General Population	1998	1999
Total children under 18 years	1,040,580	1,065,510
Race/ethnicity (%)
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.7	0.7
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.6	2.6
Black	4.5	4.4
Hispanic	20.7	21.3
White	71.6	70.9
% Child population in poverty	10.6	11.6
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	86.7	86.1

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999
Child maltreatment victims	7,010	6,989
Children in foster care on 9/30	7,951	7,639
Children adopted	575	713

 

B. Child Maltreatment Data (NCANDS SDC, 1998 & 1999)

	Number		Rate
Maltreatment Information Overview	1998	1999	1998	1999
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	39,141	34,110	37.6 per 1,000	32.0 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims1	7,010	6,989	6.7 per 1,000	6.6 per 1,000
Child fatalities	28	32	2.7 per 100,000	3.0 per 100,000

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	9.3	9.8
1-5 years	30.4	30.2
6-10 years	32.0	31.8
11-15 years	23.6	23.7
16+ years	4.3	4.2
Unknown	0.5	0.2
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	7,010	6,989

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.3	1.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.9	0.8
Black	7.7	8.4
Hispanic	22.5	18.6
White	73.0	62.8
Other	-	5.9
Unknown	17.1	20.9
Total %2	122.5	118.6
Number	7,010	6,989

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Emotional abuse	11.7	14.6
Medical neglect	6.5	7.1
Neglect	67.7	70.7
Physical abuse	29.3	27.6
Sexual abuse	14.7	15.1
Other	-	-
Unknown	-	-
Total %3	129.9	135.1
Number	7,010	6,989

1) Children with more than one report of substantiated or indicated maltreatment may be counted more than once. Back
2) Percentages may total more than 100 percent because Hispanics may be counted both by Hispanic ethnicity and by race. Back
3) Percentages may total more than 100 percent because children could have been victims of more than one type of maltreatment. Back

C. Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998 & FY 1999)

Number of Children	In Care on 10/1	Entered Care	Exited Care	In Care on 9/30	Total Served
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	6,006	7,147	5,202	7,951	13,153
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	6,131	7,183	5,675	7,639	13,314
Median Length of Stay (Months)	<	<	<	<	<
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	15.2	N/A	3.8	11.1	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	12.1	N/A	3.2	11.3	N/A

 

Age of Children in Foster Care (%)	In Care on 10/1/97	In Care on 10/1/98	Entered Care During FY 1998	Entered Care During FY 1999	Exited Care During FY 1998	Exited Care During FY 1999	In Care on 9/30/98	In Care on 9/30/99
Under 1 year	3.2	4.6	8.5	7.9	3.6	4.5	4.3	3.7
1-5 years	18.2	18.0	19.2	19.1	18.8	18.8	18.8	19.1
6-10 years	23.4	22.6	18.7	17.7	16.8	16.7	22.3	21.4
11-15 years	34.4	34.2	36.6	38.6	31.3	32.9	34.0	35.5
16-18 years	19.7	19.4	17.1	16.7	28.1	25.9	19.5	19.0
19+ years	1.1	1.2	0.0	0.0	1.2	1.0	1.1	1.3
Missing	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	6,006	6,131	7,147	7,183	5,202	5,675	7,951	7,639

 

Race/Ethnicity of Children in Foster Care (%)	In Care on 10/1/97	In Care on 10/1/98	Entered Care During FY 1998	Entered Care During FY 1999	Exited Care During FY 1998	Exited Care During FY 1999	In Care on 9/30/98	In Care on 9/30/99
Alaska Native/American Indian	2.3	2.0	2.0	2.6	2.3	2.4	2.1	2.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.5	1.3	0.9	0.9
Black	17.5	15.7	12.3	12.8	12.6	11.7	16.0	15.9
Hispanic	22.4	24.9	26.6	26.6	24.5	25.6	24.8	26.0
White	53.5	54.3	52.3	48.8	52.8	51.7	52.8	51.0
Unknown	3.2	2.2	5.6	8.0	6.3	7.3	3.4	3.9
Not applicable	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	6,006	6,131	7,147	7,183	5,202	5,675	7,951	7,639

 

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Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99
Children waiting to be adopted	1,480	1,682
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	974	1,211

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	1.7	1.7
1-5 years	30.1	28.7
6-10 years	39.2	36.4
11-15 years	25.5	28.9
16+ years	2.8	3.7
Unknown	0.7	0.5
Total %	100	100.0
Number	1,480	1,682

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.8	1.7
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.9	1.1
Black	22.1	18.5
Hispanic	26.5	30.4
White	47.1	46.9
Unknown	1.6	1.3
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	1,480	1,682

 

E. Children Adopted
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database, FY 1998 & 1999)

 

Age of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	2.4	4.1
1-5 years	48.9	45.3
6-10 years	36.2	33.0
11-15 years	11.1	14.7
16+ years	1.4	2.9
Unknown	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	575	713

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	2.1	1.4
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.2	-
Black	20.5	21.3
Hispanic	24.2	23.8
White	50.8	50.9
Unknown	1.2	2.5
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	575	713

 

 

Colorado [ Outcomes Data ]

 

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1. Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect
(NCANDS, DCDC 1998 & 1999)

1.1 Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)	1998	1999
Children without a recurrence	97.0	-
Children with one or more recurrences	3.0	-
Total %	100.0	-
Number	3,186	-

2. Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care
(NCANDS, DCDC Jan —Sept, AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database Jan —Sept 1998 & 1999)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Children maltreated while in Foster Care	0.2	-
Children not maltreated while in Foster Care	99.8	-
Total %	100.0	-
Number	12,156	-

 

3. Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database FY 1998 & FY 1999)

3.1 Exits from Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	6.3	5.2
Guardianship	1.2	0.9
Reunification	71.5	71.5
Other	16.9	16.8
Missing	4.1	5.6
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	5,202	5,675

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	5.6	5.2
Guardianship	1.2	0.8
Reunification	68.4	68.2
Other	21.5	21.2
Missing	3.4	4.6
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	1,517	1,773

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	0.3	0.4
Guardianship	0.6	0.5
Reunification	71.0	70.4
Other	27.8	28.2
Missing	0.2	0.5
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	2,553	2,720

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999
Children age 12 or younger at entry	19.1	19.5
Children older than 12 at entry	80.9	80.5
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	262	246

 

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.		Asian/P.I.		Black		Hispanic
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	10.7	3.0	2.6	-	11.2	10.5	5.2	5.3
Guardianship	0.8	2.2	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.4	0.8	0.8
Reunification	66.9	64.9	75.3	72.6	62.8	65.1	75.9	71.1
Other	19.8	28.4	16.9	24.7	19.0	16.4	15.0	17.3
Missing	1.7	1.5	3.9	1.4	5.5	6.6	3.1	5.6
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	121	134	77	73	654	665	1,273	1,452
	White		Unable to Determine		Not Applicable		Missing
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	5.9	4.6	3.6	2.2	N/A	-	-	-
Guardianship	1.3	0.9	1.8	0.5	N/A	-	-	-
Reunification	70.6	71.5	79.3	85.1	N/A	-	-	-
Other	17.5	16.7	14.9	11.3	N/A	-	-	-
Missing	4.7	6.3	0.3	1.0	N/A	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	N/A	-	-	-
Number	2,748	2,936	329	415	N/A	-	-	-

 

4. Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Re-entry
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database FY 1998 & FY 1999)

4.1 Time to Reunification (%)	1998	1999
Less than 12 mos.	83.2	85.7
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	10.2	10.1
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	3.5	1.8
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	1.3	1.2
48 or more mos.	1.8	1.3
Missing	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	3,718	4,058

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Children entering care for the first time	70.4	67.5
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	18.3	20.0
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	10.7	10.9
Missing	0.6	1.6
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	7,147	7,183

