AFCARS Data Element

Rating Factor

Findings

Tasks

Estimated/Completed Date

State/ACF’s Comments/Notes

ACF’s Sign-off Notes

#61 Title IV-A

0-Does not apply

1-Applies

1

1) The State cannot collect or report this data.

a) There is not a field on the system where this information can be entered.

b) The State does not receive information from the TANF office on children in foster care and placed with relatives who receive TANF.

c) The interface is an action item for the SAR.

2) The program code is hard coded to zero.

1) The State must develop an interim solution to collect and report this data to AFCARS.

-Develop a method to obtain information from the TANF office on whether a payment is being made on behalf of a child in foster care.

- Create a field that can be populated either manually or through a batch process.

- Complete interface per SACWIS requirement.

2) Once changes have been made to the system, modify the program code to extract the data accordingly.

c) 8/05

#16 Has this child ever been adopted?

1 = Yes

2 = No

3 = Unable to Determine

2

1) The program code is incorrectly initialized to “no.”

2) The State only reports on those children that were previously adopted through the South Dakota foster care system.

1) Modify the program code to be initialized to blank.

2) Add this question to the system with the answers “yes,” “no,” and “unable to determine.”

Supervision/Training

3a) Provide training on the new field.

3b) Implement supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter this information.

4) ACF will review the data to ensure accuracy based on the program code changes.

#17 If yes, how old was the child when the adoption was legalized?

[0 = Not Applicable]

1 = less than 2 years old

2 = 2-5 years old

3 = 6-12 years old

4 = 13 years or older

5 = Unable to Determine

2

1) The responses in #16 for “no” are not reported as “not applicable” for element #17.

2) There is not an option on the screen to collect the age of the child at the time of adoption.

1) Modify the program code to map a response of “no” in element #16 to “not applicable” in element #17.

2) Add a field to the system to collect the age of the child at the time of the previous adoption.

Supervision/Training

3a) Provide training on the new field.

3b) Implement supervisory oversight to ensure that workers enter this information.

4) ACF will review the data to ensure accuracy based on the program code changes.

#23 Date of Placement in Current Foster Care Setting

(mo) (day)(year)

2

1) The date a child enters a run -away status is not reported for this element.

2) Contract placement agencies have access to FACIS and are to enter placement data. The data is not complete and up-to-date.

1) Modify the system/program code to record and extract the start date of runways.

2) Implement a process to check for accuracy and quality of the data entered by the placement agencies.

Supervision/Training

3) Implement supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter this information.

4) ACF will review the data to ensure accuracy based on the program code changes.

Actions or Conditions Associated With Child’s Removal (Indicate all that apply.)

#26 Physical Abuse

#27 Sexual Abuse

#28 Neglect

#29 Parent Alcohol Abuse

#30 Parent Drug Abuse

#31 Child Alcohol Abuse

#32 Child Drug Abuse

#33 Child Disability

#34 Child’s Behavior Problem

#35 Death of Parent

#36 Incarceration of Parent

#37 Caretaker Inability to Cope Due to Illness or Other Reasons

#38 Abando#39 Relinquishment

#40 Inadequate Housing

2

1) The State is unable to report more than one option.

1) Modify the data entry screen to allow the selection of more than one action or condition.

Supervision/Training

2) Train staff to include all contributing reasons that lead to the child being “removed from home” and placed into foster care.

3) Utilize management reports to assess the completeness of this information and whether it is reflective of the reasons for children entering foster care.

4) Implement supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter this information.

5) ACF will review the data to ensure accuracy based on the program code changes.

#41 Current Placement Setting

1 = Pre-Adoptive Home

2 = Foster Family Home-Relative

3 = Foster Family Home-Non-Relative

4 = Group Home

5 = Institution

6 = Supervised Independent Living

7 = Runaway

8 = Trial Home Visit

2

1) The program code does not check for a placement exit reason of “runaway.”

2) When a child exits foster care from a “trial reunification,” the placement setting is reset to the foster care setting prior to the trial reunification. This is also true if the child’s last placement setting was “runaway.” Post site-visit: The language in the mapping document referencing the handling of “trial home visit” and “runaway” has been deleted.

1) Modify the system/program code to accurately capture when a child is on a runaway status. 1a) The State is considering adding the option “runaway” in the “leave location” field.

2) Modify the program code to extract “trial home visit” and “runaway” if these are the living arrangements at the time of discharge.

Supervision/Training

3) Implement supervisory oversight to ensure workers accurately enter this information.

4) ACF will review the data to ensure accuracy based on the program code changes.

2) ACF: The State indicated this was corrected in the program code. Please specify where and explain the change.

#43 Most recent case plan goal

1 = Reunify With Parent(s) Or Principal Caretaker(s)

2 = Live With Relative(s)

3 = Adoption

4 = Long Term Foster Care

5 = Emancipation

6 = Guardianship

7 = Case Plan Goal Not Yet Established

2

1) The State staff indicated they are making changes to this module.

