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DCFS reports rising foster-care population, improved timeliness and persistent adoption/permanency gaps
Summary
Director Misha Martin told the committee that first-quarter data show 7,553 accepted hotline calls, a 31% true-finding rate, nearly 4,700 children in foster care, a 91% initiation rate for priority-one investigations, and regional variation in time from termination of parental rights to adoption (about 9 months in one region, nearly 19 in another). She flagged a shortfall in discharges to permanency and ongoing placement stability concerns.
Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services Director Misha Martin presented the agency’s first-quarter performance report, saying the department saw nearly 4,700 children in foster care and 7,553 accepted calls to the child-abuse hotline during the quarter.
Martin told committee members 6,027 accepted calls were assigned to DCFS and 1,526 were assigned to the Crimes Against Children Division (CACD) at Arkansas State Police under an MOU. She said 31% of maltreatment investigations had true findings (an increase from previous quarters), and that 10 child fatalities were adjudicated as true…
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