• Introduction
• Cautions
• Column Descriptions
  • General Population
  • Child Protective Services
  • Ongoing Caseloads
  • Out of Home Totals
  • Repeat Out of Home
  • Length of Stay Out of Home
  • Living Arrangements Out of Home
• MIR Data Displayed by FIA Local Office

Introduction
The Management Information Report (MIR) displays numbers drawn from several other reports and data sources. The primary sources for this information are the Protective Services Management Information System (PSMIS) and the Children's Services Management Information System (CSMIS). By combining information from sources across the continuum of child welfare services, the MIR was designed as a tool for managers with an interest in family preservation efforts. Changes in the number, and types of services being used, provide valuable information about the strengths and needs of a child welfare operation. The Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA) makes this report available as a public service. Readers are cautioned to become familiar with the following details before attempting to interpret any data displayed in the MIR.

A description of the information in each column, including the source, is provided following this introduction. If you are not familiar with the MIR, be sure to thoroughly review those descriptions. Further information about this report can be obtained through the Division of Community Supportive Services (call 517-373-0074 or e-mail spatap@state.mi.us).

Cautions
Where the local FIA offices of multiple counties have been combined under a single director, you will find pages reporting combined data for the combined counties in addition to separate pages reporting data for the individual counties. Some of these individual offices no longer report separately, and their individual pages show only historical data.

All of the information displayed here can be found in other reports, with two exceptions. Data under the headings "Repeat Placements" and "Length of Stay", although drawn from the CSMIS database, are not displayed in any other reports. These elements were developed specifically to support the Strong Families/Safe Children program. The MIR was selected to serve as the original source for display of this information, which began appearing in 1995. Since those additions were made, we have been experiencing difficulty with the accuracy of these new data elements. An adjustment to the computer program has been made which appears to have improved the accuracy. This correction was effective with the report for the July-September 1998 quarter, represented on the report as Report Period 07-09 1998. "Repeat Placements" and "Length of Stay" numbers reported for prior periods are unreliable.

To improve our knowledge base, the living arrangement codes, used by FIA caseworkers, have been expanded. Where previously we had a single code to indicate a child was placed outside of Michigan, we now have codes to identify the specific type of out-of-state placement. The Management Information Report, like the reports on which it relies, has not yet been reprogrammed to recognize the added codes. Columns displaying the number of youth in out-of-home placements may be miscounted if some are placed out-of-state. The number of such cases is relatively low. This notice will be removed as soon as the reprogramming is completed.

Column Descriptions
Most columns in the MIR display both a number and a percentage. The percentage represents the individual county's portion of the state total. These percentages can be used to compare the individual variables. Each column is explained below:

Note: All columns displaying delinquency information in the MIR (headings say "delinquent" or "del") count the following individuals under FIA supervision: youth who are court wards due to delinquency, youth who are state wards due to delinquency, youth supervised at the request of another state or out-of-state court which has jurisdiction due to the youth's delinquency, youth who are the subjects of delinquency petitions which have not yet been adjudicated.

Note: Column headings containing the designations "FC", "Foster Care", or 'Neg." count children under FIA supervision due to abuse or neglect. Throughout the MIR (and this discussion) you will find the word 'neglect' used generically to refer to children who have been abused or neglected. Included are permanent court wards, temporary court wards, permanent state wards (MCI), temporary state wards (MCI-O), children supervised at the request of another state or out-of-state court which has jurisdiction due to abuse or neglect, children who are the subjects of neglect petitions which have not yet been adjudicated.

There is a column near the end of the MIR (see the section titled, Living Arrangements - Out of Home) with "Fam.F.C." in the heading. This abbreviation for family foster care refers not to the reason for the child's wardship, but to a specific type of out-of-home living arrangement.

