Children's Bureau Website - Child Welfare Monitoring: Statewide Assessment

Section II – Safety and Permanency Data

For detailed information about the data profile including a Quick Reference Guide to the Child and Family Services Reviews State Data Profile Elements, a toolkit is available on the National Resource Center for Information Technology Web site at www.nrccwdt.org/cfsr/cfsr_toolkit.html.

State Data Profile Example

Child Safety Profile

Fiscal Year 2004

Fiscal Year 2005

Fiscal Year 2006

Reports

Duplic.
Chn.²

Unique
Chn.²

Reports

Duplic.
Chn.²

Unique
Chn.²

Reports

Duplic.
Chn.²

Unique
Chn.²

I. Total CA/N
Reports Disposed¹

II. Disposition of CA/N Reports³

Substantiated and Indicated

Unsubstantiated

Other

III. Child Cases Opened for
Services⁴

IV. Children Entering Care
Based on CA/N Report⁵

V. Child Fatalities⁶

STATEWIDE AGGREGATE DATA USED TO DETERMINE SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY

VI. Absence of Maltreatment Recurrence⁷ [Standard: 94.6% or more]

VII. Absence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care⁸ (12 months) [Standard: 99.68% or more]

ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES FOR INFORMATION ONLY*

Fiscal Year 2004

Fiscal Year 2005

Fiscal Year 2006

Hours

Unique
Chn.²

Hours

Unique
Chn. ²

Hours

Unique
Chn.²

VIII. Median Time to Investigation in Hours (Child File)⁹

IX. Mean Time to Investigation in Hours (Child File)¹⁰

X. Mean Time to Investigation in Hours (Agency File)¹¹

XI. Children Maltreated by Parents While in Foster Care¹²

CFSR ROUND ONE SAFETY MEASURES TO DETERMINE SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY**

Fiscal Year 2004

Fiscal Year 2005

Fiscal Year 2006

Reports

Duplic.
Chn.²

Unique
Chn.²

Reports

Duplic.
Chn.²

Unique
Chn. ²

Reports

Duplic.
Chn. ²

Unique
Chn.²

XII. Recurrence of Maltreatment ¹³ [Standard: 6.1% or less]

XIII. Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care¹⁴ (9 months) [Standard: 0.57% or less]

*There are no national standards associated with these measures. back
**These measures are used primarily by States completing round one Program Improvement Plans, but States also may review them to compare to prior performance. back

NCANDS DATA COMPLETENESS INFORMATION FOR THE CFSR
Description of Data Tests	Fiscal Year 2004	Fiscal Year 2005	Fiscal Year 2006
Percent of Duplicate Victims in the Submission [At least 1% of victims should be associated with multiple reports (same CHID). If not, the State would appear to have frequently entered different IDs for the same victim. This affects maltreatment recurrence.]
Percent of Victims With Perpetrator Reported [File must have at least 75% to reasonably calculate maltreatment in foster care.]
Percent of Perpetrators With Relationship to Victim Reported [File should have at least 75%.]
Percent of Records With Investigation Start Date Reported [Needed to compute mean and median time to investigation.]
Average Time to Investigation in the Agency File [PART measure.]
Percent of Records With AFCARS ID Reported in the Child File [Needed to calculate maltreatment in foster care by the parents; also, all Child File records should now have an AFCARS ID to allow ACF to link the NCANDS data with AFCARS. This is now an all-purpose unique child identifier and a child does not have to be in foster care to have this ID.]

Footnotes To Data Elements In Child Safety Profile

Each maltreatment allegation reported to NCANDS is associated with a disposition or finding that is used to derive the counts provided in this safety profile. The safety profile uses three categories. The various terms that are used in NCANDS reporting have been collapsed into these three groups.

Disposition Category	Safety Profile Disposition	NCANDS Maltreatment Level Codes Included
A	Substantiated or Indicated (Maltreatment Victim)	"Substantiated", "Indicated", and "Alternative Response Disposition Victim"
B	Unsubstantiated	"Unsubstantiated" and "Unsubstantiated Due to Intentionally False Reporting"
C	Other	"Closed — No Finding", "Alternative Response Disposition — Not a Victim", "Other", "No Alleged Maltreatment" ,and "Unknown or Missing"

"Alternative Response" was added starting with the 2000 data year. The two categories of "Unsubstantiated" were added starting with the 2000 data year. In earlier years, there was only the category of "Unsubstantiated". The disposition of "No alleged maltreatment" was added for Federal FY 2003. It primarily refers to children who receive an investigation or assessment because there is an allegation concerning a sibling or other child in the household, but not themselves, and who are not found to be a victim of maltreatment. It applies as a Maltreatment Disposition Level but not as a Report Disposition code because the Report Disposition cannot have this value (there must have been a child who was found to be one of the other values).

