General Population	1998	1999
Total children under 18 years	1,351,044	1,348,268
Race/ethnicity (%)
Alaska Native/American Indian	1.2	1.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.5	2.6
Black	7.9	7.9
Hispanic	4.0	4.2
White	84.3	84.1
% Child population in poverty	13.5	9.3
% Child population living in metropolitan areas	74.2	72.4

 

Child Welfare	1998	1999
Child maltreatment victims	-	-
Children in foster care on 9/30	10,076	9,637
Children adopted	643	642

 

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	-	-	- per 1,000	- per 1,000
Child maltreatment victims1	-	-	- per 1,000	- per 1,000
Child fatalities	-	-	- 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)	9,356	5,566	4,846	10,076	14,922
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	8,945	6,015	5,323	9,637	14,960
Median Length of Stay (Months)	<	<	<	<	<
FY1998 (10/1/97-9/30/98)	19.1	N/A	5.4	23.9	N/A
FY1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99)	19.3	N/A	5.9	20.8	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	2.4	7.3	8.0	3.0	2.4	2.0	2.7
1-5 years	24.1	23.6	16.2	18.5	17.7	17.1	21.1	21.5
6-10 years	26.0	27.7	16.9	17.1	16.8	17.8	25.6	27.0
11-15 years	29.3	31.1	42.1	41.1	33.9	34.3	30.6	32.4
16-18 years	16.5	14.9	17.4	15.3	28.3	28.0	17.7	15.7
19+ years	1.5	0.2	-	0.1	0.4	0.5	2.5	0.5
Missing	0.2	0.0	-	0.0	-	0.0	0.6	0.1
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	9,356	8,945	5,566	6,015	4,846	5,323	10,076	9,637

 

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	3.3	3.4	5.1	4.0	5.2	4.5	3.4	3.2
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.9	1.2	3.2	2.4	2.3	2.6	1.5	1.2
Black	50.1	49.0	20.6	25.5	20.3	21.3	48.1	49.6
Hispanic	4.4	4.4	3.5	5.0	3.3	3.8	4.4	5.1
White	41.4	42.0	67.6	62.9	68.9	67.9	42.6	40.8
Unknown	-	-	-	0.0	-	-	-	0.0
Not applicable	-	-	-	0.1	-	-	-	0.1
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	9,356	8,945	5,566	6,015	4,846	5,323	10,076	9,637

 

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Overview	9/30/98	9/30/99
Children waiting to be adopted	865	902
Children whose parents' rights have been terminated (TPR)	606	658

 

Age of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	1.7	3.0
1-5 years	31.1	26.9
6-10 years	35.4	35.4
11-15 years	24.2	27.1
16+ years	5.7	6.9
Unknown	2.0	0.8
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	865	902

 

Race/Ethnicity of Waiting Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	7.1	6.5
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.2	1.0
Black	33.3	34.7
Hispanic	3.7	3.9
White	55.7	53.7
Unknown	-	-
Not applicable	-	0.2
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	865	902

 

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

 

Age of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Under 1 year	0.6	2.3
1-5 years	42.8	41.0
6-10 years	37.6	40.0
11-15 years	16.0	13.6
16+ years	3.0	3.1
Unknown	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	643	642

 

Race/Ethnicity of Adopted Children (%)	1998	1999
Alaska Native/American Indian	5.0	5.0
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.3	-
Black	47.6	41.7
Hispanic	5.0	6.1
White	42.1	47.2
Unknown	-	-
Not applicable	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	643	642

 

 

Wisconsin [ 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	10.8	11.1
Guardianship	-	-
Reunification	67.5	66.1
Other	21.7	22.8
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	4,846	5,323

 

3.2 Exits of Disabled Children (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	23.7	24.0
Guardianship	-	-
Reunification	51.7	51.3
Other	24.6	24.7
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	1,650	1,735

 

3.3 Exits of Children Over Age 12 at Entry (%)	1998	1999
Adoption	0.4	0.6
Guardianship	-	-
Reunification	64.9	63.6
Other	34.7	35.9
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	2,388	2,626

 

3.4 Exits to Emancipation (%)	1998	1999
Children age 12 or younger at entry	16.4	15.0
Children older than 12 at entry	83.6	85.0
Missing	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0
Number	268	274

 

