State Data Pages: Texas

State Data Pages

Texas Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	5,577,135
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	2%
• Black	13%
• Hispanic	37%
• White	47%
Child population in poverty	23%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	82%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	39,638
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	17,103
Children adopted during FY 1998	1,598*

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*See State Commentary

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	162,974	29 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	39,638	7 per 1,000
Child fatalities	103	1.8 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	10%	33%	32%	22%	3%	0%	100%	39,638

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	1%	24%	35%	71%	2%	2%	135%	39,638

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

56%

30%

16%

116%

39,638

(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	14,324	6,539	3,760	17,103	20,863
Median length of stay (months)	21.9	N/A	15.5	20.9	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%	28%	26%	28%	12%	0%	0%	99%	14,324
Entered care (FY 1998)	20%	33%	25%	20%	3%	0%	0%	101%	6,539
Exited care (FY 1998)	5%	31%	22%	17%	24%	1%	0%	100%	3,760
In care on 9/30/98	5%	30%	28%	26%	11%	0%	0%	100%	17,103

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%	34%	30%	32%	3%	99%	14,324
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	29%	30%	35%	5%	99%	6,539
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	33%	28%	35%	3%	99%	3,760
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	32%	31%	33%	4%	100%	17,103

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	8,017
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	5,811

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	3%	35%	35%	24%	3%	0%	100%	8,017

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	34%	31%	30%	4%	99%	8,017

(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	3%	52%	33%	11%	1%	0%	100%	1,598

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	0%	34%	31%	29%	5%	99%	1,598

Texas 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	1%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	72%
Other	11%
Missing	15%
Total	99%
Number	3,760

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	1%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	64%
Other	15%
Missing	20%
Total	100%
Number	825

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	47%
Other	28%
Missing	24%
Total	99%
Number	1,015

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	0%	7%	0%	1%	2%	3%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Reunification	57%	71%	74%	73%	69%	79%	74%
Other	0%	7%	10%	10%	14%	4%	4%
Missing	43%	14%	15%	15%	15%	13%	23%
Total	100%	99%	99%	99%	100%	99%	101%
Number	14	14	1,224	1,062	1,326	67	53

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	43%
Children older than 12 at entry	57%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	347

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	48%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	30%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	11%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	5%
48 or more months	7%
Missing	0%
Total	101%
Number	2,710

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	92%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	2%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	3%
Missing	3%
Total	100%
Number	6,539

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	6%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	38%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	17%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	25%
48 or more months	13%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	52

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	47%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	20%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	20%
48 or more months	13%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	15

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%	47%	33%	26%	15%	87%
Children with 3 or more placements	25%	53%	67%	74%	85%	13%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	7,310	4,404	2,523	1,898	4,690	38

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	2%
Institutions	10%
Other settings	83%
Missing	5%
Total	100%
Number	5,473

Texas State Comments

James R. Hine, Executive Director
Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
(512) 438-4800

There are significant differences between performance data for fiscal year 1998 to be published in the first Annual Report and the official data published in Texas. In addition, information contained in the first Annual Report appears to be inconsistent (e.g. the Child Welfare Context Data, Section E indicates 2,423 children were adopted, but the Child Welfare Outcomes Measure 5.1, “Time in Care,” reports on 52 adopted children.) In Texas, the number of consummated adoptions was 1,548.

One possible explanation for this inconsistency is that, for various reasons, the methods used to match data records could omit individual child records. Events occurring in Texas that might have contributed to the differences in numbers may stem from the introduction of our automated SACWIS database in September 1996. It has been determined that complications in converting to the new system could have contributed to errors in calculating length of time in care.

The degree to which this and related issues have contributed to the problem is undetermined. As an example, Child Welfare Outcome Measure 3.1 reports a total of 3,760 exits from foster care, while the actual Texas count exceeds 6,600.

With respect to permanency outcomes, the data provided by your agency indicates that Texas has zero percent for “Guardianship,” but Texas does not have a children's guardianship program on which to report data. The statutory requirements in Texas for achieving permanency for children have more stringent guidelines to expedite the process than at the Federal level, so a guardianship program is not in place. The reference number indicated in this correspondence are not consistent with the numbers that we have in our system. Therefore, we respectfully submit that this data does not accurately reflect the State's performance.

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