General Population	1998	1999
Total children under 18 years	1,331,402	1,340,930
Race/ethnicity (%)
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.2	1.2
Black	21..4	21.4
Hispanic	1.6	1.7
White	75.6	75.4
% Child population in poverty	20.3	17.4
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	76.2	73.4

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999
Child maltreatment victims	9,930	10,611
Children in foster care on 9/30	-	10,796
Children adopted	337	382

 

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	32,286	33,629	24.2 per 1,000	25.1 per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims1	9,930	10,611	7.5 per 1,000	7.9 per 1,000
Child fatalities	12	16	0.9 per 100,000	1.2 per 100,000

Age of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	9.6	9.1
1-5 years	31.7	30.5
6-10 years	31.2	31.1
11-15 years	22.1	23.8
16+ years	5.2	5.2
Unknown	0.1	0.3
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	9,930	10,611

 

Race/Ethnicity of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	0.2	0.0
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4	0.3
Black	31.1	31.6
Hispanic	0.8	1.5
White	63.5	62.5
Other	1.8	2.3
Unknown	2.2	3.2
Total %2	100.0	101.5
Number	9,930	10,611

 

Maltreatment Type of Child Victims (%)	1998	1999
Emotional abuse	1.8	1.2
Medical neglect	3.1	3.1
Neglect	43.0	43.5
Physical abuse	19.6	20.0
Sexual abuse	22.4	21.0
Other	10.1	11.2
Unknown	-	-
Total %3	100.0	100.0
Number	9,930	10,611

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)	-	-	-	-	-
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	8,296	5,968	3,481	10,796	14,264
Median Length of Stay (Months)	<	<	<	<	<
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	-	N/A	-	-	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	17.5	N/A	12.3	13.6	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	-	2.7	-	9.0	-	2.6	-	3.2
1-5 years	-	18.5	-	13.1	-	15.5	-	16.6
6-10 years	-	18.9	-	12.6	-	11.9	-	17.6
11-15 years	-	30.8	-	35.3	-	19.1	-	29.8
16-18 years	-	28.3	-	30.0	-	48.5	-	31.8
19+ years	-	0.7	-	-	-	2.0	-	1.0
Missing	-	0.1	-	0.0	-	0.4	-	0.1
Total %	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	100.0
Number	-	8,296	-	5,968	-	3,481	-	10,796

 

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	-	0.2	-	0.3	-	0.3	-	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	0.3	-	0.5	-	0.4	-	0.4
Black	-	38.2	-	35.2	-	29.9	-	39.2
Hispanic	-	1.4	-	1.6	-	1.2	-	1.5
White	-	59.5	-	61.5	-	67.5	-	58.0
Unknown	-	0.5	-	1.0	-	0.7	-	0.7
Not applicable	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	100.0
Number	-	8,296	-	5,968	-	3,481	-	10,796

 

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Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99
Children waiting to be adopted	-	1,666
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	-	992

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	-	2.1
1-5 years	-	23.9
6-10 years	-	34.1
11-15 years	-	30.0
16+ years	-	8.1
Unknown	-	1.7
Total %	-	100.0
Number	-	1,666

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	-	0.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	0.2
Black	-	48.3
Hispanic	-	1.9
White	-	49.1
Unknown	-	0.4
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	-	100.0
Number	-	1,666

 

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

 

Age of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	1.5	1.0
1-5 years	46.6	44.5
6-10 years	32.3	34.0
11-15 years	16.3	17.0
16+ years	3.0	3.4
Unknown	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	337	382

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	.03	0.8
Asian/Pacific Islander	-	-
Black	44.8	37.4
Hispanic	3.6	2.4
White	51.0	59.2
Unknown	0.3	0.3
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	337	382

 

 

Tennessee [ 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	-	7.8
Guardianship	-	0.7
Reunification	-	64.1
Other	-	15.7
Missing	-	11.7
Total %	-	100.0
Number	-	3,481

