State Data Pages: Rhode Island

State Data Pages

Rhode Island Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	233,654
• Alaska Native/American Indian	1%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	3%
• Black	5%
• Hispanic	10%
• White	82%
Child population in poverty	21%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	93%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	3,481
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	2,844
Children adopted during FY 1998	222

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	10,181	44 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	3,481	15 per 1,000
Child fatalities	3	1.3 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	7%	30%	31%	23%	9%	0%	100%	3,481

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	1%	2%	16%	15%	67%	0%	14%	115%	3,481

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

78%

31%

10%

127%

3,481

(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	1,907	1,623	915	2,844	3,530
Median length of stay (months)	15.6	N/A	2.6	14.0	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%	23%	22%	26%	20%	4%	0%	100%	1,907
Entered care (FY 1998)	12%	19%	17%	33%	18%	0%	0%	99%	1,623
Exited care (FY 1998)	6%	23%	19%	26%	22%	2%	1%	99%	915
In care on 9/30/98	4%	21%	20%	27%	23%	4%	1%	100%	2,844

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%	1%	25%	13%	54%	4%	99%	1,907
Entered care (FY 1998)	1%	2%	18%	16%	59%	4%	100%	1,623
Exited care (FY 1998)	2%	1%	19%	14%	59%	4%	99%	915
In care on 9/30/98	2%	1%	23%	14%	56%	4%	100%	2,844

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	322
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	100

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	1%	40%	41%	15%	2%	0%	99%	322

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	2%	0%	27%	15%	51%	5%	100%	322

(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%	52%	34%	9%	2%	0%	99%	222

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	1%	2%	30%	6%	36%	25%	100%	222

Rhode Island 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	86%
Children with one or more recurrences within 12 months	11%
Total	100%
Number	3,148

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	2%
Reunification	59%
Other	12%
Missing	14%
Total	100%
Number	915

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	12%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	51%
Other	14%
Missing	23%
Total	100%
Number	160

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	1%
Reunification	56%
Other	19%
Missing	23%
Total	99%
Number	388

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	10%	11%	25%	7%	10%	21%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	5%	3%	1%	0%	0%
Reunification	85%	44%	46%	74%	60%	56%	0%
Other	0%	33%	13%	3%	14%	13%	0%
Missing	5%	11%	11%	13%	16%	10%	0%
Total	100%	99%	100%	100%	101%	100%	0%
Number	20	9	178	125	544	39	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	17%
Children older than 12 at entry	81%
Missing	3%
Total	101%
Number	36

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	66%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	9%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	2%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	2%
48 or more months	2%
Missing	19%
Total	100%
Number	542

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	48%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	18%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	8%
Missing	25%
Total	99%
Number	1,623

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	5%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	23%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	14%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	21%
48 or more months	29%
Missing	9%
Total	101%
Number	117

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	9%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	21%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	12%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	36%
48 or more months	21%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	33

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	73%	47%	35%	28%	31%	67%
Children with 3 or more placements	27%	47%	54%	49%	54%	33%
Missing	0%	6%	10%	23%	14%	0%
Total	100%	100%	99%	100%	99%	100%
Number	1,712	761	327	237	478	15

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	20%
Institutions	1%
Other settings	80%
Missing	0%
Total	101%
Number	470

Rhode Island State Comments

Jay G. Lindgren, Jr., Director
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families
(401) 222-5221

Our concerns specific to Rhode Island are:

Our SACWIS system was implemented in 1997, and some of our data are incomplete due to problems with conversion of data from our legacy system. Deficiencies due to data conversion will decrease as new data are entered.

Child Welfare Outcome Data, Measure 7.1: Our mapping of AFCARS data incorrectly put our Private Agency Foster Care placements in the “Group homes” category. They should be shown as “Other settings.”

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