Starting with Federal FY 2003, the data year is the fiscal year.

Starting with Federal FY 2004, the maltreatment levels for each child are used consistently to categorize children. While report dispositions are based on the field of report disposition in NCANDS, the dispositions for duplicate children and unique children are based on the maltreatment levels associated with each child. A child victim has at least one maltreatment level that is coded "substantiated", "indicated", or "alternative response victim". A child classified as unsubstantiated has no maltreatment levels that are considered to be victim levels and at least one maltreatment level that is coded "unsubstantiated" or "unsubstantiated due to intentionally false reporting". A child classified as "other" has no maltreatment levels that are considered to be victim levels and none that are considered to be unsubstantiated levels. If a child has no maltreatments in the record, and the report has a victim disposition, the child is assigned to "other" disposition. If a child has no maltreatments in the record and the report has either an unsubstantiated disposition or an "other" disposition, the child is counted as having the same disposition as the report disposition.

¹ The data element, "Total CA/N Reports Disposed", is based on the reports received in the State that received a disposition in the reporting period under review. The number shown may include reports received during a previous year that received a disposition in the reporting year. Counts based on "reports", "duplicated counts of children", and "unique counts of children" are provided. back
² The duplicated count of children (report-child pairs) counts a child each time that (s)he was reported. The unique count of children counts a child only once during the reporting period, regardless of how many times the child was reported.
³ For the column labeled "Reports," the data element, "Disposition of CA/N Reports," is based on the highest disposition of any child who was the subject of an investigation in a particular report. For example, if a report investigated two children, and one child is found to be neglected and the other child found not to be maltreated, the report disposition will be substantiated (Group A). The disposition for each child is based on the specific finding related to the maltreatment(s). In other words, of the two children above, one is a victim and is counted under "substantiated" (Group A) and the other is not a victim and is counted under "unsubstantiated" (Group B). In determining the unique counts of children, the highest finding is given priority. If a child is found to be a victim in one report (Group A), but not a victim in a second report (Group B), the unique count of children includes the child only as a victim (Group A). The category of "other" (Group C) includes children whose report may have been "closed without a finding," children for whom the allegation disposition is "unknown," and other dispositions that a State is unable to code as substantiated, indicated, alternative response victim, or unsubstantiated. back
⁴ The data element "Child Cases Opened for Services" is based on the number of victims (Group A) during the reporting period under review. "Opened for Services" refers to post-investigative services. The duplicated number counts each time a victim’s report is linked to ongoing services; the unique number counts a victim only once regardless of the number of times services are linked to reports of substantiated maltreatment. back
⁵ The data element "Children Entering Care Based on CA/N Report" is based on the number of victims (Group A) during the reporting period under review. The duplicated number counts each time a victim's report is linked to a foster care removal date. The unique number counts a victim only once regardless of the number of removals that may be reported. back
⁶ The data element "Child Fatalities" counts the number of children reported to NCANDS as having died as a result of child abuse and/or neglect. Depending upon State practice, this number may count only those children for whom a case record has been opened either prior to or after the death, or may include a number of children whose deaths have been investigated as possibly related to child maltreatment. For example, some States include neglect-related deaths such as those caused by motor vehicle or boating accidents, house fires or access to firearms, under certain circumstances. The percentage is based on a count of unique victims of maltreatment for the reporting period. back
⁷ The data element "Absence of Recurrence of Maltreatment" is defined as follows: Of all children who were victims of a substantiated or indicated maltreatment allegation during the first 6 months of the reporting period, what percent were not victims of another substantiated or indicated maltreatment allegation within a 6-month period? This data element is used to determine the State's substantial conformity with Safety Outcome #1. back