2) The State maps the goals “maintain family,” “improve family functioning,” and “ICPC/maintain placement” to “reunification.”

3) The program code initializes this element, and maps missing data, to “not yet established.”

4) When a goal of adoption is established, the plan may not actually be recorded until a review hearing or the next periodic review. Therefore, this data may not be up-to-date at the end of the report period.

1) Provide the Children’s Bureau with information on how this module will be modified.

2) Modify the program code to map “maintain family,” “improve family functioning,” and “ICPC/maintain placement” to blanks.

3) The State should develop a method to ensure that a goal has been entered on children that have been in care for more than 60 days.

Supervision/Training/Data Quality

4) Develop a method to ensure that goals of adoption are entered in a timely manner and are reflective of the child’s current goal.

5) ACF will review the data to ensure accuracy based on the program code changes.

#44 Caretaker Family Structure

1 = Married Couple

2 = Unmarried Couple

3 = Single Female

4 = Single Male

5 = Unable to Determine

2

1) The State option “unknown” is mapped to “unable to determine.”

2) The program code defaults to “unable to determine .”

(This was supported by the case file findings.)

3) The options on the selection list include “conversion” and “not applicable.”

3a) “Not applicable” is defined the same as AFCARS’ “unable to determine.”

4) The State is making changes to how the caretaker family structure is entered into the system.

1) Modify the program code to map “unknown” to blank.

2) Map missing data to blank.

3) Map “conversion” to blank.

3a) Change the option “not applicable” to “unable to determine.”

3b) Revise the program code to reflect the change from “not applicable” to “unable to determine.”

3c) If the State maintains the option of “not applicable,” map it to blank.

4) Provide the Children’s Bureau with information on changes made to the system.

Supervision/Training

5) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

5) ACF will review the data.

#45 1 st Primary Caretaker’s Birth Year

#46 2 nd Primary Caretaker’s Birth Year (if applicable)

(mo) (day)(year)

2

1) The State is making changes to how dates of birth are entered into the system.

2) State is adding an edit check to match the number of dates of birth to the number of each marital status.

1) Provide the Children’s Bureau with information on changes made to the system.

2) Provide the Children’s Bureau with the edit check.

Supervision/Training

3) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

4) ACF will review the data.

#59 Title IV-E (Foster Care)

0-Does not apply

1-Applies

2

The program code extracts whether the child is title IV-E eligible and not that there was a payment.

1) Modify the program code to extract when a payment is made on behalf of the child that is a title IV-E foster care maintenance payment.

Supervision/Training

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) ACF will review the data.

#60 Title IV-E (Adoption Subsidy)

0-Does not apply

1-Applies

2

The program code checks the subsidy screen and does not check for payments.

1) Modify the program code to extract when a payment is made on behalf of the child that is a title IV-E adoption subsidy payment.

Supervision/Training

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) ACF will review the data.

#65 None of the Above

0-Does not apply

1-Applies

2

1) The code does not check for other types of resources.

2) The State uses emergency assistance (EA) for children in foster care. The State needs to map EA to this element.

1) Modify the program code to check for all other Federal, State or private funds that are a source of income for the child during the report period.

2) Modify the program code to map “emergency assistance” to this element.

Supervision/Training

3) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

4) ACF will review the data.

#10 Has the child been clinically diagnosed as having a disability(ies)?

1=Yes

2=No

3=Not yet Determined

3

The State modified how the system collects this data.

The data are underreported.

1) Provide training on the new field.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) ACF will review the data.

ACF: Explain how the new code works in relation to the previous code that maps missing data to “no.”

Foster care and adoption elements #11- 15 - Diagnosed disability conditions

#11 Mental Retardation

#12 Visually/Hearing Impaired

#13 Physically Disabled

#14 Emotionally Disturbed

#15 Other Diagnosed Condition

3

The revision to the system has options of diagnosed conditions for the workers to select.

Post site visit analysis: The State included “allergies.” This should not be mapped to AFCARS (mapping form).

1) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

2) ACF will review the data.

#19 Total Number of Removals from Home

3

The errors in the case files appear to be related to conversion.

1) Review all open cases and have workers correct the information regarding date of first removal.

1a) Re-submit the 2004B data to the Children’s Bureau.

2) ACF will review the data to assess its accuracy.

#20 Date Child was Discharged from last foster care episode (if applicable)

___(mo) ___ (day)____(year)

3

1) There were errors from the case file review that appear to be related to conversion.

2) The data must represent the date a “trial reunification” ended.

1) The State needs to ensure that all prior removals are properly entered into the system.

1a) Review all open cases and have workers correct the information regarding date of first removal.

1b) Re-submit the 2004B data to the Children’s Bureau.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers accurately enter this information.

3) ACF will review the data.