Note: 'Out of Home' Care refers to wards in the following living arrangements: FIA family foster home, private agency family foster home, group home, public shelter home or shelter facility, residential care center, detention, jail, private child care institution, FIA training school, FIA camp, Mental Health facility, court treatment facility, out of state placement, Arbor Heights. To be counted in this category there must be court authorization for supervision and placement. Voluntary placements arranged by the family are not counted.

In the Child Protective Services section, you will find a column under the headings "CPS Closure with", "Child Out of Home". Please see the specific description for this column. The counts in this column are not subject to the limitation noted above.

General Population
- "1990 youth (under 18) population" is the census data with the Department of Management and Budget (DMB) projected updates for 1990.

- The "report period" is a quarter. The first quarter reported is the most recent quarter for which we have data. The bottom line is for the quarter of October-December 1994, represented as "10-12 '94".

- "ADC Family Population" is the total number of ADC Family (FIP) cases receiving a payment during the last month of the quarter. FIP refers to the Family Independence Program, our primary program for providing financial assistance to needy families. It replaced the former public assistance program known as ADC or Aid to families with Dependent Children. This number comes from reports GA-660 and DSS-227.

Child Protective Services
- "CPS Referrals Studied" is the number of Children's Protective Services referrals registered as studied (or investigated) during the quarter. This number is taken from report PS-295.

- "CPS Total Substantiated" is the number of Children's Protective Services investigations during the quarter that resulted in substantiation of child abuse or neglect. Substantiation means a finding that there was credible evidence that child abuse or neglect did occur. This number is also taken from report PS-295.

- "CPS Closure with - Substantiated Previously" is defined as the number of substantiated Child Protective Services case openings in this quarter, that also had a record of a substantiated Child Protective Services case opening on one or more previous occasions. Since these are open, not closed cases, this column should actually not appear under the broad heading of "CPS Closures with". This number is taken from report PS-294.

- "CPS Closure with - Services Provided" is the number of Child Protective Services cases closed during the quarter with a closing code indicating services were provided. This number comes from report PS-295.

- "CPS Closure with - Child Out of Home" is a count of all Child Protective Services cases closed during the quarter with coding that indicates one or more children were living away from the family home at the time the case closed. In this context, family home refers to the home of the parent, relative, or guardian with whom the child lived at the time of the case opening. The child's living situation, at case closing, could be an informal arrangement by the family, or could be a formal placement ordered by the court (e.g. placement in a family foster home, change in custody). This number is also taken from report PS-295.

Ongoing Caseloads
- "PS Ongoing Caseload" is the number of open Child Protective Services cases at the end of the quarter. These cases have all been substantiated. This number is taken from report CL 481.

- "Del - Ongoing Caseload" is the total number of open delinquency cases under FIA supervision at the end of the quarter. See notes for a description of who is counted in the delinquency population. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.

- "FC - Ongoing Caseload" is the number of neglect wards under FIA supervision at the end of the quarter. See notes for a description of who is counted in the neglect population. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.

- "Adoption Placed" counts the number of children who move from foster care to adoption. To be counted, a child needs to have been in out of home care under FIA supervision, with a plan of adoption, subsequently closed to foster care, then opened to adoption supervision due to placement in an adoptive home. This number is taken from report CY-161 Part D.

Out of Home Totals
- Out of Home Care - Court Sup. Neg./Del." Is a projected number of court supervised wards in out of home care. This projection is based on reimbursements to the counties for Child Care Fund expenditures during the previous year.

- "Out of Home Care - Foster Care" is the count of neglect wards in out of home placement under FIA supervision at the end of the quarter. See notes for descriptions of 'foster care' population and 'out of home' living arrangements. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.

- "Out of Home Care - Delinquent" is the count of delinquent wards in out of home placement under FIA supervision at the end of the quarter. See notes for description of 'delinquent' population and 'out of home' living arrangements. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.

- "Out of Home Care - Total Out of Home" is the sum of the figures displayed in the three previous columns: "Court Sup. Neg./Del.," "Foster Care", and "Delinquent".

