	108%	9,742

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

27%

16%

15%

55%

123%

9,742

(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	6,566	5,212	4,512	7,266	11,778
Median length of stay (months)	14.3	N/A	6.2	14.8	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%	31%	31%	26%	8%	0%	0%	100%	6,566
Entered care (FY 1998)	13%	29%	24%	27%	7%	0%	0%	100%	5,212
Exited care (FY 1998)	4%	32%	26%	26%	11%	0%	0%	99%	4,512
In care on 9/30/98	5%	30%	29%	27%	9%	0%	0%	100%	7,266

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1 /97	4%	1%	12%	5%	65%	13%	100%	6,566
Entered care (FY 1998)	4%	1%	7%	7%	60%	21%	100%	5,212
Exited care (FY 1998)	3%	1%	7%	7%	62%	19%	99%	4,512
In care on 9/30/98	4%	1%	11%	6%	63%	15%	100%	7,266

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	1,202
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	16

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	3%	43%	39%	14%	1%	0%	100%	1,202

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	3%	0%	10%	7%	68%	11%	99%	1,202

(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%	53%	34%	11%	1%	0%	99%	665

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	2%	2%	11%	10%	74%	1%	100%	665

Oregon 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	15%
Guardianship	4%
Reunification	63%
Other	8%
Missing	9%
Total	99%
Number	4,512

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	20%
Guardianship	4%
Reunification	45%
Other	14%
Missing	16%
Total	99%
Number	1,369

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	3%
Reunification	57%
Other	25%
Missing	15%
Total	100%
Number	1,216

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	9%	10%	26%	11%	17%	9%	0%
Guardianship	6%	0%	5%	3%	4%	5%	0%
Reunification	61%	61%	47%	70%	61%	74%	0%
Other	7%	23%	11%	8%	9%	4%	0%
Missing	17%	6%	12%	7%	9%	8%	0%
Total	100%	100%	101%	99%	100%	100%	0%
Number	153	31	332	322	2,800	874	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	28%
Children older than 12 at entry	72%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	86

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	80%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	13%
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	100%
Number	2,860

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	68%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	21%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	11%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	5,212

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	4%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	21%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	27%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	29%
48 or more months	20%
Missing	0%
Total	101%
Number	692

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	3%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	16%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	24%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	31%
48 or more months	25%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	285

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	87%	63%	51%	37%	33%	100%
Children with 3 or more placements	13%	37%	49%	63%	67%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	5,865	2,468	1,257	892	1,238	58

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	1%
Institutions	5%
Other settings	94%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	3,849

Oregon State Comments

Ramona L. Foley, Administrator
State Office for Services to Children and Families, Oregon Department of Human Services
(503) 945-5944

Child Welfare Context Data, Section B: Oregon is among those States that have adopted a broad definition for child abuse and neglect. The intent of this broad definition is to identify, and thus eliminate, both direct and indirect threats to the safety and well-being of all children. This policy of having a broad definition contributes to Oregon's comparatively high “Child Fatalities” rate.

Oregon's fatality data include all child abuse and neglect fatalities regardless of whether or not the child was known to the child protection system. Only 5 of the 34 fatalities reported in the 1997 NCANDS data subcategories were known to the child protective services system. Oregon's fatality data includes neglect-related deaths such as those caused by motor vehicle and boating accidents, in which the driver was under the influence of intoxicants or the children were not using safety devices; children were left unsupervised; parents failed to obtain medical care; children were allowed access to firearms; and the lack of functional smoke detectors in the home.

This broad definition also contributes to the large number of children reported in “Other” under the Child Welfare Context Data, Section B,on “Maltreatment Type.” For Oregon,“Other” includes the “Threat of Harm”category.

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