 

 

5. Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database FY 1998 & FY 1999)

5.1 Time to Adoption (%)	1998	1999
Less than 12 mos.	19.8	23.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	26.5	29.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	22.9	13.9
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	17.1	16.3
48 or more mos.	13.7	16.6
Missing	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	328	295

 

6. Increase Placement Stability
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database FY 1998 & FY 1999)

6.1 Number of Placements by Time in Care (%)	Year	Children With 2 or Fewer Placements	Children With 3 or More Placements	Missing Placements	Total %	Number
Less than 12 mos.	1998 1999	87.0 87.5	13.0 12.5	- -	100.0 100.0	7,889 8,172
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999	55.5 56.7	44.5 43.3	- -	100.0 100.0	2,113 2,266
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999	37.6 42.8	62.4 57.2	- -	100.0 100.0	1,108 915
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999	32.3 33.9	67.7 66.1	- -	100.0 100.0	774 641
48 or more mos.	1998 1999	24.2 24.4	75.8 75.6	- -	100.0 100.0	1,243 1,293
Missing	1998 1999	96.2 96.3	3.8 3.7	- -	100.0 100.0	26 27

 

7. Reduce Placements of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions
(AFCARS Annual Foster Care Database FY 1998 & FY 1999)

7.1 Most Recent Placement Settings of Children Who Entered Care During the Fiscal Year and Were Age 12 or Younger at the Time of This Placement (%)	1998	1999
Group homes	1.8	1.5
Institutions	7.0	6.2
Other settings	91.2	92.3
Missing	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	3,809	3,777

 

Colorado [ State Comments]

 

Jane Beveridge, Director
Child Welfare Services
Colorado Department of Human Services
303-866-5932

 

Colorado is a state supervised county administered delivery system that served approximately 52,603 children and 35,681 families during State Fiscal Year 1999 through County Departments of Social Services in 61 counties. The majority of the children served (68.96%) were served for reasons of child abuse and neglect.

With regard to Child Fatalities, Colorado defines maltreatment fatalities based on the following criteria:

• Parent or parent substitute identified as the perpetrator (including all caregivers put in a position of direct responsibility for the child by the parent or parent substitute; this includes babysitters, nannies, relatives, paramours, etc.)
• Classified as an abuse/neglect related death by the state fatality review board. (This may include auto-related neglect and lack of supervision, including suicide by the victim.)
• Victim is under the age of 18.

For Section D, the number of children noted as free for adoption includes children who are in permanent placements, such as children in permanent designated family foster homes, guardianship, and/or kinship care as well as children of the age of 18 who are still in out-of-home care. Therefore the number of children who are available for adoption and still in need of permanent placement is much smaller than this total number of children “free for adoption ” would indicate. Data run on the state fiscal year, using a code that allows for tighter screening criteria, show the figure at closer to 600 children who are actually available for adoption.

With respect to Outcome 4.2 - Children Who Entered Foster Care - Colorado views the 20% rate of re-entry of children into foster care within 12 months of the prior episode as very concerning. Efforts are under way to examine the details of this high re-entry rate from the standpoint of both practice and data issues. Case reviews will be conducted of a sample of children re-entering care within 12 months of the prior episode. In addition, a research effort directed at examining the administrative data will be performed to see if there are observable patterns within the data that could shed light on when, where, why and how this is happening.

The difference between the count of finalized adoptions from the adoptions file (Section E) and the exits from foster care to adoptions from the foster care file (outcome measures 3.1 and 5.1) may be explained by Colorado's practice of allowing a child to be placed in a subsidized adoption permanent setting and receive a new "adoption identity" prior to the actual finalization of the adoption by the courts. When this occurs, the child is coded with an exit reason of "P," which indicates that the child was placed for adoption. The value “P ” is a non-AFCARS compliant code and shows up as "Missing Data" when the data are run through the Federal code for calculating the exits from care. The majority of the discrepancy between the two files is explained by the use of this code.

 

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