Child Welfare Outcomes Report Released by HHS

View the full report on the HHS website

Overview

The Administration on Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the first national report on child welfare outcome measures. The report, a requirement under the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), will be used to hold states accountable for services to at-risk children. Only 30 states provided comprehensive data for this report, so subsequent annual reports will be necessary before one can accurately assess state and national performance year-to-year on key child welfare measures.

The report confirms that incidence of child abuse and neglect has declined in recent years, while the number of adoptions has increased. In 1998, 36,000 children were adopted, an increase of 6,000 adoptions in two years. Still, more than 100,000 children remain in foster care awaiting a permanent adoptive home.

The ACF report includes 1998 data on state performance on six measures: recurrence of child abuse and neglect; incidence of child abuse and neglect in foster care; tome to reunification; re-entries into foster care; time in foster care to adoption; and stability of foster care placements. Later this year, the Department of Health and Human Services will announce national standards for states as part of a federal review process to improve outcomes for abused and neglected children, children in foster care, and children awaiting adoption. The review process will include the six performance measures listed above, as well as on-site interviews with children, families and stakeholders in selected states. The first round of states to be reviewed in FY ’01 are: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Vermont.

"Never before has there been the range of statistics on child welfare as there is in the Child Welfare Outcomes Report," according to Olivia Golden, HHS Assistance Secretary for children and families. "As we undertake the unprecedented reviews in partnership with the states, these numbers will be critical to assess how well each state is protecting children, keeping them safe and well and finding them permanent homes quickly." 

The report is available on the ACF website at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/outcomes/childwelfare