General Population	1998	1999
Total children under 18 years	1,287,190	1,309,432
Race/ethnicity (%)
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.3	0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	4.3	4.4
Black	31.3	31.6
Hispanic	4.5	4.7
White	59.6	58.9
% Child population in poverty	14.4	6.6
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	86.7	89.2

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999
Child maltreatment victims	14,234	-
Children in foster care on 9/30	12,890	13,455
Children adopted	470	583

 

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	55,964	-	43.5 per 1,000	- per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims1	14,234	-	11.1 per 1,000	- per 1,000
Child fatalities	24	-	1.9 per 100,000	- per 100,000

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	-	-
1-5 years	-	-
6-10 years	-	-
11-15 years	-	-
16+ years	-	-
Unknown	-	-
Total %	-	-
Number	-	-

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	-
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-
Black	-	-
Hispanic	-	-
White	-	-
Other	-	-
Unknown	-	-
Total %2	-	-
Number	-	-

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Emotional abuse	-	-
Medical neglect	-	-
Neglect	-	-
Physical abuse	-	-
Sexual abuse	-	-
Other	-	-
Unknown	-	-
Total %3	-	-
Number	-	-

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)	11,719	4,467	3,296	12,890	16,186
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	12,452	3,936	2,933	13,455	16,388
Median Length of Stay (Months)	<	<	<	<	<
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	25.6	N/A	14.0	26.2	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	28.8	N/A	16.7	31.9	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	2.6	2.8	14.2	16.9	4.7	5.0	2.9	3.0
1-5 years	25.1	21.8	26.6	26.4	27.4	27.3	22.6	20.2
6-10 years	30.5	30.1	26.3	24.4	25.9	28.8	30.4	28.3
11-15 years	27.2	29.2	26.1	26.2	23.4	21.8	27.8	29.3
16-18 years	12.9	14.0	6.8	6.0	15.7	13.7	13.2	15.4
19+ years	1.7	2.1	0.0	0.0	2.8	3.3	3.0	3.7
Missing	0.0	-	-	-	0.1	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	11,719	12,452	4,467	3,936	3,296	2,933	12,890	13,455

 

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	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3
Black	79.2	79.4	70.4	68.7	67.5	70.8	79.2	78.1
Hispanic	0.9	0.9	1.4	1.8	2.0	2.0	0.8	0.9
White	18.7	18.2	25.2	26.4	28.7	24.2	18.4	19.3
Unknown	0.7	1.0	2.6	2.6	1.5	2.4	1.2	1.2
Not applicable	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	11,719	12,452	4,467	3,936	3,296	2,933	12,890	13,455

 

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Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99
Children waiting to be adopted	2,211	2,806
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	972	1,304

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	1.0	1.1
1-5 years	31.3	27.8
6-10 years	43.0	41.1
11-15 years	21.8	26.1
16+ years	2.4	3.5
Unknown	0.5	0.5
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	2,211	2,806

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.1	0.1
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.0	0.1
Black	77.6	79.2
Hispanic	0.6	0.5
White	20.2	19.1
Unknown	1.4	1.0
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	2,211	2,806

 

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

 

Age of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	2.3	1.0
1-5 years	45.1	42.0
6-10 years	41.1	41.3
11-15 years	10.6	14.9
16+ years	0.9	0.7
Unknown	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	470	583

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	0.3
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.6	0.3
Black	65.1	71.4
Hispanic	2.6	0.2
White	30.9	27.1
Unknown	0.9	0.2
Not applicable	-	0.5
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	470	583

 

 

Maryland [ 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	-	-
Children with one or more recurrences	-	-
Total %	-	-
Number	-	-

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	-	-
Children not maltreated while in Foster Care	-	-
Total %	-	-
Number	-	-

 

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	7.2	10.8
Guardianship	1.9	4.7
Reunification	41.7	62.2
Other	6.9	8.2
Missing	42.2	14.1
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	3,296	2,933

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	9.2	13.5
Guardianship	1.1	2.4
Reunification	38.1	55.7
Other	14.2	16.5
Missing	37.5	12.0
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	544	460

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	0.3	1.0
Guardianship	1.3	3.0
Reunification	39.4	53.2
Other	18.1	24.8
Missing	41.0	18.0
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	757	596

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999
Children age 12 or younger at entry	32.2	32.5
Children older than 12 at entry	67.8	67.5
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	143	166

 

