[Background Material and Data on Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means (Green Book)]
[Program Descriptions]
[Section 11. Child Protection, Foster Care, and Adoption Assistance]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 
   SECTION 11. CHILD PROTECTION, FOSTER CARE, AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE

                                CONTENTS

Introduction
Federal Child Welfare Programs Today
  The Title IV-B Child Welfare Services Programs
  The Title IV-E Foster Care Program
  The Title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program
  The Title IV-E Adoption Incentives Payment Program
  The Title IV-E Foster Care Independence Program
State Accountability and Federal Oversight
  History of Federal Review Efforts
  Federal Conformity Review System
  Interethnic and Interjurisdictional Adoption Provisions
  State Performance Reports
Federal Waivers of Title IV-B and IV-E Provisions
Recent Trends Affecting Child Welfare Populations and Programs
  Child Abuse and Neglect
  Substance Abuse
  ``Kinship'' Care
  Welfare Reform
National Foster Care and Adoption Information
  Data Collection Systems
  Trends in Foster Care Caseloads
  National Data on Foster Care and Adoption
  Trends in Child Welfare and Foster Care Costs
Legislative History
References

                              INTRODUCTION

    Child welfare services aim to improve the conditions of 
children and their families and to improve or provide 
substitutes for functions that parents have difficulty 
performing. Child welfare services encompass a broad range of 
activities, including protection of abused or neglected 
children, support and preservation of families, care of the 
homeless and neglected, support for family development, and 
provision of out-of-home care, including adoption. Services may 
help the family cope with problems or they may protect children 
while the family learns to perform appropriate parenting roles.
    It is generally agreed that it is in the best interests of 
children to live with their families. To this end, experts 
emphasize both the value of preventive and rehabilitative 
services and the need to limit the duration of foster care 
placements. However, if children must be removed, a major 
principle of professional social work is the provision of 
permanent living arrangements, either by returning children to 
their homes in a timely fashion or by moving children into 
adoption or other permanent arrangements.
    Many private, nonprofit and government entities work to 
provide child welfare services to families in need. The primary 
responsibility for child welfare services in the government, 
however, rests with the States. Each State has its own legal 
and administrative structures and programs that address the 
needs of children. The Federal Government has also been 
involved in efforts to improve the welfare of children in 
specific areas of national concern since the early 1900s. About 
30 Federal programs were authorized to provide support for such 
services as of 2000, administered by four different Cabinet 
agencies and overseen by five House committees. The largest of 
these programs are authorized under titles IV-B and IV-E of the 
Social Security Act and are under the jurisdiction of the House 
Committee on Ways and Means. Additional programs include grants 
to States, local governments and nongovernmental agencies for 
prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, advocacy 
centers for victims of sexual abuse, services for abandoned 
infants and children with AIDS, promotion of adoption, child 
abuse-related training for judicial personnel, federally 
administered research and demonstration, Indian child welfare 
programs, family violence programs, and a number of other small 
programs. Of these non-Social Security Act programs, most had 
funding of less than $25 million in 2000. In addition, services 
related to child welfare may be provided at State discretion 
under the Social Services Block Grant (title XX of the Social 
Security Act), described in section 10. Finally, a $5,000 
Federal adoption tax credit is available to adoptive parents to 
offset some of the initial expenses associated with adoption (a 
$6,000 credit is available for parents who adopt children with 
special needs; section 13).
    This section will focus specifically on Child Welfare, 
Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Programs authorized under 
titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act.

                  FEDERAL CHILD WELFARE PROGRAMS TODAY

    The Social Security Act contains the primary sources of 
Federal funds available to States for child welfare, foster 
care, and adoption activities. These funds include both 
nonentitlement authorizations (for which the amount of funding 
available is determined through the annual appropriations 
process) and authorized entitlements (under which the Federal 
Government has a binding obligation to make payments to any 
person or unit of government that meets the eligibility 
criteria established by law). The programs include the Title 
IV-B Child Welfare Services and Promoting Safe and Stable 
Families (formerly known as Family Preservation) Programs, the 
Title IV-E Foster Care Program, the Title IV-E Adoption 
Assistance Program, the Title IV-E Foster Care Independence 
Program, and the Title XX Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) 
Program. Table 11-1 lists these programs, and describes their 
funding.
    Table 11-2 provides data on the level of Federal funds 
provided to States under titles IV-B and IV-E for fiscal years 
1989-99, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
(DHHS) projections for fiscal years 2000-2005. Under SSBG 
States have discretion over what portion of their allocation 
they spend on child welfare activities, as well as a range of 
other activities not directly focused on children.

 TABLE 11-1.--FUNDING ENVIRONMENT OF THE FEDERAL PROGRAMS WHICH SUPPORT FOSTER CARE, CHILD WELFARE, AND ADOPTION
                                                    SERVICES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Program                           Budgetary classification           Federal support of total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title IV-E Foster Care Program:
    Foster care assistance payments......  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match at
                                                                                     Medicaid rate.
    Placement services and administrative  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match of
     costs.                                                                          50 percent.\1\
    Training expenses....................  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match of
                                                                                     75 percent.
Title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program:
    Adoption assistance payments.........  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match at
                                                                                     Medicaid rate.
    Nonrecurring adoption expenses.......  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match of
                                                                                     50 percent.\2\
    Placement services and administrative  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match of
     costs.                                                                          50 percent.
    Training expenses....................  Authorized entitlement.................  Open-ended Federal match of
                                                                                     75 percent.
Title IV-E Foster Care Independence        Authorized entitlement.................  80 percent Federal funding,
 Program                                                                             with a funding ceiling.\3\
Title IV-B Child Welfare Services
 Program:
    Child welfare services (subpart 1)...  Nonentitlement authorization...........  Federal match of 75 percent,
                                                                                     total capped at State
                                                                                     allotment.
    Promoting Safe and Stable Families     Authorized entitlement.................  Federal match of 75 percent,
     \4\ (subpart 2).                                                                with a funding ceiling.\5\
Title XX Social Services Block Grant       Authorized entitlement.................  100 percent Federal funding,
 Program.                                                                            with a funding ceiling.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Seventy-five percent matching was available from fiscal year 1994 through fiscal year 1997 for certain costs
  related to data collection.
\2\ The Federal Government reimburses 50 percent of up to $2,000 of expenditures for any one placement.
\3\ During fiscal years 1991-99, States were required to provide 50 percent matching for any Federal funding
  claimed that exceeded $45 million. Beginning in fiscal year 2000, the Federal share of expenditures is 80
  percent.
\4\ The name of this program was changed from Family Preservation and Family Support in 1997, by Public Law 105-
  89.
\5\ Program authorized through fiscal year 2001.

Source: Compiled by House Committee on Ways and Means staff.

    Funds available to States from the title IV-B programs may 
be used for services to families and children without regard to 
family income. Federal matching funds for foster care 
maintenance payments under title IV-E are provided only in 
those cases in which the child would have been eligible for Aid 
to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) if still in the 
home. All children determined to have ``special needs'' related 
to their being adopted, as defined under title IV-E, are 
eligible for reimbursement of certain non-


            TABLE 11-2.--FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CHILD WELFARE, FOSTER CARE, AND ADOPTION ACTIVITIES UNDER TITLES IV-B AND IV-E OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT, UNDER CURRENT LAW, 1989-2005
                                                                                    [In millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Title IV-B-1    Title IV-B-2     Title IV-E foster care State claims                  Title IV-E adoption assistance State
                                                               Child      Promoting Safe -----------------------------------------  Title IV-E                  claims
                       Fiscal year                            Welfare       and Stable                                             Independent ----------------------------------------   Total
                                                             Services      Families \1\   Total \2\  Maintenance  Administration/     Living               Assistance  Administration/
                                                              Program        Program                   payments     training \3\     Program    Total \4\   payments       training
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989.....................................................          $247            (\5\)     $1,153         $646           $507            $45       $111         $86            $24      $1,555
1990.....................................................           253            (\5\)      1,473          835            638             50        136         105             31       1,912
1991.....................................................           274            (\5\)      1,819        1,030            789             60        175         130             45       2,328
1992.....................................................           274            (\5\)      2,233        1,204          1,029             70        220         161             58       2,796
1993.....................................................           295            (\5\)      2,534        1,312          1,222             70        272         198             74       3,171
1994.....................................................           295              $60      2,750        1,371          1,375             70        347         249             98       3,522
1995.....................................................           292              150      3,066        1,599          1,467             70        411         306            105       3,989
1996.....................................................           277              225      3,098        1,503          1,595             70        483         361            122       4,153
1997.....................................................           292              240      3,692        1,725          1,967             70        590         429            161       4,884
1998.....................................................           292              255      3,714        1,932          1,782             70        697         512            185       5,027
1999 \6\.................................................           292              275      4,011        1,963          2,048             70        843         621            222       5,491
2000 (estimate)..........................................           292              295      4,398        2,120          2,278        \7\ 105        991         730            261       6,081
2001 (estimate)..........................................           292              305      5,013        2,384          2,629            140      1,161         856            305       6,911
 2002 (estimate).........................................           292            (\8\)      5,426        2,580          2,846            140      1,358       1,000            358       7,216
 2003 (estimate).........................................           292            (\8\)      5,759        2,781          2,978            140      1,575       1,160            415       7,766
 2004 (estimate).........................................           292            (\8\)      6,214        2,998          3,216            140      1,810       1,333            477       8,456
 2005 (estimate).........................................           292            (\8\)      6,702        3,231          3,471            140      2,079       1,531            548       9,213
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In fiscal years 1998 and 1999, $16 and $18 million, respectively, lapsed.    \2\ Total includes administration, Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS), and training
  expenditures, as well as maintenance payments.    \3\ Includes regular administration, SACWIS costs, child placement costs, and training.    \4\ Total includes administration and training
  expenditures and assistance payments. Differences in total due to rounding.    \5\ The IV-B-2 program did not begin operation until 1994.    \6\ Beginning in fiscal year 1999, title IV-E
  foster care and adoption assistance State claims data include Puerto Rico.    \7\ Does not include additional $35 million requested through a supplemental budget request.    \8\ Not
  authorized.

Note.--Totals may differ from sum of amounts because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

recurring costs of adoption under the Title IV-E Adoption 
Assistance Program. However, only AFDC- or Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI)-eligible ``special-needs'' children 
qualify for federally matched adoption assistance payments 
available under title IV-E. Funds available to States for the 
Title IV-E Foster Care Independence Program may be used for 
services which facilitate the transition of children from 
foster care to independent living, regardless of whether they 
are eligible for AFDC foster care assistance.
    In addition to the programs described above, title IV-B 
authorizes funds for research and demonstration activities and 
for direct Federal grants to public and private entities for 
child welfare staff training. Under title IV-E, incentive 
payments are authorized for States that increase their number 
of adoptions of foster children, including children with 
special needs, above specified baselines.
    Table 11-3 provides data on participation under the title 
IV-B and IV-E programs. Table 11-4 shows the Congressional 
Budget Office (CBO) projections for Federal foster care and 
adoption assist-


 TABLE 11-3.--PARTICIPATION IN CHILD WELFARE, FOSTER CARE, AND ADOPTION ACTIVITIES UNDER TITLES IV-B AND IV-E OF
                              THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT, UNDER CURRENT LAW, 1988-2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Title IV-
                                                  Title IV-B-    B-2
                                                    1 Child   Promoting   Title IV-E    Title IV-E   Title IV-E
                   Fiscal year                      Welfare    Safe and   foster care  Independent    adoption
                                                   Services     Stable    assistance      Living     assistance
                                                    Program    Families  payments \1\  Program \2\  payments \1\
                                                               Program
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988............................................         NA       (\3\)      132,757       18,931        34,698
1989............................................         NA       (\3\)      156,871       44,191        40,666
1990............................................         NA       (\3\)      167,981       44,365        44,024
1991............................................         NA       (\3\)      202,687       45,284        54,818
1992............................................         NA       (\3\)      222,315       57,360        66,197
1993............................................         NA       (\3\)      231,100       57,918        78,000
1994............................................         NA          NA      245,000       71,081        91,200
1995............................................         NA          NA      260,800       73,137       106,200
1996............................................         NA          NA      273,600       85,261       124,700
1997............................................         NA          NA      289,400       84,309       146,900
1998............................................         NA          NA      306,500       87,446       168,400
1999 \4\........................................         NA          NA      302,422           NA       195,243
2000 (estimated)................................         NA          NA      319,300           NA       223,900
2001 (estimated)................................         NA          NA      341,700           NA       256,400
2002 (estimated)................................         NA       (\5\)      357,100           NA       292,200
2003 (estimated)................................         NA       (\5\)      371,400           NA       330,200
2004 (estimated)................................         NA       (\5\)      386,300           NA       369,900
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Average monthly number of recipients.
\2\ Estimated.
\3\ The IV-B-2 program did not begin operation until 1994.
\4\ Beginning in fiscal year 1999, data for average monthly number of recipients include Puerto Rico.
\5\ The IV-B-2 program is only authorized through 2001.

NA--Not available.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ance for 2000-2005. According to CBO, between 2000 and 2005, 
the federally funded foster care caseload is projected to 
increase from 314,000 to 356,000 (13 percent). Total IV-E 
foster care outlays are expected to increase 34 percent, from 
$4,139,000 in 2000 to $5,546,000 in 2005. Over the same time 
period, the adoption assistance caseload is projected to 
increase from 218,000 to 345,000 (58 percent), while total 
adoption assistance outlays are estimated to increase from $953 
million to $1,750 million (84 percent).

TABLE 11-4.--CBO BASELINE PROJECTIONS FOR THE FEDERAL FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, FISCAL YEARS
                                                    2000-2005
                                            [In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Program                               2000    2001    2002    2003    2004    2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster Care:
  Title IV-E caseload (in thousands)............................     314     325     334     342     349     356
  Average monthly maintenance payments (Federal share)..........    $545    $564    $584    $605    $626    $648
  Federal outlays (in millions of dollars):
    Maintenance payments........................................   2,034   2,174   2,318   2,459   2,599   2,744
    Administrative and child placement services.................   1,899   2,025   2,154   2,282   2,407   2,538
    Training....................................................     206     218     230     241     253     264
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
      Total outlays.............................................   4,139   4,417   4,702   4,983   5,259   5,546
                                                                 ===============================================
Adoption Assistance:
  Title IV-E caseload (in thousands)............................     218     242     267     292     318     345
  Average monthly payments (Federal share)......................     273     283     293     303     314     325
  Federal outlays (in millions of dollars):
    Assistance payments.........................................     705     807     920   1,044   1,178   1,325
    Administrative and child placement services.................     210     235     263     292     323     356
    Training....................................................      39      44      49      55      62      69
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
      Total outlays.............................................     953   1,086   1,232   1,391   1,564   1,750
                                                                 ===============================================
Independent Living:
      Total outlays.............................................      70     123     140     140     140     140
                                                                 ===============================================
        Total outlays...........................................   5,171   5,625   6,074   6,514   6,962   7,436
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Source: Congressional Budget Office, March 2000 baseline.

             The Title IV-B Child Welfare Services Programs

Grants to States for child welfare services
    The Child Welfare Services Program under subpart 1 of title 
IV-B permanently authorizes 75 percent Federal matching grants 
to States for services that protect the welfare of children. 
These services: address problems that may result in neglect, 
abuse, exploitation or delinquency of children; prevent the 
unnecessary separation of children from their families and 
restore children to their families, when possible; place 
children in adoptive families when appropriate; and assure 
adequate foster care when children cannot return home or be 
placed for adoption. There are no Federal income eligibility 
requirements for the receipt of child welfare services.
    Under legislation originally enacted in 1980 (Public Law 
96-272), States are limited in the amount of their title IV-B 
allotments that may be used for child day care, foster care 
maintenance payments, and adoption assistance payments. 
Specifically, States may use no more than their portion of the 
first $56.6 million in Federal title IV-B appropriations for 
these three activities. The intent of this restriction is to 
devote as much title IV-B funding as possible to supportive 
services that could prevent the need for out-of-home placement. 
In addition, the 1980 legislation required States to implement 
certain foster care protections for all children in foster care 
to be eligible to receive their full allotment of Federal title 
IV-B appropriations. (The foster care protections are described 
below.)
    Between 1977 and 1990, the annual authorization level for 
the Child Welfare Services Program remained flat at $266 
million. The authorization level was increased to $325 million 
under Public Law 101-239 beginning for fiscal year 1990. 
Appropriations for the program--the amount of money Congress 
actually made available for spending each year--increased from 
$163.6 million in fiscal year 1981 to $294.6 million in fiscal 
year 1994. Appropriations have since decreased, to $292 million 
in fiscal year 1995, $277.4 million in fiscal year 1996, and 
have remained at $292 million since fiscal year 1997 (see table 
11-2). Table 11-5 details the State-by-State distribution of 
child welfare service funds for selected fiscal years. Child 
welfare service funds are distributed to States on the basis of 
their under 21 population and per capita income.
    Because of minimal reporting requirements, no reliable data 
are available on the exact number of children or families 
served, their characteristics, or the services provided with 
child welfare service funds. However, a 1997 study funded by 
DHHS provides some information on the number and 
characteristics of children and families served by the child 
welfare system in 1994, and examines changes in this population 
since a similar study was conducted of children and families 
served in 1977 (U.S. Department, 1997). This study looks at 
children served by all components of the child welfare system, 
regardless of funding source.
    The study found a significant decline in the number of 
children receiving services from the child welfare system, from 
an estimated 1.8 million children in 1977 to an estimated 1 
million in 1994. Of these totals, about the same number of 
children in each of the 2 years were in foster care (543,000 in 
1977 and 502,000 in 1994).


                   TABLE 11-5.--STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR TITLE IV-B (SUBPART 1) CHILD WELFARE SERVICES, SELECTED YEARS 1989-2000
                                                                [In thousands of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    1989       1991       1994       1996       1997       1998       1999       2000
                             State                                 actual     actual     actual     actual     actual     actual     actual   allotments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................................................     $5,136     $5,634     $5,623     $5,106     $5,327     $5,244     $5,198      $5,250
Alaska.........................................................        294        561        754        725        749        776        787         817
American Samoa.................................................        163        175        193        183        188        187        186         185
Arizona........................................................      3,797      4,307      5,034      5,015      5,466      5,291      5,752       5,764
Arkansas.......................................................      3,095      3,369      3,424      3,178      3,359      3,349      3,213       3,301
California.....................................................     23,100     26,521     31,732     31,049     32,760     33,893     34,075      34,160
Colorado.......................................................      3,091      3,482      3,866      3,719      3,935      3,959      4,009       3,857
Connecticut....................................................      2,143      2,123      2,120      2,052      2,154      2,075      2,050       1,885
Delaware.......................................................        654        716        726        713        756        688        689         701
District of Columbia...........................................        432        469        447        345        346        333        327         319
Florida........................................................     10,361     11,771     13,146     12,781     13,708     13,806     13,930      14,210
Georgia........................................................      7,301      8,002      8,426      8,032      8,502      8,479      8,584       8,679
Guam...........................................................        342        375        351        329        340        338        336         335
Hawaii.........................................................      1,119      1,247      1,204      1,117      1,179      1,207      1,189       1,196
Idaho..........................................................      1,388      1,576      1,703      1,622      1,736      1,753      1,760       1,766
Illinois.......................................................     10,773     11,488     11,773     11,067     11,684     11,633     11,663      11,556
Indiana........................................................      6,064      6,677      6,952      6,367      6,697      6,613      6,575       6,604
Iowa...........................................................      3,074      3,223      3,475      3,223      3,358      3,310      3,318       3,290
Kansas.........................................................      2,461      2,779      3,068      2,873      3,011      3,001      2,996       3,055
Kentucky.......................................................      4,556      4,934      5,030      4,624      4,842      4,806      4,752       4,647
Louisiana......................................................      5,657      6,368      6,527      5,910      6,195      6,015      5,824       5,842
Maine..........................................................      1,391      1,477      1,482      1,378      1,432      1,443      1,428      1, 406
Maryland.......................................................      3,798      4,074      4,343      4,156      4,358      4,453      4,386       4,457
Massachusetts..................................................      4,418      4,498      4,708      4,579      4,792      4,624      4,681       4,627
Michigan.......................................................      9,551     10,047     10,885     10,075     10,487     10,118     10,130      10,178
Minnesota......................................................      4,206      4,537      5,092      4,785      5,022      4,913      4,915       4,704
Mississippi....................................................      3,923      4,244      4,293      3,949      4,146      4,051      4,019       4,016
Missouri.......................................................      5,235      5,654      6,146      5,727      5,998      6,055      6,078       6,066
Montana........................................................      1,049      1,125      1,207      1,158      1,203      1,201      1,183       1,176
Nebraska.......................................................      1,744      2,087      2,071      1,879      1,968      1,991      1,995       2,002
Nevada.........................................................        964      1,123      1,401      1,379      1,516      1,625      1,711       1,786
New Hampshire..................................................      1,024        498      1,087      1,096      1,152      1,137      1,135       1,134
New Jersey.....................................................      5,465      5,412      5,224      5,368      5,669      5,679      5,542       5,718
New Mexico.....................................................      2,072      2,282      2,510      2,418      2,541      2,530      2,511       2,535
New York.......................................................     14,373     15,245     15,452     14,148     14,808     14,817     14,767      14,539
North Carolina.................................................      7,189      7,916      8,112      7,728      8,229      8,179      8,291       8,440
North Dakota...................................................        849        908        945        858        891        893        874         862
Northern Marianas..............................................        118        124        142        136        139        138        138         137
Ohio...........................................................     10,429     12,195     12,878     11,853     12,386     11,996     11,901      11,397
Oklahoma.......................................................      3,735      4,114      4,406      4,133      4,310      4,325      4,295       4,316
Oregon.........................................................      2,850      3,162      3,556      3,321      3,531      3,582      3,580       3,594
Pennsylvania...................................................     11,236     12,011     12,148     11,076     11,583     11,515     11,350      11,347
Puerto Rico....................................................      3,674      7,100      8,105      7,480      7,787      7,722      7,662       7,631
Rhode Island...................................................        953      1,032      1,054        984      1,012        993        986       1,007
South Carolina.................................................      4,468      4,876      4,948      4,544      4,696      4,613      4,670       4,682
South Dakota...................................................        938      1,015      1,075        991      1,029      1,028      1,001       1,023
Tennessee......................................................      5,598      6,137      6,210      5,792      6,100      5,959      5,946       5,937
Texas..........................................................     18,958     21,476     23,795     22,401     23,783     23,889     24,264      24,511
Utah...........................................................      2,891      3,192      3,474      3,284      3,469      3,475      3,519       3,561
Vermont........................................................        583        717        715        674        703        710        701         685
Virginia.......................................................      5,463      5,905      6,373      6,114      6,408      6,444      6,459       6,458
Virgin Islands.................................................        295        310        280        263        271        269        268         267
Washington.....................................................      4,382      4,968      5,699      5,231      5,512      5,679      5,725       5,804
West Virginia..................................................      2,397      2,519      2,486      2,189      2,251      2,243      2,183       2,157
Wisconsin......................................................      5,077      5,442      6,022      5,574      5,854      5,742      5,729       5,748
Wyoming........................................................        382        689        724        638        661        671        662         659
                                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total....................................................    246,679    273,907    294,624    277,389    291,989    291,458    291,896     291,986
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Totals may differ from sum of State amounts due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

However, DHHS found a sharp drop in the number of children 
receiving services while still living at home, and a 
substantial increase in the percent of children who were 
receiving services as a result of abuse or neglect (45 percent 
in 1977 compared with 80 percent in 1994). The report suggests 
that child welfare agencies today are dealing with more 
difficult cases that require more extensive services and 
therefore have been forced to set priorities and narrow their 
focus from a broader population of children and families to 
those in more immediate crisis. The report found that, despite 
the goals of Public Law 96-272, the same number of children 
were in foster care in 1994, as compared with 1977, and foster 
care ``drift'' remained a problem. The report also found a 
major shift in the racial composition of children in the 
system, with minority children increasing from 40 percent of 
those served in 1977 to 54 percent in 1994. Moreover, the 
report found that minority children, especially African-
American children, were more likely to be placed in foster care 
than to receive in-home services, even when they presented the 
same problems and characteristics as white children. Finally, 
the report examined the longer lengths of stay in foster care 
experienced by African-American and Hispanic children in 1994 
and concluded that higher rates of kinship care did not 
necessarily explain this phenomenon, since minority children 
remained in out-of-home care longer than white children, 
regardless of the type of placement.
Grants to States for promoting safe and stable families
    Grants to States for family preservation and family support 
services were originally authorized as a capped entitlement 
under subpart 2 of title IV-B, beginning in fiscal year 1994. 
States already had the flexibility to expend their child 
welfare services funds available under subpart 1 of title IV-B 
for family support and preservation activities, but few States 
used a significant share of such funds for these two categories 
of services. Entitlement funding was authorized for 5 years at 
the following ceiling levels: $60 million in fiscal year 1994; 
$150 million in 1995; $225 million in 1996; $240 million in 
1997; and either $255 million in 1998 or the 1997 level 
adjusted for inflation, whichever is greater. The Adoption and 
Safe Families Act (Public Law 105-89), enacted in November 
1997, reauthorized and changed the name of this program to 
Promoting Safe and Stable Families. Entitlement ceilings are 
now set at the following levels: $275 million for 1999, $295 
million for 2000, and $305 million for 2001.
    From these ceiling amounts, $2 million in fiscal year 1994 
and $6 million in each subsequent fiscal year are reserved for 
use by the Secretary of DHHS to fund research, training, 
technical assistance and evaluation of family preservation and 
support activities. In addition, $5 million in fiscal year 1995 
and $10 million in each subsequent fiscal year are reserved for 
a grant program for State courts (described below). Finally, 1 
percent of the entitlement is reserved for allotment to Indian 
tribes.
    After these set-asides are made, remaining entitlement 
funds are allocated among States according to their relative 
shares of children receiving food stamps, subject to a 25-
percent non-Federal match. Table 11-6 shows State allotments of 
promoting safe and stable families entitlement funds in fiscal 
years 1997-2000.

       TABLE 11-6.--TITLE IV-B PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES \1\ PROGRAM: STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATIONS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Fiscal year
                         State                            Fiscal year    Fiscal year   Fiscal year      2000
                                                          1997 actual    1998 actual   1999 actual   allotments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................................      $4,298,428    $4,587,680    $4,998,474    $5,467,218
Alaska................................................         343,874       389,953       447,625       529,555
American Samoa........................................         159,031       164,480       171,567       179,043
Arizona...............................................       4,126,491     4,495,927     4,774,662     5,070,424
Arkansas..............................................       2,106,230     2,202,087     2,412,199     2,716,339
California............................................      29,852,578    33,398,317    37,749,671    40,544,805
Colorado..............................................       2,256,675     2,247,963     2,362,463     2,496,711
Connecticut...........................................       1,805,340     1,995,641     2,138,651     2,349,394
Delaware..............................................         451,335       481,706       522,229       586,057
District of Columbia..................................         752,225       825,782       920,117     1,031,541
Florida...............................................      11,691,723    12,203,230    13,105,452    14,020,393
Georgia...............................................       6,297,197     6,766,829     7,559,881     8,335,896
Guam..................................................         274,029       286,517       302,757       319,890
Hawaii................................................         773,717       894,598     1,019,589     1,222,967
Idaho.................................................         623,272       688,152       746,041       812,739
Illinois..............................................       8,682,824     9,404,745    10,046,684    11,393,553
Indiana...............................................       3,890,077     3,945,405     3,978,885     3,909,002
Iowa..................................................       1,504,450     1,536,873     1,641,290     1,760,182
Kansas................................................       1,396,989     1,513,935     1,666,158     1,811,435
Kentucky..............................................       3,696,648     3,738,960     4,003,753     4,411,229
Louisiana.............................................       6,447,642     6,468,629     6,888,444     7,195,319
Maine.................................................         924,162       940,474       969,853     1,066,598
Maryland..............................................       3,030,392     3,303,130     3,680,469     4,079,010
Massachusetts.........................................       3,632,171     3,784,836     3,978,885     4,149,338
Michigan..............................................       7,995,076     8,349,578     8,952,491     9,485,814
Minnesota.............................................       2,600,549     2,752,608     2,934,428     2,998,745
Mississippi...........................................       4,019,030     4,197,728     4,327,037     4,532,892
Missouri..............................................       4,470,365     4,748,249     5,172,550     5,577,218
Montana...............................................         515,811       550,522       646,569       714,863
Nebraska..............................................         924,162       963,413     1,019,589     1,078,461
Nevada................................................         752,225       848,721       920,117     1,049,293
New Hampshire.........................................         429,843       481,706       497,361       523,548
New Jersey............................................       4,212,459     4,541,804     5,147,682     5,616,230
New Mexico............................................       1,934,292     2,064,456     2,262,991     2,485,020
New York..............................................      15,237,926         (\2\)         (\2\)         (\2\)
North Carolina........................................       4,814,239     5,069,387     5,520,703     6,068,954
North Dakota..........................................         343,874       344,076       348,152       379,765
Northern Marianas.....................................         121,935       125,114       129,247       133,608
Ohio..................................................       9,499,525     9,634,129     9,972,080    10,110,000
Oklahoma..............................................       2,750,994     3,004,931     3,232,844     3,490,646
Oregon................................................       2,041,753     2,225,025     2,437,067     2,631,579
Pennsylvania..........................................       8,489,395     8,854,223     9,574,192    10,468,059
Puerto Rico...........................................       5,901,525     6,258,461     6,722,614     7,212,312
Rhode Island..........................................         752,225       825,782       895,249       989,602
South Carolina........................................       3,116,360     3,349,007     3,556,128     3,927,057
South Dakota..........................................         429,843       458,768       472,493       533,640
Tennessee.............................................       5,287,066     5,551,093     5,669,911     5,999,983
Texas.................................................      21,169,757    22,892,526    24,793,426    26,985,190
Utah..................................................       1,096,099     1,123,982     1,143,929     1,225,329
Vermont...............................................         429,843       458,768       522,229       536,382
Virginia..............................................       3,933,061     4,404,173     4,874,134     5,300,937
Virgin Islands........................................         222,094       231,404       243,510       256,282
Washington............................................       3,481,726     3,830,713     4,351,905     4,833,043
West Virginia.........................................       2,493,088     2,523,224     2,287,859     2,486,708
Wisconsin.............................................       2,836,962     2,959,054     3,158,240     3,270,921
Wyoming...............................................         279,398       298,199       323,284       349,572
                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal........................................     221,600,000   220,186,673   238,195,810   276,050,000
                                                       =========================================================
Set-asides:
    Indians (1 percent)...............................       2,400,000     2,550,000     2,750,000     2,950,000
    Research and evaluation...........................       6,000,000     6,000,000     5,953,061     6,000,000
    Courts............................................      10,000,000    10,000,000    10,000,000    10,000,000
                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal........................................      18,400,000    18,550,000    18,703,061    18,950,000
                                                       =========================================================
Lapsed funds                                                         0    16,263,327    18,057,129    19,339,709
                                                       =========================================================
        Total.........................................     240,000,000   255,000,000   274,956,000   295,000,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The name of this program was changed from Family Preservation and Family Support in 1997 by Public Law 105-
  89.
\2\ New York did not apply for its allotment for these years; as a result, their funds lapsed.