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	-	18..2
Guardianship	-	0.7
Reunification	-	44.2
Other	-	22.6
Missing	-	14.2
Total %	-	100.0
Number	-	274

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	-	0.1
Guardianship	-	0.4
Reunification	-	64.4
Other	-	22.3
Missing	-	12.8
Total %	-	100.0
Number	-	2,045

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999
Children age 12 or younger at entry	-	14.5
Children older than 12 at entry	-	84.9
Missing	-	0.6
Total %	-	100.0
Number	-	496

 

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.		Asian/P.I.		Black		Hispanic
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	-	-	-	-	-	7.5	-	11.9
Guardianship	-	11.1	-	-	-	1.3	-	-
Reunification	-	77.8	-	71.4	-	65.9	-	61.9
Other	-	11.1	-	28.6	-	15.7	-	14.3
Missing	-	-	-	-	-	9.6	-	11.9
Total %	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	100.0	-	100.0
Number	-	9	-	14	-	1,041	-	42
	White		Unable to Determine		Not Applicable		Missing
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	-	7.9	-	4.2	N/A	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	0.4	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Reunification	-	63.1	-	83.3	N/A	-	-	-
Other	-	15.8	-	4.2	N/A	-	-	-
Missing	-	12.7	-	8.3	N/A	-	-	100.0
Total %	-	100.0	-	100.0	N/A	-	-	100.0
Number	-	2,350	-	24	N/A	-	-	1

 

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.	-	59.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	24.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	8.2
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	3.3
48 or more mos.	-	4.3
Missing	-	0.5
Total (%)	-	100.0
Number	-	2,233

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Children entering care for the first time	-	84.2
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	-	9.3
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	-	6.2
Missing	-	0.4
Total (%)	-	100.0
Number	-	5,968

 

 

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.	-	3.0
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	-	13.3
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	-	17.4
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	-	13.3
48 or more mos.	-	52.6
Missing	-	0.4
Total (%)	-	100.0
Number	-	270

 

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	- 72.9	- 25.2	- 1.9	- 100.0	- 6,734
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999	- 52.2	- 47.3	- 0.5	- 100.0	- 2,876
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999	- 51.0	- 48.8	- 0.2	- 100.0	- 1,448
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999	- 48.5	- 51.2	- 0.3	- 100.0	- 934
48 or more mos.	1998 1999	- 50.0	- 49.6	- 0.4	- 100.0	- 2,245
Missing	1998 1999	- 81.5	- 14.8	- 3.7	- 100.0	- 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	-	8.3
Institutions	-	6.8
Other settings	-	84.5
Missing	-	0.4
Total (%)	-	100.0
Number	-	2,264

 

Tennessee [ State Comments]

 

George W. Hattaway, Commissioner
Department of Children’s Services
615-741-9699

 

We are proud of the progress that Tennessee is making and expect even more in future reports. With regard to the discrepancy between the adoption numbers reported in Section E from the AFCARS Adoption Database and the exits from foster care to adoption reported from the AFCARS Foster Care Database, the AFCARS adoption data elements were not being entered into Tennessee's SACWIS system at the time of this report, but were reported on a separate data collection form. The numbers reported on the AFCARS Adoptions file have been verified and are the accurate state numbers to be used. Because Adoptions data were not being entered directly into the SACWIS, frontline staff did not update or reconcile the exits to adoptions in the system with the actual adoptions finalized.

As a general comment, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services includes both child welfare and juvenile justice programs. As a result, AFCARS numbers and demographic information may be influenced by some juvenile justice cases that were part of the child welfare program for only a brief period of time during the reporting year.

In Section D. Children Waiting to be Adopted on 9/30/1998 and 9/30/1999 and Section E: Children Adopted: Because a multiple race category was not available in AFCARS for these reporting periods, children recorded in Tennessee’s SACWIS as being of multiple races are not consistently reported as black or white, which produces error in an unknown direction in both group’s total percentages.

 

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