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.		Asian/P.I.		Black		Hispanic
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	-	25.0	12.5	-	6.3	10.3	7.7	5.0
Guardianship	-	-	-	12.5	2.3	5.7	4.6	-
Reunification	16.7	62.5	62.5	50.0	40.3	63.3	44.6	63.3
Other	-	12.5	12.5	12.5	6.3	7.1	3.1	10.0
Missing	83.3	-	12.5	25.0	44.6	13.6	40.0	21.7
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	6	8	8	8	2,224	2,077	65	60
	White		Unable to Determine		Not Applicable		Missing
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	9.2	13.0	-	-	N/A	-	8.3	10.0
Guardianship	0.7	2.3	-	-	N/A	-	2.1	2.9
Reunification	44.9	58.3	-	-	N/A	-	41.7	67.1
Other	8.9	11.5	-	-	N/A	-	2.1	5.7
Missing	36.3	14.9	-	-	N/A	-	45.8	14.3
Total %	100.0	100.0	-	-	N/A	-	100.0	100.0
Number	945	710	-	-	N/A	-	48	70

 

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.	58.9	48.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	17.9	19.0
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	8.7	16.3
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	8.1	6.3
48 or more mos.	6.1	9.9
Missing	0.3	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	1,376	1,823

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Children entering care for the first time	74.4	80.6
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	13.5	8.9
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	11.1	9.8
Missing	1.0	0.7
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	4,467	3,936

 

 

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.	6.3	10.7
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	16.0	13.2
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	25.6	15.5
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	22.7	18.3
48 or more mos.	29.0	42.3
Missing	0.4	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	238	317

 

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	95.4 95.4	4.6 4.6	- -	100.0 100.0	4,909 4,252
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999	88.2 82.2	11.8 17.8	- -	100.0 100.0	3,221 2,900
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999	82.8 69.7	17.2 30.3	- -	100.0 100.0	2,136 2,361
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999	78.5 60.8	21.5 39.2	- -	100.0 100.0	1,752 1,678
48 or more mos.	1998 1999	71.9 54.5	28.1 45.5	- -	100.0 100.0	4,109 5,184
Missing	1998 1999	100.0 100.0	- -	- -	100.0 100.0	59 13

 

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	4.7	6.4
Institutions	1.3	3.9
Other settings	93.0	87.5
Missing	1.0	2.2
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	3,258	3,042

 

Maryland [ State Comments]

 

Linda E. Mouzon, Executive Director
Social Services Administration
State of Maryland Department of Human Resources
800-332-6347

 

Maryland does not have data available to calculate outcome measures 1.1 and 2.1 because until 1998 Maryland could not by law maintain a centralized database containing the names of alleged child maltreatment victims or perpetrators. Since no information could be maintained on maltreaters, our database was never programmed to maintain victim information. Maryland could only track incidents or households in which presumed maltreatment occurred. The 1999 survey provides incident based statistics but does not provide counts or demographic information on individual child victims.

In previous years, the NCANDS contractor created child counts for the Maryland survey by multiplying Maryland’s household count by a national average number of children per household. The Maryland manager of In-Home Services recommends against using such a multiplier for 1999 data. We prefer blanks until such time as better data can be submitted. [Maryland’s data for Section B was removed at their request.]

The ruling against a centralized database on alleged perpetrators was overturned in 1999. Maryland can now collect this information in a centralized database when certain conditions are met. The computer system has been updated to accept a victim identifier. It is taking time to acquaint CPS workers with the new procedures for entering victim and perpetrator codes into the system. Collecting and reporting of these data will be expedited when Maryland implements its SACWIS data system, MD CHESSIE.

For Section B, the number of child maltreatment victims in 1999 should be 15,410, and the number of child fatalities should be 36.

With regard to Section C and Outcome Measure 4.1: Maryland's length of stay in out-of-home care tends to be longer than that of other states because trial home visits or after care is included in the measure of out-of-home stay. Also, children placed with relatives (in kinship care and relative foster care) tend to stay longer than children in regular foster care. A large percentage (over 40%) of children in out-of-home care are placed with relatives in Maryland.

The difference between the adoption counts in Section E and exits to adoption reported in Measures 3.1 and 5.1 is due to the fact that the former is a manual count and the latter measures (exits to adoption) are derived from DHR's Client Information System (CIS). The former is used for the semi-annual Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) adoption data submission to DHHS while the latter is used to count exits to adoption when reporting AFCARS foster care data.

Tracking adoptions on CIS is difficult. To maintain confidentiality, children drop out of the system when they assume new identities in the process of adoption. This leads to an undercount (of exits to adoption). A second factor leading to undercounting adoptions on CIS is the common practice of workers using an exit reason of "other" when closing out-of-home care cases. Thanks to corrective action, the use of this catch-all category is declining.

 

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