⁸ The data element "Absence of Child Abuse/or Neglect in Foster Care" is defined as follows: Of all children in foster care during the reporting period, what percent were not victims of substantiated or indicated maltreatment by a foster parent or facility staff member. This data element is used to determine the State's substantial conformity with Safety Outcome #1. A child is counted as not having been maltreated in foster care if the perpetrator of the maltreatment was not identified as a foster parent or residential facility staff. Counts of children not maltreated in foster care are derived by subtracting NCANDS count of children maltreated by foster care providers from AFCARS count of children placed in foster care. The observation period for this measure is 12 months. The number of children not found to be maltreated in foster care and the percentage of all children in foster care are provided. back
⁹ "Median Time to Investigation in Hours" is computed from the Child File records using the Report Date and the Investigation Start Date (currently reported in the Child File in mmddyyyy format). The result is converted to hours by multiplying by 24. back
¹⁰ "Mean Time to Investigation in Hours" is computed from the Child File records using the Report Date and the Investigation Start Date (currently reported in the Child File in mmddyyyy format). The result is converted to hours by multiplying by 24. Zero days difference (both dates are on the same day) is reported as "under 24 hours," one day difference (investigation date is the next day after report date) is reported as "at least 24 hours, but less than 48 hours," two days difference is reported as "at least 48 hours, but less than 72 hours," etc. back
¹¹ "Average Response Time in Hours Between Maltreatment Report and Investigation" is available through State NCANDS Agency or SDC File aggregate data. "Response time" is defined as the time from the receipt of a report to the time of the initial investigation or assessment. Note that many States calculate the initial investigation date as the first date of contact with the alleged victim, when this is appropriate, or with another person who can provide information essential to the disposition of the investigation or assessment. back
¹² The data element, "Children Maltreated by Parents While in Foster Care" is defined as follows: Of all children placed in foster care during the reporting period, what percent were victims of substantiated or indicated maltreatment by parent? This data element requires matching NCANDS and AFCARS records by AFCARS IDs. Only unique NCANDS children with substantiated or indicated maltreatments and perpetrator relationship "Parent" are selected for this match. NCANDS report date must fall within the removal period found in the matching AFCARS record. back
¹³ The data element, "Recurrence of Maltreatment," is defined as follows: Of all children associated with a "substantiated" or "indicated" finding of maltreatment during the first six months of the reporting period, what percentage had another "substantiated" or "indicated" finding of maltreatment within a 6-month period? The number of victims during the first six-month period and the number of these victims who were recurrent victims within six months are provided. This data element was used to determine the State's substantial conformity with Safety Outcome #1 for CFSR round one. back
¹⁴ The data element, "Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care," is defined as follows: Of all children who were served in foster care during the reporting period, what percentage were found to be victims of "substantiated" or "indicated" maltreatment? A child is counted as having been maltreated in foster care if the perpetrator of the maltreatment was identified as a foster parent or residential facility staff. Counts of children maltreated in foster care are derived from NCANDS, while counts of children placed in foster care are derived from AFCARS. The observation period for these measures is January-September because this is the reporting period that was jointly addressed by both NCANDS and AFCARS at the time when the NCANDS reporting period was a calendar year. The number of children found to be maltreated in foster care and the percentage of all children in foster care are provided. This data element was used to determine the State's substantial conformity with Safety Outcome #1 for CFSR round one. back

Additional Footnotes:

Point-In-Time Permanency Profile	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
Point-In-Time Permanency Profile	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children
I. Foster Care Population Flow
Children in Foster Care on First Day of Year
Admissions During Year
Discharges During Year
Children Discharging from Foster Care in 7 days or less*
Children in Care on Last Day of Year
Net Change During Year

II. Placement Types for Children in Care
Pre-adoptive Homes
Foster Family Homes (Relative)
Foster Family Homes (Non-relative)
Group Homes
Institutions
Supervised Independent Living
Runaway
Trial Home Visit
Missing Placement Information
Not Applicable (Placement in Subsequent Year)

III. Permanency Goals for Children in Care
Reunification
Live With Other Relatives
Adoption
Long-Term Foster Care
Emancipation
Guardianship
Case Plan Goal Not Established
Missing Goal Information

* These cases are excluded from length of stay calculations in the composite measures. back

Point-In-Time Permanency Profile	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children
IV. Number of Placement Settings in Current Episode
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six or More
Missing Placement Settings

