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In
Washington State:
- 11,000 children are in foster care on a given day.
- Almost one-half of all children who enter the system return
home within 60 days; one-third remain in state care longer than
one year.
- 34% of all children in out of home care longer than 60 days
are placed with relatives.
- 31% of children in out of home care for longer than 60 days
have experienced three or more placements.
- There is a continuing drop in reunifications, which is not well
understood. The number of reunifications dropped 38% from 1995
to 2002.
- 14% of the children, in out of home care longer than 60 days,
who return to their biological families, come back into
the system within twelve months.
- Together African American and Native American children constitute
6% of the child population, but represent 22% of the children
in out of home care for longer than two years.
Legally
Free Children:
- Approximately 1,775 children in state care are "legally free"
- that is, the court has terminated their parents' rights. Many
of these children are in a new permanent family, however, most
of them are waiting for their adoption to be finalized.
- Children who are adopted spent an average of 22 months in state
care before the courts terminated their parents' rights
and 15 months after termination waiting for their adoptions
to be finalized. These average timelines have decreased slightly
since 1998, when time to termination was 24 months and termination
to adoption was 18 months.
Sources: Children's Administration, FY 2002;
Children's Administration 2003 Annual Performance Report; 2000 Census
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Catalyst
for Kids