#24 Number of Previous Placement Settings in This Episode

3

The findings of the case file review indicated errors in the number of placements.

1) Review all open cases and have workers correct the information regarding placements.

1a) Once data has been entered, re-submit the data to the Children’s Bureau.

2) Develop a means to ensure all data regarding placements with contracted providers are entered into the system.

3) Implement a process to ensure the timely and accurate entry of this information.

4) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

#25 Manner of Removal From Home for Current placement Episode

1 = Voluntary

2 = Court Ordered

3 = Not Yet Determined

3

The State made changes to the screen. The 2005A data reflected a decrease in the number of records with missing data and those reported with a response of “not yet determined.”

ACF will review the data for the 2005B report period to assess for continued improvement.

#49 Foster Family Structure

0 = Not Applicable

1 = Married Couple

2 = Unmarried Couple

3 = Single Female

4 = Single Male

3

1) The State corrected the program code to map records of children in a non-foster home setting to “not applicable.”

2) The data is underreported for those children placed through child placing agencies.

1) Resubmit the 2004B data to the Children’s Bureau.

1a) The Children’s Bureau will assess the data for accuracy.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) Develop a means to ensure all data regarding placements with contracted providers are entered into the system.

4) ACF will review the 2005B data for continued improvement.

#50 1 st Foster Caretaker’s Birth Year

#51 2 nd Foster Caretaker’s Birth Year

3

1) This data is underreported.

2) The data is underreported for those children placed through child placing agencies.

1) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

2) Develop a means to ensure all data regarding placements with contracted providers are entered into the system.

3) ACF will review the data for continued improvement.

#52 1 st Foster Caretaker’s Race

#54 2 nd Foster Caretaker’s Race (if applicable)

a. American Indian or Alaska Native

b. Asian

c. Black or African American

d. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

e. White

f. Unable to Determine

3

Issue of data entry by the contract placement agencies and the findings from the case file review.

1) The State needs to monitor the accuracy of this data.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) Develop a means to ensure all data regarding placements with contracted providers are entered into the system.

4) ACF will review the data for continued improvement.

#53 1 st Foster Caretaker’s Hispanic or Latino Origin

#55 2 nd Foster Caretaker’s Hispanic Origin

1 = Yes

2 = No

3 = Unable to Determine

3

Issue of data entry by the contract placement agencies and the findings from the case file review.

1) The State needs to monitor the accuracy of this data.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) Develop a means to ensure all data regarding placements with contracted providers are entered into the system.

4) ACF will review the data for continued improvement.

#58 Reason for Discharge

[0 = Not Applicable]

1 = Reunification with Parent(s) or Primary Caretaker(s)

2 = Living with Other Relative(s)

3 = Adoption

4 = Emancipation

5 = Guardianship

6 = Transfer to Another Agency

7 = Runaway

8 = Death of Child

3

The State corrected the program code to map records of children still in foster care to “not applicable.”

1) ACF will review the data.

#62 Title IV-D (Child Support)

0-Does not apply

1-Applies

3

1) This data may be underreported.

2) There is not an interface to the child support enforcement system. The State is in process of meeting its SACWIS interface requirement.

1) Implement a process to ensure the timely and accurate entry of this information.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) ACF will review the data to assess its accuracy.

4) Provide the Children’s Bureau with the status of completing the interface with the Child Support Enforcement System.

#22 Adoptive Family Structure

1 = Married Couple

2 = Unmarried Couple

3 = Single Female

4 = Single Male

2

The selection list includes: “not applicable,” “unknown,” and “conversion.”

Either remove these options from the screen or map “not applicable” and “conversion” to blank.

#18 Mother Married at Time of Birth

1 = Yes

2 = No

3 = Unable to Determine

3

The data may not be accurate based on the case file review findings.

The program code was corrected and “legally separated” is now mapped to “yes”

The mapping in the program code was corrected to map “unknown” to spaces.

1) Implement a process to ensure the timely and accurate entry of this information.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) ACF will review the data to assess its accuracy.

#31 Relationship of Adoptive Parent to Child - Foster Parent

#32 Relationship of Adoptive Parent to Child - Other Non-Relative

3

The program code was modified and code was added to check for “foster parent” and “foster parent (relative).

ACF will review the data.

#34 Child Was Placed by

1 = Public Agency

2 = Private Agency

3 = Tribal Agency

4 = Independent Person

5 = Birth Parent

3

The program code was modified by mapping “independent person,” “guardian,” and “relative - first degree” to spaces. Also, the screen was modified and the only options are: “birth parent,” “private agency,” “public agency,” and “tribal agency.”

1) Implement a process to ensure the timely and accurate entry of this information.

2) Implement training and supervisory oversight to ensure workers enter and update this information.

3) ACF will review the data to assess its accuracy.

#36 Monthly Amount

3

The program code was modified to only extract the amount in the continuing subsidy field.

ACF will review the data to assess its accuracy.