information for practice

The purpose of the Report to Congress is to provide information that may lead to improved outcomes for children and families served by the Nation's child welfare system by informing Congress, the States, and the public about State performance on key child welfare outcomes and change in performance over time. To this end, the Report to Congress presents data for each State regarding the following: (1) 12 measures developed to assess the national outcomes listed above, and (2) contextual factors regarding the number and characteristics of children who are the subject of substantiated child abuse or neglect reports and of children in the State's foster care system. The report also presents key findings across States on the relationship between contextual factors and State performance on the outcome measures. Data pertaining to the measures and the contextual factors come from the Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS).