General Population	1998	1999
Total children under 18 years	722,139	719,685
Race/ethnicity (%)
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.4
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.7	1.7
Black	2.5	2.5
Hispanic	3.1	3.3
White	92.4	92.0
% Child population in poverty	13.2	9.9
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	47.3	53.5

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999
Child maltreatment victims	7,311	9,763
Children in foster care on 9/30	4,920	4,854
Children adopted	525	764

 

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	28,072	26,812	38.9 per 1,000	37.3 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims1	7,311	9,763	10.1 per 1,000	13.6 per 1,000
Child fatalities	10	11	1.4 per 100,000	1.5 per 100,000

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	8.4	4.5
1-5 years	32.5	34.1
6-10 years	28.7	30.3
11-15 years	20.6	22.3
16+ years	4.8	7.4
Unknown	5.0	1.4
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	7,311	9,763

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.3	0.9
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.3	0.7
Black	8.2	8.0
Hispanic	3.5	3.7
White	71.4	74.2
Other	0.4	6.4
Unknown	15.0	9.8
Total %2	100.0	103.7
Number	7,311	9,763

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Emotional abuse	-	1.2
Medical neglect	2.9	1.6
Neglect	65.1	63.1
Physical abuse	22.0	25.2
Sexual abuse	13.2	11.1
Other	-	2.4
Unknown	-	-
Total %3	103.3	104.7
Number	7,311	9,763

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)	4,846	5,331	5,257	4,920	10,177
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	4,954	5,343	5,443	4,854	10,297
Median Length of Stay (Months)	<	<	<	<	<
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	12.9	N/A	4.0	12.5	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	13.5	N/A	4.7	11.7	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	2.5	2.6	5.3	4.9	2.5	2.3	2.6	2.4
1-5 years	18.4	17.2	13.2	15.0	14.0	15.4	16.8	16.4
6-10 years	20.1	20.1	13.0	12.9	12.3	14.1	19.9	18.1
11-15 years	35.6	36.4	44.1	43.0	34.6	33.4	37.1	38.5
16-18 years	23.3	23.6	24.4	24.1	36.0	34.6	23.4	24.4
19+ years	0.1	0.1	-	-	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.1
Missing	0.0	-	0.1	-	0.1	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4,846	4,954	5,331	5,343	5,257	5,443	4,920	4,854

 

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	2.7	2.6	1.5	1.7	1.7	2.3	2.5	1.9
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.9
Black	13.6	13.6	10.2	9.1	10.3	10.6	13.5	12.0
Hispanic	3.1	3.9	3.7	3.8	3.1	3.7	3.7	4.0
White	73.0	71.0	70.7	72.0	72.0	71.5	71.7	71.5
Unknown	6.8	8.2	13.1	12.4	12.2	11.2	7.8	9.4
Not applicable	-	0.2	-	0.2	-	0.1	-	0.3
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	4,840	4,954	5,323	5,343	5,255	5,443	4,908	4,854

 

Back to Top

Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99
Children waiting to be adopted	1,039	1,044
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	938	922

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	2.1	2.4
1-5 years	33.5	32.6
6-10 years	36.4	32.9
11-15 years	23.1	25.7
16+ years	4.6	5.4
Unknown	0.3	1.1
Total %	100	100.0
Number	1,039	1,044

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	5.4	4.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.1	0.4
Black	20.3	19.1
Hispanic	3.5	5.6
White	66.3	63.7
Unknown	3.5	7.0
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	1,039	1,044

 

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

 

Age of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	0.8	1.2
1-5 years	47.0	44.4
6-10 years	36.8	37.7
11-15 years	13.1	14.9
16+ years	2.3	1.8
Unknown	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	525	764

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	5.5	3.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.0	1.2
Black	16.6	17.8
Hispanic	2.3	5.2
White	69.1	64.1
Unknown	5.5	8.4
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	525	764

 

 

Iowa [ Outcomes Data ]

 

Back to Top

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	90.8	91.6
Children with one or more recurrences	9.2	8.4
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	8,698	8,699

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	0.4	0.4
Children not maltreated while in Foster Care	99.6	99.6
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	8,875	9,136

 

