Reports can be stratified based on the supervising agency. For cases under the supervision of Child Welfare, children are assigned to the county in which there is an open case or referral. Probation and Other agency supervised cases are assigned to the county in which there is an open case, referral, or state id county code. The CWS/CMS codes for each agency are drawn from the variable placement_episode.agency_responsible_type (plc_epst.agy_rspc) and listed below:

1. Child Welfare
   • County Welfare Department (34)
2. Probation
   • County Probation Department (33, 5603)
3. Other
   • State Adoptions District Office (37, 5606)
   • Indian Child Welfare (5602)

Agency types of Out of State Agency (35, 5604), Private Adoption Agency (36, 5605), Mental Health (6133), KinGAP (6134), and Missing are excluded from all analyses.

Please note that the federal outcome measures for the second round of the Child and Family Services Review that include foster care data are based on Child Welfare, Probation and Other data. California CWS Outcomes System measures are based on Child Welfare data ONLY.

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Child age is organized by the following intervals and derived from a child’s date of birth as captured in the CWS/CMS variable birth_dt:

1. < 1 yr*
2. 1-2 yrs
3. 3-5 yrs
4. 6-10 yrs
5. 11-15 yrs
6. 16-17 yrs
7. 18-20 yrs OR 18-21 yrs**

The calculation of age is based on a date appropriate for the particular report. For example, the ‘Entries to Foster Care’ report calculates the age of children and youth on the day they enter foster care. ‘Exits from Foster Care’, on the other hand, calculates age at exit.

When Age Group is not selected as a row or column dimension, users may filter reports to include children of specific ages (e.g., only 3 year olds) or to create a different age category than those shown above (e.g., a group of 2-6 year olds). This is done by checking those age boxes for which report data are to be included.

* In some reports, this category is separated into infants with ages of less than one month (‘<1 mo’) and others less than one year old (i.e., ‘1-11 mo’).

** The available age range varies by report.

• The Child and Family Services Review, round 3 (CFSR3) reports, for example, are restricted to children and youth less than 18 years old. The age groupings and available age filters reflect these ranges.
• In some reports, ‘18-21 yrs’ is separated into ‘18 + 60 days’, ‘18 + > 60 days’, and ‘19-21 yrs’:
  • 18 + 60 days: Youth who are in the first 60 days of their 18th year
  • 18 + > 60 days: Other 18-year-old youth (i.e., older than 18 plus 60 days)
  • 19 to 21 year olds.

  These categories are intended to support analysis of the effects of the implementation of Assembly Bill 12 (AB12). AB12 allows youth to voluntarily remain in or reenter foster care. Youth exiting as part of the ‘18 + 60 days’ group are more likely to have experienced a conventional exit; those in the ‘18 + > 60 days’ and ‘19-21 yrs’ group are more likely to have made use of the AB12 changes.

• In Transition-Age Youth Research & Evaluation Hub (TAY-Hub) reports, the age range is limited to youth in care age 18-20 or 18-21 years. In these cases, rather than presenting grouped ages, the ages 18, 19, 20, and 21 (if applicable), are presented as separate rows or columns. This approach is intended to allow a focus on older youth and to provide a detailed stratification by age.

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Child ethnicity is collapsed into six groups based on 31 codes from the CWS/CMS variables p_ethnctyc and hisp_cd. Ethnic groups and codes are listed below:

1. Black
   • Black (823)
   • Ethiopian (826)
2. White
   • White (839)
   • White-Armenian (840)
   • White-Central American (841)
   • White-European (842)
   • White-Middle Eastern (843)
   • White-Romanian (844)
3. Latino
   • Those children coded as Hispanic using the Hispanic Origin indicator (hisp_cd = ‘Y’), regardless of primary ethnicity (p_ethnctyc) selection
   • Hispanic (830)
   • Mexican (3164)
   • South American (3165)
   • Caribbean (3162)
   • Central American (3163)
4. Asian/PI
   • Asian Indian (822)
   • Cambodian (824)
   • Chinese (825)
   • Filipino (827)
   • Guamanian (828)
   • Hawaiian (829)
   • Japanese (831)
   • Korean (832)
   • Laotian (833)
   • Other Asian/Pacific Islander (834)*
   • Other Asian (5922)
   • Other Pacific Islander (5923)
   • Hmong (835)
   • Polynesian (836)
   • Samoan (837)
   • Vietnamese (838)
5. Native American
   • Alaskan Native (820)
   • American Indian (821)

*Code is inactive.

Note: In late 2017, CDSS provided instruction to counties to ask clients which of the federally recognized races (those marked with an asterisk in CWS/CMS) they identify with. Once a federally recognized race is selected, a secondary “Hispanic” ethnicity can be selected in Other Ethnicity. If the client does not identify with any federally recognized race, then workers were asked to select “Declines to State” as the primary race. However, the Hispanic Origin indicator should always be marked as “Yes” for children with Latino backgrounds in order to avoid accidental categorization into Missing.