Repeat Out of Home
- "Repeat Placements - Neg." is an attempt to reflect how many neglect wards are placed in out of home care, returned to their family homes, and then placed again in out of home care. The number shown is the count of neglect wards with out of home living arrangements at the end of the quarter who also show a previous out of home placement that was followed by a placement with parents, relatives, adoptive home or legal guardian. See notes for descriptions of 'neglect' population and 'out of home' living arrangements.

- "Repeat Placements - Del." is an attempt to reflect how many delinquent wards are placed in out of home care, returned to their family homes, and then placed again in out of home care. The number shown is the count of delinquent youth with out of home living arrangements at the end of the quarter who also show a previous out of home placement that was followed by a placement with parents, relatives, adoptive home or legal guardian. See notes for descriptions of 'delinquent' population and 'out of home' living arrangements.

Length of Stay Out of Home
- "Length of Stay - Neg. - 12 to 24 Months" counts neglect wards with out of home living arrangements at the end of the quarter who have been in one or more out of home living arrangements continuously for a period which has exceeded 12 months but has not yet exceeded 24 months. See notes for descriptions of 'neglect' population and 'out of home' living arrangements. An incorrect computer programming assumption caused this count to include cases that did not meet the above criteria. The programming was corrected during the quarter ending September 1998 (07-09 '98). The counts displayed for any quarter prior to that may be incorrect.

- "Length of Stay - Neg. - More than 24 months" counts neglect wards with out of home living arrangements at the end of the quarter who have been in one or more out of home living arrangements continuously for a period which has exceeded 24 months. See notes for descriptions of 'neglect' population and 'out of home' living arrangements. An incorrect computer programming assumption caused this count to include cases that did not meet the above criteria. The programming was corrected during the quarter ending September 1998 (07-09 '98). The counts displayed for any quarter prior to that may be incorrect.

- "Length of Stay - Del. - 12 to 24 Months" counts delinquent wards with out of home living arrangements at the end of the quarter who have been in one or more out of home living arrangements continuously for a period which has exceeded 12 months but has not yet exceeded 24 months. See notes for descriptions of delinquent population and 'out of home' living arrangements. An incorrect computer programming assumption caused this count to include cases that did not meet the above criteria. The programming was corrected during the quarter ending September 1998 (07-09 '98). The counts displayed for any quarter prior to that may be incorrect.

- "Length of Stay - Del. - More than 24 Months" counts delinquent wards with out of home living arrangements at the end of the quarter who have been in one or more out of home living arrangements continuously for a period which has exceeded 24 months. See notes for descriptions of 'delinquent' population and 'out of home' living arrangements. An incorrect computer programming assumption caused this count to include cases that did not meet the above criteria. The programming was corrected during the quarter ending September 1998 (07-09 '98). The counts displayed for any quarter prior to that may be incorrect.

Living Arrangements Out of Home
- "Out of Home Living Arrangements - Fam.F.C." counts all FIA supervised wards living with foster families at the end of the quarter. Family foster care is used here to refer to the type of placement rather than the type of wardship. Both neglect and delinquent wards are counted if they are in FIA foster homes, private agency foster homes, FIA group homes, or public shelter homes/facilities. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.

- "Out of Home Living Arrangements - Del Inst." counts the number of delinquent wards under FIA supervision who were in institutional living arrangements at the end of the quarter. Living arrangements considered to be institutional are private child care institutions, FIA training schools, FIA camps, Mental Health facilities, court treatment facilities, or Arbor Heights. See notes for a description of the delinquent ward population. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.

- "Out of Home Living Arrangements - Neg. Inst." counts the number of neglect wards under FIA supervision who were in institutional living arrangements at the end of the quarter. Living arrangements considered to be institutional are private child care institutions, FIA training schools, FIA camps, Mental Health facilities, court treatment facilities, or Arbor Heights. See notes for a description of the neglect ward population. This figure comes from report CY-091 Part G.