V. Number of Removal Episodes
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six or More
Missing Removal Episodes

VI. Number of Children in Care 17 of the Most Recent 22 Months¹ (Percent Based on Cases With Sufficient Information for Computation)>
	Number of Months		Number of Months		Number of Months
VII. Median Length of Stay in Foster Care (of Children in Care on Last Day of FY)
VIII. Length of Time to Achieve Permanency Goal	# of Children Discharged	Median Months to Discharge	# of Children Discharged	Median Months to Discharge	# of Children Discharged	Median Months to Discharge
Reunification
Adoption
Guardianship
Other
Missing Discharge Reason²
Total Discharges (excluding those with problematic dates)
Dates Are Problematic³
STATEWIDE AGGREGATE DATA USED IN DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY: COMPOSITES 1 THROUGH 4
IX. Permanency Composite 1: Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification [Standard: 122.6 or Higher] Scaled scores for this composite incorporate two components.	FY 2004 AB		FY 2005 AB		FY 2006 AB
	State Score =		State Score =		State Score =
Component A: Timeliness of Reunification The timeliness component is composed of three timeliness individual measures.
Measure C1 - 1: Exits to reunification in less than 12 months: Of all children discharged from foster care (FC) to reunification in the target 12-month period, and who had been in FC for 8 days or longer, what percent was reunified in less than 12 months from the date of the latest removal from home? (Includes trial home visit adjustment) [National median = 69.9%, 75th percentile = 75.2%]
Measure C1 - 2: Exits to reunification, median stay: Of all children discharged from foster care (FC) to reunification in the target 12-month period, and who had been in FC for 8 days or longer, what was the median length of stay (in months) from the date of the latest removal from home until the date of discharge to reunification? (This includes trial home visit adjustment) [National median = 6.5 months, 25th percentile = 5.4 months (low is "good" in this measure)]
Measure C1 - 3: Entry cohort reunification in < 12 months: Of all children entering foster care (FC) for the first time in the 6-month period just prior to the target 12-month period, and who remained in FC for 8 days or longer, what percent was discharged from FC to reunification in less than 12 months from the date of the latest removal from home? (Includes trial home visit adjustment) [National median = 39.4%, 75th percentile = 48.4%]
Component B: Permanency of Reunification. The permanency component has one measure.
Measure C1 - 4: Re-entries to foster care in less than 12 months: Of all children discharged from foster care (FC) to reunification in the 12-month period prior to the target 12-month period, what percent re-entered FC in less than 12 months from the date of discharge? [National median = 15.0%, 25th percentile = 9.9% (low is "good" in this measure)]
STATEWIDE AGGREGATE DATA USED IN DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY: COMPOSITES 1 THROUGH 4
X. Permanency Composite 2: Timeliness of Adoptions [Standard: 106.4 or higher]. Scaled scores for this composite incorporate three components.	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
	State Score =		State Score =		State Score =
Component A: Timeliness of Adoptions of Children Discharged From Foster Care. There are two individual measures of this component. See below.
Measure C2 - 1: Exits to adoption in less than 24 months: Of all children who were discharged from foster care to a finalized adoption in the target 12-month period, what percent was discharged in less than 24 months from the date of the latest removal from home? [National median = 26.8%, 75th percentile = 36.6%]
Measure C2 - 2: Exits to adoption, median length of stay: Of all children who were discharged from foster care (FC) to a finalized adoption in the target 12-month period, what was the median length of stay in FC (in months) from the date of the latest removal from home to the date of discharge to adoption? [National median = 32.4 months, 75th percentile = 27.3 months]
Component B: Progress Toward Adoption for Children In Foster Care for 17 Months or Longer. There are two individual measures. See below.
Measure C2 - 3: Children in care 17+ months, adopted by the end of the year: Of all children in foster care (FC) on the first day of the target 12-month period, and who were in FC for 17 continuous months or longer (and who, by the last day of the year shown, were not discharged from FC with a discharge reason of live with relative, reunify, or guardianship), what percent was discharged from FC to a finalized adoption by the last day of the year shown? [National median = 20.2%, 25th percentile = 22.7% (low is "good" for this measure)]
