State Data Pages: South Carolina

State Data Pages

South Carolina Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	955,641
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	37%
• Hispanic	2%
• White	60%
Child population in poverty	20%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	72%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	8,684
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	4,644
Children adopted during FY 1998	465

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	39,333	41 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	8,684	9 per 1,000
Child fatalities	9	0.9 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	4%	36%	30%	24%	6%	1%	101%	8,684

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	0%	47%	0%	50%	2%	0%	99%	8,684

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

45%

15%

52%

125%

8,684

(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	5,142	3,191	3,689	4,644	8,333
Median length of stay (months)	27.0	N/A	7.9	24.8	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%	25%	25%	28%	17%	2%	0%	101%	5,142
Entered care (FY 1998)	15%	26%	25%	27%	6%	0%	0%	99%	3,191
Exited care (FY 1998)	6%	27%	26%	22%	16%	2%	0%	99%	3,689
In care on 9/30/98	5%	23%	24%	30%	16%	2%	0%	100%	4,644

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%	63%	1%	35%	1%	100%	5,142
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	52%	1%	45%	2%	100%	3,191
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	54%	1%	43%	1%	99%	3,689
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	62%	1%	36%	1%	100%	4,644

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	1,927
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	704

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	3%	30%	34%	28%	5%	1%	101%	1,927

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	66%	1%	31%	1%	99%	1,927

(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%	40%	39%	16%	2%	0%	99%	465

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	0%	68%	0%	29%	2%	99%	465

South 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	94%
Children with one or more recurrences within 12 months	6%
Total	100%
Number	6,464

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	0%
Reunification	74%
Other	9%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	3,689

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	33%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	49%
Other	18%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	370

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	1%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	76%
Other	23%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	1,038

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	17%	0%	20%	23%	13%	23%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Reunification	67%	100%	69%	74%	79%	73%	0%
Other	17%	0%	10%	2%	8%	4%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	101%	100%	100%	99%	100%	100%	0%
Number	12	3	1,997	47	1,578	52	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	35%
Children older than 12 at entry	65%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	285

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	74%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	11%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	6%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	4%
48 or more months	5%
Missing	1%
Total	101%
Number	2,713

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	9%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	8%
Missing	1%
Total	100%
Number	3,191

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	7%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	18%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	21%
48 or more months	51%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	631

5.2 Time to Adoption for Children Age 3 or Older at Entry
Less than 12 months	0%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	5%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	11%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	17%
48 or more months	67%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	234

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%	52%	51%	41%	100%
Children with 3 or more placements	13%	37%	48%	49%	59%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	3,657	1,085	902	812	1,844	33

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	28%
Institutions	2%
Other settings	61%
Missing	8%
Total	99%
Number	2,324

South Carolina State Comments

Elizabeth G. Patterson, J.D., State Director
South Carolina Department of Social Services
(803) 734-5760

The South Carolina Department of Social Services has supplied summary child maltreatment data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) since the inception of the Federal reporting period and began phasing in the SACWIS System in September 1998.

The fatality figure for 1997 includes four (4) third-trimester fetal deaths that are directly related to illegal drug use by the mother. The agency is in the process of developing a centralized system to collect information on child fatality data related to child maltreatment.

We initiated a program to increase adoptions in 1995-1996 with a Kellogg Grant. Most of the younger, easier-to-place children were adopted early. We are now placing the older, more-difficult- to-place children who have been in care for a longer time and for which TPR's require more time to obtain. We believe that this focus on older children accounts for the higher percentage of adoptions where children have been in care for long periods in South Carolina for 1998.

The data indicate a high percentage of children age 12 or younger in group homes. In looking at our data system, we found that our private foster homes that are under child placing agencies were coded as group care. This accounted for nearly one third of the group home designated placements. We are in the process of correcting that error.

While most child welfare programs nationwide operate with some common principles, there are some significant variations between the States. Therefore, any comparison of State to State or with a national average should be carefully considered.

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