Note.--Totals may differ from sum of State amounts because of rounding

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    States must submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services (DHHS) that provides a detailed account of 
how the money will be used. Prior to the enactment of Public 
Law 105-89, at least 90 percent of the funds had to be used for 
two categories of services: family preservation services and 
community-based family support services. Public Law 105-89 
added two additional categories: time-limited family 
reunification services, and adoption promotion and support 
services. No more than 10 percent of funds can be used for 
administration.
    The Federal statute does not specify a percentage or 
minimum amount of funds that must be spent on any particular 
category of service, but says that States must devote 
``significant portions'' of their expenditures to each of the 
four categories. DHHS issued program instructions on March 5, 
1998, and March 25, 1999, specifying that States must have a 
``strong rationale'' for spending less than 20 percent of their 
allotments on each of the four categories of services.
    Family preservation services are intended for children and 
families, including extended and adoptive families, that are at 
risk or in crisis. Services include: programs to help reunite 
children with their biological families, if appropriate, or to 
place them for adoption or another permanent arrangement; 
programs to prevent placement of children in foster care, 
including intensive family preservation services; programs to 
provide followup services to families after a child has been 
returned from foster care; respite care to provide temporary 
relief for parents and other care givers (including foster 
parents); and services to improve parenting skills.
    Family support services are intended to reach families 
which are not yet in crisis and to prevent child abuse or 
neglect from occurring. Family support services are generally 
community-based activities designed to promote the well-being 
of children and families, to increase the strength and 
stability of families (including adoptive, foster and extended 
families), to increase parents' confidence and competence, to 
provide children with a stable and supportive family 
environment, and to enhance child development. Examples include 
parenting skills training, respite care to relieve parents and 
other care givers, structured activities involving parents and 
children to strengthen their relationships, drop-in centers for 
families, information and referral services, and early 
developmental screening for children.
    As added by Public Law 105-89, time-limited reunification 
services are services and activities intended to facilitate the 
safe and appropriate reunification of children who have been 
removed from home and placed in foster care with their parents 
in a timely fashion; i.e., within 15 months of having entered 
foster care. Reunification services for children and their 
families include counseling, substance abuse treatment 
services, mental health services, assistance to address 
domestic violence, temporary child care and therapeutic 
services such as crisis nurseries, and transportation to and 
from these activities. Adoption promotion and support services, 
also added to the law by Public Law 105-89, are services and 
activities designed to encourage more adoptions out of the 
foster care system, including pre- and postadoptive services 
and activities designed to expedite adoptions and support 
adoptive families.
    In regulations proposed on October 4, 1994, and made final 
on November 18, 1996, DHHS set forth a series of child and 
family services ``principles'' that were intended to guide 
State implementation of the program. According to DHHS, these 
principles emphasize the paramount importance of safety for all 
family members, including victims of child abuse and neglect 
and victims of domestic violence and their dependents. In the 
preamble to its regulations, DHHS stated that family 
preservation ``does NOT mean that the family must stay together 
or `be preserved' under all circumstances.'' The principles 
also were intended to support a family-focused approach while 
allowing for individual needs, and a service delivery approach 
that stresses flexibility, accessibility, coordination, and 
respect for cultural and community strengths.
    The Secretary of DHHS is required to evaluate activities 
under subpart 2 of title IV-B. In September 1994, the Secretary 
funded three evaluation projects: a study of the implementation 
of family preservation and family support; a national 
evaluation of family preservation and reunification programs; 
and a national evaluation of family support programs. These 
projects are still underway and no final reports on the 
national evaluations have yet been published. However, as part 
of this evaluation, contractors (Westat, James Bell Associates, 
Chapin Hall Center for Children) submitted two products in May 
1995, including a literature review of existing research on 
family preservation and family reunification and a description 
of the range of program models then in existence (U.S. 
Department, 1995a, 1995b). Although numerous studies had been 
conducted of individual programs, leading to initial enthusiasm 
for the family preservation approach, the 1995 literature 
review found ``little solid evidence'' that demonstrated that 
programs designed to prevent foster care placement or to 
reunify families had achieved their intended goals. According 
to the literature review summary, nonexperimental studies had 
produced misleading results, and the few controlled studies 
that had been conducted had produced mixed findings. The 
research suggested that family preservation programs had only 
modest effects on family and child functioning, although the 
contractors suggested that it would be unrealistic to expect 
dramatic results in this area, given the scope of problems 
facing child welfare clients and the short-term nature of 
family preservation services. Regarding family reunification, 
the contractors noted that evaluations of such programs were 
still very preliminary but that a few studies had reported 
encouraging results.
    In 1998, the contractors submitted a final report on one 
specific family reunification project, known as HomeRebuilders 
in New York City (Westat et al., 1998). This project began in 
1993 and tested an alternative payment method for foster care 
in which six local agencies received a flat rate for serving an 
identified group of children in foster care for a 3-year 
period. These funds could be used for foster care or any 
service the agencies believed would achieve permanency. Funding 
was ``front-loaded'' in the first year to encourage early 
discharge, and agencies could retain any savings they realized 
if the children left foster care before the end of the 3 years 
(see below). The impact of HomeRebuilders varied across the six 
participating agencies. Earlier discharge from foster care and 
fewer days in care was achieved in one of the three agencies 
using random assignment, with a 13 percent difference between 
the experimental and control groups. This outcome did not occur 
at the other two random assignment sites, however, although one 
of the nonrandom assignment agencies did show fewer days in 
foster care. The contractors concluded that changes in fiscal 
incentives alone are not likely to result in major child 
welfare reform, but that other factors are needed for reform to 
occur, such as clear decisionmaking protocols, triage 
strategies, and data systems that can be used for case and 
program management.
    Most recently, James Bell Associates released an interim 
report (1999a) on the family preservation and family support 
services implementation study, reporting on State and local 
planning efforts, the relationship of planning to service 
delivery, and the design of programs. The contractor found that 
services did not fall neatly into the categories of family 
preservation and family support as defined in the legislation, 
although the majority of services were in general more 
characteristic of family support programs. This is also 
consistent with the findings of the U.S. General Accounting 
Office (GAO), which reported in 1997 that States were using 
more than half their funds for family support services, which 
are designed for a broader population than family preservation 
activities.
Court Improvement Program
    A portion of the promoting safe and stable families 
entitlement funds is reserved for a grant program to the 
highest State courts to assess and improve certain child 
welfare proceedings. The court set-aside equals $5 million in 
fiscal year 1995 and $10 million in each of fiscal years 1996-
2001. A 25-percent non-Federal match is required in each of the 
last 6 fiscal years.
    Courts use their grant funds to assess their procedures and 
effectiveness in determinations regarding foster care 
placement, termination of parental rights (TPR), and 
recognition of adoptions. Courts also can use these grant funds 
to implement changes found necessary as a result of the 
assessments. According to DHHS, 49 States and the District of 
Columbia were participating in this program, as of fiscal year 
1999. South Carolina was no longer participating in the 
program.
    According to a review conducted for DHHS on court 
improvement activities during 1995-98, States conducted 
thorough assessments of their judicial systems and came up with 
various recommendations (James Bell Associates, 1999b). 
Categories where improvement was most commonly recommended 
were: representation of parties, timeliness of decisions, 
management information systems, quality of court hearings, 
judicial expertise, multidisciplinary training for court 
participants, coordination between the courts and child welfare 
agency or service providers, treatment and participation of 
parties, and resources for courts and social services. The 
activities most commonly implemented included: development of 
training and educational materials; pilot programs; revision of 
legislation, court rules and judicial directives; development 
of automated case tracking systems, public relations campaigns 
and local work groups; supplemental assessments or studies; 
increased number of attorneys, judges and other court 
personnel; hiring of court improvement coordinating staff; and 
improved treatment of parties. The report found that court 
improvement changes were still at an early stage, partially 
because initial assessments took longer to complete than 
expected and also because reforms requiring new legislation or 
staff require time to implement. However, the report concluded 
that the Court Improvement Program had raised the visibility of 
courts within the child welfare system and provided States with 
flexibility and resources to address court-related challenges.
Child welfare research, training, studies
    In addition to providing funds to the States for services, 
title IV-B authorizes the Secretary of DHHS to make direct 
grants for research and demonstration, training, and studies. 
Specifically, section 426 authorizes direct grants from DHHS to 
public and private organizations and institutions of higher 
education for research and demonstration projects related to 
child welfare, and for training projects for personnel in the 
child welfare field. For fiscal year 2000, $7 million was 
appropriated for child welfare training, but no funding was 
provided for research and demonstration under section 426.
    Section 429A was added to title IV-B by the welfare reform 
legislation enacted in 1996 (Public Law 104-193). This 
provision authorized and appropriated funds for DHHS to conduct 
a national longitudinal study of children at risk for abuse or 
neglect, and of children who have been identified as victims of 
abuse or neglect. For this study, the welfare reform law 
appropriated $6 million for each of fiscal years 1996-2002; 
however, Congress subsequently rescinded the appropriations for 
fiscal years 1996-2000, with the understanding that adequate 
funding was available for the study in the broader 
appropriation for social services and income maintenance 
research.
    In response to the section 429A provision, DHHS has 
undertaken the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-
Being through a contract with Research Triangle Institute and 
subcontracts with the University of California at Berkeley, the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Caliber 
Associates. DHHS anticipates that this study will provide 
nationally representative data on children and families that 
come into contact with the child welfare system, which will 
enable analysis of child and family well-being outcomes in 
relation to the experience of children and families with the 
child welfare system, as well as characteristics of the 
families, the community environment, and other factors. The 
study is being conducted over a 6-year period (1997-2003) and 
will include a sample of more than 6,000 children, ages 0-14, 
from 100 child welfare agencies nationwide.

                   The Title IV-E Foster Care Program

Eligibility criteria
    The Foster Care Program under title IV-E is a permanently 
authorized entitlement that provides open-ended matching 
payments to States for the costs of maintaining certain 
children in foster care, and associated administrative, child 
placement, and training costs. Several eligibility criteria 
apply to the foster children on whose behalf Federal 
reimbursement is available to States. First, children must have 
been removed from families that would have been eligible for 
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), as the program 
existed in their State on July 16, 1996. Although welfare 
reform legislation enacted in 1996 (Public Law 106-193) 
repealed the AFDC Program, its eligibility criteria continue to 
be used for determining children's eligibility under title IV-
E. Under Public Law 106-193 as originally enacted, foster 
children would be eligible under title IV-E if their families 
met the AFDC criteria of June 1, 1995; however, technical 
corrections enacted in 1997 changed this date to July 16, 1996 
(Public Law 105-33). The welfare reform legislation replaced 
AFDC with a block grant to States called Temporary Assistance 
for Needy Families (TANF), and requires all States 
participating in TANF to certify that they will operate a 
Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Program under title IV-E. 
States are required to provide foster care maintenance payments 
to AFDC-eligible children removed from the home of a relative 
if the child received or would have received AFDC prior to 
removal from the home and if the following also apply: (1) the 
removal and foster care placement were based on a voluntary 
placement agreement signed by the child's parents or guardians 
or a judicial determination that remaining in the home would be 
contrary to the child's welfare; (2) reasonable efforts were 
made to eliminate the need for removal or to return the child 
home (unless certain exceptions apply, which are described 
later in the section); and (3) care and placement of the child 
are the responsibility of the State. Children whose expenses 
are eligible for reimbursement under title IV-E also are deemed 
eligible for Medicaid. Finally, States may claim reimbursement 
on behalf of eligible children who have been placed in licensed 
or approved foster family homes or child care institutions, 
which can be public or private, including both for-profit and 
nonprofit. Public child care institutions can accommodate no 
more than 25 children, although no limitation applies to the 
size of private institutions. Detention facilities for children 
determined to be delinquent are not eligible for Federal 
reimbursement under title IV-E.
Financing structure
    The Federal matching rate for foster care maintenance 
payments for a given State is that State's Medicaid matching 
rate, which is inversely related to State per capita income and 
can range from 50 to 83 percent. States may claim open-ended 
Federal matching at a rate of 50 percent for their child 
placement services and administrative costs, including costs of 
data collection. States may claim open-ended Federal matching 
at a rate of 75 percent for costs of training personnel 
employed (or preparing for employment) by State or local 
agencies administering the program and for training current and 
prospective foster and adoptive parents. During fiscal years 
1994-97, States also were able to receive Federal matching at 
the 75 percent rate for certain costs related to the 
development of Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information 
Systems (SACWIS); currently, these costs are matched at the 50 
percent rate.
Foster care expenditures and participation rates
    The average estimated monthly number of children in title 
IV-E foster care more than tripled between 1983 and 1999, from 
97,370 in fiscal year 1983 to 302,422 in fiscal year 1999 
(table 11-3). During those same years, Federal spending on 
title IV-E foster care increased more than tenfold, from $395 
million in fiscal year 1983 to $4 billion in fiscal year 1999. 
Table 11-7 provides a State breakdown of foster care 
expenditures in fiscal year 1999, showing maintenance payments, 
child placement services and administration, information 
systems, and training expenditures. Note that California, New 
York, Pennsylvania and Illinois accounted for 49 percent of 
total Federal foster care expenditures in fiscal year 1999.

                TABLE 11-7.--FEDERAL FOSTER CARE EXPENDITURES UNDER TITLE IV-E, FISCAL YEAR 1999
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Child
                                                     Maintenance     placement
                       State                           payments    services and    SACWIS   Training     Total
                                                                  administration
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama............................................       $2,533        $5,801      $3,769    $1,137     $13,240
Alaska.............................................        2,338         6,209         361       511       9,418
Arizona............................................       25,625        26,738        -660     2,612      54,316
Arkansas...........................................        8,172        16,610         787     6,488      32,057
California.........................................      437,765       427,894      12,192    33,950     911,802
Colorado...........................................        7,993        25,584       6,902     2,070      42,548
Connecticut........................................       33,044        54,934           0     3,799      91,777
Delaware...........................................        1,650         5,723         347       586       8,306
District of Columbia...............................       22,377        17,011       3,557         0      42,946
Florida............................................       39,090        67,183       3,886    10,609     120,768
Georgia............................................       19,975        18,003       1,258     3,657      42,893
Hawaii.............................................        4,916         8,640           0     2,258      15,813
Idaho..............................................        1,293         6,338         334       -43       7,922
Illinois...........................................      100,774       152,903      10,580     9,011     273,267
Indiana............................................       30,425        16,592       5,613       688      53,319
Iowa...............................................       19,553         8,809           0     1,260      29,623
Kansas.............................................       20,203        10,269           0       419      30,892
Kentucky...........................................       22,464        12,647       1,928     9,070      46,108
Louisiana..........................................       29,734        17,344           0     3,058      50,136
Maine..............................................       27,835         1,842       1,249     1,257      32,183
Maryland...........................................       42,415        47,779         606     5,928      96,728
Massachusetts \1\..................................       28,415        45,735       1,039        41      75,229
Michigan...........................................       67,906        65,983           0     2,067     135,956
Minnesota..........................................       30,445        30,393       3,828     7,929      72,595
Mississippi........................................        2,769         8,058      -2,123       787       9,491
Missouri...........................................       33,757        30,138         749     8,975      73,619
Montana............................................        4,031         2,764         826       173       7,794
Nebraska...........................................       13,219         6,839           0     5,829      25,887
Nevada.............................................        4,407         4,460       5,380       509      14,756
New Hampshire......................................        5,756         3,693       1,855       543      11,847
New Jersey.........................................       32,529        12,100          13       998      45,641
New Mexico.........................................        4,145         6,063          15     4,144      14,367
New York...........................................      302,376       160,352      11,278     8,031     482,037
North Carolina.....................................       33,494        25,340         832     4,871      64,537
North Dakota.......................................        4,144         5,862         330       873      11,209
Ohio...............................................      116,128        80,983         838     9,940     207,889
Oklahoma...........................................       14,714        12,450           0     5,254      32,418
Oregon.............................................       12,628        16,981          79     1,812      31,499
Pennsylvania.......................................      169,269       125,280       5,908    15,946     316,403
Puerto Rico........................................        7,281             0           0         0       7,281
Rhode Island.......................................        4,541         7,385          -9       671      12,588
South Carolina.....................................        8,066         4,774       2,125     2,269      17,234
South Dakota.......................................        2,264         1,828         446        61       4,598
Tennessee..........................................       13,902         7,953         447     2,887      25,189
Texas..............................................       63,755        17,549           0     5,660      86,964
Utah...............................................        3,519        13,726       2,093     1,612      20,950
Vermont............................................        8,705         2,644           0       650      11,999
Virginia...........................................       16,756        23,867           0     3,699      44,322
Washington.........................................       11,271        15,694         976    1, 358      29,299
West Virginia......................................       11,474         2,526       2,971       758      17,729
Wisconsin..........................................       29,565        55,130       3,722     3,238      91,654
Wyoming............................................        1,206           551         435         0       2,192
                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------
      Total........................................    1,962,611     1,751,955      96,759   199,910   4,011,236
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fiscal year 1999 data include estimates for the third and fourth quarters.

Note.--Totals may differ from sum of State amounts due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Federal expenditures for child placement services, 
administrative costs, and training have grown more rapidly than 
expenditures for foster care maintenance payments. For example, 
expenditures for child placement services, administration, and 
training in fiscal year 1983 equaled $118 million, or 30 
percent of total Federal foster care expenditures. In fiscal 
year 1999, Federal expenditures for child placement services, 
administration, and training totaled almost $2 billion, or 49 
percent of total Federal expenditures for foster care. DHHS 
regulations give the following examples of allowable child 
placement services and administrative costs for foster care 
under title IV-E: referral to services, preparation for and 
participation in judicial determinations, placement of the 
child, development of the case plan, case reviews, case 
management and supervision, recruitment and licensing of foster 
homes and institutions, rate setting, and a proportionate share 
of agency overhead. In addition, Federal matching is available 
for certain expenses related to data collection and automation 
of child welfare information systems (see below). Expenditures 
for child placement services and administration also include 
expenditures made on behalf of children before and during the 
time a title IV-E eligibility determination is made; as a 
result, Federal reimbursement is provided for expenditures made 
for some children who, ultimately, are determined not eligible 
for title IV-E maintenance payments.
    In 1987, the DHHS Inspector General reported that 
administrative costs associated with the Foster Care Program 
were much higher than those associated with similar programs, 
such as the former AFDC Program, Medicaid, and the Food Stamp 
Program (Office, 1987). However, the additional spending was 
attributed to the fact that regulations implementing Public Law 
96-272 expressly defined many activities as allowable 
administrative costs that had not been reimbursed by the 
Federal Government prior to 1980, when foster care was part of 
AFDC. The Inspector General subsequently reported in 1990 that 
the term ``administrative costs'' is a misnomer (Office, 1990). 
Most of the activities being funded are not traditional 
administrative costs, but are child placement services required 
by the law. The Inspector General determined that the 
significant increases in Federal reimbursement for so-called 
``administrative'' costs occurred for two primary reasons: the 
expanded definition of administrative costs provided in Public 
Law 96-272, and a broad interpretation of that definition by 
the DHHS Departmental Appeals Board. Other factors, according 
to the Inspector General's 1990 report, included States' use of 
consultants, an increase in the number of title IV-E children, 
increases in the number of caseworkers, and cost-of-living 
increases for State employees.
    In response to concerns about the rapid growth in 
administrative costs, the 101st Congress enacted legislation as 
part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Public 
Law 101-508) that was intended to provide better information on 
State reimbursement for administrative costs. Under Public Law 
101-508, ``child placement services'' was added as a separate 
category for which States may claim reimbursement, in addition 
to administrative costs. Prior to this provision, child 
placement services were included among administrative costs and 
not identified separately. DHHS reports that of claims filed 
for child placement and administrative costs in fiscal year 
1999, 49 percent were for case planning and management 
activities, 18 percent were for preplacement activities, 4 
percent were for eligibility determinations, and the remaining 
28 percent were for other activities including traditional 
administrative and overhead costs.
Foster care payment rates
    Table 11-8 shows each State's ``basic'' monthly foster care 
payment rates in 1987, 1991, 1994, and 1998 for children ages 
2, 9, and 16, as reported in surveys conducted by the American 
Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and the Child Welfare 
League of America. States are allowed to set the payments at 
any level; thus, the rates vary widely. The basic monthly 
foster care rates shown in the table are those paid for family 
foster care, and differ from rates paid for group or congregate 
care.
    The family foster care rates shown in the table are only 
generally comparable due to variations among States regarding 
the items that are covered under the basic rate, additional 
services that are provided by supplements, and the States' 
administrative structures. Table 11-8 indicates whether the 
basic rate includes each of the following three items: room and 
board (r); supervision (s); and clothing (c). States include 
other items in their basic rates, such as child care, respite 
care, transportation, personal allowance, school supplies, 
recreational and community activities, and incidentals. In 
addition, many States and counties supplement their basic 
rates, for items such as education, child care, respite care, 
level of need, clothing, transportation, health and medical 
care (other than Medicaid or State-funded medical assistance), 
and special emotional, behavioral, medical, or psychological 
needs.

                     TABLE 11-8.--FOSTER CARE BASIC MONTHLY MAINTENANCE RATES FOR CHILDREN AGES 2, 9, AND 16, SELECTED YEARS 1987-98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Age 2                           Age 9                          Age 16
                          State                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           1987   1991   1994     1998     1987   1991   1994     1998     1987   1991   1994     1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.................................................   $168   $181   $205    $230rsc   $188   $202   $229    $254rsc   $198   $213   $241    $266rsc
Alaska \1\..............................................    428    561    588     652rsc    478    499    523     580rsc    565    592    621     689rsc
Arizona.................................................    223    247    297  \2\ 403rs    223    247    286  \2\ 392rs    282    305    365  \2\ 471rs
                                                                                       c                               c                               c
Arkansas................................................    175    195    300      400rc    190    210    325      425rc    220    240    375      475rc
California..............................................    294    345    345     375rsc    340    400    400     436rsc    412    484    484     528rsc

Colorado................................................    235    296    319  \2\ 361rc    266    296    319  \2\ 361rc    318    352    379  \2\ 430rc
Connecticut \1\.........................................    268    386    567     622rsc    302    424    586     642rsc    350    478    637     708rsc
Delaware \3\............................................    264    301    342     410rsc    266    304    342     410rsc    342      1    440     511rsc
District of Columbia....................................    304    304    431     445rsc    304    304    431     445rsc    317    317    519     536rsc
Florida.................................................    233    296    296     345rsc    233    296    296     355rsc    293    372    372     425rsc

Georgia \1\.............................................    300    300    300     338rsc    300    300    300     338rsc    300    300    300     338rsc
Hawaii..................................................    194    529    529  \2\ 529rs    233    529    529  \2\ 529rs    301    529    529  \2\ 529rs
Idaho...................................................    138    198    228      228rs    165    205    250      250rs    204    278    338      358rs
Illinois................................................    233    268    322     343rsc    259    299    358     382rsc    282    325    390     415rsc
Indiana \4\.............................................    226    281    405     486rsc    245    330    462     536rsc    280    398    518     603rsc

Iowa....................................................    159    198    328     387rsc    201    243    342     409rsc    285    300    405     474rsc
Kansas..................................................    187    304    205  \2\ 305rs    245    304    277  \2\ 305rs    280    386    351  \2\ 386rs
                                                                                       c                               c                               c
Kentucky................................................    248    265    263     375rsc    263    288    285     350rsc    300    333    330     398rsc
Louisiana...............................................    199    283    298  \2\ 348rc    232    316    331  \2\ 331rc    265    349    364  \2\ 364rc
Maine...................................................    244    296    296   \2\ 325r    250    304    304   \2\ 334r    291    353    353   \2\ 389r

Maryland................................................    285    535    535     535rsc    285    535    535     535rsc    303    550    550     535rsc
Massachusetts...........................................    362    410    410      448rs    362    410    410      464rs    433    486    486      515rs
Michigan \5\............................................    315    332    383     398rsc    315    332    383     398rsc    395    416    454     493rsc
Minnesota \1\...........................................    285    341    377     458rsc    285    341    377     458rsc    375    442    487     561rsc
Mississippi.............................................    130    145    175  \2\ 225rc    150    165    205  \2\ 255rc    160    175    250  \2\ 300rc

Missouri................................................    174    209    212      316rs    212    255    259      364rs    232    281    286      392rs
Montana.................................................    283    307    330  \2\ 345rs    283    307    330  \2\ 345rs    354    384    416  \2\ 435rs
Nebraska................................................    210    222    326  \2\ 326rs    210    291    394  \2\ 393rs    210    351    461  \2\ 463rs
                                                                                       c                               c                               c
Nevada..................................................    275    281    281  \2\ 304rs    275    281    281  \2\ 304rs    330    337    337  \2\ 365rs
New Hampshire...........................................    200    200    314  \2\ 314rs    251    251    342  \2\ 342rs    354    354    404  \2\ 404rs

New Jersey..............................................    203    244    272      294rs    215    259    288      312rs    253    305    340      368rs
New Mexico..............................................    236    258    308  \2\ 308rs    247    270    341  \2\ 341rs    259    281    367  \2\ 367rs
                                                                                       c                               c                               c
New York................................................    312    353    367  \2\ 367rs    375    424    441  \2\ 441rs    434    490    510  \2\ 510rs
New York City...........................................    342    386    401  \2\ 401rs    403    455    473  \2\ 473rs    465    526    547  \2\ 547rs
North Carolina..........................................    215    265    315      315rs    215    265    365      365rs    215    265    415      415rs

North Dakota............................................    240    260    265     317rsc    287    312    318     359rsc    345    416    424     469rsc
Ohio \6\................................................    240    289    413     603rsc    270    328    413     603rsc    300    366    413     603rsc
Oklahoma................................................    300    300    300     300rsc    360    360    360     360rsc    420    420    420     420rsc
Oregon..................................................    200    285    315     356rsc    234    295    327     370rsc    316    363    404     457rsc
Pennsylvania............................................    558    303    315  \2\ 312rc    558    319    368  \2\ 375rc    558    377    473  \2\ 482rc

Rhode Island \7\........................................    223    274    279      308rs    223    274    279      285rs    275    335    341      348rs
South Carolina..........................................    138    182    212     212rsc    158    209    239     239rsc    208    275    305     305rsc
South Dakota............................................    188    237    259     353rsc    230    291    317     353rsc    276    349    382     424rsc
Tennessee...............................................    139    255    336      336rs    190    226    262      262rs    224    267    385      385rs
Texas...................................................    243    420    476  \2\ 482rs    243    420    476  \2\ 482rs    274    420    476  \2\ 482rs
                                                                                       c                               c                               c

Utah \1\................................................    198    300    300     326rsc    198    300    300     326rsc    225    300    300     326rsc
Vermont.................................................    210    371    416     360rsc    249    371    416     360rsc    268    447    504     440rsc
Virginia................................................    193    246    256      270rs    244    288    300      316rs    309    365    379      400rs
Washington..............................................    184    270    292     338rsc    227    332    359     410rsc    268    392    425     481rsc
West Virginia...........................................    161    161    161     400rsc    202    202    202     400rsc    242    242    242     400rsc

Wisconsin...............................................    163    231    276     289rsc    224    257    301     315rsc    284    324    361     374rsc
Wyoming.................................................    300    400    400     400rsc    300    400    400     400rsc    330    400    400     400rsc
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Average monthly rates...............................    239    294    329         NA    263    314    350         NA    307    365    407         NA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These States provided daily regular foster care maintenance rates which were converted to monthly rates using the formula: (daily rate) 
  365  12. Alaska's base rate changes for regular family foster care became effective July 1, 1998.
\2\ 1998 data were not available. Data shown are for 1996, as reported to the American Public Human Services Association (formerly American Public
  Welfare Association).
\3\ The foster care maintenance rates provided in the table are midpoints. Delaware has a range of payments for each age. Delaware has a standard foster
  care payment and three levels of care with supplemental payments.
\4\ Basic monthly payment rates are State averages of rates set at the county level. They are estimated from daily maintenance payments of $16.20,
  $17.88, $20.10 and $27.35 respectively.
\5\ Michigan has two age ranges for payment rates in family foster care: 0-12 and 13-18.
\6\ Ohio's foster care rates range depending on the county: the rates provided in the table are the overall average for 88 counties, converted from
  Ohio's daily rate to a monthly rate. Rates are determined by the county agency, but must be within the approved uniform statewide standards for per
  diem foster care maintenance rates.
\7\ Regular family foster care basic monthly maintenance rates apply to age ranges. The amount presented for age 2 applies to ages 0-3; the amount for
  age 9 applies to ages 4-11; the amount for age 16 applies to ages 12 and older.

NA--Not available.

Note.--Most States and/or counties supplement these basic rates with additional payments. For 1998, figures are coded for major items covered in the
  basic rate. Key: r = room and board; s = supervision; c = clothing.

Source: American Public Human Services Association (formerly American Public Welfare Association) for 1987-96. Child Welfare League of America for 1998.

    Public Law 96-272 (1980) stipulated that title IV-E foster 
care payments could be made for children in public 
institutions, whereas previously under title IV-A (AFDC), 
payments were limited to children in private nonprofit 
institutions or foster family homes. To qualify for Federal 
payments, these public institutions may not accommodate more 
than 25 children. Facilities operated primarily for the 
detention of delinquents, including forestry camps and training 
schools, are ineligible for Federal funds. Legislation enacted 
in 1996 (Public Law 104-193) also allows participation of for-
profit institutions. It is generally agreed that the costs 
associated with institutional care are substantially higher 
than the cost of family foster care. However, definitive data 
are not available.
History of Federal protections for children in foster care
    The 1980 legislation that established the current framework 
of titles IV-B and IV-E contained several provisions intended 
to protect foster children and children at risk of foster care 
placement. Under the 1980 law as originally enacted, States 
were not eligible for all of their Federal title IV-B funds 
unless the following protections had been implemented: (1) a 
one-time inventory of children who had been in foster care more 
than 6 months to determine the appropriateness of and necessity 
for their current foster care placement, whether the child 
should be returned home or freed for adoption, and the services 
needed to achieve this placement goal; (2) a statewide 
information system containing the status, demographic 
characteristics, location, and placement goals of every child 
in care for the preceding 12 months; (3) a case review system 
to assure procedural safeguards for each child in foster care, 
including a 6-month court or administrative review and an 18-
month dispositional hearing to assure placement in the least 
restrictive (most familylike) setting available, in close 
proximity to the child's original home, and consistent with the 
child's best interest; and (4) a reunification program to 
return children to their original homes.
    These provisions were originally contained in section 427 
of the Social Security Act. Effective for fiscal years 
beginning after April 1, 1996, however, these protections are 
required of States as a component of their State plans under 
section 422 of the act. This change was enacted under the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-66). 
In addition, the Adoption and Safe Families Act (Public Law 
105-89) made significant changes in the case review system, 
including a requirement that dispositional hearings (renamed 
permanency hearings) be held at 12 months after placement and a 
requirement that States initiate procedures to terminate 
parental rights after a child has been in foster care a certain 
period of time (see below).
    In addition to the protections specified above, States were 
required to implement a preplacement preventive service program 
if the title IV-B appropriation was at least $325 million for 2 
consecutive years. The amount appropriated for title IV-B was 
sufficient to trigger this provision. However, effective April 
1, 1996, States are required to implement preplacement 
preventive services as a component of their State plans. In 
addition, under Public Law 103-66, States are required to 
review their policies and procedures related to abandoned 
children and to implement any changes necessary to enable 
permanent placement decisions to be made expeditiously for such 
children.
    States must comply with certain State plan requirements 
under title IV-B that are intended to protect all children in 
foster care. The law reinforces these protections by 
specifically requiring that they be provided in the case of 
children for whom Federal reimbursement is claimed under title 
IV-E. In addition, the law requires States to establish 
specific goals for title IV-E-eligible children who will remain 
in foster care more than 24 months, and to describe the steps 
the State will take to meet these goals.
Mandatory procedural safeguards: ``reasonable efforts''
    The 1980 legislation required that in every case, 
``reasonable efforts'' must be made to prevent placement of a 
child in foster care and to reunify a foster child with her 
parents. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (Public Law 105-
89), enacted in November 1997, modified this provision. First, 
the law now specifies that a child's health and safety must be 
of ``paramount'' concern in all efforts made by the State to 
preserve or reunify the child's family. States continue to be 
required to make reasonable efforts to preserve or reunify the 
family, but the 1997 law established exceptions to this 
requirement. Specifically, States are not required to make such 
efforts if a court finds that a parent had killed another of 
their children, or committed felony assault against the child 
or a sibling, or if their parental rights to another child had 
previously been involuntarily terminated.
    In addition, the law establishes that efforts to preserve 
or reunify a family are not required if the court finds that a 
parent had subjected the child to ``aggravated circumstances.'' 
Each State may define these circumstances in State law; the act 
cites abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse as 
examples. Moreover, the law does not preclude judges from using 
their discretion to protect a child's health and safety 
regardless of whether the specific circumstances are cited in 
Federal law. If the court determines that reasonable efforts to 
preserve or reunify a child and family are not required, the 
law now requires that a permanency hearing be held within 30 
days of the child entering foster care, and that reasonable 
efforts be made to place the child for adoption or in an 
alternative permanent setting in a timely manner.
    Notwithstanding the exceptions allowed under the Adoption 
and Safe Families Act, reasonable efforts to preserve or 
reunify a family are still required in most cases. The Social 
Security Act establishes this requirement in two separate 
provisions. First, in order for a State to be eligible for 
title IV-E funding, its plan must specify that reasonable 
efforts will be made prior to a child's placement in foster 
care to prevent the need for placement or to help the child 
return home, unless the exceptions described above apply 
(section 471(a)(15)). Second, for every title IV-E-eligible 
child placed in foster care, a judicial determination must be 
made and documented that reasonable efforts were made to 
prevent placement into foster care in that particular case, 
unless an exception applies (section 472(a)(1)).
    The term ``reasonable efforts'' is not defined in law or 
regulations. Instead, U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS) regulations have required State plans to 
include a description of the services provided to prevent 
removal or to reunify families. The regulations provide an 
illustrative list of the types of preplacement preventive and 
reunification services that may be offered. This list includes: 
24-hour emergency caretaker and homemaker services; day care; 
crisis counseling; emergency shelters; access to available 
emergency financial assistance; respite care; home-based family 
services; self-help groups; services to unmarried parents; 
provision of or arrangement for mental health; drug and alcohol 
abuse counseling; vocational counseling or vocational 
rehabilitation; and postadoption services.
    Because ``reasonable efforts'' is not defined, Federal 
courts have been active in defining reasonable efforts in 
individual cases. Over the 20 years since enactment of Public 
Law 96-272, numerous lawsuits have been filed by foster 
children, parents, and advocacy groups against State and local 
child welfare systems, challenging their failure to make 
reasonable efforts to preserve or reunify families. Many of 
these cases have been broad in scope, and some Federal courts 
have become involved in the overall child welfare system, 
although this has traditionally been an area of exclusive State 
jurisdiction.
    On March 25, 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Suter 
v. Artist M., an Illinois case, that the reasonable efforts 
requirement does not confer a private right on the child 
beneficiaries of the act. The plaintiffs, abused and neglected 
children in State custody, brought suit under the act and under 
42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging that the State social services agency 
failed to: (1) make reasonable efforts to prevent the removal 
of children from home; (2) make reasonable efforts to reunify 
children who were removed from home; (3) notify appropriate 
agencies when a child was mistreated while placed in substitute 
care; and (4) develop case plans to assure proper services were 
provided to children while in placement. State officials 
questioned the appropriateness of involvement by the Federal 
judiciary in the resolution of child welfare disputes and in 
the operation of child welfare systems.
    Both the district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of 
Appeals held that the ``reasonable efforts'' requirement 
conferred enforceable rights on the child beneficiaries that 
were sufficiently specific to be enforceable in an implied 
cause of action directly under Public Law 96-272 or in an 
action brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The Supreme Court 
reversed, and construed the reasonable efforts requirement to 
impose only a generalized duty on the State, to be enforced not 
by the child beneficiaries, but by the Secretary of DHHS in 
monitoring and enforcing compliance with State plan 
requirements. The Court found that Public Law 96-272 does not 
create any rights, privileges, or immunities within the meaning 
of section 1983, and fails to provide the ``unambiguous 
notice'' that is necessary before States receiving Federal 
grants can be subjected to suit.
    As a result of the Court's decision in Suter, Congress 
enacted legislation in 1994 (Public Laws 103-382 and 103-432). 
These laws added a new section to the Social Security Act, 
which was inadvertently enacted twice, as section 1123 and 
section 1130A. The provision establishes that, in any action 
brought to enforce a provision of the Social Security Act, the 
provision is not to be deemed unenforceable because of its 
inclusion in a section of the act requiring a State plan. 
Congress explicitly stated that it does not intend to limit or 
expand any grounds for determining the availability of private 
actions to enforce State plan requirements. The provision also 
is not intended to alter the Court's decision in Suter that the 
reasonable efforts requirement is not enforceable in a private 
right of action.
Mandatory procedural safeguards: case planning and case reviews
    The law specifies case review provisions that apply to all 
foster children, as required by the title IV-B State plan, and 
specifically to title IV-E-eligible children in order for 
States to claim Federal reimbursement for expenditures made on 
their behalf. The case review process must include a written 
case plan that: describes the child's placement, including its 
safety and appropriateness; describes a plan for assuring the 
child receives safe and proper care and that services are 
provided to enable the child to return home or to another 
permanent setting; includes the child's health and education 
records; describes services to help the child prepare for 
independent living, if the child is age 16 or older; and for 
children with permanency plans of adoption or another permanent 
arrangement, documents the steps taken or planned by the agency 
to place the child in accordance with that plan. Children must 
have a case plan that is designed to achieve a safe setting, 
that is the least restrictive (most familylike) and most 
appropriate setting available, in close proximity to the 
child's parent's home, and is consistent with the child's best 
interest and special needs.
    The law also requires an administrative or judicial review 
at least every 6 months for children in foster care to 
determine the continuing need and appropriateness of the foster 
care setting, compliance with the case plan, progress made 
toward improving the conditions that caused the child to be 
placed in foster care, and projecting a date by which the child 
can be returned home or placed for adoption or legal 
guardianship.
    The mandatory case review process also includes a judicial 
permanency hearing, to be held no later than 12 months after a 
child has entered foster care (as amended by the Adoption and 
Safe Families Act in 1997), and every subsequent 12 months. 
This hearing determines the child's permanency plan; i.e., 
whether the child should be returned to the parents, placed for 
adoption (in which case, the State also will initiate 
proceedings to terminate parental rights), referred for legal 
guardianship, or placed in another planned, permanent 
arrangement (if other options, including placement with a fit 
and willing relative, are not in the child's best interest). 
Prior to enactment of Public Law 105-89 in 1997, long-term 
foster care also was a specified permanency plan. Also as 
amended in 1997, the law provides that States may make efforts 
to reunify a child and family concurrently with efforts to 
place the child for adoption or guardianship. This practice, 
referred to as ``concurrent planning,'' allows States to 
develop a backup plan, to save time in case efforts to restore 
the original family are unsuccessful.
    The permanency hearing also must ensure safeguards for 
children placed outside their home State; must determine the 
independent living services needed for foster children aged 16 
and older; and must ensure safeguards for the parental rights 
pertaining to children in foster care. A child's foster 
parents, preadoptive parents, or relative caretakers must be 
given notice and an opportunity to be heard at any review or 
hearing held with respect to the child.
Mandatory procedural safeguards: filing for termination of parental 
        rights (TPR)
    One of the most significant provisions of the 1997 Adoption 
and Safe Families Act requires States to initiate proceedings 
to terminate parental rights for certain foster children. There 
was no comparable provision in prior law. Specifically, the act 
requires States to initiate or join TPR proceedings for 
children who have been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 
22 months, or for infants determined under State law to be 
abandoned, or in any case in which the court has found that a 
parent has killed another of their children or committed felony 
assault against the child or a sibling. States can opt not to 
initiate such proceedings if the child is in a relative's care, 
or if the State agency has documented in the child's case plan 
a compelling reason to determine that TPR would not be in the 
child's best interest, or if the State had not provided 
necessary services to the family. According to final 
regulations issued by DHHS on January 25, 2000, exceptions to 
the TPR requirement must be made on a case-by-case basis; 
States may not establish blanket exceptions for categories of 
children. For purposes of the TPR provision and the 12-month 
permanency hearing, children are considered to have entered 
foster care on the first date that the court finds they have 
been subjected to abuse or neglect, or 60 days after their 
removal from home, whichever occurs first.

