Reports provide consistent CFS information to staff at all levels of the organization and other interested persons in an easily accessible manner for assessing, tracking, monitoring, budgeting, and decision-making purposes.
All reports can be viewed in Crystal Reports.
Various reports are available on-line to assist all levels of workers to gather information. The following types of reports are available:
Adoption Statistics: Reports on adoptions
CFS Case Load Reports: Reports which identify case load information
CFS Case Management Reports: Reports for general case management and broader management issues
CFS Child Statistics: Reports on children, both wards and non-wards, involved in CFS program cases
CFS Expenditure Reports: Reports on expenditures made on behalf of CFS program cases
Child Abuse/Neglect Reports: Reports related to child abuse and neglect, such as child abuse/neglect intakes and allegations
CFS Trend Reports: Reports that identify CFS and Child Welfare information over time
Expungement Reports: Reports on expunged allegations
Federal Reports: Reports required by the Federal government
Intake Reports: Reports on intakes (all types)
Licensing and Approval Reports: Reports on licensing and approval activities
Resource Development Reports: Reports related to resource development
State Ward Statistics: Reports on wards of DHHS
Please refer to the Desk Aid at the end of the Reports module for a complete list of reports, a brief description of the reports, the level of detail in which the information is available on the report, the frequency of the report, and the length of time the report will be available on-line.
CFS provides the functionality to view system data in the form of reports on-line and to print the report if you so desire. The Report Viewer is the software application that allows you to view the report on-line and print it.
NCANDS is the acronym for the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. It is a report and data file which includes information on reports of alleged maltreatment, all children (alleged victims and non-victims) who are subjects of the report, the maltreatment of the child victim, disabilities and problems of the child victim, characteristics of the primary family caretakers, services provided to the child victim and family, and perpetrator information.
NCANDS consist of two components: the Summary Data Component (SDC) and the Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC). The SDC is a compilation of key aggregate indicators of State child abuse and neglect statistics. The DCDC is a compilation of case level data. The DCDC is an electronic data file that is submitted annually on a calendar basis.
The information entered on CFS is used to provide information for NCANDS.
AFCARS is an acronym for the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. It is a federally required report on children in foster care and children who have been adopted. The purpose of AFCARS is to address policy development and program management issues at the State and Federal level. The Federal government will aggregate AFCARS data nationally and by state and issue summaries twice a year.
The foster care portion of the report includes information on children who are in 24-hour substitute care away from their parents or guardians and for whom the DHHS has placement and care responsibility. The data submitted on foster children includes general information, demographic information, removal and placement setting information, circumstances of removal, current placement setting, and most recent case plan goal. It also includes principal caretaker information, parental rights termination information if applicable, foster family home and parental data, outcome information, and sources of federal financial support and assistance for the child.
The adoption portion of the report includes information on children who have been adopted in the State and whose adoption has involved the State Title IV-B/IV-E agency in some manner. The data submitted on adopted children includes general information, demographic information, special needs status, birth parent information, court actions, adoptive parent information, placement information, and federal and state financial adoption support.
The report consists of electronic data files that are submitted every 6 months for the periods of October through March and April through September.
AFCARS has 103 data elements of which, 66 are related to foster care and 37 are related to adoption. Sixteen of the foster care data elements are considered core data elements by the Federal government.
Core data elements are the only foster care data elements which are required to be completed and reported for children who have been in care less than 30 days and for children who have entered care prior to October 1, 1995 and remain in care. For children who entered care prior to October 1, 1995 and remain in care, the “Most Recent Case Plan Goal” is also considered core.
The “Date of Latest Removal” is the data element which will be used by the Federal government in determining whether core data elements or all data elements will be required for the child in foster care.
Core data elements must be reported in at least 90% of the situations in which the data is required. However, four core data elements, “State,” “Report Period Ending Date,” “Local Agency FIPS Code,” and “Record Number” must be reported for 100% of the children in foster care.
Non-core data elements are all foster care data elements that are not considered core. Non-core data elements, in addition to core data elements, are required if the child is in care longer than 30 days and if they entered care on or after October 1, 1995. Non-core data elements must be reported in at least 90% of the situations in which the data is applicable.
Please refer to the AFCARS Desk Aide for guidance on core and non-core foster care data elements.
Financial penalties may be assessed to DHHS by the Federal government if the following standards are not met.
In particular, two dates, “Date of Latest Removal from Home” and the “Date of discharge from Foster Care”, must be entered within 60 days for at least 90% of the children in foster care.
Timely data entry for these two data elements is indicated on the system in the following ways: For “Date of Latest Removal from Home”, the removal entry date on the Detail Removal Window is within 60 days later of the actual date of removal. For “Date of Discharge from Foster Care”, the actual date (this date is recorded in the system, but is not viewable on-line) in which the legal status of the child in foster care is changed from a status indicating wardship to a status indicating non-wardship is within 60 days of the legal status date on the CFS Program Person Information Window.
Data may be considered missing if it is not entered, is inconsistent or is out of the range of possible values. An example of missing data would be the failure to indicate on the system the date of the most recent periodic review for a child who has been in care over 7 months.
Financial penalties will be assessed semi-annually and if necessary, deducted from the State’s Title IV-E administrative cost reimbursement.
Please refer to the AFCARS Desk Aide for guidance on core and non-core data elements to help minimize the opportunity for federal financial penalties.
(11-2009)