Measure C2 - 4: Children in care 17+ months achieving legal freedom within 6 months: Of all children in foster care (FC) on the first day of the target 12 month period, and who were in FC for 17 continuous months or longer, and were not legally free for adoption prior to that day, what percent became legally free for adoption during the first 6 months of the year shown? Legally free means that there was a parental rights termination date reported to AFCARS for both mother and father. This calculation excludes children who, by the end of the first 6 months of the year shown had discharged from FC to "reunification," "live with relative," or "guardianship." [National median = 8.8, 75th percentile = 10.9%]
STATEWIDE AGGREGATE DATA USED IN DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY: COMPOSITES 1 THROUGH 4
	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
Component C: Progress Toward Adoption of Children Who Are Legally Free for Adoption. There is one measure for this component. See below.
Measure C2 - 5: Legally free children adopted in less than 12 months: Of all children who became legally free for adoption in the 12-month period prior to the target 12 month period (i.e., there was a parental rights termination date reported to AFCARS for both mother and father), what percent was discharged from foster care to a finalized adoption in less than 12 months of becoming legally free? [National median = 45.8%, 75th percentile = 53.7%]
XI. Permanency Composite 3: Permanency for Children and Youth in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time [Standard: 121.7 or higher]. Scaled scores for this composite incorporate two components.	State Score =		State Score =		State Score = xx
Component A: Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Carefor Long Periods of Time. This component has two measures.
Measure C3 - 1: Exits to permanency prior to 18th birthday for children in care for 24 + months. Of all children in foster care for 24 months or longer on the first day of the target 12-month period, what percent was discharged to a permanent home prior to their 18th birthday and by the end of the fiscal year? A permanent home is defined as having a discharge reason of adoption, guardianship, or reunification. [National median 25.0%, 75th percentile = 29.1%]
Measure C3 - 2: Exits to permanency for children with TPR: Of all children who were discharged from foster care in the target 12-month period, and who were legally free for adoption at the time of discharge (i.e., there was a parental rights termination date reported to AFCARS for both mother and father), what percent was discharged to a permanent home prior to their 18th birthday? A permanent home is defined as having a discharge reason of adoption, guardianship, or reunification. [National median 96.8%, 75th percentile = 98.0%]
Component B: Growing Up in Foster Care. This component has one measure.
Measure C3 - 3: Children Emancipated Who Were in Foster Care for 3 Years or More. Of all children who, during the 12-month target period, either (1) were discharged from foster care prior to age 18 with a discharge reason of emancipation, or (2) reached their 18th birthday while in foster care, what percent were in foster care for 3 years or longer? [National median 47.8%, 25th percentile = 37.5 % (low is "good" for this measure)]
STATEWIDE AGGREGATE DATA USED IN DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY: COMPOSITES 1 THROUGH 4
	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
XII. Permanency Composite 4: Placement Stability [National standard: 101.5 or higher]. Scaled score for this composite incorporates no components but three individual measures (below).	State Score =		State Score =		State Score =
Measure C4 – 1: Two or fewer placement settings for children in care for less than 12 months: Of all children served in foster care (FC) during the 12-month target period and who were in FC for at least 8 days but less than 12 months, what percent had two or fewer placement settings? [National median = 83.3%, 75th percentile = 86.0%]
Measure C4 – 2: Two or fewer placement settings for children in care for 12 to 24 months: Of all children served in foster care (FC) during the 12-month target period who were in FC for at least 12 months but less than 24 months, what percent had two or fewer placement settings? [National median = 59.9%, 75th percentile = 65.4%]
Measure C4 – 3: Two or fewer placement settings for children in care for 24+ months: Of all children served in foster care (FC) during the 12-month target period who were in FC for at least 24 months, what percent had two or fewer placement settings? [National median = 33.9%, 75th percentile = 41.8%]