               The Title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program

    The Title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program is an open-ended 
entitlement program required of States that participate in 
TANF. Like the IV-E Foster Care Program, the IV-E Adoption 
Assistance Program funds three distinct types of activities: 
assistance payments for qualified children who are adopted, 
administrative payments for expenses associated with placing 
children in adoption, and training of professional staff and 
parents involved in adoptions.
    Under the Adoption Assistance Program, which is permanently 
authorized, States develop adoption assistance agreements with 
parents who adopt eligible children with special needs. Federal 
matching funds are provided to States that, under these 
agreements, provide adoption assistance payments to parents who 
adopt AFDC- or SSI-eligible children with special needs. In 
addition, the program authorizes Federal matching funds for 
States that reimburse the nonrecurring adoption expenses of 
adoptive parents of special-needs children (regardless of Aid 
to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or SSI eligibility).
Definition of special needs
    A special-needs child is defined in the statute as a child 
with respect to whom the State determines there is a specific 
condition or situation, such as age, membership in a minority 
or sibling group, or a mental, emotional, or physical 
disability, which prevents placement without special 
assistance. Before a child can be considered to be a child with 
special needs, the State must determine that the child cannot 
or should not be returned to the biological family, and that 
reasonable efforts have been made to place the child without 
providing adoption assistance. States have discretion in 
defining special-needs eligibility criteria and individually 
determining whether a child is eligible. For example, some 
States add religion or not being able to place the child 
without subsidy to the definition of special needs.
Adoption assistance agreements and payments
    An adoption assistance agreement is a written agreement 
between the adoptive parents, the State IV-E agency, and other 
relevant agencies (such as a private adoption agency) 
specifying the nature and amount of assistance to be given. 
Under the adoption assistance agreement, States may make 
federally subsidized monthly adoption assistance payments for 
AFDC- and SSI-eligible children with special needs who are 
adopted.
    The amount of adoption assistance payments is based on the 
circumstances of the adopting parents and the needs of the 
child. No means test can be used to determine eligibility of 
parents for the program; however, States do consider the 
adoptive parents' income in determining the payment. Payments 
may be adjusted periodically if circumstances change, with the 
concurrence of the adopting parents. However, the payments may 
not exceed the amount the family would have received on behalf 
of the child under foster care. Adoption assistance payments 
may continue until the child is age 18, or, at State option, 
age 21 if the child is mentally or physically disabled. 
Payments are discontinued if the State determines that the 
parents are no longer legally responsible for the support of 
the child. Federally subsidized payments may start as soon as 
an agreement is signed and the child has been placed in an 
adoptive home.
    Not all families of adopted IV-E eligible children with 
special needs actually receive adoption assistance payments. 
The adoptive parents' circumstances may be such that an 
adoption subsidy is not needed or wanted. Adopted AFDC- or SSI-
eligible children with special needs are also eligible for 
Medicaid if an adoption assistance agreement is in effect, 
regardless of whether adoption assistance payments are being 
made. Pursuant to the 1985 budget reconciliation legislation, a 
child for whom an adoption assistance agreement is in effect is 
eligible for Medicaid from the State in which the child resides 
regardless of whether the State is the one with which the 
adoptive parents have an adoption assistance agreement.
    States also have the option under the Medicaid Program to 
provide Medicaid coverage for other special-needs children 
(those not eligible for AFDC or SSI) who are adopted under a 
State-funded adoption subsidy program. According to APHSA, all 
States but four currently take this option, with regard to 
children for whom they have an adoption assistance agreement in 
effect. (The four that do not take this option are Connecticut, 
Illinois, New Mexico, and Michigan.) In addition, APHSA reports 
that 25 States provide Medicaid to children living in their 
States who have State-funded adoption assistance agreements 
from other States, and another 9 States provide Medicaid to 
children with State-funded adoption assistance agreements from 
other States, but only if those States are members of the 
Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance. As of 
April 2000, an additional three States were in the process of 
developing reciprocity policies.
    The Adoption and Safe Families Act contains additional 
requirements regarding health insurance coverage for special-
needs adopted children who are not eligible for title IV-E 
adoption assistance. Specifically, the 1997 law requires States 
to provide health insurance coverage to non-title IV-E children 
for whom they have an adoption assistance agreement in effect, 
if the children have special needs for medical, mental health 
or rehabilitative care. This health coverage can be through 
Medicaid or another program, as long as benefits are 
comparable. In addition, the law prohibits States from 
receiving adoption incentive payments (described below) in 
fiscal years 2000 or 2001, or from receiving waivers of title 
IV-B or IV-E provisions (also described below), unless they 
provide health coverage for non-title IV-E children who are 
living in their State, but who are covered by an adoption 
assistance agreement from another State.
    The structure of adoption subsidy programs varies across 
States. Some States offer basic maintenance payments and also 
allow additional payments for certain activities (such as 
family counseling) or for certain groups of children (such as 
children with severe disabilities). Other States offer one 
level of payment to everyone with no special allowances. Some 
States allow parents to request changes in payment levels on a 
regular basis if circumstances change for a child; others allow 
very little change once the adoption agreement is signed. Some 
States start payments as soon as placement is made; others not 
until the adoption is finalized.
    Not all children who receive adoption subsidies from States 
are eligible for Federal title IV-E funds. Data from APHSA for 
1997 indicate that almost three-fourths of children receiving 
adoption assistance nationwide were eligible for title IV-E. 
The non-IV-E children's adoption subsidies are paid solely by 
the State in which their adoption agreement was signed.
Nonrecurring adoption costs
    The Adoption Assistance Program also authorizes Federal 
matching funds for States to pay the one-time adoption expenses 
of parents of special-needs children (regardless of AFDC or SSI 
eligibility). In order to be eligible, the child must be a 
child with special needs, as defined in section 473(c) of the 
Social Security Act and described above.
    Through the program, parents may receive reimbursement of 
up to $2,000 per child for these nonrecurring adoption 
expenses, and States may claim 50 percent Federal matching for 
these reimbursements. Qualified adoption expenses are defined 
as reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, 
attorney fees, and other expenses that are directly related to 
the adoption of a child with special needs. States may vary in 
the maximum amount they allow parents to receive under this 
provision.
    All States and the District of Columbia have implemented 
the program; Delaware does not operate a separate program for 
reimbursing these one-time expenses. Table 11-9 shows State-by-
State data on maximum reimbursement rates, based on 1998 data 
collected by the North American Council on Adoptable Children. 
These maximum payment rates are the same for most States as the 
maximum rates reported in a 1996 survey by APHSA; however, 
APHSA also reported that average reimbursements did not equal 
the maximum for many States. In 1996, as reported by APHSA, the 
average maximum reimbursement rate for all States was $1,651, 
while the average amount actually awarded to adoptive families 
was $966, based on data for 36 States. Parents adopting 
children from public child welfare agencies may not necessarily 
claim these reimbursements because many costs incurred in 
public agency adoptions are already covered under the States' 
adoption programs.
Adoption assistance expenditures
    The number of children receiving adoption assistance 
payments and the Federal expenditures for these payments have 
increased significantly since the program began. In fiscal year 
1981, only six States participated in the program, with 
payments being made for an average of 165 children per month. 
In fiscal year 1999, 50 States plus the District of Columbia 
and Puerto Rico participated, and 195,243 children (table 11-
10) were served.

TABLE 11-9.--MAXIMUM STATE REIMBURSEMENT OF NONRECURRING ADOPTION COSTS,
                                  1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Amount                               States
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2,000.................................  Alaska,\1\ Arizona, District of
                                          Columbia (contested),
                                          Georgia,\1\ Hawaii, Idaho,\1\
                                          Kansas,\1\ Maine, Maryland,\1\
                                          Michigan, Minnesota,
                                          Missouri,\1\ Montana, New
                                          Hampshire, New Jersey, New
                                          Mexico, New York, North
                                          Carolina, North Dakota,
                                          Ohio,\1\ Oklahoma,\1\ Oregon,
                                          Pennsylvania, Utah,\1\
                                          Vermont,\1\ Virginia, West
                                          Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
 $1,500................................  Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana,
                                          Nebraska,\1\ South Carolina,
                                          South Dakota, Tennessee,
                                          Texas, Washington
$1,000.................................  Alabama,\1\ District of
                                          Columbia (uncontested),
                                          Florida, Kentucky,\1\
                                          Louisiana, Mississippi,\1\
                                          Rhode Island
$800...................................  Colorado
$750...................................  Connecticut \2\
$400...................................  California, Massachusetts
$250...................................  Nevada
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ States that indicated they will consider reimbursement of
  nonrecurring adoption costs for international adoptions.
\2\ States that indicated they will not consider reimbursement of
  international adoption nonrecurring expenses.

Note.--States without footnotes may have provisions for reimbursing
  international adoption expenses but did not specify. Iowa participates
  in the program but did not indicate the maximum amount of
  reimbursement available to families.

Source: North American Council on Adoptable Children.


  TABLE 11-10.--FEDERAL ADOPTION ASSISTANCE EXPENDITURES, FISCAL YEARS 1994-99, AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN
                                 RECEIVING ADOPTION ASSISTANCE, FISCAL YEAR 1999
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                         1999
                                                                                                        average
            State                1994        1995        1996        1997        1998        1999       monthly
                                claims      claims      claims      claims      claims      claims     number of
                                                                                                       children
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................      $1,830      $1,867      $1,786      $2,243      $2,492      $3,525         429
Alaska......................       1,070       1,286       1,562       1,914       2,232       2,840         731
Arizona.....................       3,960       5,522       6,856       8,365       9,435      11,270       2,161
Arkansas....................       1,960       1,542       2,387       3,035       4,323       5,181         688
California..................      43,590      48,234      52,962      76,819      85,093     108,802      24,786

Colorado....................       3,230       3,316       4,361       5,420       7,888      10,358       2,992
Connecticut.................       6,310       7,122       6,040       4,507      12,369      10,341       1,748
Delaware....................         430         536         556         592         635         862         267
District of Columbia........       1,970       1,847       1,987       2,676       3,273       4,434         485
Florida.....................      10,580      16,830      19,613      23,664      29,801      33,428       8,900

Georgia.....................       3,320       4,364       4,864       6,913      11,156      15,193       3,570
Hawaii......................         480         610         980       1,183       2,026       2,802         675
Idaho.......................         580         753         982       1,063       1,313       1,485         271
Illinois....................      13,060      16,801      19,362      27,246      35,494      55,526      16,242
Indiana.....................       6,710       7,338       8,692      10,630      12,421      15,106       3,574

Iowa........................       3,870       4,976       6,591      11,347      12,238      15,792       2,670
Kansas......................       2,240       2,740       3,180       7,702       4,147       5,809       2,975
Kentucky....................       3,320       3,540       3,835       3,742       4,436       5,198       1,148
Louisiana...................       9,320      11,044      12,180      13,556      17,342      18,129       1,874
Maine.......................       2,960       2,794       3,669       4,084       4,730       4,811         754

Maryland....................       2,880       3,633       4,491       5,447       6,271       8,197       2,179
Massachusetts \1\...........       8,380       9,603      11,147      12,585      12,648      17,699       4,552
Michigan....................      26,840      31,917      37,282      44,032      52,429      58,439      14,213
Minnesota...................       4,620       5,224       5,861       6,653       8,314      10,232       2,246
Mississippi.................         390         667         795         936       1,110       1,346         419

Missouri....................       5,190       6,743       6,270       7,432       8,775      10,998       3,341
Montana.....................         760         905       1,330       1,258       2,866       2,339         501
Nebraska....................       1,560       1,771       2,062       2,332       2,881       3,287         877
Nevada......................         460         668         870       1,504       1,835       1,690         419
New Hampshire \2\...........         740         841         834         803         745         872         313

New Jersey..................       6,700       8,975       8,522      13,629       9,807      15,614       3,788
New Mexico..................       1,890       2,443       2,722       3,246       4,413       6,180       1,377
New York....................      72,590      89,816     100,466     114,405     123,605     134,508      32,759
North Carolina..............       2,550       4,229       5,258       6,783       8,962      11,035       3,506
North Dakota................         500         460         544         635         827       1,139         202

Ohio........................      30,300      34,985      56,331      74,323      69,112      84,502      12,355
Oklahoma....................       2,240       2,950       4,030       6,431       6,949       8,008       1,671
Oregon......................       3,300       4,020       4,936       6,178       8,668      10,776       4,081
Pennsylvania................       4,263       5,440       6,820       8,090      10,273      12,385       2,760
Puerto Rico \3\.............          NA          NA          NA          NA          NA          54          92

Rhode Island................       4,610       4,194       3,080       3,042       3,958       4,469       1,053
South Carolina..............       2,910       3,915       4,454       5,382       6,623       9,169       1,679
South Dakota................         630         649         666         788         890       1,006         363
Tennessee...................       3,240       3,607       5,814       5,204       4,705       6,605       1,790
Texas.......................      14,520      17,160      17,308      19,815      24,454      28,003       6,969

Utah........................       1,240       1,158       1,943       2,700       3,782       3,825         951
Vermont.....................       1,860       1,947       2,080       2,664       3,325       3,970         667
Virginia....................       2,590       2,998       3,671       3,601       5,256       7,705       2,011
Washington..................       3,940       3,013       4,441       5,085       6,812       9,227       4,563
West Virginia...............         440         492         542         678       4,567       3,189         386

Wisconsin...................       7,730       9,056      10,339      13,122      14,503      17,382       3,211
Wyoming.....................          60          24          51         105         123         172          68
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.................     344,540     411,398     482,990     604,371     694,545     842,737     195,243
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fiscal year 1999 data include estimates for the third and fourth quarters.
\2\ Fiscal year 1999 data include estimates for the average monthly number of children.
\3\ Did not begin to participate until fiscal year 1999.

NA--Not applicable.

Note.--Totals may differ from sum of State amounts because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Federal expenditures for adoption assistance payments have 
increased from less than $400,000 in fiscal year 1981 to $843 
million in fiscal year 1999, and are expected to exceed $2 
billion by fiscal year 2005.
    DHHS data indicate that expenditures for child placement 
services and administration for the Adoption Assistance Program 
have also increased significantly in recent years. In fiscal 
year 1981, claims totaled $100,000; in fiscal year 1999 they 
totaled $222 million and are expected to be $548 million in 
fiscal year 2005.

           The Title IV-E Adoption Incentives Payment Program

    The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-
89) established a new provision intended to promote adoption 
through incentive payments to States that increase their number 
of foster child adoptions, with additional incentives for the 
adoption of special-needs foster children with adoption 
assistance agreements under title IV-E. Incentive payments 
equal $4,000 for each foster child whose adoption is finalized 
(over a certain baseline) and an additional $2,000 for each 
special-needs child whose adoption is finalized (over the 
baseline). For adoptions finalized in 1998, the baseline was 
the average number of adoptions in 1995-97. For adoptions 
finalized in 1999-2002, the baseline is the highest number of 
adoptions in any preceding year, beginning with 1997. Table 11-
11 shows the 1998 and 1999 baselines for foster child adoptions 
in all States. For those States that achieved a sufficient 
number of adoptions in 1998 to receive an incentive payment in 
1999, their 1998 adoptions and incentive awards are also shown. 
Adoptions shown in this table, which qualified for incentive 
payments, are those of children who were in foster care before 
their adoption, and are not necessarily the same as adoptions 
made with the involvement of public child welfare agencies. The 
number of incentive-qualifying adoptions in 1998 for States 
that did not earn incentive payments is not shown in table 11-
11; however, State information on adoptions made with public 
agency involvement is provided below.

  TABLE 11-11.--ADOPTION BASELINES, NUMBER OF INCENTIVE-QUALIFYING ADOPTIONS, AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS, BY STATE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                           Incentive
                                                                     1998        1998      payments      1999
                                                                   baseline   incentive-   for 1998    baseline
                              State                                 (3-year   qualifying   adoptions  (higher of
                                                                   average,    adoptions      (in       1997 or
                                                                   1995-97)               thousands)     1998)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................................         139          NA           0         136
Alaska..........................................................         108          NA           0         109
Arizona.........................................................         357          NA           0         474
Arkansas........................................................         138         251        $596         251
California......................................................       3,287       3,958       3,916       3,958
Colorado........................................................         417         560         892         560
Connecticut.....................................................         207         229          88         278
Delaware........................................................          39          NA           0          33
District of Columbia............................................         110          NA           0         132
Florida.........................................................         987       1,549       2,744       1,549
Georgia.........................................................         493         672         956         672
Hawaii..........................................................          85         297       1,102         297
Idaho...........................................................          44          NA           0          47
Illinois........................................................       2,200       4,656      14,606       4,656
Indiana.........................................................         495         774       1,792         774
Iowa............................................................         350         517         790         517
Kansas..........................................................         349          NA           0         421
Kentucky........................................................         211          NA           0         222
Louisiana.......................................................         220          NA           0         284
Maine...........................................................         108         112          24         112
Maryland........................................................         342         420         676         420
Massachusetts...................................................       1,116       1,137          84       1,161
Michigan........................................................       1,905       2,254       2,004       2,254
Minnesota.......................................................         258         427       1,022         427
Mississippi.....................................................         114         169         398         169
Missouri........................................................         557         616         236         616
Montana.........................................................         115         144         116         144
Nebraska........................................................         185          NA           0         180
Nevada..........................................................         149          NA           0         148
New Hampshire...................................................          45          50          20          50
New Jersey......................................................         621         755         870         755
New Mexico......................................................         147         197         200         197
New York........................................................       4,716       4,822         424       4,979
North Carolina..................................................         467          NA           0         694
North Dakota....................................................          47          83         144          83
Ohio............................................................       1,287          NA           0       1,400
Oklahoma........................................................         338         456         596         456
Oregon..........................................................         445         665       1,248         665
Pennsylvania....................................................       1,224       1,494       1,260       1,526
Rhode Island....................................................         261          NA           0         226
South Carolina..................................................         256         465       1,064         465
South Dakota....................................................          56          58           8          58
Tennessee.......................................................         328          NA           0         295
Texas...........................................................         880       1,365       2,872       1,365
Utah............................................................         225         250         100         268
Vermont.........................................................          75         116         214         116
Washington......................................................         607         759         620         759
West Virginia...................................................         182         211         128         220
Wisconsin.......................................................         467         589         640         589
Wyoming.........................................................          15          30           0          30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA--Not available.

Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from data available from the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services.

    Public Law 105-89 originally authorized appropriations of 
$20 million annually for fiscal years 1999-2003 for adoption 
incentive payments. In addition, discretionary budget caps were 
adjusted to help ensure that the funds are actually 
appropriated for each year. However, the amount of incentive 
payments that States earned for fiscal year 1999, based on the 
number of adoptions finalized in 1998, exceeded the $20 million 
level. Congress subsequently enacted the Foster Care 
Independence Act (Public Law 106-169), which authorized an 
additional $23 million for adoption incentive payments in 
fiscal year 2000. These funds were intended to supplement 
payments made in fiscal year 1999 for increased adoptions in 
the previous year. The additional $23 million was appropriated 
in Public Law 106-113, a consolidated appropriations bill that 
also called for a governmentwide reduction of 0.38 percent, 
slightly reducing the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2000 
for adoption incentive payments. The total amount awarded for 
adoptions finalized in fiscal year 1998 was $42.5 million.

            The Title IV-E Foster Care Independence Program

    In 1986, title IV-E was amended by Public Law 99-272 
(Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) to 
include section 477, which established the Independent Living 
Program to assist youth who would eventually be emancipated 
from the foster care system. Several surveys conducted during 
the mid-80s showed that a significant number of homeless 
shelter users had been recently discharged from foster care, 
prompting Congress to establish a program to help youngsters in 
foster care establish their independence.
    Initially, an annual entitlement amount of $45 million was 
established for 1987 and 1988 to provide States with the 
resources to create and implement independent living services. 
These services were designed to assist IV-E-eligible children 
age 16 and over make a successful transition from foster care 
to independent adult living when they became ineligible for 
foster care maintenance payments at age 18. In 1988, the 
program was expanded under Public Law 100-647, which permitted 
States to provide independent living services to all youth in 
foster care aged 16 to 18 (not just title IV-E-eligible youth); 
States could also provide followup services to youth up to 6 
months after their emancipation from substitute care. Under 
Public Law 101-508, States had the option of serving 
individuals up to age 21 in the Independent Living Program. 
Funds were allocated on the basis of each State's share of 
children receiving IV-E foster care in 1984.
    Public Law 101-239 increased the amount of Federal 
entitlement funds available to the States for the Independent 
Living Program to $50 million for fiscal year 1990, $60 million 
for fiscal year 1991, and $70 million for fiscal year 1992. 
Beginning in fiscal year 1991, States were required to provide 
50 percent matching for any Federal funding claimed that 
exceeded the original $45 million funding level. In 1993, 
Congress permanently extended the authority for independent 
living under Public Law 103-66.
    In response to continuing concerns about the adjustment 
problems faced by older children leaving foster care, the 106th 
Congress enacted the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 
(Public Law 106-169). The law replaced section 477 with new 
language and renamed the program the John H. Chafee Foster Care 
Independence Program, in honor of the Rhode Island Senator who 
was one of the law's sponsors and who died before it was 
enacted. As amended in 1999, the Foster Care Independence 
Program is intended to help States provide services to children 
who are likely to remain in foster care until age 18 (no 
minimum age is specified for participation in the program), as 
well as former foster children between the ages of 18 and 21. 
To participate in the program, States must submit a 5-year plan 
to DHHS and must certify that, among other things, no more than 
30 percent of program funds will be used for room and board for 
18-20 year olds and that services will be coordinated with 
related Federal and State youth programs, including 
transitional living youth projects funded under the Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, abstinence education, 
housing programs, programs for disabled youth, and school-to-
work activities. The law also allows States to extend Medicaid 
coverage to former foster children between 18 and 21 years of 
age.
    States have flexibility in the use of their Foster Care 
Independence Program funds within the general purposes outlined 
in the law. These purposes include helping eligible children 
make the transition to self-sufficiency through such services 
as assistance in obtaining a high school diploma, career 
exploration, vocational training, job placement and retention, 
training in daily living skills, training in budgeting and 
financial management skills, substance abuse prevention, and 
preventive health activities. The program seeks to help 
eligible children obtain employment and to receive 
postsecondary education and training. The program also seeks to 
provide personal and emotional support to eligible children and 
youth in their efforts to achieve self-sufficiency.
    The revised Foster Care Independence Program is a capped 
entitlement with an annual ceiling set at $140 million, which 
is double the entitlement ceiling level prior to enactment of 
Public Law 106-169. States are entitled to an amount based on 
their share of the Nation's foster care population, in the most 
recent year for which information is available. However, no 
State may receive less than the greater of $500,000 or the 
amount received by the State in fiscal year 1998. The law 
contains a ratable reduction provision to ensure total State 
allotments do not exceed the national ceiling of $140 million. 
The law also requires a 20-percent non-Federal match. For 
fiscal year 2000, Congress appropriated $105 million for the 
program, notwithstanding the new entitlement ceiling of $140 
million. Thus, table 11-12 shows State allocations for fiscal 
year 2000 under section 477 at the $105 million and $140 
million level, under the new formula established by Public Law 
106-169. (The law authorizes a set-aside for evaluation 
activities, equal to 1.5 percent of $140 million, after which 
State allocations are made.)

 TABLE 11-12.--TITLE IV-E INDEPENDENT LIVING AWARDS UNDER PUBLIC LAW 106-169, AT FISCAL YEAR 2000 APPROPRIATION
                 AMOUNT OF $105 MILLION AND FULL AUTHORIZATION AMOUNT OF $140 MILLION, BY STATE
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Fiscal year
                                                                       2000            Full
                              State                                appropriation   authorization   Funding under
                                                                  amount of $105  amount of $140     prior law
                                                                      million         million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................................          $1,038          $1,269          $1,038
Alaska..........................................................             500             500              13
Arizona.........................................................             858           1,248             348
Arkansas........................................................             500             685             271
California......................................................          18,804          27,350          12,482
Colorado........................................................           1,419           2,064             826
Connecticut.....................................................           1,134           1,650             755
Delaware........................................................             500             500             203
District of Columbia............................................           1,092           1,092           1,092
Florida.........................................................           4,163           6,055             987
Georgia.........................................................           1,610           2,342           1,099
Hawaii..........................................................             500             651              18
Idaho...........................................................             500             500             107
Illinois........................................................           8,524          12,398           2,817
Indiana.........................................................           1,405           2,044           1,020
Iowa............................................................             593             863             450
Kansas..........................................................             717           1,030             717
Kentucky........................................................             984           1,432             792
Louisiana.......................................................           1,358           1,535           1,358
Maine...........................................................             566             713             566
Maryland........................................................           2,179           3,170           1,238
Massachusetts...................................................           2,353           3,422             636
Michigan........................................................           4,406           6,408           4,172
Minnesota.......................................................           1,496           2,176           1,142
Mississippi.....................................................             523             761             514
Missouri........................................................           2,112           3,072           1,295
Montana.........................................................             500             500             244
Nebraska........................................................             765           1,113             436
Nevada..........................................................             500             500             154
New Hampshire...................................................             500             500             320
New Jersey......................................................           2,298           2,298           2,298
New Mexico......................................................             500             500             207
New York........................................................          11,586          13,392          11,586
North Carolina..................................................           1,879           2,733           1,045
North Dakota....................................................             500             500             192
Ohio............................................................           2,861           3,072           2,861
Oklahoma........................................................           1,161           1,688             620
Oregon..........................................................           1,197           1,741             931
Pennsylvania....................................................           4,638           5,578           4,638
Puerto Rico.....................................................           1,126           1,637              NA
Rhode Island....................................................             500             500             315
South Carolina..................................................             810           1,178             580
South Dakota....................................................             500             500             193
Tennessee.......................................................           1,622           2,359             778
Texas...........................................................           2,900           4,218           1,842
Utah............................................................             500             500             202
Vermont.........................................................             500             500             296
Virginia........................................................           1,362           1,393           1,362
Washington......................................................           1,664           2,421             825
West Virginia...................................................             521             714             521
Wisconsin.......................................................           1,673           2,434           1,554
Wyoming.........................................................             500             500              45
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
      Total.....................................................         102,900         137,900          70,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA--Not available.

Note.--The allotments under the fiscal year 2000 appropriation amount of $105 million were provided by the U.S.
  Department of Health and Human Services. The allotments under the full authorization amount of $140 million
  are estimates based on the above data provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Both
  allotment columns reflect the evaluation set-aside of 1.5 percent of $140 million ($2.1 million).

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service.

    As originally enacted in 1986, section 477 instructed the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to conduct 
a study of independent living services, which was done in two 
phases by Westat, Inc. (Cook, 1990, 1992). Looking at youths 
who emancipated from foster care between January 1987 and July 
1988, Westat reported that they were a troubled population. In 
the study group, two-thirds of 18-year-olds had not completed 
high school or obtained a GED and 61 percent had no job 
experience. Also, 38 percent of the youths had been diagnosed 
as emotionally disturbed, 17 percent had a drug abuse problem, 
9 percent had a health problem, and 17 percent of the females 
were pregnant. During the time they had been in foster care, 58 
percent of the study group had experienced at least three 
placement settings and about 30 percent had been in foster care 
an average of 9 years. Of the total number of youths who 
emancipated from foster care during the study period, 31 
percent received services from their State's Independent Living 
Program, 29 percent received informal services, and 40 percent 
received no independent living services at all. Westat 
conducted a followup with the study group and reported in 1992 
that, 2\1/2\-4 years after leaving foster care, many were still 
having problems. Only about half had completed high school, a 
little less than half had jobs, and only about 40 percent had 
held a job for at least 1 year. Among the females, 60 percent 
had given birth. One quarter of the youths had been homeless 
for at least one night, and fewer than 1 in 5 were completely 
self-supporting.
    Later research conducted by the University of Wisconsin had 
similar findings (Courtney & Piliavin, 1998). Looking at 
Wisconsin youths 12-18 months after they emancipated from 
foster care in 1995, researchers found 37 percent had still not 
completed high school and 12 percent had been homeless at least 
once since their discharge from foster care. While 81 percent 
had held at least one job since their discharge, only 61 
percent reported being employed at the time of their interview, 
suggesting that job retention was a problem for some. Of 
females, 40 percent were receiving public assistance, as were 
23 percent of the males. Access to medical care was a problem 
for 44 percent of the youths, usually because of a lack of 
health insurance. While almost half of the youths had received 
mental health services when still connected to the child 
welfare system, 21 percent reported receiving such services 
after they left foster care. Although they were not reunited 
with their biological families by the child welfare system, 
many of the youths had contact with their original families 
after their discharge from foster care, with about one-third 
actually living with their families. At the same time, 40 
percent reported continued and frequent contact with their 
foster parents. About 18 percent of the youths had been 
incarcerated at some point since their discharge.
    The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) reported in 1999 
that State and local administrators felt they could not provide 
youths who were leaving foster care with all the support they 
needed to make a successful transition to independent adult 
living. GAO reported that some programs lacked sufficient 
connections with employers to provide job leads, or 
opportunities for youths to practice skills in real-life 
settings, or supervised living arrangements for youths to 
become experienced at living self-sufficiently. GAO also noted 
that DHHS lacked sufficient information to evaluate the 
effectiveness of services.
    Also in 1999, DHHS released a report reviewing the history 
of the Independent Living Program over the 10 years from 1987 
through 1996 (U.S. Department, 1999b). This report found that 
many eligible youth did not receive independent living services 
at all. Specifically, in 30 States that reported data for 
fiscal year 1996, 37 percent of eligible youth received no 
services. Of those youth served in fiscal year 1996, 65 percent 
were either 16 or 17 years old, while 22 percent were 18 and 
the remainder were 19 or 20. Half the youth were white, and 
slightly more than half were females. African-American youth 
comprised 38 percent and Hispanic youth 9 percent. Half of the 
youth served had been in foster care less than 2 years, while 
20 percent had been in care 5 years or longer. Slightly more 
than a quarter of the youth had special needs, and 9 percent 
were parents or pregnant. Over the 10 year period reviewed, 
DHHS found that States shifted from providing primarily 
tangible skills, such as vocational training, job search, and 
money management, to also addressing intangible skills, such as 
decisionmaking, communication, and conflict resolution.
    To enable assessments of State independent living 
activities, Public Law 106-169 directed the Secretary of DHHS 
to develop a series of outcome measures, including the 
following: educational attainment, high school diploma, 
employment, avoidance of dependency, homelessness, nonmarital 
childbirth, incarceration, and high-risk behaviors. The 
Secretary also must identify data elements that can be used to 
track the number and characteristics of children receiving 
independent living services, the type and quantity of services 
provided, and State performance on the outcome measures. The 
Secretary must develop a plan to collect this information 
beginning with the second fiscal year that starts after the 
date of enactment, and must report to Congress on this plan and 
timetable within 1 year of the date of enactment. Once this 
data collection plan is in effect, States must submit the 
required reports or face financial penalties. In addition, the 
law requires the Secretary to conduct evaluations of innovative 
State Independent Living Programs or programs that have 
potential national significance. The law reserves 1.5 percent 
of each year's appropriation for such evaluation, technical 
assistance, performance measurement, and data collection.

