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Home > Advocacy > State Fact Sheets for 2006 > Alabama

 
 

ALABAMA'S CHILDREN 2006

State Population (2004) 1   4,530,182
Population, Children Under 18 (2004) 2   1,094,533
State Poverty Rate (2004) 3   16.9%
Poverty Rate, Children Under 18 (2004) 4   24.2%
Poverty Rate, Children Ages 5-17 (2004) 5   22.1%

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

  • In 2003, there were 18,557 total referrals of child abuse and neglect. Of these, 18,150 reports were referred for investigation. 6
  • In 2003, 9,290 children were substantiated or indicated as abused or neglected in Alabama, a rate of 8.4 per 1,000 children, representing a 6.2% decrease from 2002. Of these children, 39.6% were neglected, 38.6% were physically abused, and 24.7% were sexually abused. 7
  • In 2003, 22 children died as a result of abuse or neglect in Alabama. 8
  • On September 30, 2003, 6,079 children in Alabama lived apart from their families in out-of-home care, compared with 5,883 children on September 30, 2002. In 2003, 24.9% of the children living apart from their families were age 5 or younger, and 22.7% were 16 or older. 9
  • Of all Alabama children in out-of-home care on September 30, 2005, 47.6% were white, 49.9% were black, 1.5% were Hispanic, 0.2% were American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 0.9% were of other races and ethnicities. 10

PERMANENT FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN

  • Of the 2,818 children exiting out-of-home care in 2003, 75.7% were reunited with their parents or other family members. 11
  • In 2003, 329 children were legally adopted through the public child welfare agency in Alabama, a 32.1% increase from 249 in 2002. 12
  • Of the 6,079 children in out-of-home care in 2003, 1,618 or 26.6% were waiting to be adopted. 13

KINSHIP SUPPORT

  • In 2004, approximately 58,215 Alabama grandparents had primary responsibility caring for their grandchildren. 14
  • Of the 6,079 children in out-of-home care on September 30, 2003, 12.8% were living with relatives while in care. 15
  • Of all Alabama children in kinship care on September 30, 2003, 51.4% were white, 46.3% were black, 1.4% were Hispanic, and 0.8% were other races. 16

CHILD POVERTY AND INCOME SUPPORT

  • The total number of individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in Alabama increased from 44,824 in March 2004 to 48,117 in March 2005, an increase of 7.3%. The number of families receiving TANF in March 2005 was 20,214, a 6.8% increase from March 2004. 17
  • In 2002, a family of three receiving only TANF and food stamp benefits in Alabama was at 29.7% of the federal poverty guideline. 18
  • In 2004, Alabama spent $114,194,976 in TANF funds, including 39.3% on basic assistance, 3.5% on transportation, and 57.2% on nonassistance. 19
  • In 2004, Alabama collected and distributed $226,484,276 in child support funds, an increase of 1.4% from 2003. 20
  • In 2004, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Alabama was $512 per month, or 62.1% of the average monthly income for a worker earning the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. 21

CHILD CARE AND HEAD START

  • In 2004, an estimated monthly average of 29,200 of Alabama's children received subsidized child care; 30,400 children received subsidized child care in 2003, and 32,300 in 2002. 22
  • In 2005, to be eligible for subsidized child care in Alabama, a family of three could make no more than $19,836, which is equivalent to 44% of the state's median income. 23
  • In 2005, Alabama had 13,260 children on its waiting list for child care assistance. 24
  • In 2004, Head Start served 16,374 Alabama children, a 0.8% decrease from 2003. 25

HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

  • In 2001, 382,800 children younger than 19 were enrolled in Medicaid, representing 49% of the total number of enrollees in Alabama. 26
  • In 2001, 5,676 children in foster care were enrolled in Medicaid, representing 1.5% of all children enrolled in Medicaid in Alabama. 27
  • Alabama spent $10,508 per enrollee in 2001 on Medicaid services for children in foster care. 28
  • In 2004, Alabama had 79,407 children enrolled in its State Children's Health Insurance Program, a 1.1% increase from 2003, when 78,554 children were enrolled. 29
  • In 2003, the birth rate for teens 15-17 in Alabama was 28.9 births per 1,000 girls; for teens 18-19, the rate was 87.1 births. This reflects a total rate of 52.4 births per 1,000 girls ages 15-19. 30
  • As of December 2003, 7,531 adults and adolescents, as well as 76 children younger than 13, had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Alabama. 31
  • In 2003, an estimated 27,000 children ages 12-17, and 246,000 adults 18 and older, were dependent on or abusing illicit drugs or alcohol. 32

