This dataset provides information on children considered to be entering or in Department of Child Services (DCS) care by race and year. Below are a few items to note about the dataset:
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A child is considered to be entering DCS care when the child has an involvement of Child in Need of Services (CHINS), 3CM Collaborative Care/CHINS, or Juvenile Delinquent/Stats (JD/JS) in the calendar year that a child's case begins.
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A child is considered to be in DCS care when the child has an involvement of Child in Need of Services (CHINS), 3CM Collaborative Care/CHINS, or Juvenile Delinquent/Stats (JD/JS) in the calendar year.
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Children can be counted twice if they have multiple cases start in a year and/or the case is transferred to a different county.
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Because some children entering care are not included in the individual race categories shown here, total counts from the individual race categories add up to less than the total for the "All" race category.
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Data is not available at the county level as there is not a census level dataset by 0-17 years of age, race, county, and year.
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To match DCS reporting, rates are calculated by the total number of children entering or in DCS care within the calendar year / the previous year’s Census estimate for children ages 0-17
Please also note that DCS serves as a liaison for JD/JS Involvement.