               STATE ACCOUNTABILITY AND FEDERAL OVERSIGHT

    Federal child welfare law requires States to comply with a 
series of provisions that are intended to protect children who 
have been placed in foster care or who are at risk of foster 
care placement. States are required to comply with these 
provisions to be eligible to receive Federal funds, but the 
extent to which the Federal Government actually holds States 
accountable has been an issue of ongoing concern. On January 
25, 2000, DHHS published final regulations establishing a new 
system, mandated by Congress, for monitoring and enforcing the 
implementation by States of Federal child welfare laws. The new 
regulations took effect on March 27, 2000. In addition, the law 
establishes specific penalties for violations of certain 
provisions intended to eliminate ethnic or geographic barriers 
to adoption. Finally, the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 
1997 mandated that DHHS establish a series of outcome measures 
that could be used to rate the performance of State child 
welfare programs, and to report annually on State performance 
in meeting these outcome measures. DHHS published the outcome 
measures on August 20, 1999. The new Federal review system, the 
specific penalties applicable to violations of ethnic or 
geographic discrimination provisions, and outcome measures that 
will be used to assess State performance are described in 
detail below.

                   History of Federal Review Efforts

    The history of Federal child welfare review efforts goes 
back to passage of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare 
Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-272). Many of the original foster 
child protections were established by that legislation as part 
of section 427 and were voluntary incentives for States to meet 
to receive their full allotment of title IV-B funds. In 
addition, the 1980 law established eligibility requirements 
that were used to determine which children could qualify for 
federally subsidized foster care and adoption assistance 
payments. These eligibility criteria contained provisions that 
were intended to work together with the ``section 427 
requirements'' to protect children in foster care.
    In the early 1980s, DHHS developed and operated review 
systems for monitoring State compliance with section 427 
protections and with the Federal foster care requirements under 
title IV-E. However, child welfare advocates, State and Federal 
officials, and Members of Congress grew dissatisfied with the 
early review systems for various reasons, both procedural and 
programmatic, and beginning in 1989, Congress suspended the 
collection of penalties resulting from these reviews. 
Procedural concerns included a lack of formal regulations, 
frequently resulting in confusion about the standards that 
States were expected to meet. Reviews were conducted 
retrospectively, sometimes for fiscal years that had long past, 
so that current practices were not examined. Exacerbating this 
problem was the late release of final reports by DHHS, so their 
findings and recommendations were sometimes irrelevant by the 
time they were issued. State officials had limited ongoing 
contact with Federal regional office staff, so that formal 
reviews were seen as adversarial and punitive, rather than 
collaborative and potentially helpful. The reviews were often 
seen as time consuming, labor intensive, and burdensome for the 
States.
    Of greater concern, however, was the perception that the 
reviews did not result in improved services for children and 
families. Both section 427 and title IV-E eligibility reviews 
focused on paper compliance with legal requirements. Moreover, 
States were sometimes held accountable for circumstances beyond 
their control, such as the schedule or actions of the courts. 
Reviews were criticized for focusing on isolated components of 
a State's child welfare system, rather than the system as a 
whole. When problems were identified, penalties were imposed 
but little technical assistance was provided. The review system 
contained no mechanism for helping States improve the quality 
of their child welfare programs, and also were criticized for 
failing, in some cases, to identify problems in State programs.
    In 1989, Congress imposed the first in a series of 
moratoriums, prohibiting DHHS from collecting penalties 
associated with these reviews. Finally, in 1994, Congress 
enacted two significant provisions as part of the Social 
Security Act amendments of that year (Public Law 103-432). 
First, Congress restructured title IV-B so that the foster 
child protections previously contained in section 427 were no 
longer voluntary incentives, but rather mandatory components of 
the State title IV-B plan. Second, Congress mandated the 
development of a new system to review State conformity with 
Federal requirements, including State plan requirements, under 
titles IV-B and IV-E.
    The 1994 legislation directed DHHS to develop a review 
system that would incorporate the concepts of technical 
assistance and corrective action. Specifically, DHHS was 
directed to specify the Federal requirements that would be 
subject to review and the criteria that would be used to 
determine if a State was substantially meeting those 
requirements. The law further directed DHHS to specify a method 
for determining the amount of financial penalties that would be 
imposed in cases of substantial nonconformity. However, 
Congress also mandated that before such penalties could be 
imposed, States must be given an opportunity to implement a 
corrective action plan, and required that DHHS provide the 
States with necessary technical assistance.

                    Federal Conformity Review System

    The 1994 legislation also directed DHHS to promulgate 
regulations establishing the new review system by July 1, 1995, 
to take effect on April 1, 1996. After pilot testing the system 
in several States, DHHS proposed the regulations in the Federal 
Register of September 18, 1998, and issued them as final on 
January 25, 2000, with an effective date of March 27, 2000. Two 
types of reviews are established: child and family services 
reviews of activities funded by both titles IV-B and IV-E, to 
determine systemwide State compliance with Federal law; and 
title IV-E eligibility reviews to determine the eligibility of 
State expenditures for foster care or related activities for 
Federal reimbursement under title IV-E.
Child and family services reviews
    The child and family services review primarily measures 
outcomes and results, and allows States to undertake corrective 
action if they are not found in substantial conformity with the 
law. DHHS established three outcomes for children and families 
and seven specific criteria as indicators of States' conformity 
with Federal law:
 1. Child safety
    --children are first and foremost protected from abuse and 
            neglect, and
    --children are safely maintained in their homes whenever 
            possible and appropriate;
 2. Permanency for children
    --children have permanency and stability in their living 
            situations, and
    --the continuity of family relationships and connections is 
            preserved for children;
 3. Child and family well-being
    --families have enhanced capacity to provide for their 
            children's needs,
    --children receive appropriate services to meet their 
            educational needs, and
    --children receive adequate services to meet their physical 
            and mental health needs.
    In addition, the review system measures State performance 
on the following seven systemic factors, explained in detail in 
the regulations, that reflect a State's capacity to deliver 
services leading to improved outcomes for children and 
families. These factors are:
 1. Statewide information system on children in foster care;
 2. Case review system for all children in foster care;
 3. Standards to protect the health and safety of children in 
        foster care and an identifiable quality assurance 
        system;
 4. Staff development and training program;
 5. Service array for children and families;
 6. Agency responsiveness to the community; and
 7. Foster and adoptive parent licensing, recruitment, and 
        retention.
    The child and family services review is conducted by a 
joint Federal-State team, and a full review consists of two 
steps: first, a statewide assessment conducted by the State 
members of the team, and second, an onsite review conducted by 
the joint Federal-State team. The statewide assessment examines 
each of the seven systemic factors listed above; assesses State 
performance in each of the three child and family outcomes 
listed above, using statewide data, and analyzes the State's 
performance in meeting national standards established for these 
outcomes; assesses characteristics of the State agency that 
enable it to deliver services that lead to improved outcomes; 
and assesses the State's strengths and areas that require 
further examination during the onsite review.
    While the national standards mentioned above are not 
specified in the regulations themselves, DHHS explained in its 
preamble that standards for some of the criteria, related to 
two of the three child and family outcomes, were developed 
based on currently available data. National standards have been 
established as follows:
  For the child safety outcome:
    --percent of children with substantiated or indicated child 
            abuse or neglect reports, for whom a subsequent 
            abuse or neglect report is substantiated or 
            indicated--standard: 7 percent;
    --percent of foster children who are the subject of 
            substantiated or indicated abuse or neglect by a 
            foster parent or facility staff--standard not 
            specified in the January 25, 2000, publication.
  For the child permanency outcome:
    --of children who entered foster care during a review 
            period, the percent who reentered within 12 months 
            of a prior foster care episode--standard: 13 
            percent;
    --of foster children who were reunified with their parents, 
            the percent who were reunified in less than 12 
            months--standard: 80 percent;
    --of foster children who were adopted, the percent who left 
            foster care in less than 24 months--standard: 26 
            percent;
    --of children in foster care less than 12 months, the 
            percent who had no more than two placement 
            settings--standard: 77 percent; and
    --the median length of stay in foster care prior to 
            discharge, for children entering foster care for 
            the first time--standard: 12 months.
    DHHS established these national standards at the 75th 
percentile of all States' performance on the particular 
outcome, as measured through two data collection systems (see 
below): the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting 
System (AFCARS), and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data 
System (NCANDS). The standards, and the outcomes for which 
standards are established, may change over time.
    The onsite component of the child and family services 
review relies on information from the statewide assessment to 
determine areas in need of improvement and requiring indepth 
review. The onsite review may focus on specific geographic 
areas within the State, as long as the State's largest 
metropolitan area is included. While the onsite review must be 
planned and conducted by the joint Federal-State team, DHHS has 
final approval of the program components and geographic areas 
that are the focus of the review.
    Sources of information to determine whether a State is in 
substantial conformity with Federal law, include at a minimum: 
specific case records on children and families served by the 
agency; interviews with the children and families; interviews 
with caseworkers, foster parents and service providers for the 
cases selected for review; and interviews with ``key 
stakeholders,'' including individuals involved in developing 
the State's child and family services plan, courts, 
administrative review bodies, guardians ad litem, and other 
individuals or organizations with responsibility for 
representing the best interests of children.
    The onsite review examines a sample of cases (drawn 
randomly from AFCARS and NCANDS data) that may range in size 
from 30 to 50. The sample size may be increased to ensure that 
all program areas (i.e., children in foster care, children and 
families receiving in-home services) are adequately 
represented. If discrepancies appear between the statewide 
assessment and the findings of the onsite review, the State may 
submit additional data or the State and DHHS may jointly review 
additional cases, up to a specified maximum.
    A State is considered in substantial conformity with regard 
to the three child and family outcomes (and seven associated 
criteria), if its performance meets the national standards for 
those outcomes or criteria for which standards are established; 
and if each of the outcomes is ``substantially achieved'' in 95 
percent of cases examined during an onsite review (90 percent 
for an initial review). Moreover, a State's level of 
achievement with regard to the child and family outcomes is 
measured by the extent to which it has implemented a series of 
statutory and regulatory requirements or assurances.
    A State is considered in substantial conformity with regard 
to the seven systemic factors, indicating its service delivery 
capacity, if all State plan requirements associated with the 
systemic factor are in place and no more than one of the State 
plan requirements fails to function.
    If a State is found not to be in substantial conformity, 
the regulations require development and implementation of a 
corrective action plan before financial penalties may be 
assessed. The plan must be approved by DHHS. States subject to 
a mandatory program improvement plan must report quarterly to 
DHHS on their progress, and have a specified time in which to 
complete the plan, based on the seriousness and complexity of 
the remedies required to correct program deficiencies. In 
general, the maximum time allowed to complete the program 
improvement plan is 2 years, although DHHS may grant 1-year 
extensions in rare circumstances. Priority goes to correcting 
deficiencies that affect child safety, which must be addressed 
in less than 2 years.
    For States that are not in substantial conformity, DHHS 
must determine the amount of Federal funds to be withheld from 
that State as a penalty. DHHS will not actually withhold these 
funds while an approved program improvement plan is in effect, 
if the State is actively implementing the plan. DHHS can 
suspend the withholding of funds for no longer than 3 years, or 
the amount of time allowed for completing the improvement plan, 
whichever is shorter. Ultimately, funds are withheld for those 
States that fail to complete their plan by the specified date, 
or for States that fail to submit quarterly progress reports, 
or if reports indicate that the State is not making 
satisfactory progress toward achieving the steps outlined in 
the plan.
    The amount of Federal funds to be withheld from a 
particular State can vary, depending on the extent of the 
State's nonconformity. Penalties are calculated as a percentage 
of the following pool of funds: the State's allotment of title 
IV-B funds (both subparts 1 and 2) for the year(s) to which the 
withholding applies; and 10 percent of the State's Federal 
reimbursement claims for administrative costs related to foster 
care under title IV-E, for the years to which the withholding 
applies.
    In the case of a first finding of substantial 
nonconformity, the amount to be withheld equals 1 percent of 
the pooled amount described above, for each of the seven 
criteria associated with child and family outcomes and for each 
of the seven systemic factors subject to review. For example, 
if a State does not substantially achieve two of the seven 
child and family outcome indicators, then 2 percent of the 
pooled amount of funds it would otherwise receive would be 
withheld. Likewise, if a State is not in substantial conformity 
with one of the systemic factors, then 1 percent of the pooled 
amount would be withheld. The maximum penalty is 14 percent of 
the pooled amount (i.e., 1 percent for each of the 14 factors).
    If a State completes a program improvement plan but is 
found to be in substantial nonconformity during a second full 
review, the amount of pooled funds to be withheld increases to 
2 percent for each of the child and family outcomes or systemic 
factors that are not achieved, for a maximum penalty of 28 
percent. In the case of a third finding of nonconformity, after 
completion of a program improvement plan, the penalty increases 
to 3 percent for each factor, for a maximum of 42 percent. If a 
State refuses to develop a program improvement plan altogether, 
it is subject to the maximum 42 percent withholding. Once funds 
are withheld from a State, the withholding continues until a 
subsequent full review finds the State in substantial 
conformity or until the State successfully completes a program 
improvement plan developed as a result of the subsequent 
review.
    All States are required to complete an initial full review 
under the regulation within the 4-year period that began March 
27, 2000. Those States that are found to be in substantial 
conformity must complete a subsequent full review every 5 
years, and submit a completed statewide assessment 3 years 
after their last onsite review. This assessment must be 
reviewed by the State and DHHS to determine the State's 
continuing substantial conformity, but is not subject to formal 
DHHS approval. If an initial or subsequent full review finds 
that a State is not in substantial conformity, the State must 
develop and implement a program improvement plan and must begin 
a subsequent full review 2 years after the plan is approved.
    If DHHS has any information suggesting that a State is no 
longer operating in substantial conformity, it may conduct an 
inquiry and request data from the State and may, depending on 
the outcome of the inquiry, require a full or partial review at 
any time, regardless of when the State was last reviewed. 
Moreover, if DHHS learns that a State is not complying with a 
title IV-B or IV-E requirement that is outside the scope of the 
child and family services review, it may conduct an inquiry and 
institute a partial review at any time, which could result in a 
mandatory program improvement plan and potentially a financial 
penalty.
    Final determinations of substantial nonconformity, and 
withholding or reduction of funds, may be appealed to the DHHS 
Departmental Appeals Board within 60 days of the State 
receiving notice of the nonconformity. States may seek judicial 
review of an adverse decision by the Board in Federal district 
court.
Title IV-E eligibility reviews
    Like the child and family services reviews, title IV-E 
eligibility reviews are conducted by a Federal-State team and 
include an onsite review. From AFCARS data, DHHS officials 
select a random sample of 80 cases, plus a 10 percent 
``oversample'' of 8 additional cases, from the pool of children 
eligible for federally funded foster care maintenance payments. 
Cases from the oversample are used to replace any cases in the 
basic sample that are found to be invalid for some reason. The 
State submits to DHHS the complete payment history for all 
cases in the sample and the oversample, prior to the onsite 
review.
    The Federal-State team reviews the sample to determine 
whether any cases are ineligible under title IV-E. In an 
initial review, a State is considered in substantial compliance 
with the law if no more than 8 cases (from the sample of 80) 
are determined to be ineligible. In a subsequent review, a 
State is considered in substantial compliance if no more than 4 
cases (again, from a sample of 80) are found ineligible.
    If a State is found in substantial compliance, it is not 
subject to another review for 3 years. If a State is not found 
in substantial compliance, it must develop a program 
improvement plan followed by a secondary review. The program 
improvement plan must be developed by the joint Federal-State 
team, identify weaknesses to be corrected and steps to correct 
them, and specify a timetable for achieving these steps. 
However, in contrast to the child and family services review, 
the program improvement plan for a title IV-E eligibility 
review can last no longer than 1 year, unless enactment of 
State legislation is required, in which case an extension of 
one legislative session may be granted.
    In the secondary review, DHHS draws a sample of 150 cases 
(plus a 10 percent oversample) from AFCARS data, for review by 
the joint Federal-State team. The team calculates for the 
sample both an ineligibility error rate and a dollar error 
rate. If neither of these error rates, or only one, is more 
than 10 percent, a disallowance is assessed for the ineligible 
cases in the sample. If both error rates exceed 10 percent, an 
extrapolated disallowance is assessed based on the State's 
entire foster care population.
    The following title IV-E State plan requirements, which 
relate to the eligibility of children and foster care 
providers, are subject to review:
 1. For each child, there must be judicial finding that certain 
        ``reasonable efforts'' were made by the State, and that 
        remaining in the biological home would be ``contrary to 
        the welfare'' of the child;
 2. If a child was placed through a voluntary placement 
        agreement, the agreement must meet specified criteria;
 3. The State agency must have responsibility for the child's 
        placement and care;
 4. The child must be placed in a licensed foster family home 
        or child care institution; and
 5. The child must meet Aid to Families with Dependent Children 
        (AFDC) requirements, as in effect on July 16, 1996.
    Compliance with State plan requirements regarding licensing 
authorities and criminal background checks are also reviewed.

         Interethnic and Interjurisdictional Adoption Provisions

    States are subject to penalties if they violate certain 
provisions of law that were enacted to eliminate barriers to 
adoption, in addition to any violations of provisions that are 
subject to a child and family services review or title IV-E 
eligibility review. Specifically, States may not discriminate 
in adoption or foster care placements on the basis of race, 
color or national origin, and also may not deny or delay a 
child's adoptive placement when an approved family is available 
outside of the jurisdiction that has responsibility for 
handling the child's case. The law establishes specific 
penalties for violations of these provisions.
    Regarding discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, 
Congress initially enacted the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA) 
in 1994 (Public Law 103-382), which prohibited any agency or 
entity that received Federal assistance from discriminating on 
the basis of the child's or the potential adoptive or foster 
parents' race, color or national origin. However, as enacted in 
1994, MEPA did allow agencies to consider the child's cultural, 
ethnic, or racial background, and the capacity of the 
prospective parents to meet the child's needs, as one of the 
factors used to determine the child's best interest. The 1994 
legislation also provided a right of action in U.S. district 
court for individuals who were aggrieved by a MEPA violation 
and deemed noncompliance with MEPA to be a violation of title 
VI of the Civil Rights Act. In addition, the 1994 law amended 
title IV-B of the Social Security Act to add, as a State plan 
requirement, that States must provide for the diligent 
recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that 
reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children who need 
homes.
    In 1996, Congress revised the interethnic discrimination 
provisions, as part of the Small Business Job Protection Act 
(Public Law 104-188). The 1996 law repealed the prior MEPA 
provision that allowed consideration of a child's cultural, 
ethnic, or racial background in making placement decisions. 
Further, the law amended title IV-E of the Social Security Act 
to provide that neither the State nor any other entity that 
receives Federal funds may discriminate in adoption or foster 
care placements on the basis of race, color or national origin. 
The law specified a penalty for violations of this State plan 
requirement, equal to 2 percent of Federal title IV-E funds for 
a first violation, 3 percent for a second violation, and 5 
percent for three or more violations. Private agencies that 
violate the interethnic provisions are required to pay back any 
Federal funds received. Under the current law, private 
individuals may continue to seek relief in U.S. district court. 
However, Public Law 104-188 provides that no action may be 
brought more than 2 years after the alleged violation occurs. 
None of these interethnic provisions affect the application of 
the Indian Child Welfare Act.
    The final child welfare review regulations, published by 
DHHS on January 25, 2000, do not establish a specific 
monitoring system for the antidiscrimination provisions of 
MEPA, as amended by the 1996 law. However, the regulations 
establish a procedure for responding to reports of violations 
of these provisions, and for enforcing the law in cases where 
violations are found to have occurred. Specifically, whenever 
DHHS becomes aware of a possible violation, either through a 
child and family services review or filing of a complaint or 
any other mechanism, it refers the case to the Department's 
Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for investigation. If, on the 
basis of OCR's investigation, a violation actually has 
occurred, enforcement action will be taken, based on the nature 
of the violation.
    If OCR (or a court) finds that a State has discriminated 
against an individual, on the basis of race, color or national 
origin, in the course of a foster or adoptive placement, a 
penalty is assessed for the quarter in which the State is 
notified of the violation. The penalty equals 2 percent of the 
State's total title IV-E funds for the quarter, in the case of 
a first violation in a given fiscal year, and continues for 
subsequent quarters in that fiscal year, until the State 
completes a corrective action plan or comes into compliance. In 
the case of a second violation in the same fiscal year, the 
penalty equals 3 percent, and 5 percent for third or subsequent 
violations in a given fiscal year. Violations that remain 
uncorrected at the end of the fiscal year may be subject to 
another review and additional penalties.
    If a MEPA violation results from a State's statute, 
regulation, policy, procedure, or practice, and no individual 
is directly affected, the State has 30 days to develop and 
submit a corrective action plan for DHHS approval. If the State 
hasn't completed the plan and come into compliance within 6 
months of DHHS approving the plan, penalties are assessed. 
Findings of MEPA violations, and related financial penalties, 
may be appealed to the DHHS Departmental Appeals Board, and 
States may seek judicial review of an adverse decision by the 
Board in Federal district court.
    As amended in 1997 by the Adoption and Safe Families Act 
(Public Law 105-89), title IV-E provides that States may not 
deny or delay a child's placement for adoption if an approved 
family is available outside the jurisdiction responsible for 
the child's case. Further, States must provide an opportunity 
for a fair hearing to anyone whose allegation of a violation of 
this provision is denied by the State or not acted upon 
promptly. The law specifies that the same penalty structure 
applicable to violations of the interethnic provisions, 
described above, also applies to violations of this provision 
(i.e., 2 percent for a first violation, 3 percent for a second 
violation, and 5 percent for three or more violations). 
However, DHHS did not address enforcement of this 
interjurisdictional provision in the January 25, 2000, child 
welfare monitoring regulations.

                       State Performance Reports

     The Adoption and Safe Families Act (Public Law 105-89) 
required the Secretary of DHHS, in consultation with Governors, 
State legislatures, State and local public officials, and child 
welfare advocates, to develop a set of outcome measures that 
could be used to assess State performance in operating programs 
under titles IV-B and IV-E. The law required that these outcome 
measures include length of stay in foster care, number of 
foster care placements, and number of adoptions. The law also 
required that DHHS develop a system for rating State 
performance on these outcome measures, and publish an annual 
report on each State's performance, examining the reasons for 
high and low performance and making recommendations for how 
State performance could be improved. The first annual report 
was issued in early August 2000, too late to be included in 
this edition of the Green Book.
    DHHS published preliminary outcomes and measures on 
February 2, 1999, and published the final list of child welfare 
outcomes and measures on August 20, 1999. These may be amended 
or expanded over time, particularly to include outcomes 
addressing child safety and well-being. According to DHHS, the 
first annual performance report will be based on NCANDS data 
for calendar year 1997 and AFCARS data for fiscal year 1998 
(these data collection systems are described in detail below). 
The annual report will include additional information about 
each State and its child welfare program to provide context 
necessary to interpret the State's performance on the outcome 
measures.
    The final list published by DHHS includes seven child 
welfare outcomes, each with one or more measures that will be 
used to assess performance. Table 11-13 identifies the child 
welfare outcomes and measures.

  TABLE 11-13.--CHILD WELFARE PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AND RELATED MEASURES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Outcome                              Measure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Reduce recurrence of    Of all children who were victims of
 child abuse and/or      substantiated or indicated child abuse/neglect
 neglect                 during the reporting period, what percentage
                         had another substantiated or indicated report
                         within a 12-month period?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reduce the incidence     Of all children who were in foster care during
 of child abuse and/or   the reporting period, what percentage was the
 neglect in foster       subject of substantiated or indicated
 care                    maltreatment by a foster parent or facility
                         staff?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase permanency      For all children who exited the child welfare
 for children in         system, what percentage left either to
 foster care             reunification, adoption, or legal guardianship?
                         For children who exited the system and were
                         identified as having a diagnosed disability,
                         what percentage left either to reunification,
                         adoption, or legal guardianship?
                         For children who exited the system and were age
                         12 or older at the time of their most recent
                         entry into care, what percentage left either to
                         reunification, adoption, or legal guardianship?
                         For all children who exited the system, what
                         percentage by racial/ethnic category left
                         either to reunification, adoption, or legal
                         guardianship?
                         Of all children exiting the system to
                         emancipation, what percentage was age 12 or
                         younger at the time of entry into care?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reduce time in foster    Of all children who were reunified with their
 care to reunification   parents or caretakers at the time of discharge
 without increasing      from foster care, what percentage was reunified
 reentry                 in the following time periods: less than 12
                         months from the time of the latest removal from
                         home; 12-23 months; 24-35 months; 36-47 months;
                         48 or more months?
                         Of all children who entered foster care during
                         the reporting period, what percentage reentered
                         care within 12 months of a prior foster care
                         episode?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reduce time in foster   Of all children who exited care to a finalized
 care to adoption        adoption, what percentage exited care in the
                         following time periods: less than 12 months
                         from the time of latest removal from home; 12-
                         23 months; 24-35 months; 36-47 months; 48 or
                         more months?
                        Of all children who exited care to a finalized
                         adoption and who were age 3 or older at the
                         time of entry into care, what percentage exited
                         care during the following time periods: less
                         than 12 months from the time of latest removal
                         from home; 12-23 months; 24-35 months; 36-47
                         months; 48 or more months?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase placement      Of all children served who had been in care for
 stability               the time periods listed below, what percentage
                         had no more than two placement settings during
                         that time period: less than 12 months from the
                         time of latest removal from home; 12-23 months;
                         24-35 months; 36-47 months; 48 or more months?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reduce placements of    For all children who entered care during the
 young children in       reporting period and were age 12 or younger at
 group homes or          the time of their most recent placement, what
 institutions            percentage was placed in a group home?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information
  published in the Federal Register (1999).

           FEDERAL WAIVERS OF TITLE IV-B AND IV-E PROVISIONS

    To provide States flexibility to design innovative child 
welfare programs, Congress enacted a provision in 1994 (Public 
Law 103-432) authorizing the Secretary of the U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to approve up to 10 
demonstration projects requiring waivers of provisions under 
titles IV-B and IV-E. This authority was established by section 
1130 of the Social Security Act, and was subsequently amended 
by the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997, allowing DHHS to 
approve an additional 10 demonstration projects in each of 
fiscal years 1998-2002. The Secretary may waive any provision 
of either title IV-B or title IV-E if necessary to enable the 
State to carry out its demonstration project, with some 
exceptions. Demonstrations are limited to 5 years and must 
include an evaluation component and be cost-neutral to the 
Federal Government.
    As of April 2000, almost half the States had demonstration 
projects approved, with some States operating more than one 
project. For new waivers, DHHS is especially interested in 
proposals that would examine the following: performance-based 
systems, integrated systems for behavioral health (substance 
abuse and mental health), effective prevention and early 
intervention, adoption and postadoption services, service 
improvements for children in the placement and care 
responsibility of tribes, service improvements for adolescent 
youth, and reunification services for adolescent youth.
    Table 11-14 summarizes the waiver projects that currently 
have been approved by DHHS and are in various stages of 
implementation. Few of these demonstrations operate statewide 
and few have produced evaluation findings thus far. Almost all 
are designed as 5-year projects.

      TABLE 11-14.--SUMMARY OF APPROVED STATE CHILD WELFARE WAIVER
                             DEMONSTRATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
     State and date of
       implementation                    Project description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assisted guardianship/kinship permanence:

California                   Assisted guardianship for relatives caring
December 1998                 for children, age 13 or older, who have
                              been living with the relative at least 1
                              year and for whom reunification or
                              adoption are not options. Payments equal
                              the basic foster care rate and children
                              retain Medicaid eligibility. Project
                              goals: promote permanence and stability,
                              reduce court and case management costs,
                              increase client safety, increase client
                              satisfaction.
Delaware                     Assisted guardianship for caretakers
July 1996                     (related or unrelated) of children, who
                              are older than 12, in a sibling group, or
                              have special needs, and for whom
                              reunification or adoption are not options.
                              Children must have been living with the
                              foster caretaker at least 1 year and have
                              a strong attachment. Payments equal the
                              basic foster care rate, and postadoption-
                              type services are available. Project
                              goals: move children more quickly to
                              permanency, provide an additional
                              permanency option, reduce agency
                              involvement and costs.
Illinois                     Assisted guardianship for relative
May 1997                      caretakers and licensed foster parents
                              caring for children who have been in
                              foster care at least 2 years and living
                              with the prospective guardian at least 1
                              year, and for whom reunification or
                              adoption are not options. Payments equal
                              adoption assistance payments, and services
                              may be provided. Project goals: provide
                              more stable placement, reduce agency
                              intrusion in family life, reduce costs.
Maryland                     Assisted guardianship for relative
February 1998                 caretakers of children ages 0-18 (or up to
                              21 if in formal education) who have been
                              in stable relative homes at least 6
                              months, and for whom reunification or
                              adoption are not options. Payments equal
                              $300 per month and priority for support
                              services is given. Project goals: provide
                              more stable placement, reduce agency
                              intrusion in family life, reduce costs.
Montana                      Assisted guardianship for caretakers of
January-September 1999        children (including in tribal custody) who
                              are at least age 12, have lived with the
                              prospective guardian at least 1 year, and
                              for whom reunification or adoption are not
                              options. Payments may not exceed foster
                              care rate. Services similar to those for
                              adoptive families, and financial and
                              medical assistance, may be provided at the
                              family's request. Project goals: reduce
                              the number of children in long-term foster
                              care and placement disruptions, without
                              increasing subsequent reports of child
                              abuse or neglect.
New Mexico                   Assisted guardianship for caretakers of
January-July, 2000            children for whom reunification or
                              adoption are not options. (Two projects
                              are approved; one for children in State
                              custody and one for children in tribal
                              custody.) Payments are similar to and may
                              not exceed adoption assistance. Project
                              goals: achieve permanency more rapidly,
                              improve child well-being, family
                              functioning and child and caretaker
                              satisfaction, increase number of
                              placements in adoption and guardianship
                              homes, and decrease reentry into foster
                              care.
North Carolina               Assisted guardianship for related and
July 1997                     unrelated caretakers of children who have
                              lived with the prospective guardian at
                              least 6 months, and for whom adoption or
                              reunification are not options. Payments
                              and services are similar to those offered
                              adoptive families. (This is part of a
                              larger demonstration of capped allocations
                              and local flexibility, described below.)
                              Project goals (of overall demonstration):
                              reduce rate of initial entry into foster
                              care, reduce length of stay in foster
                              care, reduce rate of reentry into foster
                              care.
Oregon                       Assisted guardianship for related and
July 1997 (assisted           unrelated caretakers of children who have
 guardianship option          been in foster care at least 1 year, have
 approved in June 1999)       lived with the prospective guardian
                              continuously at least 6 months, are at
                              least 12 years old if the prospective
                              guardian is not a relative (any age for
                              relatives), and for whom termination of
                              parental rights (TPR), adoption or
                              reunification are not options. (This is
                              part of a larger demonstration of capped
                              allocations and local flexibility,
                              described below). Project goals (of
                              overall demonstration): improve outcomes
                              for children and families and increase
                              service efficiency, reduce length of stay
                              in foster care and prevent children's
                              placement in foster care, reduce foster
                              care costs by investing in services,
                              maintain child safety and protection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capped title IV-E allocations and flexibility to local agencies:

Florida                      Capped title IV-E funding allocations that
July-December 2000            can be used flexibly are provided to
                              locally controlled, nonprofit, community-
                              based systems of care. A local lead agency
                              is responsible for all children referred
                              to the community-based system from point
                              of referral to exit, and assumes financial
                              risk for service delivery. The State must
                              develop a catastrophic risk plan to ensure
                              that children are not put at risk due to
                              bankruptcy or termination of contracts
                              with private service providers. Target
                              population: children from selected
                              counties with a maltreatment finding who
                              require services beyond investigation.
                              Project goals: improve access to services,
                              reduce length of stay in foster care,
                              reduce reentry into the system, improve
                              satisfaction with services, reduce
                              variability in service delivery across
                              sites.
Indiana                      A fixed number of home-based placement
January 1998                  slots are allocated to counties, which
                              select children for these slots.
                              Individually-tailored intensive services
                              are designed by community-based teams.
                              Each slot has an allocation of $9,000 and
                              the county bears the risk of costs
                              exceeding this amount. Target population:
                              children with substantiated maltreatment
                              reports who are in or at risk of foster
                              care placement. Project goals: improve
                              child and family well-being, reduce
                              placement in out-of-State facilities,
                              improve youth and caretaker satisfaction,
                              promote permanence.
New York                     Participating local districts use a
originally September 1999     prospective payment system with
 (to be extended)             individually negotiated payment
                              arrangements with service providers.
                              Target population: children (chosen by the
                              local district) who can safely remain home
                              or return from foster care with
                              appropriate services, and children who can
                              benefit from adoption services. Project
                              goals: decrease foster care placements,
                              increase quality and flexibility of
                              services, decrease reentry, expedite
                              permanency, increase rate of transfer to
                              less restrictive setting.
North Carolina               Participating counties receive allocations
July 1997                     based on historic title IV-E funding
                              levels, which they can use flexibly to
                              achieve goals of permanency, safety, and
                              well-being. Strategies may include
                              internal restructuring and contracting
                              with community-based service providers.
                              Counties may not reduce spending below
                              1995-96 levels and may enter into risk-
                              sharing agreements with service providers.
                              If necessary, the State will share excess
                              costs with counties at the end of the
                              demonstration. Target population: children
                              at imminent risk of placement. Project
                              goals: reduce rate of initial entry into
                              foster care, reduce length of stay in
                              foster care, reduce rate of reentry into
                              foster care.
Ohio                         Participating counties receive a capped
October 1997                  allotment based on historic and projected
                              costs, and may negotiate financial and
                              risk-sharing agreements with private
                              providers. Funds may be used flexibly to
                              achieve safety, permanency and well-being
                              outcomes. Target population: children in
                              foster care or at risk of placement.
                              Project goals: reduce time in foster care,
                              reduce placement costs, improve stability
                              for children, promote adoption.
Oregon                       Participating branch offices receive a
July 1997                     title IV-E allocation based on estimates
                              of projected use for foster care, a
                              portion of which can be used flexibly for
                              alternative services. The branch office
                              retains ``savings'' that result; any
                              additional foster care costs are
                              subsidized by the State. Target
                              population: children in foster care or at
                              risk of placement. Project goals: improve
                              outcomes for children and families and
                              increase service efficiency, reduce length
                              of stay in foster care and prevent
                              children's placement into care, reduce
                              foster care costs by investing in
                              services, maintain child safety and
                              protection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Managed care/capitated payment systems:

Colorado                     Participating counties negotiate a
July-December 2000            capitated or case rate (rate per child)
                              with service providers, which manage the
                              cases of children assigned to them.
                              Agreements with providers may include risk-
                              sharing formulas, penalties, and
                              performance-based incentives. Providers
                              must accept children assigned by the
                              county, and are responsible for outcomes.
                              Target population: children age 10 or
                              older who are at risk of, or have already
                              experienced, foster care ``drift'' and are
                              at risk of aging out of the system without
                              a permanent family. Project goals:
                              increase child safety (reduce recurrence
                              of maltreatment), achieve permanency more
                              rapidly, improve child and family
                              functioning, decrease adoption.
Connecticut                  Participating lead service agencies receive
June 1999                     a case rate for each child referred to
                              them for a 15-month period. The lead
                              service agency coordinates the child's
                              care through a network of service
                              providers and places children in the least
                              restrictive setting. Providers may retain
                              savings up to 10 percent of the case rate
                              and are not at risk for excess costs up to
                              10 percent of the case rate. Target
                              population: children ages 7-15 with
                              significant behavior problems who are
                              authorized for residential placement or
                              group homes. Project goals: reduce average
                              length of stay in foster care, increase
                              safety (i.e., reduce substantiated reports
                              or abuse or neglect), increase stability
                              in the community for the children
                              affected, improve children's behavioral
                              health (based on standardized measures),
                              increase children's and families'
                              satisfaction with department services.
Maryland                     Participating service providers receive a
January-July 2000             capitated rate for placement and support
                              services. Providers propose outcome
                              improvements; if improvements are
                              achieved, providers retain savings to be
                              used flexibly while providers that fail to
                              achieve improvements risk financial loss.
                              Providers remain responsible for children
                              who reenter care. Target population:
                              children entering foster care after a
                              dispositional hearing and any siblings
                              already in care, children entering foster
                              care from kinship care and any siblings
                              already in care; foster children age 5 and
                              under and any siblings already in care.
                              Project goals: expedite permanency, reduce
                              time in foster care, decrease reentry into
                              foster care.
Michigan                     Community-based providers receive capped
May 1999                      allocations ($1,545 per month per child),
                              to be used flexibly to achieve safety and
                              permanency goals. Providers assume full
                              case management responsibility. Some
                              participating providers bear full risk for
                              costs that exceed the capped allocation;
                              others share risk with the State,
                              retaining savings or covering costs within
                              10 percent of the case rate. Target
                              population: children who have formerly
                              been in foster care, are suitable for
                              reunification, have been judged at risk by
                              a risk assessment process, and for whom
                              the court approves an alternative
                              treatment plan. Project goals: increase
                              availability and flexibility of services,
                              reduce foster care placement, reduce time
                              in foster care, expedite permanency,
                              improve child safety and well-being.
Texas                        A primary contractor receives a per-child
September 2000-March 2001     standard monthly payment, based on average
                              historic costs, to cover all services and
                              coordinate service delivery by a provider
                              network. Incentives encourage providers to
                              move children to lower levels of care.
                              Target population: children with
                              therapeutic needs (and their siblings) who
                              have been removed from home due to abuse
                              or neglect. Project goals: improve child
                              functioning, reduce time in foster care,
                              decrease reentry into foster care,
                              increase placement stability, ensure least
                              restrictive placement settings.
Washington                   A fixed payment rate is negotiated for each
June-December 1999            demonstration site, which develops local
                              agreements between the child welfare
                              agency and other systems, such as
                              education or mental health. Local
                              agreements specify responsibilities of
                              each participant and local service rate
                              per child. Title IV-E funds may be blended
                              with other (Medicaid or education) funds
                              to provide comprehensive services for
                              children to be served at home or in least
                              restrictive community-based setting. Risk
                              is borne by either contractor or local
                              service providers. Target population:
                              children ages 8-17 in the child welfare
                              system, in need of mental health or
                              special education services, who are in
                              temporary care or likely to enter high-
                              cost care. Project goals: meet safety and
                              individual needs of children in
                              appropriate setting; where therapeutically
                              indicated and appropriate, prevent out-of-
                              community group care settings, decrease
                              length of stay, and ensure placement in
                              least restrictive setting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intensive service options:

California                   In participating counties, title IV-E funds
December 1998                 are used for individually-targeted
                              services for children and families, in
                              addition to traditional maintenance costs.
                              Intensive services include: family
                              conferencing, ``wraparound'' process for
                              children and adolescents with complex and
                              enduring needs, shared family care in
                              which an entire family is temporarily
                              placed with a host family. Target
                              population: children at risk of removal
                              (for family preservation and placement
                              prevention services), foster children
                              moving toward reunification, adoption or
                              guardianship (for services to expedite
                              permanency goals). Project goals: reduce
                              foster care placement, divert children to
                              less restrictive family-like placements.
District of Columbia         Social workers are matched with trained
January-July 2000             neighborhood-based ``community
                              collaborative'' workers to provide family
                              support services to kinship ``triads'';
                              i.e., kinship care giver, parent, and
                              child. Collaboratives are partnerships
                              intended to produce a community-based
                              service delivery system. Target
                              population: children cared for by kinship
                              care givers, who have been in foster care
                              an average of 3-4 years. Project goals:
                              expedite permanency, increase stability,
                              increase child safety, reduce the
                              incidence of child abuse or neglect,
                              reduce the number of new foster care
                              placements, increase child well-being.
Mississippi                  Using flexible title IV-E funds,
originally June-December      participating counties provide ``core''
 1999 (to be extended)        services (e.g., parent training, family
                              counseling) and additional services to
                              respond to needs (e.g., respite care,
                              temporary financial or inkind assistance,
                              job training, educational services,
                              medical care, transportation, child care,
                              counseling, support services for foster
                              parents, homemaker services). Target
                              population: children in the child welfare
                              system, their parents, foster or potential
                              foster parents, custodial relatives,
                              siblings, adoptive or potential adoptive
                              parents. Project goals: reduce subsequent
                              abuse and neglect, increase number of
                              children remaining with their families,
                              increase relative placements for children
                              placed outside the home, increase
                              placement of children and sibling groups
                              in their home communities, decrease foster
                              care placements, decrease time in foster
                              care, increase child well-being.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Permanency efforts:

California                   Voluntary placement agreements (without
December 1998                 court orders) may be extended from 6 to 12
                              months, while retaining title IV-E
                              eligibility. Target population: children
                              who have been placed voluntarily, would
                              otherwise become dependents of the court,
                              who can likely return home safely during
                              the extended time period. Project goals:
                              reduce long-term foster care costs,
                              achieve permanence more rapidly, increase/
                              maintain levels of child safety, avoid
                              court processes.
Maine                        Expanded training is provided for social
April 1999                    workers, mental health and other
                              professionals who work with adoptive
                              families, to provide postadoption support
                              services. Target population: families
                              adopting special-needs children (for
                              services; training provided Statewide).
                              Project goals: increase number of special-
                              needs adoptions, decrease disruptions of
                              special-needs adoptions, decrease length
                              of stay in foster care, strengthen
                              adoptive families.
Texas                        Enhanced adoption services for children
September 2000-March 2001     with special needs are provided. Target
                              population: children for whom petition to
                              terminate parental rights has been filed,
                              or for whom parental rights have been
                              terminated, families interested in
                              adopting special-needs children. Project
                              goals: increase pool of adoptive families,
                              increase number of children leaving foster
                              care for adoption, reduce time in care
                              prior to adoption, reduce disruption and
                              dissolution rates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Substance abuse services:

Delaware                     Contracted substance abuse counselors are
February 1997                 colocated with child protection workers;
                              accompany child protection workers on
                              initial visits; with the child protection
                              worker, assess the substance abuse problem
                              and its impact on parenting; conduct or
                              arrange for substance abuse evaluations;
                              and stay connected to families through
                              treatment. Savings are used to pay for the
                              counselors. Target population: children in
                              foster care or likely to enter foster care
                              due to parental substance abuse. Project
                              goals: prevent foster care, reduce number
                              of days in foster care.
Illinois                     Recovery coach services are provided in
October 1999-June 2000        addition to traditional child welfare and
                              substance abuse services, assisting
                              families early in the treatment process
                              and providing continuing support during
                              and after treatment to prevent relapse and
                              enable family reunification. Some
                              participants receive enhanced services in
                              addition to the recovery coach. Target
                              population: custodial parents with a child
                              who enters placement. Project goals:
                              increase rate of reunification, reduce
                              length of stay in foster care, reduce
                              reallegations of abuse or neglect,
                              increase successful completion of parental
                              substance abuse treatment.
Maryland                     Family support services teams provide
January-July 2000             comprehensive coordinated services.
                              Treatment options include inpatient
                              treatment for parents and their children;
                              intermediate (28-day residential) care, or
                              intensive outpatient treatment. Core
                              services include case management,
                              individual, group and family therapy.
                              Additional services may be provided. Title
                              IV-E funds are used when Medicaid or other
                              sources are not available. Target
                              population: parents who have lost custody
                              or are at risk of losing custody of their
                              children due to substance abuse. Project
                              goals: reduce reallegations of abuse or
                              neglect, reduce time in foster care,
                              increase successful completion of
                              substance abuse treatment, enable mothers
                              to assume a healthy parenting role.
New Hampshire                A substance abuse specialist trains child
November 1999                 protection investigators and supervisors
                              on screening and identifying parents with
                              substance abuse problems; evaluates
                              parents identified by child protection
                              investigators; if needed, refers families
                              to counseling and treatment, assists with
                              case planning, collaborates with
                              corrections departments, and provides
                              intensive case management. Target
                              population: families with credible reports
                              of abuse or neglect due to parental
                              substance abuse. Project goals: prevent
                              placement in foster care, reduce time in
                              foster care, reduce subsequent abuse or
                              neglect reports, and reduce foster care
                              costs by improving parents' recovery from
                              substance abuse and use of available
                              services and improving stability and
                              adjustment of children in substance-
                              abusing families.
West Virginia                Teams of child protection workers and
June-December 2000            substance abuse outreach specialists
                              coordinate services for families affected
                              by substance abuse. Parents identify
                              temporary informal care givers for their
                              children (up to 60 days) while the parent
                              receives inpatient and/or residential
                              substance abuse treatment. Child
                              protection workers assess appropriateness
                              of informal care givers and conduct
                              criminal background checks; licensed
                              providers supply temporary care if
                              relatives or friends are not available.
                              Caretakers receive payments no higher than
                              foster care rate. Target population:
                              children likely to enter foster care due
                              to maternal substance abuse. Project
                              goals: expedite family reunification,
                              reduce number of children entering formal
                              foster care, increase number of mothers
                              successfully completing substance abuse
                              treatment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribal administration of title IV-E funds:

New Mexico                   Administration of foster care maintenance,
January-July 2000             adoption and independent living services
                              is fully delegated to the tribal
                              government. Target population: children in
                              the custody of tribes that do not already
                              have agreements with the State as allowed
                              under current law. Project goals: increase
                              capacity of tribes to protect and care for
                              their children without subordination to
                              State oversight, promote and improve
                              permanency.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information
  available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


     RECENT TRENDS AFFECTING CHILD WELFARE POPULATIONS AND PROGRAMS

    Certain social problems and trends are inextricably linked 
with the child welfare system and its clients, and data and 
information on these issues are sometimes used as indicators of 
the need for child protection and preventive services for 
families. Most children enter foster care as a result of child 
abuse or neglect; thus, data on the incidence and trends of 
maltreatment are of great interest to child welfare 
practitioners and policymakers. Likewise, substance abuse is 
cited as a factor in many of the cases coming to the attention 
of child welfare agencies, so that information on substance 
abuse among families with children and responses to the problem 
of substance abuse is also of interest. Kinship care also is a 
phenomenon that has had a significant impact on the child 
welfare system. In addition, as a major policy change affecting 
low-income families with children, the welfare reform law of 
1996 has implications for both the child welfare system and its 
clients. These issues are described briefly below.

                        Child Abuse and Neglect

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
    Between 1963 and 1967, every State and the District of 
Columbia enacted some form of child abuse and neglect reporting 
law. The model reporting law disseminated by the U.S. 
Children's Bureau facilitated the States' rapid adoption of 
these laws; after 1974 reporting laws were modified to conform 
to the standards established by the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act of 1974 (CAPTA). CAPTA provides formula grants to 
States to help support their child protective service systems 
($21 million in fiscal year 2000), in exchange for which States 
must comply with various requirements related to the reporting, 
investigation, and treatment of child maltreatment cases. The 
law also authorizes Federal discretionary research and 
demonstration projects ($18 million in fiscal year 2000), 
grants to States for community-based family resource and 
support services ($33 million in fiscal year 2000), and grants 
to States to improve investigation and prosecution of child 
maltreatment cases (funded through a set-aside of the victims 
of crime fund).
    As amended most recently in 1996 (Public Law 104-235), 
CAPTA requires States to have procedures for reporting known or 
suspected cases of child abuse or neglect, for investigating 
such reports, and for taking immediate steps to protect 
children who might be in danger. The law requires States to 
provide immunity from prosecution for individuals who make good 
faith reports of suspected abuse or neglect, and to provide 
confidentiality of records. States also must have procedures 
for public disclosure of information about cases of abuse or 
neglect which result in a child's death or near-death. State 
CAPTA plans must provide for cooperation with law enforcement 
officials, courts, and human service agencies, and for the 
expungement of records in cases that are false or 
unsubstantiated. Further, States must appoint a guardian ad 
litem, who may be an attorney or court-appointed special 
advocate, to represent children in judicial proceedings.
    The 1996 law required States to establish citizen review 
panels, composed of volunteer community representatives, to 
evaluate State and local child protection activities. In 
addition, the law required States (within 2 years of the law's 
enactment) to have procedures for expedited termination of 
parental rights (TPR) in any case of an abandoned infant, and 
to have procedures for individuals to appeal an official 
finding of abuse or neglect. Also within 2 years of enactment, 
States were required to provide that family reunification would 
be not be required for a surviving child with a parent who had 
committed or aided in the murder or voluntary manslaughter of 
another of their children, or who had committed a felony 
assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to any of their 
children. States were required to provide that conviction of 
any of these felonies would constitute grounds for TPR. CAPTA 
also requires States to have procedures for responding to cases 
of medical neglect.
Child abuse and neglect statistics
    The 1996 CAPTA amendments required States to submit annual 
aggregate data to DHHS on child maltreatment for inclusion in 
the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). 
States with the capacity to do so may also submit case-level 
data. NCANDS was established by the 1988 amendments to CAPTA 
and has published annual reports each year beginning with 1990, 
although prior to the 1996 amendments States participated in 
NCANDS on a voluntary basis. Other sources of national data on 
child maltreatment have included the American Association for 
Protecting Children (of the American Humane Association), which 
collected information from 1976 to 1987, and Prevent Child 
Abuse America (formerly called the National Committee to 
Prevent Child Abuse), which has been conducting an annual 
survey of States since 1986. Finally, DHHS has periodically 
funded the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect 
(NIS), which collects data on children who have been 
investigated by child protection agencies, but also includes 
information from community professionals on children who were 
either not reported to child welfare agencies or whose cases 
were not investigated. The NIS has been conducted three times, 
in 1980, 1986, and 1993.
    The latest data available from NCANDS are for 1998, and 
include aggregate data from all States and the District of 
Columbia and case-level data from 20 States. (It is anticipated 
that 27 States will submit case-level data for 1999 and that 29 
States will submit these data for 2000.) Data for 1998 show 
that 2.8 million reports of possible maltreatment were made to 
child welfare agencies in that year (U.S. Department, 2000). 
Approximately two-thirds of these reports were investigated, 
and 903,000 children were estimated to have been victims of 
abuse or neglect, for an incidence rate of 12.9 per 1,000 
children. These numbers mark a continuation of a downward trend 
that began in 1993, when more than 1 million children were 
substantiated as victims, for an incidence rate of 15.3 per 
1,000 children. Table 11-15 shows NCANDS data on the incidence 
of children alleged to have been victims, and substantiated or 
indicated victimization, by State, in 1994 and 1998, and the 
percent change between those years. Chart 11-1 illustrates 
nationwide changes in these incidence rates between 1990, when 
NCANDS began, and 1998.

         TABLE 11-15.--INCIDENCE OF CHILD MALTREATMENT ALLEGATIONS AND VICTIMIZATION, BY STATE, 1994-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Children                  Child victims
                                                      alleged to be   Percentage     per 1,000       Percentage
                                                       victims per     change in      children       change in
                       State                          1,000 children  allegation ----------------- victimization
                                                    ----------------- rate, 1994-                  rate, 1994-98
                                                       1994    1998       98        1994    1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama............................................     37.4    33.1        -11      20.1    15.4          -24
Alaska.............................................     53.5    58.9         10      36.0    37.1            3
Arizona............................................     43.4    48.0         11      26.3     7.1          -73
Arkansas...........................................     28.7    45.2         58      12.3    13.1            6
California.........................................     51.9    46.4        -11      18.4    17.7           -4
Colorado...........................................  \1\ 43.    37.6        -13   \1\ 15.     6.7          -56
                                                           3                            2
Connecticut........................................     47.2    51.7         10      35.2    21.4          -39
Delaware...........................................     53.6    54.1          1      14.4    16.2           12
District of Columbia...............................    117.3    95.8        -18      49.4    47.7           -3
Florida............................................     50.2    52.8          5      23.5    23.2           -1
Georgia............................................     47.8    36.7        -23      33.9    12.1          -64
Hawaii.............................................     19.6    12.0        -39       7.9     7.3           -7
Idaho..............................................    100.9    76.0        -25      27.8    22.6          -19
Illinois...........................................     45.6    34.7        -24      17.2    11.2          -35
Indiana............................................     42.4    67.3         59      17.2    12.5          -27
Iowa...............................................     43.1    38.9        -10      12.7    10.1          -20
Kansas.............................................     49.4    38.4        -22       5.3     7.6           43
Kentucky...........................................     61.4    64.2          4      26.8    23.1          -14
Louisiana..........................................     36.5    38.0          4      12.2    11.6           -5
Maine..............................................     29.2    31.0          6      15.6    12.3          -21
Maryland...........................................  \1\ 43.    43.5          0   \1\ 15.    11.1          -27
                                                           3                            2
Massachusetts......................................     39.7    36.3         -9      16.9    18.9           12
Michigan...........................................     54.5    61.3         12       8.7     8.9            2
Minnesota..........................................     23.0    19.7        -14       8.5     8.4           -1
Mississippi........................................     36.0    42.8         19      10.6     8.0          -24
Missouri...........................................     62.9    53.4        -15      11.6     8.9          -23
Montana............................................     57.8    84.7         47      17.9    14.7          -18
Nebraska...........................................     39.9    32.9        -18      10.3     9.5           -8
Nevada.............................................  \1\ 43.    49.7         15      21.3    17.2          -19
                                                           3
New Hampshire......................................  \1\ 43.    30.1        -31       3.6     3.9            8
                                                           3
New Jersey.........................................     34.0    38.2         12       4.9     4.9            1
New Mexico.........................................     50.9    26.6        -48      15.0     8.4          -44
New York...........................................     46.9    53.4         14      12.2    18.6           52
North Carolina.....................................     54.1    65.6         21      17.1    19.5           14
North Dakota.......................................     45.5    43.7         -4      21.2     0.0         -100
Ohio...............................................     55.1    47.7        -13      21.7    20.4           -6
Oklahoma...........................................     40.1    68.6         71      12.5    18.9           51
Oregon.............................................  \1\ 43.    33.5        -23      10.1    12.3           22
                                                           3
Pennsylvania.......................................      8.2     7.9         -4       2.4     1.9          -23
Rhode Island.......................................     61.0    41.5        -32      13.7    14.5            6
South Carolina.....................................     42.9    39.9         -7      12.3     8.8          -29
South Dakota.......................................     49.3    26.4        -46       9.3    13.2           41
Tennessee..........................................     26.9    24.2        -10       9.4     7.5          -21
Texas..............................................     32.9    30.7         -7      10.5     7.1          -32
Utah...............................................     43.4    38.8        -11      15.6    11.4          -27
Vermont............................................     20.6    14.0        -32       8.4     6.3          -25
Virginia...........................................     35.3    29.8        -15       6.4     5.9           -8
Washington.........................................     40.8    32.1        -21   \1\ 15.     8.8          -42
                                                                                        2
West Virginia......................................  \1\ 43.   159.5        268   \1\ 15.    19.3           27
                                                           3                            2
Wisconsin..........................................     35.5    16.5        -54      13.6     6.0          -55
Wyoming............................................  \1\ 43.    17.1        -61   \1\ 15.     6.2          -59
                                                           3                            2
                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------
      Total........................................     43.3    42.5         -2      15.2    12.9          -15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on estimates.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service using data provided by the U.S. Department of
  Health and Human Services.


    The long-term trend in child abuse reporting has been one 
of substantial growth, with the number of maltreatment reports 
more than quadrupling since 1976. However, increased reporting 
does not necessarily mean an equivalent increase in actual 
abuse or neglect. It is generally agreed that some part of the 
dramatic growth in reporting over the last two to three decades 
is due to greater public awareness and recognition of child 
abuse and neglect, especially since the 1960s and 1970s when 
States enacted mandatory


    CHART 11-1. INCIDENCE RATE OF CHILD MALTREATMENT ALLEGATIONS AND 
                         VICTIMIZATION, 1990-98


     Source: Chart prepared by the Congressional Research 
Service using data provided by the U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services.


reporting laws. Moreover, not all reports are substantiated. In 
fact, the proportion of child maltreatment reports that are 
substantiated has grown smaller over time. According to NCANDS 
data, 29 percent of investigations in 1998 resulted in victim 
determinations, compared to 39 percent in 1990. Looking at data 
from earlier sources, 65 percent of child abuse or neglect 
reports were substantiated in 1976. However, researchers and 
professionals agree that not all children who are victims of 
abuse or neglect are reported to child welfare agencies. 
According to the most recent NIS survey, more than 1.5 million 
children were victims of abuse or neglect in 1993 under the 
``harm'' standard (i.e., children who have suffered 
demonstrable harm by objective measures), for a 67 percent 
increase from 1986, and a 149 percent increase from 1980 
(Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996). The NIS also found that 2.8 
million children could be counted in 1993 under the 
``endangerment'' standard (a more subjective measure, including 
children who were not actually harmed but might be considered 
at risk), which was almost double the number counted in 1986. 
The endangerment standard was not used in the 1980 NIS.
    Of child victims in 1998, almost 54 percent experienced 
neglect, while 23 percent were physically abused. Almost 12 
percent were sexual abuse victims, 6 percent had been 
psychologically abused, and about 2 percent had suffered from 
medical neglect. Other forms of maltreatment were found for 25 
percent of child victims in 1998, with some children falling 
into more than one of these categories. According to NCANDS 
data, the number of children who died in 1998 as a result of 
substantiated abuse or neglect was about 1,100, which was 
virtually unchanged from 1997 and 1996, although below the peak 
of 1,240 in 1994. However, in 1995, the U.S. Advisory Board on 
Child Abuse and Neglect estimated that 2,000 children under age 
18 are actually killed by parents or caretakers each year, and 
suggested that this might be a low estimate (U.S. Advisory 
Board, 1995).

                            Substance Abuse

    Substance abuse has received considerable attention as one 
of the major challenges facing the child welfare system, 
especially in the last 10-15 years. It is widely believed that 
the dramatic increase in foster care placements in the mid to 
late 1980s resulted, at least in part, from the introduction of 
crack cocaine. Children born drug exposed often enter 
substitute care shortly after birth, either because of their 
own medical problems or because of abuse or neglect by their 
parents. However, children exposed prenatally to drugs or 
alcohol are a small portion of the children affected by 
parental substance abuse. Children of all ages typically enter 
foster care because of child abuse or neglect, and substance 
abuse is a factor in the majority of these cases.
    According to a 1990 publication by the Committee on Ways 
and Means, New York City officials blamed the introduction of 
crack for the threefold increase in that city's child abuse and 
neglect cases involving parental substance abuse between 1986 
and 1988. Crack cocaine had an especially significant impact on 
the number of very young infants entering foster care at birth 
during the late 1980s. From a survey of women who gave birth 
during 1992-93, the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated 
that 221,000 women who gave birth during that period used 
illegal drugs while pregnant (5.5 percent of a total of 4 
million women). Marijuana and cocaine were the most frequently 
used illegal drugs (2.9 percent for marijuana; 1.1 percent for 
cocaine). The survey also estimated that 820,000 women (20.4 
percent of all women who gave birth during the period) had 
smoked cigarettes while pregnant, and 757,000 women (18.8 
percent of the total) drank alcohol (National Institute, 1995).
    Cocaine abuse appears to have declined from 1985, when 5.7 
million Americans reported being current users, to the latest 
available level of 1.7 million Americans in 1997 (National 
Institute, 1999). However, there has been no significant change 
in the number of frequent cocaine users (682,000 Americans in 
1997) since 1985, and no significant change in the number of 
current crack users (604,000 in 1997) since 1988. In a report 
mandated by Congress and released in 1999, the U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) looked at data from several 
sources and concluded that a substantial number of children 
(8.3 million) live with substance abusing parents (U.S. 
Department, 1999a). African-American parents have higher rates 
of illegal drug abuse than white parents, especially for 
cocaine, and substance abusing parents in general have less 
education, are less likely to be working full time, are less 
likely to be married, and more likely to be receiving welfare 
than other parents. Of all forms of parental substance abuse, 
alcohol abuse is the most prevalent. Although relatively few of 
the children in substance abusing families ever come into 
contact with the child welfare system, substance abuse is a 
major factor in the child welfare caseload. For children with 
substantiated reports of abuse or neglect, DHHS found that 
substance abuse is a factor in between one-third and two-thirds 
of cases, and is a factor in two-thirds of the cases of 
children in foster care. While mothers and fathers are equally 
represented in substance abusing households with children, 
mothers more typically come to the attention of the child 
welfare system.
    The DHHS study identified various barriers to meeting the 
needs of child welfare clients with substance abuse problems, 
including the different perspectives and philosophies of the 
substance abuse treatment and child welfare fields. For 
example, differences exist with regard to the definition of 
``client,'' the establishment of reasonable expectations for 
outcomes and timetables, and responses to setbacks in 
treatment. Additional barriers cited by DHHS include certain 
Federal and State laws, the crisis environment affecting many 
child welfare agencies, shortages of substance abuse treatment 
facilities, the particular shortage of services appropriate for 
women with children, and confidentiality requirements. DHHS 
identified certain key features as important components of a 
comprehensive approach to addressing joint substance abuse and 
child maltreatment problems, including preventive services for 
children, training for caseworkers, enhanced risk assessment 
and referral capacity, increased access to substance abuse 
treatment, client retention, recognition of the importance of 
permanency for children, and support for ongoing recovery.