When ethnicity is not selected as a dimension on the website, the default filter includes Missing values and all ethnicities. Users can also filter *DYNAMIC* reports to include only children of specific ethnic groups (e.g., only Native American and White children) by checking those ethnicities for which report data are to be included.

Census-based Ethnicity’ option (available on some reports) labels will read ‘Hispanic’ rather than ‘Latino’ for consistency with Census Bureau usage.

Ethnic groups for population data and rates reports are based on the California Department of Finance annual population projections.

1. Black
2. White
3. Latino
4. Asian/PI
5. Native American
6. Multi-Race

In the rates reports and disparity indices, the denominators–child population based on California Department of Finance data–may include children/youth in the multi-race category. However, the numerators–children with allegations, children with investigations, etc., based on CWS/CMS–always have null values for multi-race, since we do not construct a multi-race category from CWS/CMS data. Conversely, ethnicity may be missing in CWS/CMS and, in those cases, rates numerators are categorized as missing. Department of Finance population data does not include a missing category and, therefore, that row is always null for the denominators of the rates reports. Given these differences between the data sources and the resulting null values, no rates are calculated for the multi-race or missing rows.

See Population methodology for important details.

Note: For Transition Age Youth (TAY) reports, the category Missing is suppressed, therefore the total for this dimension will differ from the total for other dimensions in the same report.

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Child sex at birth is based on the CWS/CMS variable gender_cd and categorized as Female (1), Male (2) or Intersex (3).

Children for whom Sex at Birth is not coded are reported as Missing.

When Sex at Birth is not selected as a dimension, the default filter includes Missing values and Female, Male and Intersex. Users can also filter reports to include only children of a specific gender (e.g., only Male children) by checking the sex at birth for which report data are to be included.

Note: For Transition Age Youth (TAY) reports, the categories Intersex and Missing are suppressed, therefore the total for this dimension will differ from the total for other dimensions in the same report.

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A child’s out-of-home placement type is captured in the following categories. The CWS/CMS codes for each category are drawn from the variable PLC_FCLC (unless otherwise noted) and listed below. Underlined names represent the names displayed in output tables. Note that Resource Family Homes are included with other homes of like type (Relative/NREFM, Foster, FFA) and that Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs are included with Group Homes.

Note: As of the Quarter 3, 2021 data extract, we create placement records showing runaway status starting on the date the child left their last placement with a placement change reason of “Child ran away from placement” (1431) and ending on the date the child either entered another placement or the placement episode ended. Placements lasting less than one day are included in this calculation. This adds records of past runaway events to our UCB_FC file that take the same form as that of current runaway events recorded in CWS/CMS. Across reports, this has caused shifts versus earlier extracts in placement type distributions, particularly reductions in Group Care and increases in the Runaway and Other categories. Changes are most notable in earlier time periods, in probation-supervised care, and when predominant placement type is selected.

Note: As of the Quarter 1, 2018 data extract, we use the CWS/CMS placement history table, PLACEMENT_FACILITY_TYPE_HISTORY (PFACHIST), and placement history data derived from an analysis of facility type change between extracts to more accurately determine placement types over time.

Important note: Prior to mid-2017, it was not possible for Resource Family Approval (RFA) early implementing counties to accurately capture the number of children living in “Kin” placement types (now called “Relative/NREFM”). Early implementing counties were instructed to enter all new placements with resource families into the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System as “Foster” placement types, including those placed with relatives. To obtain accurate information regarding relative placements, reports should be filtered/restricted by “Relative” caregiver relationship type. Please note, non-related extended family members could not be identified for resource family homes at this time and were reflected as a “Nonrelative” caregiver relationship type.

1. Pre-Adopt
2. Relative/NREFM
   • Relative/NREFM Home (1421)
   • Tribe Specified Home (1422) *No longer active as of January 23, 2021
   • County Approved Resource Family Approval (RFA) Home (6914) where SCP_RLTC = 1638 (Relative Guardian), 1639 (Relative Nonguardian), 6990 (NREFM Guardian), or 6991 (NREFM Nonguardian)
   • Foster Family Agency Resource Family Approval (RFA) Home (6915) where SCP_RLTC = 1638 (Relative Guardian), 1639 (Relative Nonguardian), 6990 (NREFM Guardian), or 6991 (NREFM Nonguardian)
   • Court Specified Home (1419) where SCP_RLTC = 1638 (Relative Guardian), 1639 (Relative Nonguardian), 6990 (NREFM Guardian), or 6991 (NREFM Nonguardian)
3. Foster
   • Foster Family Home (1416)
   • Small Family Home (1415)
   • County Approved Resource Family Approval (RFA) Home (6914) where SCP_RLTC = 1636 (Nonrelative Guardian), 1637 (Nonrelative Nonguardian), or 6715 (Self)
4. FFA
   • Foster Family Agency (1414)
   • Foster Family Agency Certified Home (2200)
   • Foster Family Agency Resource Family Approval (RFA) Home (6915) where SCP_RLTC = 1636 (Nonrelative Guardian), 1637 (Nonrelative Nonguardian), or 6715 (Self)
5. Court Specified (1419)
   • Court Specified (1419) where SCP_RLTC = 1636 (Nonrelative Guardian), 1637 (Nonrelative Nonguardian), 6715 (Self), or Missing
6. Tribally Approved Home (7208)
   • Note: Tribally Specified Home Code (O_HM_PLT.TRBSPH_CD) is not used in the determination of this placement type category.
7. Group/STRTP
   • Group Home (1417)
   • Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) (6916)
8. Shelter
   • County Shelter/Recving Home(Non EA/AFDC) (1418)
   • Temporary Shelter Care Facility (7027)
9. Non-Foster-Care (Non-FC)
10. Guardian (5411)
    • Guardian – Dependent
    • Guardian – Non-Dependent
11. Runaway (PLCG_RNC=1431, NFC_FCLC=7164, 7181)
12. Trial Home Visit (PLCG_RNC=1440)
13. Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) (6716)
14. Transitional Housing (TRNHSG_IND = Y or TRNHSG_FAC = Y)
15. Mixed (Predominant Placement type only. See note below.)
16. Other (all other codes)
17. Missing

