November 2005Vol. 6, No. 9Child Welfare Outcomes 2002
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau has just released Child Welfare Outcomes 2002: Annual Report to Congress. This is the fifth year in which data from the Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System have been used to provide information on national child welfare outcomes. In addition, discussions of State performance are included that incorporate information from the Child and Family Services Reviews.
Results indicate that States are moving toward improvement in the following areas:
- Reducing maltreatment of children in foster care by foster parents or facility staff members
- Achieving permanency for children in foster care
- Ensuring placement stability for children during the first 12 months they are in foster care
However, as in previous years, many States continue to face challenges in a number of areas:
- Reducing maltreatment recurrence
- Finding permanent homes for children with a diagnosed disability
- Finding homes for children who enter foster care as adolescents
- Finding homes for children who are Black or Alaska Native or Native American
The full report is available on the Children's Bureau website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/cwo-2002.