VULNERABLE YOUTH

  • In 2004, 7% of Alabama teens ages 16-19 were high school dropouts, a 46.2% decrease from 2000. 33
  • In 2004, 8% of teens ages 16-19 were not enrolled in school, were not working, and had no degree beyond high school. 34
  • In 2003, an estimated 16,000 children ages 12-17 in Alabama needed but had not received treatment for illicit drug use in the past year. 35
  • In 2003, an estimated 18,000 children ages 12-17 needed but had not received treatment for alcohol use in the past year. 36
  • In 2002, 31 children younger than 20 committed suicide, a rate of 2.5 per 100,000 children in the population. 37

JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION

  • In 2002, 15 children under age 18 were killed in firearm homicides in Alabama, a 7.1% increase from 14 in 2001. 38
  • In 2004, 13,596 children younger than 18 were arrested in Alabama, a 4.4% increase from 13,018 arrests in 2003. Of the arrests in 2004, 557 were for a violent crime and 134 were for possession of a weapon. 39
  • A 2001 census of juvenile offenders showed 1,617 children in juvenile correction facilities in Alabama. 40

FUNDING CHILD WELFARE SERVICES FOR ALABAMA'S CHILDREN

  • In 2002, Alabama spent $271,997,873 for child welfare services. Child welfare services refer to all direct and administrative services the state agency provides to children and families. Of this number, 64.5% was from federal funds, 34.9% was from state funds, and 0.6% was from local funds. 41
  • In 2002, of the $175,368,538 in federal funds received for child welfare, 17.7% was from Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance, 6.6% came from Title IV-B Child Welfare Services and Promoting Safe and Stable Families, 43% was from Medicaid, 20.1% came from the Social Services Block Grant, 12.1% was from TANF, and 0.4% came from other federal sources. 42
  • Out of 6,079 children in out-of-home care in Alabama on September 30, 2003, only 1,318 children, or 21.7%, received Title IV-E federal foster care assistance. 43

ALABAMA'S CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE

  • A 2003 General Accounting Office (GAO) report documented that staff shortages, high caseloads, high worker turnover, and low salaries impinge on delivering services to achieve safety, permanence, and well-being for children. 44
  • The federal Child and Family Service Reviews have clearly demonstrated that the more time a caseworker spends with a child and family, the better the outcomes for those children and families. 45
  • According to the 2003 GAO report, the average caseload for child welfare/foster care caseworkers is 24-31 children and that these high caseloads contribute to high worker turnover and insufficient services provided to children and families. CWLA recommends that foster care caseworkers have caseloads of 12-15 children. 46
  • In 2002, the minimum annual salary for a caseworker responsible for investigating reports of abuse and neglect in Alabama was $29,411 ; the median income for a family of four in Alabama was $53,754. 47