                              Kinship Care

    The number of children living with relatives who are not 
their parents has increased in recent years, especially among 
minority populations. In the child welfare system, States 
increased their use of relatives as foster care providers for 
18 percent of foster children in 1986 to 31 percent in 1990, 
according to data from 25 States submitted to the DHHS 
Inspector General (Office, 1992). Several recent studies shed 
light on the characteristics of these children and their 
families.
    A study for DHHS in 1997 reported on formal and informal 
kinship care; in other words, ``formal'' placements of children 
with relatives by the court or a child welfare agency versus 
``informal'' arrangements in which relatives care for children 
without government intervention (U.S. Department, 1997). Based 
on Current Population Survey data, the contractors (Chapin Hall 
and the Urban Institute) found 2.15 million children living 
with relatives without a parent present in 1994. The report 
found that among these arrangements generally, two-thirds of 
care givers were the child's grandparents and about half were 
married. Of single relative care givers, more than 85 percent 
were female. Kinship care givers were much older than parents 
caring for their own children, and more likely to be unmarried, 
have less education, be unemployed or out of the labor force, 
be poor, or receive welfare benefits. Based on administrative 
data from four States (California, Illinois, New York and 
Missouri), the report found that informal kinship care is more 
common than formal care, with only about 15 percent of kinship 
children in these States in a formal foster care placement. 
Younger children were more likely to be in formal kinship care 
arrangements than older children. The study also found that 
formal kinship care was largely an urban phenomenon in these 
States. New York and Missouri had virtually no formal kinship 
care outside their major city; in California and Illinois, 
formal kinship care also was concentrated in their major city 
and a few other counties. In each State, African-American 
children were more likely to be in kinship care and were eight 
times as likely as all other children to be in formal kinship 
care placements.
    A 1998 report for DHHS by Macro International examined 
kinship care in seven States (California, Illinois, Louisiana, 
Maryland, Minnesota, New York, and Utah). This report found 
that all seven States had policies that explicitly favored 
kinship foster care over care by nonrelatives, and most allowed 
relatives to be licensed or certified and receive title IV-E 
foster care subsidies (U.S. Department, 1998). At the time of 
the study in 1995, the seven States combined had an equal 
number of children placed with relatives and nonrelatives. 
During the previous 5 years, the total number of foster 
children in these States had increased, almost entirely within 
the kinship care component. The report found that case 
management practices were generally the same for relative and 
nonrelative foster parents in the seven States, and similar 
services were provided with some exceptions. For example, 
nonrelated foster parents were more likely to receive training, 
respite care, and have support groups available, while relative 
caretakers were more likely to receive funds to meet 
emergencies. When family reunification was not possible for the 
child, caseworkers in the seven States encouraged relatives to 
seek legal custody, guardianship, or subsidized adoption.
    The Urban Institute surveyed foster care administrators in 
1997 to obtain information on State kinship care policies and 
found considerable variation among States (Boots & Geen, 1999). 
Almost all States gave preference to relatives over nonrelative 
foster care providers, but policies differed with regard to the 
definition of an eligible ``relative.'' In some States, this 
category included neighbors, godparents, or other adults with a 
close but not blood relationship with the child. Licensing 
policy also varied among States, particularly with regard to 
the stringency of requirements applied to relative care givers. 
Ten States required kinship care givers to meet the same 
licensing standards as nonrelative foster parents; however, the 
remaining 41 States also offered relatives a more flexible 
option (e.g., less stringent licensing criteria, waiver of 
certain licensing criteria, or special licensing criteria 
established specifically for relatives). In addition, some 
States offered relatives the option of meeting only minimal 
requirements (generally safety-related), which meant they could 
not receive a foster care stipend, but could potentially 
qualify for a welfare payment. In general, payments made to 
kinship care givers varied according to the type of licensing 
they received. Relatives who met the same licensing 
requirements as nonrelatives were generally eligible to receive 
the same foster care payment. Of 41 States that offered less 
stringent licensing options, 21 continued to pay the full 
foster care rate to relatives covered by these options, while 
most of the remaining States only offered welfare assistance. 
Finally, based on their National Survey of America's Families, 
the Urban Institute estimated about 200,000 children are 
currently in formal kinship care, or about 10 percent of the 
total number of children living with relatives without their 
parents present.
    The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) reported in 1999 
on quality and permanency issues raised by kinship care. 
Looking at open foster care cases in California and Illinois, 
as of September 1997, GAO found the quality of kinship care and 
other foster care was good and the experiences of children in 
both types of settings were comparable. GAO's review confirmed 
the generally held view that children in kinship care have more 
stability than children in other forms of foster care, but also 
found that caseworkers had somewhat less confidence that 
kinship care givers would enforce court-ordered restrictions on 
parental visits with their children. In addition, the two 
States held kinship care givers to somewhat lower standards 
than other foster parents and provided a lower level of support 
to these families as well. Kinship care children in California 
spent about the same length of time in foster care as other 
foster children, while kinship care children in Illinois spent 
significantly less time in the system, according to GAO.
    Most recently, DHHS released a report to Congress on 
kinship care in response to a mandate in the 1997 Adoption and 
Safe Families Act (U.S. Department, 2000b). The report included 
a research review, and also identified the following principles 
to guide policy discussions on kinship care: the child welfare 
system should continue to focus on safety, permanency, and 
well-being of children; kinship placement decisions should be 
based on the best interests of the child; the child welfare 
system should not supplant family efforts or income assistance 
programs; and relatives should be viewed as potential resources 
but should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

                             Welfare Reform

    Congress enacted landmark welfare reform legislation in 
1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act (Public Law 104-193), which has been of 
great interest to child welfare practitioners, researchers, and 
policymakers because of its potential implications for the 
child welfare system and its clients. The 1996 law replaced the 
61-year-old program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children 
(AFDC) with a State-administered block grant of Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Receipt of public 
assistance now is time limited and conditioned on participation 
in work activities (see section 7).
    The 1996 legislation had an immediate programmatic impact 
on child welfare agencies because of the legal connection 
between AFDC eligibility and title IV-E foster care and 
adoption assistance. As explained earlier, the law now limits 
title IV-E funding to those children who would have been 
eligible for the former AFDC Program as it existed on July 16, 
1996. Thus, States must maintain these eligibility criteria, 
even though AFDC has been repealed, for use in determining 
title IV-E (and Medicaid) eligibility. Some analysts have 
observed that over time, these eligibility criteria could erode 
in value and the number of foster and adoptive children for 
whom States can claim Federal reimbursement may decrease.
    The financing of welfare reform also has potential 
implications for child welfare. The law replaced an open-ended 
entitlement program with a capped block grant, while allowing 
foster care and adoption assistance under title IV-E to remain 
uncapped. There is overlap between the populations served by 
TANF and title IV-E, raising the possibility that States might 
have an incentive to shift expenditures from TANF to the open-
ended title IV-E program, particularly for kinship care 
families who might be able to meet Federal title IV-E 
eligibility criteria. In fact, a significant number of children 
receiving TANF benefits are ``child-only'' cases (see section 
7), which means the adult in the household is not part of the 
assistance unit. In some cases, the adult may be a parent who 
is not eligible for TANF benefits because of immigration status 
or another reason, but some portion of these children are 
living with relatives who are not their parents. Both welfare 
and child welfare analysts are particularly interested in the 
dynamics of this population and the extent to which these 
children and families resemble those in formal kinship foster 
care arrangements.
    Beyond these issues, child welfare professionals are 
closely watching the implementation of welfare reform to 
determine its impact on the well-being of children and 
families, especially as measured through changes in the 
incidence of child maltreatment or entry into foster care. 
Although relatively few welfare families ever come into contact 
with the child welfare system, a disproportionately large share 
of child welfare clients receive or have received cash 
assistance. Thus, changes in welfare programs that affect a 
small percentage of clients may have a significant impact on 
the size of the child welfare population and the workload of 
the child welfare system. DHHS recently reported on the 
interaction between welfare assistance (specifically, receipt 
of AFDC), Medicaid, and foster care prior to enactment of 
welfare reform (U.S. Department, 2000a). Using administrative 
data from California, Illinois, and North Carolina in 1995-96, 
DHHS found that less than 3 percent of children who entered 
AFDC during the study period were subsequently placed in foster 
care. However, about 60 percent of the foster care entries in 
the three States during the study period were from AFDC 
families. Infants were more likely to enter foster care from an 
AFDC family than children ages 15-17 and, if they were placed 
in foster care, they generally entered care within the first 10 
months of receiving welfare. These findings may provide a rough 
baseline for later research on the transition of welfare 
recipients to foster care after enactment and implementation of 
the Federal welfare reform law.
    Numerous evaluations are currently underway on the impact 
of welfare reform on various outcomes, including the transition 
of welfare recipients to work, the family formation patterns of 
welfare recipients, and the economic status of families 
receiving or formerly receiving welfare (see appendix L). These 
evaluations have produced limited findings so far on the impact 
of welfare reform on child welfare-related outcomes; however, 
additional findings are expected in the near future. Moreover, 
as the welfare rolls have declined in recent years, many States 
are conducting ``leaver'' studies to learn about the 
circumstances of these families after their TANF benefits end. 
Some of the leaver studies have examined the extent to which 
children in former welfare families become involved with the 
child welfare system after the family's cash assistance ends. 
As of yet, no significant findings on this outcome have 
emerged, although these studies will continue and may identify 
trends in the future. In the interim, some analysts have 
explored potential impacts by looking at data on previous 
welfare recipients. For instance, Kristen Shook (1999) at 
Northwestern University attempted to examine the effect of a 
reduction in welfare income on the likelihood of a family's 
involvement with child welfare by studying data on AFDC 
recipients in the Chicago area during a 16-month period in 
1995-96. Shook found that a reduction in welfare income was 
associated with higher risk of child welfare involvement. This 
relationship was partially offset by an increase in employment 
income, but was exacerbated by other stressful life events, 
such as housing or similar environmental problems, birth of 
another baby, or health issues.
    Another recent study, by the National Bureau of Economic 
Research, examined the relationship between child maltreatment 
and the economic circumstances of parents using State-level 
data from several sources on child maltreatment (Paxson & 
Waldfogel, 1999). In this case, researchers found that States 
with higher proportions of very poor children, children with 
absent fathers (especially those with absent fathers and 
working mothers), or nonworking fathers, also had higher rates 
of child maltreatment. Reductions in State welfare benefits 
were associated with higher rates of child neglect and foster 
care, but with small decreases in physical abuse (possibly 
because of changes in household composition and parental 
employment).
    These studies suggest that welfare reform has significant 
implications for child welfare clients and services because of 
its potential impact on family formation patterns, parental 
employment, amount and composition of household income, poverty 
status, and other socioeconomic circumstances that may be 
associated with family dysfunction and child maltreatment. 
However, as of spring 2000, few studies are available on the 
impact of welfare reform on child welfare-related measures.

             NATIONAL FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION INFORMATION

                        Data Collection Systems

    Historically, there has been a lack of reliable data on 
foster care and adoption. In fact, not every State even 
reported its average monthly foster care caseload under the 
federally assisted program until 1975. Moreover, before 1980 
States were not required to collect data on nonfederally-
assisted foster care, which in a typical State constitutes 
about half the cases in foster care. This lack of data was one 
of several concerns that Congress hoped to address with 
enactment of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 
1980 (Public Law 96-272).
    The 1980 law imposed several requirements on States as a 
condition for incentive funds under the Title IV-B Child 
Welfare Services Program, including a one-time inventory of 
children in foster care and a statewide information system for 
tracking children in foster care. Shortly after enactment of 
the 1980 legislation, DHHS wrote detailed guidelines for the 
implementation of these requirements, which were published as 
an interim final rule on December 31, 1980. However, DHHS 
withdrew these regulations the following March, stating that 
the Office of Management and Budget had not reviewed and 
approved certain sections. In 1982, the Department issued a 
policy information question (ACYF-PIQ-82-06) which restated the 
law's requirement that States have an information system, but 
did not specify the system's content. The 1980 regulations were 
never reissued.
    Starting in 1982, DHHS funded the American Public Human 
Services Association (APHSA, formerly the American Public 
Welfare Association) to conduct a voluntary annual survey of 
States, known as the Voluntary Cooperative Information System 
(VCIS). Until recently, VCIS was the only source of national 
data on the number and characteristics of children in foster 
and adoptive care. However, the VCIS was of limited use for 
several reasons: (1) not all States participated fully in the 
survey; (2) reporting periods were not consistent among States; 
(3) there was a serious time lag between data collection and 
publication; and (4) data were available only in an aggregated, 
State-specific format, preventing the type of analysis that 
could be conducted with case-specific data.
    In response to the need for better data collection, 
Congress in 1986 approved an amendment to title IV-E (section 
479) requiring that an advisory committee be established and 
submit a report to Congress and DHHS with recommendations for 
establishing, administering, and financing a system for 
collecting data on adoption and foster care. This amendment, 
contained in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, Public Law 
99-509, required that the Secretary of DHHS issue final 
regulations for the new data system by December 31, 1988, and 
that mandatory data collection be fully implemented no later 
than October 1, 1991.
    The advisory committee submitted its final report in 1987, 
and in May 1989, DHHS submitted an implementation plan to 
Congress. On September 27, 1990, DHHS proposed regulations to 
implement the data collection system known as the Adoption and 
Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). The 
population to be covered was children under the responsibility 
of the State child welfare agency and financing was to come 
from the title IV-E administrative cost match. States were to 
claim only that portion of their costs that related to children 
eligible for title IV-E, although the system would have 
required States to collect data on non-IV-E children as well.
    In 1993, as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
(Public Law 103-66), Congress authorized an enhanced Federal 
matching rate to States for certain costs related to data 
collection for fiscal years 1994-96. Welfare reform legislation 
enacted in 1996 (Public Law 104-193) extended this enhanced 
match through fiscal year 1997. The statute specified that this 
enhanced match of 75 percent was available for costs of 
planning, design, development and installation of statewide 
mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems, 
including costs of hardware, as long as the systems did the 
following: complied with DHHS regulations; to the extent 
practicable, interfaced with State child abuse and neglect data 
collection systems and with AFDC (now TANF) data collection 
systems; and provided more efficient, economical, and effective 
administration of State Child Welfare Programs, as determined 
by DHHS. The law also provided that ongoing operational costs 
of State data collection and information retrieval systems are 
matched at the 50 percent Federal rate available for 
administrative expenses under title IV-E. Further, the 
amendment specified that States may claim reimbursement for 
data collection systems without regard to whether they are used 
for foster and adoptive children who are not eligible for title 
IV-E assistance.
    On December 22, 1993, DHHS published two sets of rules in 
the Federal Register: interim final rules for Statewide 
Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS), issued in 
response to enactment of Public Law 103-66; and final rules 
implementing AFCARS. Under the interim final rules for SACWIS, 
States were required to develop ``comprehensive'' child welfare 
data collection systems, of which AFCARS must be a component, 
in order to qualify for Federal funding, including the 75 
percent enhanced match. According to DHHS, ``comprehensive'' 
means that a State SACWIS system must include child welfare 
services, foster care and adoption assistance, family 
preservation and support services, and independent living.
    State SACWIS systems must do the following, at a minimum:
 1. Meet the AFCARS data collection and reporting requirements;
 2. Provide for intrastate electronic data exchange with data 
        collection systems operated under TANF, Medicaid, child 
        support enforcement, and the National Child Abuse and 
        Neglect Data System (NCANDS) (unless not practicable 
        for certain reasons);
 3. Provide for automated data collection on all children in 
        foster care under the responsibility of the State child 
        welfare agency to support implementation of statutory 
        child protections and requirements;
 4. Collect and manage information necessary to facilitate 
        delivery of child welfare services, family preservation 
        and family support services, family reunification 
        services, and permanent placement;
 5. Collect and manage information necessary to determine 
        eligibility for the Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, 
        and Independent Living Programs and to meet case 
        management requirements for these programs;
 6. Monitor case plan development, payment authorization and 
        issuance, and review and management including 
        eligibility determinations and redeterminations; and
 7. Ensure confidentiality and security of information.
    In addition, optional SACWIS functions could include (if 
cost-beneficial) resource management, tracking and maintenance 
of legal and court information, administration and management 
of staff and workloads, licensing verification, risk analysis, 
and interfacing with other automated information systems.
    Under the final AFCARS rules, States are required to 
collect case-specific data on all children in foster care for 
whom the State child welfare agency has responsibility for 
placement, care, or supervision, regardless of their 
eligibility for title IV-E. Further, States are required to 
collect data on all adopted children who were placed by the 
State child welfare agency, and on all adopted children for 
whom the State provides adoption assistance (ongoing payments 
or for nonrecurring expenses), care, or services either 
directly or by contract with other private or public agencies. 
States must report data to DHHS twice a year. Full penalties 
for noncompliance with AFCARS requirements can be imposed for 
reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1998.
    Table 11-16 shows the status of State SACWIS projects and 
those States that submitted detailed case data to NCANDS for 
1998.

                     Trends in Foster Care Caseloads

    The incidence of all children in the United States who are 
in foster care has increased from 3.9 per 1,000 in 1962 to an 
estimated 7.7 per 1,000 in 1999. The incidence of children in 
foster care fluctuated during the 1960s and 1970s. However, the 
incidence of children in foster care in 1982 was 3.9 per 
1,000--exactly the same as 20 years earlier. Since 1982, the 
incidence has risen steadily each year. In just 2 years between 
1987 and 1989, the incidence rose from 4.5 per 1,000 to 5.6 per 
1,000. The incidence has continued to rise to an estimated 7.7 
per 1,000 in 1999, the most recent year for which data are 
available (table 11-17).

    TABLE 11-16.--STATUS OF STATE PARTICIPATION IN CHILD WELFARE DATA
                           COLLECTION SYSTEMS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Status of information system                    States
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating (or partially operating)       Arizona, Arkansas, California,
 SACWIS (as of February 2000).            Connecticut, Delaware,
                                          District of Columbia, Idaho
                                          (partial), Indiana, Iowa,
                                          Kentucky, Maine,
                                          Massachusetts, Montana,
                                          Nebraska, New Hampshire, New
                                          Mexico, New York (partial),
                                          North Dakota (partial),
                                          Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South
                                          Dakota (partial), Texas,
                                          Virginia, Washington, West
                                          Virginia, Wisconsin (partial),
                                          Wyoming
Implementing SACWIS (as of February      Alabama, Colorado, Florida,
 2000).                                   Michigan, Minnesota,
                                          Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada,
                                          Oregon, South Carolina,
                                          Tennessee, Utah
Planning SACWIS (as of February 2000)..  Alaska, Georgia, Illinois,
                                          Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey,
                                          Ohio
No SACWIS activity reported (as of       Hawaii, Louisiana, North
 February 2000).                          Carolina, Pennsylvania,
                                          Vermont
Submitted detailed case data to NCANDS   Colorado, Connecticut,
 for 1998.                                Delaware, Florida, Illinois,
                                          Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska,
                                          New Jersey, New York, North
                                          Carolina, Oklahoma,
                                          Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
                                          South Carolina, Texas, Utah,
                                          Vermont, West Virginia,
                                          Wyoming
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service, from data
  obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



   TABLE 11-17.--U.S. FOSTER CARE AND IV-E FOSTER CARE POPULATIONS AND
       FOSTER CARE INCIDENCE IN U.S. POPULATION AGES 0-18, 1962-99
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             U.S. foster
                                U.S. foster    IV-E foster     children
                                    care      care children   per 1,000
             Year                population     (average       in U.S.
                                  (end of        monthly      population
                                   fiscal      number) \2\    ages 0-18
                                 year) \1\                       \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1962..........................      272,000             989          3.9
1963..........................      276,000           2,308          3.9
1964..........................      287,000           4,081          4.0
1965..........................      300,000           5,623          4.1
1966..........................      309,400           7,385          4.2
1967..........................      309,600           8,030          4.2
1968..........................      316,200           8,500          4.3
1969..........................      320,000          16,750          4.3
1970..........................      326,000          34,450          4.4
1971..........................      330,400          57,075          4.5
1972..........................      319,800          71,118          4.4
1973..........................           NA          84,097           NA
1974..........................           NA          90,000           NA
1975..........................           NA         106,869           NA
1976..........................           NA         114,962           NA
1977..........................           NA         110,494           NA
1978..........................           NA         106,504           NA
1979..........................           NA         103,771           NA
1980..........................      302,000         100,272          4.4
1981..........................      274,000         104,851          4.1
1982..........................  \4\ 262,000          97,309          3.9
1983..........................  \4\ 269,000          93,360          4.0
1984..........................  \4\ 276,000         102,051          4.1
1985..........................  \4\ 276,000         109,122          4.1
1986..........................  \4\ 280,000         110,749          4.2
1987..........................  \4\ 300,000         118,549          4.5
1988..........................  \4\ 340,000         132,757          5.0
1989..........................  \4\ 387,000         156,871          5.6
1990..........................  \4\ 400,000         167,981          5.9
1991..........................  \4\ 414,000         202,687          6.0
1992..........................  \4\ 427,000         223,315          6.1
1993..........................  \4\ 445,000         231,100          6.3
1994..........................  \4\ 468,000         245,000          6.6
1995..........................  \4\ 483,000         260,800          6.7
1996 (estimate)...............  \5\ 507,000         273,600          7.0
1997 (estimate)...............  \5\ 537,000         289,400          7.3
1998 (estimate)...............  \5\ 560,000         306,500          7.6
1999 (estimate)...............  \5\ 568,000         304,422          7.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Data from Child Welfare Research Notes #8 (July 1984), published by
  the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S.
  Department of Health and Human Services. This note cites as sources of
  data for the foster care population: annual reports from 1962 to 1972
  of the Children's Bureau and the National Center for Social
  Statistics, Social and Rehabilitation Services; National Study of
  Social Services to Children and their Families, published by the
  Administration for Children, Youth, and Families in 1978, for 1977
  data; and the Office of Civil Rights, DHHS, report, ``1980 Children
  and Youth Referral Survey: Public Welfare and Social Service
  Agencies'' for 1980 data.
\2\ Incomplete data based on voluntary reporting to the Department of
  Health, Education and Welfare, prior to 1975.
\3\ Based on data from U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division,
  unpublished data (1962-80); U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current
  Population Reports, Series 1095 (1980-89), PPL-41 (1990-95), and 1130
  (1996-99).
\4\ American Public Welfare Association (now the American Public Human
  Services Association).
\5\ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

NA--Not available.

Source: Compiled by staff of the House Committee on Ways and Means and
  the Congressional Research Service.

    The number of children in federally assisted foster care 
has grown significantly in the years since funding first became 
available under AFDC in the early 1960s. The number grew from 
1962 to 1976, then decreased from 1976 to 1983. Between 1983 
and 1998, the number of foster care children funded under title 
IV-E has increased steadily (table 11-17).
    More detailed information is available on trends in foster 
care caseloads in certain States through the Multistate Foster 
Care Data Archive at the Chapin Hall Center for Children. Using 
State administrative data, Chapin Hall has conducted analyses 
of foster care dynamics from 1983 through 1997 (Wulczyn, 
Brunner, & Goerge, 1999). Current participants are Alabama, 
California, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New 
Mexico, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin, although not all States 
have participated in the archive for all years. In general, the 
data show that in recent years caseload growth has become more 
a function of longer lengths of stay and changes in the 
composition of the caseload, rather than the marked increases 
in admissions that characterized the late 1980s.
    Looking at the number of children in care at a given point 
in time, Chapin Hall found different patterns among States, 
although virtually all States that submitted data for the late 
1980s showed growth during that period. For five States 
(California, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and New York), net 
caseload growth was the highest between 1988 and early 1990, 
averaging an additional 2,000 cases per month, primarily due to 
rapid growth in California and New York. California's caseload 
in general has grown steadily since 1983. Illinois also has 
seen steady growth in its caseload, especially since 1988, but 
showed a decline in 1997. After rapid growth between 1986 and 
1991, the New York caseload has been steadily dropping. 
Meanwhile, Alabama's caseload declined slightly each year from 
1989 to 1995, and then began to grow. Maryland and Wisconsin 
have seen steady growth in their caseloads since 1991 and 1992, 
although data for these States for earlier years are not 
available from the archive. Caseloads in Michigan and Missouri 
have grown steadily since 1983.
    The size of a State's caseload is a function of several 
factors, including the number of children entering and exiting. 
To control for differences in State population sizes, Chapin 
Hall examined data on entries into foster care by looking at 
entry rates; i.e., the number of new entrants in a given year 
per 1,000 children in the State. Again, States show various 
patterns. In New York, entry rates more than doubled from less 
than 2.5 per 1,000 children in 1983 to almost 6 per 1,000 in 
1989, and then declined to less than 3 per 1,000 in 1995 before 
climbing again slightly. In Illinois, entry rates rose from 1.7 
per 1,000 in 1983 to 4.4 per 1,000 in 1994, but have sharply 
declined since then. California entry rates have stayed 
relatively stable at 3 per 1,000 since 1991, after a slight 
decrease between 1989 and 1991. Entry rates in Michigan and 
Missouri fluctuated but slowly increased between 1983 and 1997, 
from less than 2 to almost 3 per 1,000 in Michigan and from 
less than 2.5 to more than 3 per 1,000 in Missouri. Entry rates 
in Maryland, Ohio, and Wisconsin have been fairly stable since 
1990, at around 2 per 1,000 children in Maryland, around 3 per 
1,000 in Ohio, and between 3 and 3.5 per 1,000 in Wisconsin. 
Finally, entry rates in Alabama and New Mexico declined slowly 
since the late 1980s, although Alabama's rate increased again 
in 1995. The rate in Alabama has generally been between 2 and 
1.5 per 1,000; in New Mexico, the entry rate has fluctuated 
between 2.5 and 2 per 1,000.
    Chapin Hall found that caseload growth in the 11 archive 
States in the late 1980s coincided with a change in the age 
distribution of children entering the system for the first 
time, with a dramatic increase in infants and a decrease in 
adolescents. The percent of new entrants who were infants rose 
from 15 percent in 1983-86 to almost 25 percent during the peak 
years of 1987-94. As a percent of new entrants, infants have 
since declined somewhat, but they remain the single largest 
group of children entering care, accounting for 20 percent of 
new entrants in 1995-97. Comparing children ages 0-4 with 
children ages 5-17, Chapin Hall found that younger children are 
twice as likely to enter care as older children.
    To further understand the dynamics of State foster care 
caseloads, Chapin Hall examined the length of time that 
children remained in care during their first spell, for the 
years 1988-97. The investigators found that in every State 
except Illinois, a quarter of the children had completed their 
first spell (i.e., exited from the system) within the first 5 
months of placement. The comparable figure was 10 months in 
Illinois. Another 25 percent of children spent more than three 
times longer in foster care than the first 25 percent; 
nonetheless, half the children exited foster care in 1 year or 
less in the following States: Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, 
Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin. At the same time, at 
least 25 percent of children, in all States except Iowa, spent 
more than 18 months in foster care. Median durations in care 
varied widely, from 3 months in Iowa to almost 3.5 years in 
Illinois. Median duration in Maryland was just over 1 year; New 
York was 1.5 years. In eight of the archive States, children 
who entered as infants stayed longer than others, although in 
Illinois, Iowa, and Maryland, median durations were high for 
all children who entered before age 12. Median duration was 
also high for children from major cities and African-American 
children, except in Missouri. Children in kinship care stayed 
significantly longer than children in nonrelative foster care, 
especially in Maryland, Missouri, and New York. Meanwhile, 
congregate care was associated with shorter spells in Alabama, 
Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, and Ohio, but the 
opposite was true in Iowa. Finally, Chapin Hall found that 
length of stay appears to be increasing in Alabama, California, 
Illinois, and Missouri, while declining or remaining stable in 
the other States.
    Children who entered the system as infants had the highest 
rates of adoption, with the likelihood of adoption decreasing 
each year after the first birthday. Children who entered at age 
14 or older were less likely than younger children to exit 
through family reunification or placement with relatives, 
except in Alabama. Of children who left the system and had been 
in nonrelative foster care, 19 percent were adopted, compared 
with 11 percent of children who had been in kinship foster 
homes. On the other hand, kinship children were somewhat more 
likely to be reunited with their families than children in 
nonrelative foster care. Children in congregate care were least 
likely to exit through adoption and more likely to age out or 
run away. White and Hispanic children were more likely to be 
reunified with their families than African-American children, 
who were more likely to be permanently placed with a relative 
or be adopted. Finally, Chapin Hall looked at the relationship 
between length of stay and type of discharge, and found that 15 
percent of children returned to their families in the first 3 
months of placement. The rate of family reunification fell 
sharply after that, although there was an increase between 
months 12 and 15, possibly due to the case review process. On 
the other hand, the likelihood of adoption increased over time, 
and was the most likely discharge for children who had been in 
care for 3 years or more.

               National Data on Foster Care and Adoption

    As described earlier, States now are required to 
participate in a mandatory data collection system known as 
AFCARS. Tables 11-18 through 11-40, below, present national and 
State AFCARS data on the following: (1) total numbers of 
children in foster care, including numbers of children entering 
and exiting the system; (2) characteristics of children in 
foster care and conditions of their placement; (3) 
characteristics of foster children who are awaiting adoption; 
and (4) number and characteristics of children who have been 
adopted through the public child welfare system, including 
their relationship with their adoptive parents. Data included 
in these tables are for those States whose data were considered 
of sufficient quality by the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services (DHHS). (AFCARS data, as well as complete tables 
from the earlier VCIS system, can be found on the DHHS web site 
at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/stats/index.htm.)
    Over the years, States have made great strides in 
collecting, analyzing and submitting child welfare data to the 
Federal Government for inclusion in AFCARS. Nonetheless, State 
capacity to collect and report valid data in a nationally 
consistent format continues to be a challenge. As States 
transition from older, payment-focused systems to more 
comprehensive, child-focused systems, they face difficult 
implementation decisions, while also addressing such issues as 
training workers, revising manuals, and synchronizing paper and 
automated information systems. Many States have been and 
continue to be engaged in the development and implementation of 
SACWIS. The construction of a SACWIS normally requires 
sequential stages of development; i.e., planning, design, 
development, and implementation. Until a State's SACWIS is 
fully utilized by staff, operational statewide, and all 
programming errors have been corrected, care should be 
exercised in utilizing their data (see table 11-16 for the 
status of individual States' SACWIS development). For those 
States that indicated general concerns about the reliability of 
their 1998 AFCARS data as a result of SACWIS conversion, a 
footnote is shown in the tables. In addition, several tables 
include other footnotes, which reflect comments made by certain 
States about specific data elements.
    This year's Green Book contains more tables, including data 
from more States, than available in previous years from AFCARS, 
and DHHS has indicated confidence that these data will continue 
to improve in quantity and quality each year. To that end, DHHS 
provides ongoing technical assistance to States in improving 
the quality of their AFCARS data (and child abuse data reported 
into NCANDS), as well as in implementing SACWIS systems. This 
technical assistance also includes the creation of a new 
national resource center for information technology in child 
welfare.
Number of children in foster care
    Table 11-18 illustrates the ``flow'' of children through 
the foster care system in 1982-99; i.e., the number of children 
in care at the start of each year, the number who entered or 
exited foster care during the course of the year, the total 
number of children served during the year, and the number of 
children who remained in care at the end of the year. These 
numbers indicate steady increases in the foster care population 
that were most dramatic in the late 1980s and that continue 
today, as also illustrated in chart 11-2. It should be 
remembered that these data reflect the total foster care 
population and are not limited to those children receiving 
subsidies under title IV-E. DHHS estimates that 55 percent of 
the total foster care population is eligible for assistance 
under title IV-E.

                     TABLE 11-18.--NUMBER AND MOVEMENT OF SUBSTITUTE CARE CHILDREN, 1982-99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Start of   Entered     Total                 End of
                           Year                               year       care      served   Left care     year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982.....................................................    273,000    161,000    434,000    172,000    262,000
1983.....................................................    263,000    184,000    263,000    178,000    263,000
1984.....................................................    272,000    184,000    456,000    180,000    276,000
1985.....................................................    270,000    190,000    460,000    184,000    276,000
1986.....................................................    273,000    183,000    456,000    176,000    280,000
1987.....................................................    280,000    222,000    502,000    202,000    300,000
1988.....................................................    312,000    199,000    511,000    171,000    340,000
1989.....................................................    347,000    222,000    569,000    182,000    387,000
1990.....................................................    379,000    238,000    617,000    217,000    400,000
1991.....................................................    400,000    224,000    624,000    210,000    414,000
1992.....................................................    414,000    238,000    652,000    225,000    427,000
1993.....................................................    427,000    230,000    657,000    212,000    445,000
1994.....................................................    444,000    254,000    698,000    230,000    468,000
1995.....................................................    455,000    255,000    710,000    227,000    483,000
1996.....................................................    488,000    237,000    725,000    218,000    507,000
1997.....................................................    507,000    251,000    758,000    231,000    537,000
1998.....................................................    537,000    262,000    799,000    241,000    560,000
1999.....................................................    560,000    266,000    826,000    244,000    568,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Data for 1997, 1998, and 1999 are estimates from AFCARS, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  Data for 1982-96 were obtained from the American Public Human Services Association.

     CHART 11-2. CHILDREN IN SUBSTITUTE CARE, END OF YEAR, 1982-99


    Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and 
the American Public Human Services Association.

    Table 11-19 shows the number of children who entered care 
during fiscal year 1998, the number of children who exited care 
during fiscal year 1998, and the total number of children who 
were in care as of September 30, 1998.
    Table 11-20 lists the average monthly number of children in 
foster care who received Federal funding under title IV-E for 
the years 1989, 1993, 1997, and 1999. These figures are lower 
than AFCARS estimates of the total number of children in foster 
care because they do not include the substantial number of 
children who were not eligible for Federal funding (primarily 
because they were not from AFDC-eligible homes).
Characteristics of children in foster care
    Much of the data collected on children in foster care 
reflect three different groupings of children: children who 
entered foster care during the study period (fiscal year 1998); 
children who left care during the study period; and children 
who remained in care on the last day of the study period. 
Tables 11-21 and 11-22 present data on the age composition of 
children in these three categories, for all States combined 
whose data was of sufficient quality to be included in AFCARS; 
and on the ages of children who were in care on September 30, 
1998. In addition, tables 11-23 and 11-24 show the racial and 
ethnic composition of children in each category for all States 
combined, and of children who remained in care on September 30, 
1998, for each State.

  TABLE 11-19.--CHILDREN ENTERING AND EXITING CARE IN FISCAL YEAR 1998,
          AND CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998, BY STATE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                State                  Entering     Exiting     In care
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.............................       2,803       2,851       5,198
Arizona.............................       4,300       2,190       5,608
Arkansas............................       2,737       2,094       3,138
California..........................      52,997      50,049     112,767
Colorado............................       7,147       5,202       7,951
Connecticut.........................       5,222       3,682       6,683
Delaware............................       1,023         333       1,480
District of Columbia................       1,039         792       3,188
Florida.............................      13,980       7,934      26,320
Georgia \1\.........................       3,724       3,632       9,937
Hawaii..............................       1,774       1,410       2,441
Idaho...............................         851         572         963
Illinois............................       9,229      12,627      48,737
Indiana \1\.........................       6,328       9,524       5,070
Kansas \1\..........................       6,683       3,400       8,488
Louisiana...........................       3,051       2,399       6,301
Maine \1\...........................       1,646         712       3,595
Maryland............................       4,467       3,296      12,890
Minnesota...........................      11,772      10,512       8,618
Mississippi.........................       1,821       1,325       3,359
Missouri............................       6,504       4,950      12,495
Montana.............................       1,503       1,223       1,991
New Jersey..........................       4,748       4,385       9,191
New Mexico..........................       1,480       1,137         821
New York............................      19,749      20,324      53,555
North Carolina......................       5,464       3,993      11,314
North Dakota........................       1,067         728       1,125
Oklahoma............................       6,346       5,337       7,233
Oregon..............................       5,212       4,512       7,266
Pennsylvania........................      13,019      10,933      23,070
Puerto Rico.........................       2,171       1,615       6,629
Rhode Island \1\....................       1,623         915       2,844
South Carolina......................       3,191       3,689       4,644
Texas...............................       6,539       3,760      17,103
Utah................................       2,196       1,956       2,468
Vermont.............................         783         655       1,316
Virginia \1\........................       2,683       1,856       6,838
Washington..........................       7,243       6,560       8,980
West Virginia.......................       2,011       1,767       3,082
Wisconsin...........................       5,566       4,846      10,076
Wyoming.............................         961         863         883
                                     -----------------------------------
      Total.........................     242,653     210,540     475,656
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to
  conversion process to SACWIS.