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	10.2	14.1
Guardianship	-	-
Reunification	79.3	77.3
Other	9.9	8.3
Missing	0.6	0.3
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	5,257	5,443

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	27.0	40.8
Guardianship	-	-
Reunification	55.6	47.7
Other	15.8	10.8
Missing	1.6	0.7
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	891	969

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	0.5	0.4
Guardianship	-	-
Reunification	84.1	86.4
Other	15.3	13.2
Missing	0.1	0.0
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	3,175	3,106

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999
Children age 12 or younger at entry	2.7	9.5
Children older than 12 at entry	97.3	90.5
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	255	231

 

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.		Asian/P.I.		Black		Hispanic
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	32.6	20.2	11.6	21.6	17.0	23.2	9.3	19.6
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reunification	53.9	73.4	74.4	59.5	70.2	68.3	85.8	73.9
Other	11.2	6.5	11.6	18.9	10.7	8.3	4.3	6.5
Missing	2.2	-	2.3	-	2.0	0.2	0.6	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	89	124	43	37	540	577	162	199
	White		Unable to Determine		Not Applicable		Missing
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	9.7	12.7	4.9	11.0	N/A	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Reunification	79.9	78.4	85.8	81.6	N/A	100.0	100.0	-
Other	10.2	8.6	8.9	7.2	N/A	-	-	-
Missing	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.2	N/A	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	N/A	100.0	100.0	-
Number	3,782	3,892	639	608	N/A	6	2	-

 

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.	81.0	80.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	11.5	13.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	3.7	3.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	2.1	1.1
48 or more mos.	0.9	1.5
Missing	0.8	0.7
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	4,168	4,207

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Children entering care for the first time	66.4	64.8
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	27.0	26.7
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	5.7	7.7
Missing	0.9	0.8
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	5,331	5,343

 

 

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.	17.3	15.5
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	23.2	22.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	32.0	27.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	17.7	22.1
48 or more mos.	8.7	12.7
Missing	1.1	0.3
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	538	769

 

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	87.7 89.2	12.3 10.8	- -	100.0 100.0	6,100 6,162
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999	56.3 58.0	43.7 42.0	- -	100.0 100.0	1,746 1,750
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999	34.4 33.3	65.6 66.7	- -	100.0 100	993 958
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999	33.7 28.6	66.3 71.4	- -	100.0 100.0	751 598
48 or more mos.	1998 1999	46.2 34.6	53.8 65.4	- -	100.0 100	528 772
Missing	1998 1999	100.0 100.0	- -	- -	100.0 100.0	59 57

 

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	14.8	17.7
Institutions	5.6	6.1
Other settings	78.0	74.4
Missing	1.6	1.7
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	2,120	2,197

 

Iowa [ State Comments]

 

Mary Nelson, Administrator
Division of Adult, Children and Family Services
Department of Human Services
515-281-5521

 

In Iowa, adoptions increased 45% between 1998 and 1999; we now have more children in subsidized adoption than family foster care.

Iowa's foster care system serves children placed due to delinquency, emotional/behavioral problems, and abuse/neglect. This results in more older youth in care. Caseloads and supervisor:worker ratios that are two to three times the national standards also challenge our system.

Iowa's maltreatment recurrence rate (Outcome 1.1) and incidence of abuse in foster care rate (Outcome 2.1) are higher than the national standard. We are implementing several initiatives to improve child safety. Iowa's safety measures as shown in Outcomes 1.1 and 2.1 were derived from the state's version of the DCDC report, using logic consistent with the Children's Bureau code. The results were validated against analysis performed by the NCANDS technical team and the state's data warehouse. (Note: Because Iowa ’s procedures for calculating these measures were consistent with those of the NCANDS DCDC, their data were approved for presentation in the State data pages.)

Iowa's "time to re-unification" is shorter than the national standard, although our re-entry rate is higher. Youth re-entering care are older and in placement primarily because of the child's behavior rather than abuse/neglect. In many cases, brief placement stays help maintain the youth in the community. We are working with our education and mental health partners to improve services and outcomes for these youth.

Our "time to adoption" is better than the national standard. We attribute this to Iowa's aggressive efforts to recruit families and move children to permanency. Our placement stability rate meets the national standard.