REFERENCES

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. (2004). Annual Population Estimates and Estimated Components of Change for the United States and States: April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2004. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 7, 2005. back
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program .(2004). Special calculation of 18+ Population Estimates: July 1, 2004. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 7, 2005. back
  3. U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Annual Demographics Survey: March Supplement. Poverty Status by State: 2004 Below 100% and 125% of Poverty-All Ages. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 7, 2005. back
  4. U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Annual Demographics Survey: March Supplement. Poverty Status by State: 2004 Below 100% and 125% of Poverty-People Under 18 Years of Age. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 7, 2005. back
  5. U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Annual Demographics Survey: March Supplement. Poverty Status by State: 2004 Below 100% and 125% of Poverty-Related Children 5 to 17 Years of Age. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 7, 2005. back
  6. Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. (2005). Child Maltreatment 2003: Reports From the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Retrieved online December 10, 2005. back
  7. Ibid.
    Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. (2003). Child Maltreatment 2002: Reports From the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online January 18, 2006. back
  8. ACYF, Child Maltreatment 2003. back
  9. Special tabulation of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS) by CWLA. back
  10. Ibid. Other races and ethnicities includes Asian, Pacific Islander, Hawaiian Native, unknown or unable to determine, missing data, and two or more races. back
  11. Ibid. back
  12. Ibid. back
  13. Ibid. back
  14. U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). American Community Survey-Data Profile. Selected Social Characteristics: 2004. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 11, 2005. back
  15. CWLA, Special AFCARS tabulation. back
  16. Ibid.. back
  17. Administration for Children and Families. (2005). Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Separate State Program, Maintenance of Effort, Aid to Families with Dependant Children, Caseload Data. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 11, 2005. back
  18. Calculations by CWLA, based on Administration for Children and Families. (2004). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program: Sixth Annual Report to Congress. Retrieved online October 13, 2005. Washington, DC: HHS.
    Food and Nutrition Service. (2005). Food Stamp Program-Annual State Level Data-State Level Participation. Food Stamp Program: Average Monthly Benefit Per Household (FY 2002). Washington, DC: Author U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved online October 13, 2005.
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (2002). The 2002 HHS Poverty Guidelines. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 13, 2005. back
  19. The breakdown of expenditure data may reflect adjustments for prior years. This may result in negative expenditures for the current year or, in certain expenditure amounts exceeding 100%. Negative percentages are not displayed here. For more information about these adjustments, as well as specific data, see Administration for Children and Families. (2004). Combined Spending of Federal and States Funds Expended in FY 2004 Through the Fourth Quarter. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 13, 2005. back
  20. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement. (2004). Preliminary Data Report FY 2003. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 13, 2005.
    Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement. (2005). Preliminary Data Report FY 2004. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 13, 2005. back
  21. Pitcoff, W.; Pelletiere, D.; Crowley, S.; Treskon, M.; & Dolbeare, C. (2004). Out of Reach 2004. Washington, DC: National Low Income Housing Coalition. Retrieved online October 20, 2005.
    Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division. (2004). Minimum Wage Laws in the United States-August 1, 2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved online October 13, 2005. back
  22. Administration on Children and Families, Child Care Bureau. (2005). FFY 2002 CCDF Data Tables and Charts: Children Served. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 14, 2005.
    Administration on Children and Families, Child Care Bureau. (2005). FFY 2003 CCDF Data Tables and Charts: Children Served. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 14, 2005.
    Administration on Children and Families, Child Care Bureau. (2005). FFY 2004 CCDF Data Tables and Charts: Children Served. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online October 14, 2005. back
  23. Schulman, K. & Blank, H. (2005). Child Care Assistance Policies 2005: States Fail to Make up Lost Ground, Families Continue to Lack Critical Supports. Washington, DC: National Women's Law Center. Retrieved online October 14, 2005. back
  24. Ibid. back
  25. Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Bureau. (2004). Head Start Program Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online January 19, 2006.
    Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Bureau. (2005). Head Start Program Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2004. Washington, DC: HHS. Retrieved online January 17, 2005. back
  26. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2005). 2001 State and National Medicaid Enrollment and Spending Data (MSIS) (Table 1). Menlo Park, CA: Author. Retrieved online October 25, 2005 back
  27. Geen, R.; Sommers, A.; & Cohen, M. (2005). Medicaid Spending on Foster Children. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Retrieved online October 17, 2005. back
  28. Ibid. back
  29. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2005). FY 2004 Number of Children Ever Enrolled in SCHIP by Program Type. Baltimore: Author. Retrieved online October 17, 2005. back
  30. Martin, J.A.; Hamilton, B.E.; Sutton, P.D.; Ventura, S.J.; Menacker, F.; & Munson, M.L. (2005). Births: Final Data for 2003. National Vital Statistics Reports 54 (2). Retrieved online November 17, 2005. back
  31. National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention. (2005). Reported AIDS cases and annual rates (per 100,000 population), by area of residence and age category, cumulative through 2003-United States. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  32. Office of Applied Studies, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. (2005). State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2002-2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (Table 18). Retrieved online October 18, 2005. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). back
  33. Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2005). Comparisons by Topic: Teens who are high school dropouts: Percent: 2000. KIDS COUNT State Level Data Online. Baltimore: Author. Retrieved online October 18, 2005.
    Annie E. Casey Foundation (2005). Comparisons by Topic: Teens who are high school dropouts: Percent: 2004. KIDS COUNT State Level Data Online. Baltimore: Author. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  34. Annie E. Casey Foundation (2005). Teens not attending school and not working: Percent: 2004. KIDS COUNT State Level Data Online. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  35. Office of Applied Studies, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. (2005). State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2002-2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (Table 19). Rockville, MD: SAMHSA. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  36. Office of Applied Studies, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. (2005). State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2002-2003 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (Table 20). Rockville, MD: SAMHSA. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  37. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2004). Injury Mortality Reports, 1999-2002. Atlanta: CDC. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  38. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2005). Injury Mortality Reports, 1999-2002. Atlanta: CDC. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  39. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2003). Crime in the United States 2003 (Table 69). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 18, 2005.
    Federal Bureau of Investigation (2004). Crime in the United States 2004 (Table 69). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved online October 18, 2005. back
  40. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2004). Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved online December 10, 2005. back
  41. Urban Institute. (2004). The Cost of Protecting Vulnerable Children IV: How Child Welfare Funding Fared During the Recession. Retrieved online, December 10, 2005. Washington, DC: Author. Examples of direct services include child abuse/neglect investigations, foster care, communitybased programs, case management, and all such services required for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children. Examples of administrative services include management information systems, training programs, eligibility determination processes, and all services that provide the infrastructure supports for the public agency. back
  42. Ibid. back
  43. CWLA, Special AFCARS tabulation. back
  44. U.S. General Accounting Office. (2003). Child Welfare: HHS Could Play a Greater Role in Helping Child Welfare Agencies Recruit and Retain Staff. Retrieved online December 12, 2005. Washington, DC: Author. back
  45. Ibid. back
  46. Ibid. back
  47. Child Welfare League of America. (2003). State Child Welfare Agency Survey. Washington, DC: Author.
    U.S. Census Bureau. (October 2003). Median Income for 4-Person Families, by State. Retrieved online January 14, 2005. Washington, DC: Author. back




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