3.5 Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)	Alaska Native/A.I.		Asian/P.I.		Black		Hispanic
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	13.0	11.8	0.9	-	22.4	20.7	12.6	17.7
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reunification	62.5	65.4	76.8	73.9	58.5	57.6	67.9	60.1
Other	24.5	22.8	22.3	26.1	19.1	21.6	19.5	22.2
Missing	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Number	253	237	112	138	982	1,133	159	203
	White		Unable to Determine		Not Applicable		Missing
	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999	1998	1999
Adoption	7.5	8.0	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Guardianship	-	-	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Reunification	70.3	68.9	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Other	22.3	23.1	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Missing	-	-	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Total %	100.0	100.0	-	-	N/A	-	-	-
Number	3,340	3,612	-	-	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.	79.3	77.1
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	13.5	13.7
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	3.6	4.5
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	1.4	1.9
48 or more mos.	1.5	2.7
Missing	0.6	0.2
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	3,273	3,521

 

4.2 Children Who Entered Foster Care (%)	1998	1999
Children entering care for the first time	68.5	69.0
Children re-entering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	25.1	24.3
Children re-entering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	6.4	6.7
Missing	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	5,566	6,015

 

 

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.	5.2	6.6
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	15.9	11.5
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	18.5	20.7
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	26.0	22.6
48 or more mos.	34.4	38.5
Missing	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	523	589

 

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	94.9 95.3	5.1 4.7	- -	100.0 100.0	6,403 6,961
At least 12 mos., but <24 mos.	1998 1999	83.3 83.0	16.7 17.0	- -	100.0 100.0	2,650 2,586
At least 24 mos., but <36 mos.	1998 1999	73.6 72.6	26.4 27.4	- -	100.0 100.0	1,965 1,701
At least 36 mos., but <48 mos.	1998 1999	69.8 61.8	30.2 38.2	- -	100.0 100.0	1,210 1,241
48 or more mos.	1998 1999	70.3 64.0	29.6 36.0	0.1 0.0	100.0 100.0	2,649 2,432
Missing	1998 1999	100.0 100.0	- -	- -	100.0 100.0	45 39

 

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	5.2	5.0
Institutions	5.4	3.6
Other settings	89.4	91.4
Missing	-	-
Total (%)	100.0	100.0
Number	2,725	3,042

 

Wisconsin [ State Comments]

 

Susan N. Dreyfus, Administrator
Division of Children and Family Services
Department of Health and Family Services
608-267-3905

 

The Wisconsin child welfare program is primarily county operated except for the special needs adoption program and child welfare services in Milwaukee County, which are operated by DCFS. The state is implementing a SACWIS system, called WiSACWIS, first in Milwaukee during 2000 and then statewide starting in 2001. The data in this report are from legacy systems, and as are other states, we are working to improve the quality of our child welfare data. We offer the following insights to understanding of our state's data.

With respect to Child Maltreatment data, the scope of maltreatment reporting in Wisconsin includes caregivers and non-caregivers. The child maltreatment data shown for 1998 and 1999 is not complete due to the timing of the NCANDS data submission. The complete information for 1998 is 42,520 reports of maltreatment, 14,600 substantiated reports and 13 fatalities caused by maltreatment. The complete information for 1999 is 40,188 total reports, 11,937 substantiated reports, and 11 fatalities. The legacy system does not permit computation of recurrence of maltreatment. Wisconsin had 58 substantiated reports in 1998 and 49 substantiated reports in 1999 of maltreatment by out-of--home care providers.

A point that merits attention in the report is the timing of the due date for NCANDS reporting, which affects the 1998 and 1999 NCANDS data for Wisconsin. For Wisconsin, child abuse and neglect reports are submitted to the state by county agencies and processing and compilation of the child abuse and neglect data is done at the state level. Due to the timing of NCANDS reporting being moved up, the processing of our child abuse and neglect data for the prior calendar year is not complete by the NCANDS report due date. Thus the NCANDS report has only partial data for the calendar year. While we are working with county agencies to accelerate child abuse and neglect reporting, this problem of having only partial data by the NCANDS report due date will continue to occur for Wisconsin until our WiSACWIS is rolled out statewide. The problem of partial NCANDS data is presumably a problem in other states as well.

For foster care, the reduction in caseload between FY 1998 and FY 1999 reflects DCFS managing program operations in Milwaukee County beginning January 1, 1998 and preparation during 1999 for WiSACWIS, which purged old case data for Milwaukee County. The population served includes children who were placed due to voluntary placement agreements, abuse or neglect, status offenses, and delinquent behaviors; thus, the "Other" reasons for exit include reaching age of majority and transfer to a correctional or mental health institution. Wisconsin uses guardianship, but data are not captured in the legacy system showing guardianship as an exit.

With regard to adoption, the data show the total number of finalized adoptions for children with special needs for whom the adoptive parents received Adoption Assistance. Most of the children had previously been in foster care and the remaining children were adopted from outside of the foster care system.

 

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