Note.--Delaware reports underreporting in the above number for children
  exiting foster care and overreporting in the number of those remaining
  in foster care at the end of 1998. Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah report
  underreporting in the above numbers for children exiting foster care.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service from data
  provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


     TABLE 11-20.--TITLE IV-E FOSTER CARE AVERAGE MONTHLY NUMBER OF CHILDREN, SELECTED FISCAL YEARS 1989-99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Fiscal year                Percent change
                         State                         ---------------------------------------------------------
                                                        1989 \1\    1993      1997      1999    1993-99  1989-99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................................     1,119       810     1,152     1,304       61       17
Alaska................................................       253       303       317       487       61       93
Arizona...............................................       714     1,774     3,382     3,634      105      409
Arkansas..............................................       372       715     1,299     1,624      127      337
California............................................    35,659    48,928    71,042    78,222       60      119
Colorado..............................................     1,866     2,529     2,874     2,653        5       42
Connecticut...........................................     1,646     1,482     3,192     4,528      205      175
Delaware..............................................       244       183       342       378      107       55
District of Columbia..................................       356       748     1,101     1,297       73      264
Florida...............................................     2,464     4,191     6,545     8,842      111      259
Georgia...............................................     2,244     3,254     4,382     4,208       29       88
Hawaii................................................        42       326     1,172     1,101      238     2521
Idaho.................................................       272       225       375       510      126       87
Illinois..............................................     8,578    11,514    30,668    28,592      148      233
Indiana...............................................     1,559     2,541     4,061     3,963       56      154
Iowa..................................................     1,157     1,502     2,197     2,810       87      143
Kansas................................................     1,167     1,371       466     2,356       72      102
Kentucky..............................................     1,509     1,797     2,796     3,018       68      100
Louisiana.............................................     3,061     2,824     3,850     2,908        3       -5
Maine.................................................       815     1,000     1,482     2,013      101      147
Maryland..............................................       869     3,073     4,533     5,090       66      486
Massachusetts \2\.....................................     2,021     7,839     7,910     7,340       -6      263
Michigan..............................................     7,914     8,672     8,609     9,338        8       18
Minnesota.............................................     2,030     2,984     3,696     4,115       38      103
Mississippi...........................................       673       868     1,088     1,000       15       49
Missouri..............................................     2,139     4,570     5,263     5,620       23      163
Montana...............................................       426       557       782       950       71      123
Nebraska..............................................       924     1,291     1,549     1,477       14       60
Nevada................................................       436       620       759     1,345      117      209
New Hampshire \3\.....................................       444       526       639       625       19       41
New Jersey............................................     3,064     3,873     5,453     6,124       58      100
New Mexico............................................       746       875       869     1,183       35       59
New York..............................................    34,607    53,475    42,679    38,049      -29       10
North Carolina........................................     1,557     2,983     4,586     4,854       63      212
North Dakota..........................................       309       402       504       486       21       57
Ohio..................................................     4,513     6,546     7,849     4,936      -25        9
Oklahoma..............................................       732     1,379     2,555     4,039      193      452
Oregon................................................     2,067     1,882     3,129     3,193       70       54
Pennsylvania..........................................     9,638    14,760    14,816    15,054        2       56
Puerto Rico \4\.......................................        NA        NA        NA     5,110       NA       NA
Rhode Island..........................................       569       673       775       629       -7       11
South Carolina........................................     1,123     1,652     1,695     1,146      -31        2
South Dakota..........................................       210       225       211       340       51       62
Tennessee.............................................     1,586     6,533     6,269     6,327       -3      299
Texas.................................................     3,588     4,920     6,434     6,757       37       88
Utah..................................................       436       454       771       730       61       67
Vermont...............................................       734       874     1,130     1,151       32       57
Virginia..............................................     1,986     2,100     3,266     3,260       55       64
Washington............................................     2,477     2,484     1,748     2,603        5        5
West Virginia.........................................     1,004     1,017     1,949       823      -19      -18
Wisconsin.............................................     3,174     4,834     4,995     4,037      -16       27
Wyoming...............................................       104        97       198       242      149      133
                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
      Total...........................................   157,197   231,055   289,404   297,312       29      89
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on accrual method accounting.
\2\ Fiscal year 1999 data include estimates for the third and fourth quarters.
\3\ Fiscal year 1999 data include estimates for the average monthly number of children.
\4\ Did not begin to participate in title IV-E foster care until fiscal year 1999. It is not included in the
  fiscal year 1999 total. If Puerto Rico were included, the total average monthly number of children in fiscal
  year 1999 would be 302,422.

NA--Not applicable.

Note.--Totals may differ from sum of State amounts because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


 TABLE 11-21.--AGES OF CHILDREN ENTERING AND EXITING CARE IN FISCAL YEAR
                 1998, AND IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
                              [In percent]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Age range                  Entering   Exiting    In care
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 1 year...........................         13          4          4
1-5 years..............................         25         26         26
6-10 years.............................         22         23         27
11-15 years............................         29         24         27
16-18 years............................         11         20         14
19 years or older......................          0          2          1
Mean age (years).......................       8.57      10.24       9.62
Median age (years).....................       8.47      10.25       9.55
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information
  provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


                     TABLE 11-22.--AGES OF CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998, BY STATE
                                        [In percent; 469,578 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Age
                                                          ---------------------------------------  Mean   Median
                          State                            Under                                   years   years
                                                             1    1-5  6-10  11-15  16-18   19+
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................     4    24    25    29     17       2   10.20   10.50
Arizona..................................................     5    27    26    28     14       0    9.33    9.41
Arkansas.................................................     4    23    24    31     18       1   10.30   10.93
California...............................................     4    28    29    27     12       0    9.25    9.11
Colorado.................................................     4    19    22    34     20       1   10.83   11.92
Connecticut..............................................     4    29    28    28     11       1    9.23    8.97
Delaware.................................................     4    25    25    26     20       0   10.12   10.14
District of Columbia.....................................     2    26    28    23     15       6   10.25    9.66
Florida..................................................     5    31    30    24     10       1    8.62    8.18
Georgia \1\..............................................     3    28    29    27     12       1    9.31    9.18
Hawaii...................................................     7    33    27    23     11       0    8.35    7.79
Idaho....................................................     4    26    30    28     13       0    9.35    9.21
Illinois.................................................     3    28    30    24     12       3    9.49    9.05
Indiana \1\..............................................     4    27    24    25     15       4    9.88    9.79
Kansas \1\...............................................     6    15    18    36     25       1   11.52   13.55
Louisiana................................................     3    21    25    36     15   (\2\)   10.45   11.19
Maine \1\................................................     5    22    26    30     16       2   10.14   10.43
Maryland.................................................     3    23    30    28     13       3   10.09    9.99
Minnesota................................................     3    16    22    35     23       1   11.47   12.76
Mississippi..............................................     4    26    27    27     14       2    9.71    9.56
Missouri.................................................     4    23    26    30     15       2   10.05   10.21
Montana..................................................     5    25    26    29     14       0    9.58    9.85
New Jersey...............................................     7    32    23    24     13       0    8.64    8.19
New Mexico...............................................     7    33    30    23      7   (\2\)    8.02    7.72
New York.................................................     4    27    28    26     13       3    9.67    9.50
North Carolina...........................................     5    28    27    29     12       1    9.32    9.30
North Dakota.............................................     6    13    19    35     26       1   11.55   13.41
Oklahoma.................................................     5    27    26    26     16       0    9.55    9.48
Oregon...................................................     5    30    29    27      9       0    8.76    8.60
Pennsylvania.............................................     4    21    23    30     20       1   10.58   11.27
Puerto Rico..............................................     3    29    32    27      9   (\2\)    8.94    8.61
Rhode Island \1\.........................................     4    21    20    28     23       4   11.06   12.16
South Carolina...........................................     5    23    25    30     16       2   10.04   10.50
Texas....................................................     5    30    28    26     11       0    8.91    8.71
Utah.....................................................     4    20    23    33     20       1   10.75   11.71
Vermont..................................................     2    12    16    39     30       0   12.53   14.37
Virginia \1\.............................................     2    19    23    31     22       3   11.24   12.15
Washington...............................................     6    32    27    24     11       0    8.63    8.14
West Virginia............................................     3    18    21    32     25       2   11.48   12.78
Wisconsin................................................     2    21    26    31     18       3   10.78   11.23
Wyoming..................................................     2    19    20    38     21       0   11.26   13.03
                                                          ------------------------------------------------------
      Total..............................................     4    26    27    27     14       1    9.62    9.55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to Statewide
  Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS).
\2\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.

Note.--Vermont reports that foster care population includes children in the juvenile justice system, which
  accounts for the significant percentage of children in foster care who are 11-18 years of age.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


 TABLE 11-23.--RACIAL/ETHNIC BACKGROUND OF CHILDREN ENTERING AND EXITING
       CARE IN FISCAL YEAR 1998, AND IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
                              [In percent]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    In
                Race/ethnicity                 Entering  Exiting   care
------------------------------------------------------------------------
White........................................       45        44      34
Black........................................       30        33      44
Hispanic.....................................       16        15      15
Other........................................        4         4       3
Unknown......................................        5         4       4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information
  provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


                     TABLE 11-24.--RACE/ETHNICITY OF CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
                                        [In percent; 474,906 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           American
                                                                            Indian/   Asian/
                         State                            White    Black    Alaska    Pacific  Hispanic  Unknown
                                                                            Native   Islander
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................       44       55         0         0         1        0
Arizona................................................       51       13         4         0        27        4
Arkansas...............................................       56       41         0         0         2        1
California.............................................       30       35         1         2        31        1
Colorado...............................................       53       16         2         1        25        3
Connecticut............................................       33       35         0         0        32    (\1\)
Delaware...............................................       31       59         0     (\1\)         5        5
District of Columbia...................................        1       97     (\1\)     (\1\)         0        2
Florida................................................       45       50         0         0         5        0
Georgia \2\............................................       35       59         0         0         1        3
Hawaii.................................................       12        2         1        77         2        5
Idaho..................................................       86        2         4     (\1\)         7        1
Illinois...............................................       17       77         0         0         5        1
Indiana \2\............................................       59       35         0         0         1        4
Kansas \2\.............................................       69       19         1         1         7        2
Louisiana..............................................       34       65         0         0         1        0
Maine \2\..............................................       91        2         1         0         2        4
Maryland...............................................       19       80         0         0         1    (\1\)
Minnesota..............................................       56       24        13         2         5        1
Mississippi............................................       40       58     (\1\)         0         1        0
Missouri...............................................       55       43         0         0         1        0
Montana................................................       64        2        27         0         3        4
New Jersey.............................................       22       64         0         0         9        4
New Mexico.............................................       28        8         5     (\1\)        56        2
New York...............................................       14       46         0         0        15       25
North Carolina.........................................       40       52         1         0         6        0
North Dakota...........................................       61        2        34         0         3        0
Oklahoma...............................................       55       24        15         0         4        0
Oregon.................................................       63       11         4         1         6       15
Pennsylvania...........................................       36       52         0         1        11        0
Puerto Rico............................................        0        0         0         0        99        0
Rhode Island \2\.......................................       56       23         2         1        14        4
South Carolina.........................................       36       62         0         0         1        1
Texas..................................................       33       33         0         0        31        2
Utah...................................................       74        4         4         1        14        4
Vermont................................................       96        2         0         0         1        1
Virginia \2\...........................................       42       54         0         1         3        1
Washington.............................................       63       18        10         2         7        0
West Virginia..........................................       86       12     (\1\)         0         1        1
Wisconsin..............................................       43       48         3         1         4    (\1\)
Wyoming................................................       84        3         2         0         8        2
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
      Total............................................       34       44         2         1        15       4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.
\2\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


Characteristics of foster care
    As table 11-25 shows, 40 percent of the children who were 
in foster care on September 30, 1998, had permanency plans of 
reunification with their families, while 20 percent had plans 
of adoption. For 7 percent of the children, the permanency plan 
was long-term foster care. As for the living arrangements of 
these children, table 11-26 shows that slightly less than half 
were in foster family homes with people unrelated to them, 
while another 29 percent were in foster care with relatives, 
and 15 percent of these children were either in a group home or 
institution. As shown in table 11-27, almost two-thirds of the 
children in care on September 30, 1998, had experienced between 
one and two placements during their current spell in foster 
care, while 21 percent had experienced three or four, and 16 
percent had experienced five or more.

               TABLE 11-25.--PERMANENCY PLANS OF CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998, BY STATE
                                        [In percent; 470,431 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Long-
                                           Live with              term                                 Not yet
             State               Reunify  relative(s)  Adoption  foster  Emancipation  Guardianship  established
                                                                  care
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................      45          14         15       23      (\1\)         (\1\)             3
Arizona........................      42           8         24        8          9             3             7
Arkansas.......................      40           6         10        7          7             0            29
California.....................      14           4          3        4      (\1\)             2            73
Colorado.......................      59           3         16       11          6             3             1
Connecticut....................   (\1\)       (\1\)      (\1\)    (\1\)      (\1\)         (\1\)           100
Delaware.......................      23           4          9        4          4             1            54
District of Columbia...........      23           7         32       12         17         (\1\)            10
Florida........................      71           2         16       10          2         (\1\)         (\1\)
Georgia \2\....................      67           2         21        4          6             0             0
Hawaii.........................      54           4         16        6      (\1\)             3            17
Idaho..........................      67           0          8        6          1             2            17
Illinois.......................      24           0         45        1         19             8             3
Indiana \2\....................      34           3          8        2          2             3            48
Kansas \2\.....................      70           0         21        3          3             1             1
Louisiana......................      58           5         18       16          3             0         (\1\)
Maine \2\......................      28           1         32       21          2             0            15
Maryland.......................      31          14         15       18          9            10             4
Minnesota......................      55           4         12       13          2             1            14
Mississippi....................      55          17         18        3          3             1             3
Missouri.......................      64           2         17        5          6             3             3
Montana........................      40           4         19       18          4             1            14
New Jersey.....................      53           8         32        5          2         (\1\)             0
New Mexico.....................      25       (\1\)         13        0          6             1            55
New York.......................      57       (\1\)         30    (\1\)         10             1             3
North Carolina.................      37          14         34    (\1\)          2            12             2
North Dakota...................      42           3         19       15          5             0            15
Oklahoma.......................      56           1         21       12          4             1             5
Oregon.........................      70           1         17       11          1             1         (\1\)
Pennsylvania...................      51           2         20       18          4             2             3
Puerto Rico....................      72          11          8        6          2             0             1
Rhode Island \2\...............      53           1         20       13         12             0             1
South Carolina.................      35           3         39       12         10             0             1
Texas..........................      24           9         39       10          8             4             6
Utah...........................      29       (\1\)          1        1          0             0            70
Vermont........................      53           2         12       17          9             1             7
Virginia \2\...................      25           7         29       24         15             0             0
Washington.....................      59           3         24        5          1             6             2
West Virginia..................      33           4         29       31          1             1             1
Wisconsin......................      79           2          8        4          1         (\1\)             6
Wyoming........................      53           3          6       19          6             1            11
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total....................      40           3         20        7          5             3           23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Note.--Connecticut reports that missing data is an indication of the complexity of the system, and/or a mapping
  difficulty between the State elements and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



              TABLE 11-26.--PLACEMENT SETTINGS OF CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998, BY STATE
                                        [In percent; 455,411 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Pre-
                              adopt-    Foster     Foster home   Group                Supervised           Trial
            State               ive      home     (nonrelative)   home  Institution  independent  Runaway   home
                               home   (relative)                                        living             visit
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................       1        14            57        3         16             0        2       7
Arizona.....................   (\1\)        26            42       20         10         (\1\)        1       1
Arkansas....................       9        11            67     (\1\)        10             1        2       0
California..................       0        46            38       10          3         (\1\)        1       3
Colorado....................       4        10            60        3         20             1        2       0

Connecticut.................       4        25            50        3         17             0    (\1\)    (\1\)
Delaware....................       2        16            61        6         14             1    (\1\)    (\1\)
District of Columbia........       8     (\1\)            66       12          8             2        0       5
Florida.....................       4        46            41        6          1             1        1    (\1\)
Georgia \2\.................       6        19            60        7          6             0        1       2

Hawaii......................       2        37            53        2          4             1        1       0
Idaho.......................       2         8            74        9          7         (\1\)    (\1\)       1
Illinois....................       6        46            35        1          6             3        2       2
Indiana \2\.................       0        21            54        4         20             0    (\1\)       1
Kansas \2\..................       2        10            38       12          8             1        1      27

Louisiana...................       0        11            62        8         14             0        0       4
Maine \2\...................       2         3            74        4          8             2        0       6
Maryland....................       1        28            58        9          4             0        0       0
Minnesota...................       5        16            55       16          7             0        0    (\1\)
Mississippi.................       2        26            36       15          7             1        1      12

Missouri....................       7        25            41        2         20             2        1       3
Montana.....................   (\1\)        25            64       10          1         (\1\)    (\1\)    (\1\)
New Jersey..................       2         2            68        8         18             2    (\1\)    (\1\)
New Mexico..................       5        29            56        5          3             2        0    (\1\)
New York....................       0        24            54        2         14             0    (\1\)       4

North Carolina..............       5        18            45        7          7             0        5      13
North Dakota................       6         9            54        6         25         (\1\)        0    (\1\)
Oklahoma....................       2        28            49       14          6             0        0       0
Oregon......................   (\1\)        27            63        1          9             0    (\1\)    (\1\)
Pennsylvania................       2         8            61        9         18             1        0       1

Puerto Rico.................       2        40            41        8          7             0        1       1
Rhode Island \2\............       2        22            32       33          2             3        6    (\1\)
South Carolina..............       6         2            50       38          2             0        0       1
Texas.......................      14        13            46        5         16             0        1       5
Utah........................       3         6            37       13          3             2        3      33

Vermont.....................       3        10            58       14          3             3    (\1\)       9
Virginia \2\................       6         2            69       18          1             1        1       2
Washington..................       2        34            57        5          1             0        2       0
West Virginia...............       5         6            61       14         11             2        1    (\1\)
Wisconsin...................       2         6            75        6         11         (\1\)    (\1\)    (\1\)

Wyoming.....................       0        18            47       13         22             1        0    (\1\)
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.................       3        29            48        7          8             1        1      3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Note.--Minnesota reports that 80 percent of placements in the largest county are initially in emergency
  shelters, which may be characterized as institutional settings. Oklahoma reports that group home data include
  children experiencing brief shelter stays. South Carolina reports that an estimated one-third of the children
  in group homes, shown above, are misidentified.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



 TABLE 11-27.--NUMBER OF PLACEMENTS OF CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30,
                             1998, BY STATE
                    [In percent; 394,707 total cases]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    7 or
                    State                      1-2    3-4    5-6    more
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................................     74     15      5      5
Arizona.....................................     14      9      8     68
Arkansas....................................     67     19      7      8
California..................................     69     21      6      4
Colorado....................................     63     22      8      7
Connecticut.................................     77     18      3      1
Delaware....................................     90      7      2      2
District of Columbia........................     59     21      9     10
Georgia \1\.................................     71     18      6      6
Hawaii......................................     67     21      7      5
Idaho.......................................     57     33      5      5
Illinois....................................     53     26     11     10
Indiana \1\.................................     97      2      1      1
Kansas \1\..................................     48     23     11     17
Louisiana...................................     46     25     13     16
Maine \1\...................................     47     20     10     23
Maryland....................................     85     13      2      0
Minnesota...................................     65     21      8      6
Mississippi.................................     74     14      6      6
Missouri....................................     53     25     10     12
Montana.....................................     59     25     10      5
New Jersey..................................     69     19      7      5
New Mexico..................................     97      3      1      0
North Carolina..............................     47     26     12     15
North Dakota................................     83     13      3      1
Oklahoma....................................     56     27     10      8
Oregon......................................     64     21      8      7
Pennsylvania................................     62     22      9      7
Puerto Rico.................................     96      3      1      0
Rhode Island \1\............................     56     22     10     12
South Carolina..............................     61     22      9      7
Texas.......................................     46     28     12     14
Utah........................................     29     29     22     19
Vermont.....................................     38     27     15     20
Virginia \1\................................     94      5      1      0
Washington..................................     53     24     10     14
West Virginia...............................     87      9      2      2
Wisconsin...................................     83     14      3      1
Wyoming.....................................     78     16      4      2
                                             ---------------------------
      Total.................................     64     21      8     8
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to
  conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


    The amount of time that children spend in foster care is an 
issue of public policy concern. As shown in table 11-28, 
children who left care during fiscal year 1998 had generally 
shorter lengths of stay from the time of removal from home than 
those children who remained in care on September 30, 1998. 
Table 11-29 shows the length of stay, by State, for children in 
care on September 30, 1998.

  TABLE 11-28.--LENGTH OF STAY FOR CHILDREN EXITING CARE DURING FISCAL
        YEAR 1998, AND FOR CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
                              [In percent]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Exiting
                  Length of stay                       care     In care
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 1 month.....................................         20          4
1-5 months........................................         18         15
6-11 months.......................................         14         15
12-17 months......................................         10         11
18-23 months......................................          7          9
24-29 months......................................          5          7
30-35 months......................................          4          5
3-4 years.........................................         11         16
5 years or longer.................................         10         18
Mean (months).....................................      22.45      33.26
Median (months)...................................       11.2      21.19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information
  provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


                                    TABLE 11-29.--LENGTH OF STAY FOR CHILDREN IN CARE ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1998, BY STATE
                                                            [In percent; 474,839 total cases]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Less
                        State                           than 1    1-5      6-11    12-17    18-23    24-29    30-35     3-4    5 years    Mean    Median
                                                        month    months   months   months   months   months   months   years   or more   months   months
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..............................................        4       15       13       11       10        8        5       13       21    38.35    22.28
Arizona..............................................        7       25       24       11        8        5        4       11        7    20.02    10.74
Arkansas.............................................        8       25       16       13       10        7        4       10        7    20.95    12.22
California...........................................        3       13       16       12        9        7        5       14       20    35.17    21.62
Colorado.............................................        7       26       19       12        7        5        4       11        8    21.16    11.14
Connecticut..........................................        7       24       20       15       10        8        5        9        3    16.46    11.50
Delaware.............................................        7       29       19       12        6        6        4       10        6    18.31     9.46
District of Columbia.................................        2        9       12       11        8        7        6       21       23    41.40    29.96
Florida..............................................        5       21       21       13        9        7        5       11        9    22.53    13.31
Georgia \1\..........................................        0       10       14       12       11        9        8       19       18    36.58    26.22
Hawaii...............................................        5       22       22       13       10        5        5       11        7    20.80    12.29
Idaho................................................        7       22       19       15        8        6        4       12        6    19.73    12.35
Illinois.............................................        2        7        7        7        8        8        7       28       27    45.26    40.02
Indiana \1\..........................................        5       17       16       11        7        8        6       17       13    28.89    19.06
Kansas \1\...........................................        5       28       31       12        6        4        3        6        5    15.82     8.80
Louisiana............................................        4       20       14       10        7        6        5       15       18    33.40    19.65
Maine \1\............................................        2       17       20        9        6        6        5       15       19    33.57    18.73
Maryland.............................................        3       11       12       11        9        8        6       20       20    36.08    26.18
Minnesota............................................        8       25       18       10        7        6        4       11       13    25.30    11.99
Mississippi..........................................        5       18       16       12        9        8        4       14       15    30.06    17.45
Missouri.............................................        4       17       15       12        9        8        6       15       13    28.83    18.79
Montana..............................................        5       20       15       11        8        8        6       15       11    26.96    16.99
New Jersey...........................................        4       16       15       12       10        8        6       18       12    29.45    19.81
New Mexico...........................................       10       36       21       33    (\2\)    (\2\)    (\2\)    (\2\)    (\2\)     7.62     6.93
New York.............................................        3       11       12       10        8        7        6       15       27    42.54    28.58
North Carolina.......................................        4       19       16       14       10        8        5       13       11    25.93    16.33
North Dakota.........................................        6       25       26       10        6        6        9       11        1    15.79    11.47
Oklahoma.............................................        5       25       18       13        9        7        5       10        8    21.88    12.88
Oregon...............................................        6       20       17       14       11        8        4       14        7    22.71    14.95
Pennsylvania.........................................        5       18       16       10        8        7        5       14       20    34.42    19.63
Puerto Rico..........................................        2       12       14       11        7        7        8       22       17    35.12    28.01
Rhode Island \1\.....................................        4       22       20       12       11        6        4       12        9    23.67    14.19
South Carolina.......................................        4       17       14        9        6        6        6       19       19    35.03    24.80
Texas................................................        4       16       14       12        8        7        5       17       17    31.89    20.99
Utah.................................................        6       23       19       16       10        7        4       10        4    18.01    12.45
Vermont..............................................        5       17       18       12        9        8        7       15       10    26.16    17.54
Virginia \1\.........................................        4       13       13        8        9        8        5       19       21    37.70    25.76
Washington...........................................        5       16       17       13       10        8        5       16       10    26.37    17.05
West Virginia........................................        4       19       17       11        9        6        6       14       14    29.49    16.76
Wisconsin............................................        4       15       12       10        9        9        7       19       14    31.61    23.85
Wyoming..............................................        7       25       20       14       10        3        3       12        7    19.54    11.04
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total..........................................        4       15       15       11        9        7        5       16       18    33.26    21.19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.
\2\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


    Finally, table 11-30 shows the reasons for discharge for 
children who left foster care during fiscal year 1998, and 
indicates that the majority (62 percent) of these children were 
reunified with their families. Another 14 percent were adopted, 
9 percent left to live with other relatives, and 7 percent were 
emancipated (i.e., ``aged out'').

              TABLE 11-30.--DISCHARGE REASONS FOR CHILDREN EXITING CARE, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 166,035 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Live
                                                           with
                  State                   Reunification    other   Adoption  Emancipation  Guardianship   Other
                                                         relative
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.................................          58           33     (\1\)           3         (\1\)          5
Arizona.................................          95        (\1\)     (\1\)           2         (\1\)          3
Arkansas................................          66           21         3           3         (\1\)          7
California..............................          73        (\1\)        10           8             4          5
Colorado................................          69            6         7           5             1         12
Connecticut.............................          63            7        15           2            10          4
Delaware................................          95        (\1\)     (\1\)           1         (\1\)          4
District of Columbia....................          28           27        20          11             1         13
Florida.................................          30           41        16           9         (\1\)          4
Georgia \2\.............................          53           19        15           7             2          4
Hawaii..................................          62            2        23           7             4          2
Idaho...................................          77            8         5           3         (\1\)          7
Illinois................................          52            6        35           5             0          1
Indiana \2\.............................         100        (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)      (\1\)
Kansas \2\..............................          66            5         9           6             1         14
Louisiana...............................          49           24        10          13             2          2
Maine \2\...............................          73            4         6          11             1          5
Maryland................................          48           15        11           7             3         16
Minnesota...............................          90            3         2           2             0          2
Mississippi.............................          56           25        10           5             3          3
Missouri................................          67            3        13          10             3          4
Montana.................................          59           14        16           5             1          4
New Jersey..............................          71        (\1\)        16           8         (\1\)          5
New Mexico..............................          76           10         0           1             5          8
New York................................          49           11        24           7         (\1\)          8
North Carolina..........................          47           16        17           6            10          4
North Dakota............................          70            8         1           6             0         15
Oklahoma................................          71           10        11           2             1          5
Oregon..................................          68            2        17           2             5          7
Pennsylvania............................          61           11        12           6             1         10
Rhode Island \2\........................          56            3        13           4             2         22
South Carolina..........................          61           13        17           8             0          1
Texas...................................          48           37         2          11         (\1\)          2
Utah....................................          54        (\1\)        14           6            22          4
Vermont.................................          62            3        16           9             1          8
Virginia \2\............................          50           23        10          11             0          6
Washington..............................          71        (\1\)        13           6             7          3
West Virginia...........................          54           13        11           7             1         14
Wisconsin...............................          58           10        11           6         (\1\)         16
Wyoming.................................          56            9         2           2             4         27
                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.............................          62            9        14           7             2         6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Note.--California reports that its foster care population includes probation children who enter at older ages
  and may not be good candidates for adoption; therefore, their inclusion skews data to show a lower rate of
  adoption. Also, the data conversion process resulted in missing cases for this data element. Delaware reports
  that no exits to adoption, as shown in the table, is an error. Florida reports that children exiting to
  reunification include guardianship cases.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


Characteristics of children awaiting adoption
    Tables 11-31 through 11-33 show characteristics of children 
who were awaiting adoption at the end of fiscal year 1998; 
i.e., children in foster care who had permanency plans of 
adoption and/or whose parental rights had been terminated. 
Children whose permanency plan was emancipation are not 
included in these tables. As the tables show, nearly 60 percent 
were between the ages of 6 and 15; more than half (53 percent) 
were black; and more than half (54 percent) had been in foster 
care for 3 years or longer.

            TABLE 11-31.--AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 103,329 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       less
                               State                                  than 1    1-5      6-10    11-15    16-18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama............................................................        2       31       39       21        6
Arizona............................................................        5       38       39       17        1
Arkansas...........................................................        4       30       33       30        2
California.........................................................        8       55       26        9        2
Colorado...........................................................        2       30       39       26        3
Connecticut........................................................        1       37       40       19        3
Delaware...........................................................        1       39       46       13        1
District of Columbia...............................................        1       40       43       15        1
Florida............................................................        3       32       37       25        3
Georgia \1\........................................................        2       33       36       24        5
Hawaii.............................................................        2       32       31       24       10
Idaho..............................................................        3       31       39       21        6
Illinois...........................................................        2       36       40       21        2
Indiana \1\........................................................        2       44       32       18        4
Kansas \1\.........................................................        8       20       23       39       11
Louisiana..........................................................        2       31       41       24        2
Maine \1\..........................................................        5       30       36       22        7
Maryland...........................................................        1       31       43       22        2
Minnesota..........................................................        3       23       37       29        8
Mississippi........................................................        1       27       37       26        9
Missouri...........................................................        2       30       36       27        5
Montana............................................................        2       27       28       34        9
New Jersey.........................................................        5       43       28       18        6
New Mexico.........................................................        5       33       37       23        2
New York...........................................................        1       30       38       28        3
North Carolina.....................................................        5       35       33       23        4
North Dakota.......................................................       25       27       30       17        2
Oklahoma...........................................................        3       33       36       25        3
Oregon.............................................................        3       43       39       14        1
Pennsylvania.......................................................        3       36       37       21        3
Puerto Rico........................................................        3       18       41       31        6
Rhode Island \1\...................................................        1       40       41       15        2
South Carolina.....................................................        3       30       34       28        5
Texas..............................................................        3       35       35       24        3
Utah...............................................................        7       35       37       19        2
Vermont............................................................        3       28       26       34        8
Virginia \1\.......................................................        3       38       41       16        1
Washington.........................................................        7       45       32       14        3
West Virginia......................................................        4       34       40       21        2
Wisconsin..........................................................        2       32       36       25        6
Wyoming............................................................        2       26       38       28        6
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
      Total........................................................        3       35       37       22       3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to Statewide
  Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS).

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



             TABLE 11-32.--RACE/ETHNICITY OF CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 103,217 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     American
                                                                                      Indian/   Asian/
                         State                            White    Black   Hispanic   Alaska    Pacific  Unknown
                                                                                      Native   Islander
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................       43       56         1         0     (\1\)        0
Arizona................................................       53       14        26         4         0        3
Arkansas...............................................       55       43         0     (\1\)     (\1\)        2
California.............................................       40       27        30         1         1        0
Colorado...............................................       47       22        27         2         1        2
Connecticut............................................       36       39        25     (\1\)         0    (\1\)
Delaware...............................................       27       57         6     (\1\)     (\1\)       10
District of Columbia...................................        1       97     (\1\)     (\1\)     (\1\)        1
Florida................................................       44       50         4         0         0        0
Georgia \2\............................................       38       57         1         0         0        4
Hawaii.................................................       14        3         3         2        76        3
Idaho..................................................       86        3        10         1     (\1\)    (\1\)
Illinois...............................................       12       83         4         0         0        1
Indiana \2\............................................       55       39         2         0     (\1\)        4
Kansas \2\.............................................       62       28         4         1     (\1\)        4
Louisiana..............................................       37       61         1         0     (\1\)        1
Maine \2\..............................................       93        3         1         1         1        1
Maryland...............................................       20       79         1         0         0    (\1\)
Minnesota..............................................       48       35         6        11         1        0
Mississippi............................................       35       64     (\1\)     (\1\)         1    (\1\)
Missouri...............................................       53       45         1         0         0        0
Montana................................................       73        1         3        19         1        4
New Jersey.............................................       18       70         9         0         0        2
New Mexico.............................................       23        5        69         3     (\1\)    (\1\)
New York...............................................       10       51        14         0         0       25
North Carolina.........................................       39       54         5         1         0        1
North Dakota...........................................       54        2         2        41         1    (\1\)
Oklahoma...............................................       47       35         5        14     (\1\)        0
Oregon.................................................       68       10         7         3         0       11
Pennsylvania...........................................       30       58        11         0         0        0
Puerto Rico............................................        0    (\1\)       100     (\1\)     (\1\)    (\1\)
Rhode Island \2\.......................................       50       27        15         2         0        5
South Carolina.........................................       31       67         1         0         0        1
Texas..................................................       30       35        32         0         0        3
Utah...................................................       73        4        18         1         1        3
Vermont................................................       96        2         1     (\1\)     (\1\)        1
Virginia \2\...........................................       38       56         4         0         1        1
Washington.............................................       65       20         7         6         1        0
West Virginia..........................................       84       15         1     (\1\)     (\1\)        0
Wisconsin..............................................       56       33         4         7         0    (\1\)
Wyoming................................................       77        8        13         2     (\1\)    (\1\)
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
      Total............................................       29       53        11         1         1       5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



             TABLE 11-33.--LENGTH OF STAY FOR CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 103,325 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Less
                                            than    1-5    6-11    12-17   18-23   24-29   30-35   36-59   60 or
                  State                      1    months  months  months  months  months  months  months   more
                                           month                                                          months
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................      1       2       4       6       9      13       9      22      35
Arizona..................................      2       9      20       9      11      11       7      24       6
Arkansas.................................  (\1\)       7      10       9      11      10      11      31      11
California...............................      1       6      11      16      17      15       9      16       9
Colorado.................................      3      12      11      11       9      10       8      23      15
Connecticut..............................      7      31      25      16       9       6       2       3       2
Delaware.................................  (\1\)       6       5      13       9      14       7      36      11
District of Columbia.....................      0       2       6       8       9       9      10      30      26
Florida..................................      1      10      11      10      10      11       9      23      15
Georgia \2\..............................      0       2       4       7       9      11      10      28      29
Hawaii...................................      0       3       9       9      19       7       9      28      16
Idaho....................................  (\1\)       3       8       3       9      12      12      32      20
Illinois.................................      0       1       3       5       8       9       8      35      29
Indiana \2\..............................      0       2       5       9      12       8       7      27      29
Kansas \2\...............................      5      22      36       4       4       5       2       9      13
Louisiana................................  (\1\)       2       3       6       9      10       9      28      33
Maine \2\................................      1       9      22      13       9       7       6      17      15
Maryland.................................      0       1       4       6       8       9       8      32      33
Minnesota................................      3      10       9       9      10       9       7      18      23
Mississippi..............................      0       4       5       6       7       9       5      28      36
Missouri.................................      0       2       5       8       9      12      10      28      24
Montana..................................      1       3       8      12      11      12      10      25      19
New Jersey...............................      1       7       7       9      10      11       8      29      18
New Mexico...............................  (\1\)      21      24      55   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)
New York.................................      0       1       2       3       5       7       6      24      51
North Carolina...........................      2       9      11      14      12      10       7      20      15
North Dakota.............................      3      13      18      12      10       8      19      15       2
Oklahoma.................................      1       5       8      12      12      13       9      25      15
Oregon...................................      1       4       9      14      12      14       9      30       7
Pennsylvania.............................      0       2       5       8      10      10       8      26      31
Puerto Rico..............................      1       3       3       4       2       4       8      27      55
Rhode Island \2\.........................      0       5       7      11      19      12      10      21      15
South Carolina...........................      1       6       7       7       6       9      10      30      23
Texas....................................      0       4       9      12      10       9       8      25      22
Utah.....................................      2      11      18      22      13      10       6      14       5
Vermont..................................      1       3       9      10      13      10       7      23      24
Virginia \2\.............................      1       7      10       8      10      11       8      27      19
Washington...............................      1       6      11      14      12      11       8      24      13
West Virginia............................      1       6      10      11      13      12       9      24      15
Wisconsin................................      2       7       8       6       8      12       9      28      21
Wyoming..................................  (\1\)       8       8       8       8   (\1\)       4      43      23
                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total..............................      1       4       7       8       9      10       8      27     27
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


Number and characteristics of adopted children
    The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System 
(AFCARS) collects data on children who were adopted with the 
involvement of public child welfare agencies (see table 11-34). 
As explained earlier, this is not necessarily the same as the 
number of adoptions reported by States for purposes of earning 
adoption incentive payments, which are based specifically on 
adoptions of children from foster care. Table 11-35 compares 
the racial and ethnic composition of children who were adopted 
through the child welfare system in fiscal year 1998 with the 
race and ethnicity of children who were waiting for adoption 
during that year. Black children were the largest racial group 
in either category, but comprised a larger share of waiting 
children (53 percent) than of children for whom adoptions had 
been finalized (46 percent). The opposite was true for white 
children, who made up 14 percent of waiting children but 34 
percent of adopted children. Table 11-36 shows the racial and 
ethnic background of children adopted in fiscal year 1998, by 
State.

