State Data Pages: Vermont

State Data Pages

Vermont Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	145,519
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	1%
• Black	1%
• Hispanic	1%
• White	97%
Child population in poverty	12%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	24%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	1,041
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	1,316
Children adopted during FY 1998	118

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	2,309	16 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims (1)	1,041	7 per 1,000
Child fatalities	3	2.1 per 100,000

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	4%	24%	28%	36%	7%	0%	99%	1,041

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	0%	0%	1%	0%	98%	0%	0%	99%	1,041

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

31%

26%

49%

108%

1,041

(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	1,188	783	655	1,316	1,971
Median length of stay (months)	20.9	N/A	13.7	17.4	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	2%	13%	15%	41%	29%	1%	0%	101%	1,188
Entered care (FY 1998)	5%	14%	16%	50%	14%	0%	0%	99%	783
Exited care (FY 1998)	1%	15%	12%	30%	38%	3%	0%	99%	655
In care on 9/30/98	2%	12%	16%	39%	30%	0%	0%	99%	1,316

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%	2%	1%	96%	1%	100%	1,188
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	1%	1%	0%	97%	1%	100%	783
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	1%	1%	0%	97%	1%	100%	655
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	2%	1%	96%	1%	100%	1,316

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	215
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	159

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	3%	28%	26%	33%	8%	1%	99%	215

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	2%	1%	96%	1%	100%	215

(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%	49%	38%	10%	1%	0%	100%	118

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	0%	2%	0%	98%	0%	100%	118

Vermont 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	92%
Children with one or more recurrences within 12 months	8%
Total	100%
Number	966

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	14%
Guardianship	1%
Reunification	57%
Other	15%
Missing	12%
Total	99%
Number	655

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	11%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	17%
Other	50%
Missing	22%
Total	100%
Number	18

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	61%
Other	22%
Missing	16%
Total	99%
Number	409

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	0%	29%	17%	0%	14%	25%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%	0%
Reunification	0%	71%	50%	100%	57%	25%	0%
Other	0%	0%	33%	0%	15%	50%	0%
Missing	100%	0%	0%	0%	13%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	0%
Number	1	7	6	3	634	4	0

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	17%
Children older than 12 at entry	83%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	53

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	70%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	13%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	8%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	4%
48 or more months	4%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	375

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	77%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	12%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	6%
Missing	5%
Total	100%
Number	783

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	0%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	14%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	24%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	32%
48 or more months	30%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	94

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	11%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	8%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	44%
48 or more months	36%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	36

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	69%	32%	26%	21%	15%	100%
Children with 3 or more placements	31%	68%	74%	79%	85%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	829	371	275	184	309	3

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	6%
Institutions	1%
Other settings	93%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	340

Vermont State Comments

William M. Young, Commissioner
Social Services Division, Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services
Vermont Agency of Human Services
(802) 241-2100

We appreciate the inclusion of the Summary Report based on the number of States reporting as a tool to focus our comments.

The Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services provides child protective, child welfare, and juvenile services (including juvenile justice and services to youth without or beyond parental control) in a single, integrated system.

In child protective services, the department investigates primarily child abuse and neglect by caretakers. The department also investigates sexual abuse by non-caretakers, including out-of-home perpetrators and juvenile perpetrators. Therefore, compared to the Summary Report, substantiated victims are older, and statistics for sexual abuse are very high.

The inclusion of juvenile delinquents and youth without or beyond the control of their parents in our custody population means that children in care are older than shown in the Summary Report. Sixty-nine percent of children in foster care in Vermont on 9/30/98 were ages 11-18, as opposed to 40 percent in the Summary Report. It is more difficult to assure placement stability for these older and more troubled youth than it is for the younger child welfare population. This is reflected in our statistics on placement stability. Vermont is in the early stages of a juvenile justice initiative that will implement and evaluate a number of new community services that we hope will allow us to serve this population better.

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