Not all placement types are included for all reports. For example, the following placement types may be excluded if not relevant to a report:

• Pre-Adopt
• Trial Home Visit
• Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP)
• Non-Foster-Care (Non-FC)
• Guardian – Dependent
• Guardian
  • Guardian – Dependent
  • Guardian – Non-Dependent

If there are instances of a placement type that is not offered for a particular report, then those instances will be counted in the Other category for that report.

When they are used, the additional or more detailed categories are determined as follows:

• Children who have a signed adoption agreement are coded as Pre-Adopt.
• Depending on the report, children with an assignment of Guardian may be coded as the part of the single category Guardian or may be coded as either Guardian – Dependent or Guardian – Non-Dependent. The former category is for children who have a legal guardian and are also dependents of the Juvenile Court; the latter for children who have a legal guardian but are not dependents of the Juvenile Court.
• Placements of children reported on the non-foster care placement table are coded as Non-Foster Care (Non-FC). However, non-foster care placements are only reported when the child also had one or more foster care placements in the same episode, as placement episodes consisting only of non-foster care placements are excluded from all reports.
• For all other non-missing values, those with an open placement episode, but no open out-of-home placement and no reliable data regarding why, are coded as Other.
• Tribe Specified Home (1422) was discontinued as a Placement Facility Type effective January 23, 2021 because it did not correspond to a specific facility type and resulted in inaccurate placement and facility data. Some children/youth placed before January 23, 2021 may still be reported as being placed in a Tribe Specified Home if the placement started before that date, is still open, and the Placement Facility Type for that facility has not been changed in CWS/CMS.
  The term Tribally Specified Home (TSH) is now used to refer to a placement that a tribe designates as its preferred placement option for an Indian child who is in the custody of the county, irrespective of the Placement Facility Type or agency approving or licensing the placement facility. The TSH designation only applies after the identified child is placed in the approved or licensed home or facility. It is reported in the out-of-home placement notebook using a Tribally Specified Home Code (O_HM_PLT.TRBSPH_CD). Please see ACL 22-08 for more information.

There are five versions of the Placement Type variable:

1. First Placement Type is placement type on the first day of a placement episode.
2. Placement Type is placement type on the selected date.
3. Placement Type at 12 months is, for children who exited care within 12 months of entry, the child’s last placement type prior to leaving care. For children who were in a foster care placement 12 months after entry it is the placement type of that placement. For children in an open placement episode but not in a foster care placement 12 months after entry, the Placement Type at 12 Months is that of the child’s last placement in the episode prior to the 12 months date. It is reported as missing when the child’s first foster care placement in the placement episode started more than 12 months after the start of the episode. This may be because the child was in a non-foster care placement (e.g., a medical setting), because the episode start date and/or the placement start data was entered incorrectly, or for some other reason.
4. Last Placement Type is determined on the last day of a placement episode. 
5. Predominant Placement Type is the placement type category that comprises more than 50% of the days spent in foster care during a placement episode. If no placement type comprises more than 50%, the placement type category ‘Mixed’ is assigned.

For some reports, more than one of these versions may be available.

Note: For Transition Age Youth (TAY) Employment and Postsecondary Enrollment reports:

• For the dimensions Last Placement Type (by Age 18):
  • The category Tribally Approved Home (7208) is included in the Court Specified category.
  • The categories Group/STRTP (1417, 6916) and Shelter (1418, 7027) are combined as Congregate Care.
  • The categories Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) (6716) and Missing are included in the Other category.
• For the dimension Predominant Placement Type (by Age 18):
  • The categories Pre-Adopt, Court Specified (1419), Tribally Approved Home (7208), Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) (6716), Runaway (PLCG_RNC=1431, NFC_FCLC=7164, 7181), Transitional Housing (TRNHSG_IND = Y or TRNHSG_FAC = Y) and Missing are included in the Other category. Note: These categories are calculated as independent predominant placement type categories but are included in the Other category for reporting purposes.

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