 TABLE 11-34.--NUMBER OF AGENCY-INVOLVED ADOPTIONS BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR
                                  1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Number of
                            State                              adoptions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama......................................................         47
Alaska.......................................................         95
California...................................................      3,965
Colorado.....................................................        265
District of Columbia.........................................         75
Florida......................................................      1,549
Georgia \1\..................................................        646
Hawaii.......................................................        293
Illinois.....................................................      4,566
Indiana \1\..................................................         99
Iowa.........................................................        296
Kansas \1\...................................................        254
Kentucky.....................................................        111
Louisiana....................................................        198
Maine \1\....................................................         18
Maryland.....................................................        400
Massachusetts................................................      1,060
Michigan.....................................................      1,941
Minnesota....................................................        403
Mississippi..................................................        135
Missouri.....................................................        585
Montana......................................................        130
New Hampshire................................................         51
New Jersey...................................................        713
New York.....................................................      4,561
North Carolina...............................................        797
North Dakota.................................................         39
Ohio.........................................................      1,212
Oklahoma.....................................................        472
Oregon.......................................................        490
Pennsylvania.................................................        504
Puerto Rico..................................................         35
Rhode Island \1\.............................................        101
South Carolina...............................................        278
South Dakota.................................................         85
Tennessee....................................................        272
Texas........................................................      1,388
Utah.........................................................        190
Vermont......................................................         69
Virginia \1\.................................................        107
Washington...................................................        441
West Virginia................................................        207
Wisconsin....................................................        621
Wyoming......................................................         28
                                                              ----------
      Total..................................................     29,792
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to
  conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



TABLE 11-35.--RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND OF CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION
                      AND ADOPTED, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                              [In percent]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Waiting   Adopted
                   Race/ethnicity                     children  children
------------------------------------------------------------------------
White...............................................        29        34
Black...............................................        53        46
Hispanic............................................        11        12
Other...............................................         2         2
Unknown.............................................         5         5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from information
  provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Additional State-by-State information on children adopted 
through the public child welfare system is shown in tables 11-
37 through 11-40, including age at the time of adoption 
finalization, the prior relationship between adoptive parents 
and children, the length of time between termination of 
parental rights (TPR) and adoption finalization, and the basis 
of children's special needs. Readers should note (table 11-38) 
that most children who are adopted out of foster care are 
adopted by their foster parents. In table 11-40, the 
percentages shown are of all children identified in the 
individual States as having special needs. Note also that 
slightly more than half the children classified as ``special 
needs'' received this classification because of either their 
age or their membership in a sibling group.

                 TABLE 11-36.--RACE/ETHNICITY OF CHILDREN ADOPTED IN FISCAL YEAR 1998, BY STATE
                                        [In percent; 29,773 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                              American
                                                                                    Asian/     Indian/
                        State                           White    Black   Hispanic   Pacific    Alaska    Unknown
                                                                                   Islander    Native
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..............................................       45       55     (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)    (\1\)
Alaska...............................................       22       22         3     (\1\)          53    (\1\)
California...........................................       37       25        34         3           1        1
Colorado.............................................       60       14        23         0           2        1
District of Columbia.................................        1       99     (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)    (\1\)

Florida..............................................       49       40        10         0       (\1\)        0
Georgia \2\..........................................       37       59         2     (\1\)       (\1\)        2
Hawaii...............................................       12        1         4        79           2        2
Illinois.............................................       18       76         5         0           0        1
Indiana \2\..........................................       80       11         3     (\1\)       (\1\)        6

Iowa.................................................       71       19         3         2           5        1
Kansas \2\...........................................       69       19         8     (\1\)           2        2
Kentucky.............................................       60       25         5     (\1\)       (\1\)        9
Louisiana............................................       28       71     (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)        1
Maine \2\............................................       94    (\1\)         6     (\1\)       (\1\)    (\1\)

Maryland.............................................       32       63         3         1       (\1\)        1
Massachusetts........................................       46       23        23         1           0        7
Michigan.............................................       37       58         3         0           1        1
Minnesota............................................       40       43         6         1           9    (\1\)
Mississippi..........................................       44       52         2     (\1\)           1    (\1\)

Missouri.............................................       58       41         0         0           1        0
Montana..............................................       82        2         4     (\1\)          12    (\1\)
New Hampshire........................................       84        8         6     (\1\)           2    (\1\)
New Jersey...........................................       21       70         9     (\1\)       (\1\)        1
New York.............................................        9       53        14         0           0       23

North Carolina.......................................       40       55         3         0           2        1
North Dakota.........................................       97    (\1\)     (\1\)     (\1\)           3    (\1\)
Ohio.................................................       46       47         2     (\1\)       (\1\)        5
Oklahoma.............................................       58       26         3         0          12        0
Oregon...............................................       76       11        10         1           2        1

Pennsylvania.........................................       52       35        13         1       (\1\)    (\1\)
Puerto Rico..........................................    (\1\)    (\1\)       100     (\1\)       (\1\)    (\1\)
Rhode Island \2\.....................................       33       38         7     (\1\)       (\1\)       23
South Carolina.......................................       30       67         0     (\1\)           0        2
South Dakota.........................................       65        2         1     (\1\)          32    (\1\)

Tennessee............................................       51       45         4     (\1\)           0    (\1\)
Texas................................................       27       40        28         0           0        5
Utah.................................................       74        5        17         2           3        1
Vermont..............................................       99        1     (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)    (\1\)
Virginia \2\.........................................       48       49         1     (\1\)       (\1\)        3

Washington...........................................       67       19         7         1           5        1
West Virginia........................................       84        9         1         1       (\1\)        4
Wisconsin............................................       42       48         5         0           5    (\1\)
Wyoming..............................................       68        4        14     (\1\)           7        7
                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------
      Total..........................................       34       46        12         1           1       5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



                 TABLE 11-37.--CHILD'S AGE AT ADOPTION FINALIZATION, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 29,791 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           State                            under 1    1-5      6-10    11-15    16-18     19+
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................................................    (\1\)       47       34       19    (\1\)    (\1\)
Alaska....................................................    (\1\)       48       37       15    (\1\)    (\1\)
California................................................        3       62       28        7        1    (\1\)
Colorado..................................................        3       50       38        7        2    (\1\)
District of Columbia......................................    (\1\)       48       32       17        3    (\1\)
Florida...................................................        1       47       35       15        2        0
Georgia \2\...............................................        2       47       35       15        2    (\1\)
Hawaii....................................................        2       53       36        9        1    (\1\)
Illinois..................................................        0       38       42       17        2        0
Indiana \2\...............................................    (\1\)       37       39       21        2    (\1\)
Iowa......................................................        0       36       45       15        3    (\1\)
Kansas \2\................................................        1       37       37       22        3    (\1\)
Kentucky..................................................    (\1\)       35       49       13        3    (\1\)
Louisiana.................................................        1       28       52       18        1    (\1\)
Maine \2\.................................................    (\1\)       33       50       17    (\1\)    (\1\)
Maryland..................................................        2       42       43       13        1    (\1\)
Massachusetts.............................................        1       46       40       13        1    (\1\)
Michigan..................................................        1       44       40       13        2    (\1\)
Minnesota.................................................        0       34       48       15        2    (\1\)
Mississippi...............................................    (\1\)       16       44       31        8    (\1\)
Missouri..................................................        1       42       38       17        2    (\1\)
Montana...................................................    (\1\)       36       42       19        2    (\1\)
New Hampshire.............................................    (\1\)       51       33       14        2    (\1\)
New Jersey................................................        1       56       32       11        0    (\1\)
New York..................................................        0       31       43       22        4        0
North Carolina............................................        3       43       34       16        3        0
North Dakota..............................................        3       64       18       15    (\1\)    (\1\)
Ohio......................................................        3       53       30       13        2    (\1\)
Oklahoma..................................................        1       44       35       17        3    (\1\)
Oregon....................................................        0       49       38       12        1    (\1\)
Pennsylvania..............................................        1       48       38       12        2    (\1\)
Puerto Rico...............................................    (\1\)       51       31       17    (\1\)    (\1\)
Rhode Island \2\..........................................        1       52       39        8    (\1\)    (\1\)
South Carolina............................................    (\1\)       26       46       26        3    (\1\)
South Dakota..............................................        1       44       36       18        1    (\1\)
Tennessee.................................................        0       38       38       20        4    (\1\)
Texas.....................................................        2       47       37       13        1    (\1\)
Utah......................................................        4       49       33       13        1    (\1\)
Vermont...................................................    (\1\)       48       39       12        1    (\1\)
Virginia \2\..............................................    (\1\)       30       49       19        3    (\1\)
Washington................................................        0       60       31        8        1    (\1\)
West Virginia.............................................        1       44       39       14        3    (\1\)
Wisconsin.................................................        1       43       38       16        3    (\1\)
Wyoming...................................................    (\1\)       50       25       25    (\1\)    (\1\)
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
      Total...............................................        1       44       38       15        2       0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



   TABLE 11-38.--PRIOR RELATIONSHIP OF ADOPTIVE PARENT(S) TO CHILD, BY
                         STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                    [In percent; 23,014 total cases]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Foster                Other
            State             Nonrelative   parent  Stepparent  relative
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska......................          1         59      (\1\)         40
Arkansas....................         30         60      (\1\)         10
California..................          7         58      (\1\)         35
Colorado....................         15         60          1         24
Connecticut.................         24         52      (\1\)         23
Delaware....................         14         83      (\1\)          3
District of Columbia........          2         98      (\1\)      (\1\)
Florida.....................         36         54      (\1\)         10
Georgia \2\.................          1         89      (\1\)         10
Hawaii......................          3         40      (\1\)         58
Indiana \2\.................         83         11      (\1\)          6
Kansas \2\..................         21         60      (\1\)         19
Kentucky....................         78         21          0          1
Louisiana...................         24         75      (\1\)          1
Maine \2\...................         82         14      (\1\)          4
Maryland....................         19         60      (\1\)         21
Michigan....................         12         55      (\1\)         33
Minnesota...................         36         31      (\1\)         33
Mississippi.................         32         58          2          8
Missouri....................         15         66          0         18
Montana.....................      (\1\)         78      (\1\)         22
New Hampshire...............         20         65      (\1\)         16
New Jersey..................         21         79      (\1\)      (\1\)
New Mexico..................         65          6      (\1\)         29
North Carolina..............         32         51          1         17
North Dakota................         52         45      (\1\)          4
Oklahoma....................         37         38      (\1\)         25
Oregon......................         30         39      (\1\)         31
Pennsylvania................         53         45          0          2
Puerto Rico.................         22         32          9         37
Rhode Island \2\............         10         53      (\1\)         37
South Carolina..............         37         58      (\1\)          5
South Dakota................         38         51      (\1\)         12
Tennessee...................         34         64      (\1\)          3
Texas.......................         27         59          0         14
Utah........................         37         57          0          6
Vermont.....................         42         55      (\1\)          3
Virginia \2\................         10         84      (\1\)          6
Washington..................         40         58          2          0
West Virginia...............          8         74      (\1\)         18
Wisconsin...................         13         76      (\1\)         11
Wyoming.....................         29         55      (\1\)         16
                             -------------------------------------------
      Total.................         26         55          0        19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of
  reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to
  conversion process to SACWIS.

Note.--Relative foster parents are shown as ``other relative.''

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


             Trends in Child Welfare and Foster Care Costs

    As a result of the trends in foster care caseloads and the 
Federal requirements of Public Law 96-272, funding for the 
Title IV-E Foster Care Program has increased significantly 
since it began in 1981. Based on administration estimates for 
fiscal year 1999, Federal title IV-E expenditures have 
increased thirteenfold, from $308.8 million to $4 billion, 
between 1981 and 1999. Funding for the Title IV-B Child Welfare 
Services Program increased by almost 80 percent from 1981 to 
1999 ($163.6 million to $292 million). Funding for the Title XX 
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), which States may use for 
child welfare services, has actually fallen.

 TABLE 11-39.--TIME BETWEEN TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AND ADOPTION FINALIZATION, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 28,339 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Less than    1-5      6-11    12-17    18-23    24-29    30-35     3-4       5+
            State               1 month    months   months   months   months   months   months   years    years
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................       (\1\)       13       29       21        4        8        8       12        4
Alaska......................           2       20       27       19        7        3       11        7        3
Arkansas....................           2       26       27       20        6        8        5        6        1
California..................           0       13       34       22       12        7        4        5        2
Colorado....................           1       30       22       22       12        5        3        4        1
Connecticut.................       (\1\)       12       44       21       10        6        3        3        1
Delaware....................       (\1\)       25       48        3       11        2    (\1\)        2       10
District of Columbia........          26       23       17       10        8        6        5        5        1
Florida.....................           0       12       27       21       15        9        6        8        2
Georgia \2\.................           0        3       27       25       19        8        6        8        3
Hawaii......................           3       25       33       15        8        6        3        4        1
Illinois....................           1       25       41       16        8        4        2        3        1
Indiana \2\.................           9       21       22       21        9        7        3        6        2
Iowa........................       (\1\)       19       27       29       13        4        3        4        1
Kansas \2\..................           1        5       33       20       21        5        3        4        8
Kentucky....................          12        3       27       22        9       13        3        8        2
Louisiana...................           0        8       32       19       13        8        4       14        1
Maryland....................       (\1\)       27       30       18       11        6        3        4        2
Massachusetts...............           1       24       27       18       13        7        5        4        1
Michigan....................           0       10       31       25       13        9        5        5        2
Minnesota...................           0        6       13       15       20       14       16       12        4
Mississippi.................           3        8       26       20       10       11        9       11        3
Missouri....................          15       14       22       19        9        6        3        8        3
Montana.....................           3       13       25       19       10        3        8       13        6
New Hampshire...............          22       14       38       14        3        5    (\1\)    (\1\)        5
New Jersey..................           4       13       32       25       10        7        4        4        1
New Mexico..................           2        8       43       14       12       11        4        5        1
North Carolina..............           1       21       31       20        9        5        4        5        3
North Dakota................           4       14       64       10        6        1        1    (\1\)    (\1\)
Oklahoma....................           2        7       24       27       14        9        4       11        2
Oregon......................       (\1\)        5       27       30       20        8        4        4        1
Pennsylvania................          20       22       24       17        7        3        3        4        1
Puerto Rico.................          70        4        9        5        8        2    (\1\)        1        1
Rhode Island \2\............          12       41       19       11        5        4        3        5        2
South Carolina..............           4       10       49       19       10        2        0        3        2
South Dakota................       (\1\)       11       31       34        8        5        6        5        1
Tennessee...................           2       13       25       20       13        8        4       12        2
Texas.......................           1       17       31       19       11        8        3        7        2
Utah........................           6       42       22       17        5        6        1        1    (\1\)
Vermont.....................       (\1\)        7       37       17       23       12        2        3    (\1\)
Virginia \2\................       (\1\)        1       31       22       10       11        7       12        7
Washington..................           1       16       27       19       12        8        4       11        3
West Virginia...............           4        5       15       20       15       16        9       12        6
Wisconsin...................           1       43       28       16        6        3        1        1        1
Wyoming.....................          16       34       34        6    (\1\)    (\1\)    (\1\)        6        3
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.................           3       17       31       20       11        7        4        6       2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to SACWIS.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



    TABLE 11-40.--BASIS OF SPECIAL NEEDS FOR ADOPTED CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                        [In percent; 29,764 total cases]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Medical
                                                                                          condition or
                                                             Racial/            Sibling      mental,
                          State                             original     Age     group      physical,     Other
                                                           background                       emotional
                                                                                          disabilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................         51        32    (\1\)              13        4
Alaska...................................................          2        14        4              74        6
California...............................................         13        13       23              14       38
Colorado.................................................          2         3        6              89    (\1\)
District of Columbia.....................................      (\1\)        40       32              23        5

Florida..................................................         41        22    (\1\)           (\1\)       37
Georgia \2\..............................................         19        10       41               4       26
Hawaii...................................................          0        13       58              15       14
Illinois.................................................      (\1\)        92        6               2    (\1\)
Indiana \2\..............................................      (\1\)     (\1\)    (\1\)             100    (\1\)

Iowa.....................................................          2         4        6              88    (\1\)
Kansas \2\...............................................          4        27       14              55    (\1\)
Kentucky.................................................         18        13        7              55        6
Louisiana................................................         28         5        4              64    (\1\)
Maryland.................................................         18        13       36              29        5

Massachusetts............................................         19         3       18               2       59
Michigan.................................................         18        74        4               3        0
Minnesota................................................          9         9       24              40       19
Mississippi..............................................          2        25       38              36    (\1\)
Missouri.................................................         23        14       37              20        6

Montana..................................................          2        72       20               6    (\1\)
New Hampshire............................................          4        29       47              10       10
New Jersey...............................................         30         2       17              30       21
New York.................................................      (\1\)        17       32              31       21
North Carolina...........................................          2         2       24              50       22

North Dakota.............................................      (\1\)        44       18              38    (\1\)
Ohio.....................................................         43        32       15              11    (\1\)
Oklahoma.................................................         13        30       33               7       17
Oregon...................................................      (\1\)     (\1\)       59              41    (\1\)
Pennsylvania.............................................         22        16       16              40        6

Puerto Rico..............................................      (\1\)         3       66              31    (\1\)
Rhode Island \2\.........................................         42         3       25               2       29
South Carolina...........................................      (\1\)        38       31              31    (\1\)
South Dakota.............................................         14         2       33              39       12
Tennessee................................................         17        15        8              57        3

Texas....................................................         14        18       45              24    (\1\)
Utah.....................................................          6        25       44              18        6
Vermont..................................................      (\1\)        28       43              14       14
Virginia \2\.............................................         12        24       32              22        9
Washington...............................................          4        35        0              61    (\1\)

West Virginia............................................         47        36       11           (\1\)        6
Wisconsin................................................          7         2        2              83        5
Wyoming..................................................         11         7       39              36        7
                                                          ------------------------------------------------------
      Total..............................................         12        31       20              21      15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ No cases were reported; a 0 indicates that the percentage of reported cases rounded to zero.
\2\ State indicated general concern with reliability of 1998 data due to conversion process to Statewide
  Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS).

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


    In recent years, an increasing proportion of title IV-E 
costs has been expended on child placement services, 
administration, and training. Table 11-42 shows U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Congressional Budget 
Office (CBO) estimates of title IV-E expenditures through 
fiscal year 2005.
    Table 11-41 shows Federal foster care expenditures by State 
in 1987, 1991, 1996, and 1999. Between 1991 and 1999, total 
foster care expenditures increased by 103 percent. Over this 
same time period, foster care maintenance costs increased by 75 
percent. Because of the large increase in administrative and 
placement costs relative to maintenance costs, the share of 
total costs represented by maintenance costs decreased between 
1991 and 1999.
    In an effort to gain more complete information on total 
child welfare spending, including sources in addition to titles 
IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act, the Urban Institute 
conducted a survey to which 49 States responded with 
information about spending in fiscal year 1996 (Geen, Boots, & 
Tumlin, 1999). Geen et al. found that States spent $14.4 
billion in that year, and estimated that Federal funds 
accounted for 44 percent of total spending, that State funds 
also constituted 44 percent, and that local sources accounted 
for 13 percent. Of Federal expenditures, 49 percent was from 
title IV-E and 16 percent was from the SSBG. Medicaid and the 
former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)-Emergency 
Assistance (EA) Program each accounted for 13 percent, 6 
percent came from title IV-B, and other sources accounted for 
the rest. Thus, the authors concluded that nontraditional 
funding streams (i.e., Medicaid, SSBG, and EA) were 
surprisingly important sources of funds. The report also found 
that the financing of child welfare services varies 
considerably by State, and that the largest single category of 
expenditure was for out-of-home care, with residential or group 
care being the most costly.

                                          TABLE 11-41.--FEDERAL FOSTER CARE EXPENDITURES BY STATE, 1987-99 \1\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Fiscal year total expenditures (in     Maintenance costs   Maintenance costs
                                                                       millions of dollars)             (in millions of   as a percentage of  Percentage
                            State                            ----------------------------------------      dollars)              total         growth in
                                                                                                     ---------------------------------------- total 1991-
                                                              1987 \2\    1991    1996 \3\  1999 \3\    1991      1999      1991      1999        99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................................................     $2.09     $5.17     $5.23    $13.24     $1.43     $2.53      0.28      0.19         156
Alaska......................................................      0.39      3.75      7.99      9.42      1.67      2.34      0.45      0.25         151
Arizona.....................................................      3.02     11.43     44.12     54.32      3.72     25.63      0.33      0.47         375
Arkansas....................................................      1.06      4.85     26.64     32.06      1.76      8.17      0.36      0.25         561
California..................................................    163.61    354.69    727.89    911.80    185.50    437.77      0.52      0.48         157
Colorado....................................................      5.65      7.46     20.35     42.55      4.49      7.99      0.60      0.19         470
Connecticut.................................................      4.32     24.04     66.83     91.78      8.18     33.04      0.34      0.36         282
Delaware....................................................       0.4      1.35      7.40      8.31      0.57      1.65      0.42      0.20         515
District of Columbia........................................      6.62      4.70     22.89     42.95      2.68     22.38      0.57      0.52         814
Florida.....................................................      6.61     25.36     78.70    120.77     10.98     39.09      0.43      0.32         376
Georgia.....................................................      9.77     24.19     24.52     42.89      7.39     19.98      0.31      0.47          77
Hawaii......................................................      0.07      1.23     11.77     15.81      0.09      4.92      0.07      0.31       1,186
Idaho.......................................................      0.41      1.23      6.70      7.92      0.28      1.29      0.23      0.16         544
Illinois....................................................     37.03     67.45    238.33    273.27     40.36    100.77      0.60      0.37         305
Indiana.....................................................      1.27      7.12     50.82     53.32      2.49     30.43      0.35      0.57         649
Iowa........................................................      3.73     14.02     16.96     29.62      3.60     19.55      0.26      0.66         111
Kansas......................................................      3.98     12.94     23.90     30.89      6.36     20.20      0.49      0.65         139
Kentucky....................................................      6.86     30.68     51.58     46.11     11.96     22.46      0.39      0.49          50
Louisiana...................................................     13.15     26.12     36.68     50.14     14.67     29.73      0.56      0.59          92
Maine.......................................................      4.19      8.01     18.78     32.18      4.79     27.84      0.60      0.86         302
Maryland....................................................     15.43     28.95     76.46     96.73     14.23     42.42      0.49      0.44         234
Massachusetts \4\...........................................     12.42     29.47     95.20     75.23     17.01     28.41      0.58      0.38         155
Michigan....................................................     55.87    128.27    104.57    135.96     52.49     67.91      0.41      0.50           6
Minnesota...................................................     16.09     24.83     44.55     72.59     12.60     30.45      0.51      0.42         192
Mississippi.................................................      0.85      2.16      8.74      9.49      1.07      2.77      0.50      0.29         339
Missouri....................................................     14.04     29.29     45.96     73.62     14.29     33.76      0.49      0.46         151
Montana.....................................................      1.77      6.72      8.31      7.79      2.47      4.03      0.37      0.52          16
Nebraska....................................................      3.27      7.15     20.40     25.89      3.73     13.22      0.52      0.51         262
Nevada......................................................      0.59      2.54      5.18     14.76      0.92      4.41      0.36      0.30         481
New Hampshire...............................................      1.12      5.06     10.24     11.85      1.97      5.76      0.39      0.49         134
New Jersey..................................................     14.33     16.30     41.38     45.64      8.07     32.53      0.50      0.71         180
New Mexico..................................................      3.32      6.28     13.78     14.37      3.04      4.14      0.48      0.29         129
New York....................................................    224.01    672.62    471.46    482.04    451.66    302.38      0.67      0.63         -28
North Carolina..............................................      2.36      8.64     37.44     64.54      6.55     33.49      0.76      0.52         647
North Dakota................................................      1.25      3.84      8.12     11.21      1.90      4.14      0.49      0.37         192
Ohio........................................................     27.66     52.52    135.55    207.89     26.40    116.13      0.50      0.56         296
Oklahoma....................................................      4.39     11.64     24.99     32.42      8.21     14.71      0.71      0.45         179
Oregon......................................................      8.51     14.02     24.82     31.50      6.91     12.63      0.49      0.40         125
Pennsylvania................................................     14.21    118.44    149.79    316.40     82.01    169.27      0.69      0.53         167
Puerto Rico \5\.............................................        NA        NA        NA      7.28        NA      7.28        NA        NA          NA
Rhode Island................................................      3.74      5.77      9.17     12.59      2.57      4.54      0.45      0.36         118
South Carolina..............................................      3.35      9.70     18.78     17.23      4.74      8.07      0.49      0.47          78
South Dakota................................................       1.8      2.02      3.04      4.60      1.07      2.26      0.53      0.49         128
Tennessee...................................................       2.1     19.63     27.15     25.19     11.22     13.90      0.57      0.55          28
Texas.......................................................     18.94     54.75     77.22     86.96     28.54     63.76      0.52      0.73          59
Utah........................................................      0.96      3.84     13.19     20.95      2.05      3.52      0.53      0.17         446
Vermont.....................................................      3.61      6.59      8.24     12.00      4.32      8.71      0.66      0.73          82
Virginia....................................................      5.15     12.48     32.67     44.32      5.09     16.76      0.41      0.38         255
Washington..................................................       7.4     17.06     24.83     29.30      6.02     11.27      0.35      0.38          72
West Virginia...............................................      6.77      7.60      8.51     17.73      5.69     11.47      0.75      0.65         133
Wisconsin...................................................     15.62     32.27     45.97     91.65     15.88     29.56      0.49      0.32         184
Wyoming.....................................................      0.31      0.89      1.92      2.19      0.61      1.21      0.69      0.55         146
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total.................................................    765.47  1,977.13  3,085.71  4,003.96  1,116.30  1,955.33      0.56      0.49         103
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Does not include disputes and reconciliations.    \2\ Fiscal year 1987 claims are based on accrual accounting.    \3\ Fiscal year 1996 and 1999
  include SACWIS expenditures.    \4\ Fiscal year 1999 data include estimates for the third and fourth quarters.    \5\ Did not begin to participate in
  title IV-E foster care until fiscal year 1999. It is not included in the fiscal year 1999 total.

NA--Not applicable.

Note.--Totals may differ from sum of State amounts because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



  TABLE 11-42.--PROPORTION OF TITLE IV-E FOSTER CARE EXPENDITURES SPENT ON CHILD PLACEMENT, ADMINISTRATION, AND
                                        TRAINING, FISCAL YEARS 1989-2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Total        Placement
                                                                     Federal     administration     Placement
                                                                   title IV-E     and training    administration
                           Fiscal year                            expenditures    expenditures     and training
                                                                  (in millions  (in millions of   proportion of
                                                                   of dollars)    dollars) \1\        total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual:
    1989........................................................        $1,153             $507             0.44
    1990........................................................         1,473              638             0.43
    1991........................................................         1,819              789             0.43
    1992........................................................         2,233            1,029             0.46
    1993........................................................         2,534            1,222             0.48
    1994........................................................         2,750            1,375             0.50
    1995........................................................         3,066            1,467             0.48
    1996........................................................         3,098            1,595             0.51
    1997........................................................         3,692            1,967             0.53
    1998........................................................         3,714            1,782             0.48
    1999 \2\....................................................         4,011            2,048             0.51
DHHS estimates:
    2000........................................................         4,398            2,278             0.52
    2001........................................................         5,013            2,629             0.52
    2002........................................................         5,426            2,846             0.52
    2003........................................................         5,759            2,976             0.52
    2004........................................................         6,214            3,216             0.52
    2005........................................................         6,702            3,471             0.52
CBO estimates:
    2000........................................................         4,139            2,105             0.51
    2001........................................................         4,417            2,243             0.51
    2002........................................................         4,702            2,384             0.51
    2003........................................................         4,983            2,523             0.51
    2004........................................................         5,259            2,660             0.51
    2005........................................................         5,546            2,802             0.51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes regular administration, training, and for fiscal years 1994-2005, SACWIS costs.
\2\ Beginning in fiscal year 1999, data includes Puerto Rico.

Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service from data provided by the U.S. Department of Health and
  Human Services and Congressional Budget Office.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    (For legislative history before 1996, see previous editions 
of the Green Book.)
    During the 104th Congress, comprehensive welfare reform 
legislation was enacted that contained provisions affecting 
child welfare (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act, Public Law 104-193). The centerpiece of the 
welfare reform legislation was the repeal of AFDC and creation 
of a new block grant to States for Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families (TANF). As a condition of receiving TANF funds, 
States must operate Foster Care and Adoption Assistance 
Programs under title IV-E of the Social Security Act. However, 
eligibility for title IV-E historically has been linked to AFDC 
eligibility. Thus, Public Law 104-193 provides that foster or 
adoptive children are eligible for title IV-E subsidies if 
their families would have been eligible for AFDC, as it was in 
effect in their State on June 1, 1995. (Technical amendments 
enacted in 1997, Public Law 105-33, subsequently changed this 
date to July 16, 1996.) Children eligible for SSI continue to 
be eligible for title IV-E adoption assistance, and foster and 
adoptive children continue to be eligible for Medicaid.
    Public Law 104-193 also amended title IV-E to enable for-
profit child care institutions to participate in the Federal 
Foster Care Program; extended the enhanced Federal matching 
rate for certain data collection costs through fiscal year 
1997; mandated DHHS to conduct a national random sample study 
of children in the child welfare system; and required States, 
as a component of their title IV-E plans, to consider giving 
preference to adult relatives in determining a foster or 
adoptive placement for a child.
    In 1997, Congress enacted the most significant changes to 
titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act since they were 
established in their current form in 1980. This legislation, 
the Adoption and Safe Families Act (Public Law 105-89), was 
intended to promote adoption and ensure safety for children in 
foster care. The law established that a child's health and 
safety must be of paramount concern in any efforts made by the 
State to preserve or reunify the child's family. The law 
retained, but clarified the requirement that States make 
``reasonable efforts'' to preserve or reunify a child's family, 
establishing exceptions to this requirement. Also to promote 
safety, Public Law 105-89 required States to conduct criminal 
background checks for all prospective foster or adoptive 
parents, and required States to develop standards to ensure 
quality services that protect children's health and safety 
while in foster care. To promote permanency, the law required 
States to make reasonable efforts to place children, in a 
timely manner, who have permanency plans of adoption or another 
alternative to family reunification, and to document these 
efforts. Further, provisions were included intended to 
eliminate interjurisdictional barriers to adoption. Public Law 
105-89 changed the name of dispositional hearings to 
``permanency'' hearings, and required that they occur within 12 
months of a child's placement in foster care, rather than the 
first 18 months. The law also revised the list of permanency 
goals, eliminating specific reference to long-term foster care, 
and required that foster parents, preadoptive parents, and 
relative care givers be given notice and opportunity to be 
heard at reviews and hearings.
    The Adoption and Safe Families Act required that States 
initiate or join proceedings to terminate parental rights on 
behalf of children who have been in foster care for 15 of the 
most recent 22 months, although certain exceptions are allowed. 
The law also authorized incentive payments to States to 
increase the number of foster and special-needs children who 
are placed for adoption. The law contains some provisions 
intended to expand health insurance coverage for special-needs 
adopted children who are not eligible under title IV-E, and 
also reauthorized and renamed the Family Preservation and 
Family Support Program. The program was authorized through 
fiscal year 2001, as the Promoting Safe and Stable Families 
Program. In addition, Public Law 105-89 established a new 
outcome measures reporting system for States, and authorized an 
expansion of the child welfare waiver demonstration authority 
established earlier.
    Public Law 106-169 was enacted during the 106th Congress, 
revising the Independent Living Program and renaming it in 
honor of the late Senator John Chafee. The legislation provided 
greater flexibility to States in their use of funds to help 
older foster children obtain the education and employment 
services necessary for a successful transition to adult living, 
increased the entitlement ceiling for the program, and revised 
the State allocation formula. The law also established an 
option under Medicaid for States to cover certain former foster 
care youth aged 18-20.

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