State Data Pages: Tennessee

State Data Pages

Tennessee Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	1,324,789
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	21%
• Hispanic	1%
• White	76%
Child population in poverty	19%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	68%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	10,803
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	-
Children adopted during FY 1998	337

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	32,383	24 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	10,803	8 per 1,000
Child fatalities	20	1.5 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	10%	32%	28%	24%	6%	0%	100%	10,803

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	0%	29%	1%	66%	2%	3%	101%	10,803

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

42%

20%

21%

11%

100%

10,803

(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	-	-	-	-	-
Median length of stay (months)	-	N/A	-	-	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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Entered care (FY 1998)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Exited care (FY 1998)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
In care on 9/30/98	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
In care on 10/1 /97	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Entered care (FY 1998)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Exited care (FY 1998)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
In care on 9/30/98	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

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

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

(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	1%	47%	32%	16%	3%	0%	99%	337

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	0%	45%	4%	51%	0%	100%	337

Tennessee 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	-
Guardianship	-
Reunification	-
Other	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	-
Guardianship	-
Reunification	-
Other	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	-
Guardianship	-
Reunification	-
Other	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reunification	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Missing	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Number	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	-
Children older than 12 at entry	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

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	-
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	-
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	-
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	-
48 or more months	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	-
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	-
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	-
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	-
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	-
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	-
48 or more months	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

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

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	-	-	-	-	-	-
Children with 3 or more placements	-	-	-	-	-	-
Missing	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-
Number	-	-	-	-	-	-

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	-
Institutions	-
Other settings	-
Missing	-
Total	-
Number	-

Tennessee State Comments

George W. Hattaway, Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Children's Services
(615) 741-9699

There are significant gaps in the data for the State of Tennessee, but circumstances in Tennessee are changing rapidly, and those gaps will not continue to exist.

In May of 1996, the Department of Children's Services was created by an act of the Tennessee legislature. This department was the culmination of years of work intended to create a single department dedicated to child welfare and juvenile justice issues. Five State departments, either in total or part, were consolidated into the new department. The consolidation of the various departments has been a tremendous task described by one of my staff members as trying to turn the Titanic around in the middle of a creek.

A significant part of our work has been involved with the development of a single unduplicated database regarding children in the care of the department. In May of 1996, there were three primary databases operated by various departments. All systems were antiquated legacy systems, none of which was Y2K compliant, and none of which was ever intended to interface with the other. Data collection had not been a priority, and the quality of the available data was suspect. The State had never submitted AFCARS data and did not have the capacity to do so.

Since May of 1996, we have made tremendous strides in data collection and in the quality of our data. Two of our old legacy systems have been eliminated and, by the end of November, the department will be operating with a single Y2K-compliant computer system. In May of 1999, the department made its first successful submission of AFCARS data, and we will be ready to successfully submit AFCARS data again during the month of November of 1999.

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