Special Footnotes for Composite Measures:

In most cases, a high score is good on the individual measures. In these cases, you will see the 75th percentile listed to indicate that this would be considered a good score. However, in a few instance, a low score is good (shows desirable performance), such as re-entry to foster care. In these cases, the 25th percentile is displayed because that is the target direction for which States will want to strive.

Of course, in actual calculation of the total composite scores, these "low is good" scores on the individual measures are reversed so they can be combined with all the individual scores that are scored in a positive direction, where "high is good."

Permanency Profile First-Time Entry Cohort Group	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
Permanency Profile First-Time Entry Cohort Group	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children
I. Number of Children Entering Care for the First Time in Cohort Group (% = first-time entry of all entering within first 6 months)

II. Most Recent Placement Types
Pre-adoptive Homes
Foster Family Homes (Relative)
Foster Family Homes (Non-relative)
Group Homes
Institutions
Supervised Independent Living
Runaway
Trial Home Visit
Missing Placement Information
Not Applicable (Placement in Subsequent Year)

III. Most Recent Permanency Goal
Reunification
Live With Other Relatives
Adoption
Long-Term Foster Care
Emancipation
Guardianship
Case Plan Goal Not Established
Missing Goal Information
Permanency Profile First-Time-Entry Cohort Group	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
Permanency Profile First-Time-Entry Cohort Group	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children
IV. Number of Placement Settings in Current Episode
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six or More
Missing Placement Settings

V. Reason for Discharge
Reunification/Relative Placement
Adoption
Guardianship
Other
Unknown (Missing Discharge Reason or NA)

	Number of Months		Number of Months		Number of Months
VI. Median Length of Stay in Foster Care
AFCARS DATA COMPLETENESS AND QUALITY INFORMATION*
	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
	N	As a Percent of Exits Reported	N	As a Percent of Exits Reported	N	As a Percent of Exits Reported
File Contains Children Who Appear to Have Been in Care Less Than 24 Hours
File Contains Children Who Appear to Have Exited Before They Entered
Missing Dates of Latest Removal
File Contains "Dropped Cases" Between Report Periods With No Indication as to Discharge
Missing Discharge Reasons

	N	As a Percent of Adoption Exits	N	As a Percent of Adoption Exits	N	As a Percent of Adoption Exits
File Submitted Lacks Data on Termination of Parental Rights for Finalized Adoptions
Foster Care File Has Different Count Than Adoption File of (Public Agency) Adoptions (N=Adoption Count Disparity)

	N	As a Percent of Cases Having Missing Data	N	As a Percent of Cases Having Missing Data	N	As a Percent of Cases Having Missing Data
File Submitted Lacks Count of Number of Placement Settings in Episode for Each Child

*2% or more is a warning sign. back

PERMANENCY AGGREGATE DATA USED TO DETERMINE SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMITY IN ROUND ONE*
	Federal FY 2004 AB		Federal FY 2005 AB		Federal FY 2006 AB
	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children	# of Children	% of Children
IX. Of all children who were reunified with their parents or caretakers at the time of discharge from foster care, what percentage was reunified in less than 12 months from the time of the latest removal from home? (4.1) [Standard: 76.2% or more]
X. Of all children who exited care to a finalized adoption, what percentage exited care in less than 24 months from the time of the latest removal from home? (5.1) [Standard: 32.0% or more]
XI. Of all children served who have been in foster care less than 12 months from the time of the latest removal from home, what percentage have had no more than two placement settings? (6.1) [Standard: 86.7% or more]
XII. Of all children who entered care during the year, what percentage re-entered foster care within 12 months of a prior foster care episode? (4.2) [Standard: 8.6% or less]

* These are CFSR round one permanency measures. They are intended to be used primarily by States completing round one Program Improvement Plans, but also could be useful to States in CFSR round two in comparing their current performance to that of prior years. back

Footnotes to Data Elements in the Permanency Profile

¹We designated the indicator, 17 of the most recent 22 months, rather than the statutory time frame for initiating termination of Parental Rights proceedings at 15 of the most 22 months, since the AFCARS system cannot determine the date the child is considered to have entered foster care as defined in the regulation. We used the outside date for determining the date the child is considered to have entered foster care, which is 60 days from the actual removal date. back
² This count only includes case records missing a discharge reason, but which have calculable lengths of stay. Records missing a discharge reason and with non-calculable lengths of stay are included in the cell "Dates are Problematic". back
³The dates of removal and exit needed to calculate length of stay are problematic. Such problems include: 1) missing data, 2) faulty data (chronologically impossible), 3) a child was in care less than 1 day (length of stay = 0) so the child should not have been reported in foster care file, or 4) child's length of stay would equal 21 years or more. These cases are marked NA = Not Applicable because no length of stay can legitimately be calculated. back

The permanency data for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2006, were based on the annual file created. All CFSR round one safety results are on page 15; permanency round one results are on page 30.

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