1. Group Care in Florida’s Child Welfare System
Office of Child Welfare
Quality Assurance/Continuous Quality Improvement
September 2012

2. Key Facts
The number of children in foster care has dropped over 32% since July 2006
Relative/non-relative placements are down 30% and licensed care is down 34%
There are only 14% fewer 17 year olds in foster care
55 children under 6 have been in group care 4 months or longer
According to Chapin Hall, Florida is on the low end of group care utilization
Eliminating group care for children 12 and under could save approximately $11,000,000 a year.
The reduction is fairly evenly spread across all placement types

3. Total Foster Care Population July 2006 – July 2012
Includes all OHC- both relative/non-relative and licensed
Represents about a 33% reductions
Source- Spinner

4. Reduction in Foster Care Population by Placement Type July 2006 – July 2012
Reductions are fairly consistent across types, with Rel/Non Rel at about 30% and Facility and Family Based (Licensed) at about 34%.
Source- Spinner

5. Reduction in Foster Care Population by Age July 2006 – July 2012
Data Source: FSFN Data Mart

6. Proportion of Time Spent in Congregate Care
Sample includes children entering foster care for the first time between 1/1/2007 and 12/31/ Data is current as of 12/31/2010.
Data Source- Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago; Center for State Foster Care and Adoption Data
Sample includes children entering foster care for the first time between 1/1/2007 and 12/31/ Data is current as of 12/31/2010.

7. Potential Savings Based on Elimination of Group Care for Children 12 and Under
Program
Number of Children 12 and Under
Average Bed Days per Child
Average Cost per Bed Day
Estimated Annual Cost
Licensed Foster Home
11,848
159
$17
$31,735,193
Residential Group Care
1,872 98
$86
$15,784,462
If RGC Served in Licensed FH
$5,060,016
Potential Savings
$10,724,446
Actual Cost
Minus
Data Source- Becky Lyons
Estimated
Cost
Based on Licensed Care Payments for Service Period 7/1/2011 – 6/30/2012

8. Characteristics of Children in Group Care
44% are placed out-of-county
Over 30% of children removed between 14 – 17 years of age are placed in group care at removal*
Almost 25% of children in Licensed Foster Care are in Group Care
*Based on a child’s placement at the 30th day of the removal episode, for all children removed between 6/1/2012 and 5/31/2012.

9. Number of Children in Group Care 9/16/2012
Point in time- kids in care on 9/16/2012
Data Source: FSFN Data Mart

10. Percent of Children in Foster Care in Group Care 9/16/2012
Point in time- kids in care on 9/16/2012
All out-of-home care, including rel/non-rel placements
Data Source- FSFN Data Mart

11. Percent of Children in Licensed Foster Care in Group Care 9/16/2012
Point in time- kids in care on 9/16/2012
Data Source: FSFN Data Mart CBC based on the case county

12. Children in Group Care Placed Out-of County September 16, 2012
Point in time- kids in care on 9/16/2012
Note that most single county CBC’s except CFC have a comparatively low percentage.
Data Source: List of Group Care Providers (CCA License) validated by Region staff and FSFN Data Mart. Compared county of group home provider to county of primary worker.

13. Initial Placement in Group Care by Age at Removal
Initial Placement in Group Care by Age at Removal* Children Removed Between 6/1/2011 and 5/31/2012
Tim Nickel Data of children removed for more than 30 days. App 15k children

14. Length of Stay (in months) for Children 0 – 5 in Group Care 9/16/2012

15. Children in Licensed Foster Care by Placement Type 9/16/2012

16. Other Related Info
Between January and March 2012, 3.5 million dollars was paid for BHOS, TGC and STFC services provided to children served by CBC's
99.25% of children in Group Care were not abused while in care

17. Revenue for Medicaid BHOS, TGC & STFC Services January – March 2012
Data Source- Based on file of all children in OHC between Jan – June 2012 matched with Medicaid by Medicaid # for these service categories. Looked only at Medicaid months of service data for Jan - March

18. Abuse Investigations Involving Children in Group Care April 2011 – March 2012
Age
Verified
Non Substantiated
No Indicators
Total 1 2 3 6 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 18 25 12 21 30 13 23 35 14 17 43 67 15 63 84 16 27 76
111
118
152 45
105
417
567
Pulled Child Intake; Institutional Investigations, pulled provider org from CPS Inv and linked to CPS license table and pulled those with a CCA license type.
Approximately 6,000 children in group care at some point between 4/1/2011 and 3/31/2012