State Data Pages: West Virginia

State Data Pages

West Virginia Context Data

A. Key Context Statistics

GENERAL POPULATION IN 1997
Total children under 18 yrs	411,746
• Alaska Native/American Indian	0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander	0%
• Black	4%
• Hispanic	1%
• White	95%
Child population in poverty	21%
Child population living in metropolitan areas	54%
CHILD WELFARE
Child maltreatment victims during 1997	-
Children in foster care on 9/30/98	3,082
Children adopted during FY 1998	211

B. Child Maltreatment Data
(NCANDS SDC, 1997)

OVERVIEW	Count	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	-	-
Child maltreatment victims (1)	-	-
Child fatalities	-	-

AGE	Under	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16+ Yrs	Unknown	Total	Number
Child victims	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Other	Unable to Determine/Missing	Total (2)	Number
Child victims	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

MALTREATMENT TYPE

Emotional

Medical Neglect

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Other

Unknown

Total (3)

Number

Child victims

(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	2,838	2,011	1,767	3,082	4,849
Median length of stay (months)	17.3	N/A	8.6	16.7	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	3%	16%	20%	33%	26%	2%	0%	100%	2,838
Entered care (FY 1998)	8%	17%	16%	37%	22%	0%	0%	100%	2,011
Exited care (FY 1998)	3%	13%	12%	27%	41%	4%	0%	100%	1,767
In care on 9/30/98	3%	18%	21%	32%	25%	2%	0%	101%	3,082

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%	12%	1%	86%	1%	100%	2,838
Entered care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	11%	1%	85%	3%	100%	2,011
Exited care (FY 1998)	0%	0%	11%	1%	85%	3%	100%	1,767
In care on 9/30/98	0%	0%	12%	1%	86%	2%	101%	3,082

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

OVERVIEW
Children waiting to be adopted	843
• Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	13

AGE	Under 1 Yr	1-5 Yrs	6-10 Yrs	11-15 Yrs	16-17 Yrs	Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	4%	33%	40%	21%	2%	0%	101%	843

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Missing	Total	Number
Waiting children	0%	0%	15%	1%	83%	1%	100%	843

(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%	45%	38%	13%	3%	0%	100%	211

RACE/ETHNICITY	Alaska Native/A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine /Unknown	Total	Number
Children	0%	1%	10%	1%	83%	4%	99%	211

West Virginia 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	7%
Guardianship	1%
Reunification	41%
Other	13%
Missing	39%
Total	101%
Number	1,767

Pie Chart

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children
Adoption	3%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	35%
Other	17%
Missing	45%
Total	100%
Number	431

3.3 Exits of Children Age 12 or Older at Entry
Adoption	0%
Guardianship	0%
Reunification	39%
Other	18%
Missing	43%
Total	100%
Number	1,122

3.4 Exits by Race/Ethnicity	Alaska Native/ A.I.	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Unable to Determine	Missing
Adoption	0%	0%	7%	5%	7%	4%	0%
Guardianship	0%	0%	1%	0%	1%	0%	0%
Reunification	100%	0%	36%	35%	42%	63%	45%
Other	0%	0%	14%	10%	13%	7%	0%
Missing	0%	100%	42%	50%	38%	26%	55%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	101%	100%	100%
Number	1	2	200	20	1,506	27	11

3.5 Exits to Emancipation
Children age 12 or younger at entry	8%
Children older than 12 at entry	90%
Missing	1%
Total	99%
Number	73

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	77%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	18%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	3%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	0%
48 or more months	1%
Missing	0%
Total	99%
Number	727

Chart

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care in FY 1998
Children entering care for the first time	97%
Children re-entering care within 12 months of a prior episode	2%
Children re-entering care more than 12 months after a prior episode	0%
Missing	1%
Total	100%
Number	2,011

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

5.1 Time to Adoption
Less than 12 months	1%
At least 12 months, but less than 24 months	14%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	28%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	24%
48 or more months	33%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	116

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	7%
At least 24 months, but less than 36 months	37%
At least 36 months, but less than 48 months	28%
48 or more months	28%
Missing	0%
Total	100%
Number	46

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	89%	86%	83%	87%	82%	100%
Children with 3 or more placements	11%	14%	17%	13%	18%	0%
Missing	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Number	2,306	944	499	312	773	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	5%
Institutions	1%
Other settings	81%
Missing	13%
Total	100%
Number	870

West Virginia State Comments

Ann M. Burds, Director
Office of Social Services, Bureau for Children and Families
West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
(304) 558-7980

Although some of the data for child abuse and neglect were not available for this reporting period, that will not be the case in the future. Our automated information management system should be able to report all of the NCANDS data for the entire calendar year beginning with 1998.

The Office of Social Services' commentary on three initiatives, which can result in improved performance on future measures, is listed below.

Program Review: The Department has initiated a comprehensive program review process for Child Welfare. This process includes both a review of the data available through the State SACWIS system as well as on-site reviews in all offices throughout the State. While data analysis is important, it does not provide all of the information necessary to make improvements in casework practice that result in increased success in achieving outcomes.

Child Welfare Work Groups: The Secretary of the Department established work groups composed of field and State office staff to develop proposals to improve the Child Protective Services, Foster Care and Adoption and to improve the operation of the State's SACWIS System.

Each of the Work Groups was directed to identify those factors that inhibited the delivery of services and to propose recommendations for changes at both the Sate office and field level. It is believed that these recommendations, when implemented, will lead to improved outcomes for children.

Policy Revision: Staff in the Office of Social Services have been directed to develop plans to revise Child Welfare policy and to embed that policy on line in the SACWIS System.

In order to revise policy appropriately, it is necessary to first analyze current program design, casework decision-making models, and practices in order to determine the constituent elements of each service and the manner in which services should be delivered. This analysis and any subsequent program revision will be designed to insure that all service delivery is focused on safety, permanency, and well-being. Once the appropriate program has been established, then the policy to implement the design will be written.

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