Estimated

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Foster Care

Avg # Children Served Monthly

7,853

7,880

7,713

7,769

7,769

7,909

7,829

7,667

7,642

7,600

% Change from prior year

0.3 %

-2.1 %

0.7 %

0.0 %

1.8 %

-1.0 %

-2.1 %

-0.3 %

-0.5 %

Relative Placements

Avg # Children Served Monthly

3,833

3,909

3,998

4,246

4,588

4,684

4,804

4,806

4,792

4,826

% Change from prior year

2.0 %

2.3 %

6.2 %

8.1 %

2.1 %

2.6 %

0.0 %

-0.3 %

0.7 %

Child Care

Avg # Children Served Monthly

4,441

4,389

4,064

4,182

4,235

4,687

5,455

5,095

5,054

5,154

% Change from prior year

-1.2 %

-7.4 %

2.9 %

1.3 %

10.7 %

16.4 %

-6.6 %

-0.8 %

2.0 %

Child Protective Services (CPS)

Avg CPS Referrals Monthly

6,461

6,288

6,558

6,481

6,426

6,206

6,109

6,073

6,254

6,245

% Change from prior year

-2.7 %

4.3 %

-1.2 %

-0.8 %

-3.4 %

-1.6 %

-0.6 %

3.0 %

-0.1 %

Adoption Support

Avg # Children Served Monthly

6,603

7,392

8,387

9,208

9,964

10,632

11,254

11,996

12,830

13,434

% Change from prior year

11.9 %

13.5 %

9.8 %

8.2 %

6.7 %

5.9 %

6.6 %

7.0 %

4.7 %

Caseload Ratio

Avg Cases Per Worker

24

24

24

24

23

22

20

18

18

18

Comments:

Foster Care - Includes unduplicated count of children in licensed foster care placements (family foster care, behavioral rehabilitative services, and receiving care). Does not include unlicensed kinship care. These data are not comparable with prior editions of the Legislative Budget Notes, which provided a duplicated count of children in licensed foster care. Official forecasts are now based on an unduplicated count of children inlicensed foster care placements, rather than a duplicated count.

Child Care - Includes the following child care services: CPS/Child Welfare Services (CWS), Therapeutic/Medicaid Treatment, and Foster Parent Employment. Data is not comparable to prior editions of the Legislative Budget Notes, which also included teen parent, seasonal child care, and adoption support.

Adoption Support - Data reflect Adoption Support maintenance payments. These data are not comparable to caseloads displayed in editions of the Legislative Budget Notes published prior to 2006, which reported total eligibles. Official forecasts are now based on maintenance payments rather than eligibles.

Caseload Ratio - Combined average number of open cases per worker for CPS, CWS, and Family Reconciliation Services at the end of the fiscal year.

Relative Placements - Includes an unduplicated count of children in unlicensed kinship care. These data are not comparable with prior editions of the Legislative Budget Notes, which provided a count based on point-in-time during the month and excluded children in guardianships and children in Tribal custody. The placements are now counted based on events occurring at any time during the month and include children in guardianships and children in Tribal custody, so that the population counted for relative placements mirrors the population counted for Foster Care.

Data sources:

FY 2002 through FY 2008 actuals for Foster Care, Child Care, CPS, and Adoption Support are from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Division of Reseach and Data Analysis reports.

FY 2002 through FY 2008 actuals for Caseload Ratio are from the DSHS Central Budget Office.

FY 2002 through FY 2011 data for Relative Placements is from the Caseload Forecast Council.

FY 2009 through FY 2011 estimates for Foster Care and Adoption Support represent the Caseload Forecast Council February 2009 forecast.

FY 2009 through FY 2011 estimates for Child Care, CPS, and Caseload Ratio are from DSHS Children's Administration.