By The Numbers - Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS)

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Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS)

Child Welfare

Number of children in DHHS custody

  • Metric Explanation: The goal of the child welfare system is to keep children safe from abuse and neglect. When a child cannot be kept safely in their own home, the court may order them into State custody. 

    This graph shows the total number of children across the State of Maine that are in DHHS custody, reported on a monthly basis.

Number of Licensed and Active Resource Family Homes

  • Metric Explanation: Resource parents are a vitally important link in Maine's child welfare system. A loving and supportive foster home can have a significantly positive impact on children who have experienced considerable trauma in their young lives. 

    This graph includes all Licensed and Active Resource family homes in a given month, which includes homes that may be providing temporary care for or adopting a child who is in State custody.

Number of Children placed into safe, permanent homes within 12 months of entering state custody

  • Metric Explanation: The goal for children and youth in State custody is for them to transition to safe, life-long families. This shows the percentage of children that returned to their family, were adopted, or had a permanency guardianship ordered within 12 months of entering State custody.
    • In-Depth Explanation:
      • Permanency in 12 Months for Children Entering State Custody: This Federally required measure indicates whether the agency reunifies or places children in safe and permanent homes as soon as possible after removal.
      • Numerator: Number of children in the denominator who were discharged to permanency within 12 months of entering State custody.
      • Denominator: Number of children who enter State custody in a 12-month period.
    • Definitions of Terms:
      • Permanency: Permanency includes discharges from foster care to reunification with the child's parents or primary caregivers, living with a relative, guardianship, or adoption.
      • State Custody: When a court finds that it is no longer safe for a child to remain in their home, a judge may order the removal of the child and transfer custody over to the State agency.
    • Data Notes:
      • Exclusions: Children in care for less than 8 days and children who enter care at age 18 or older are excluded from this data.
      • Adjustments: A trial home visit adjustment is applied to this measure. This means that if a child discharges from State custody to reunification with parents or other caretakers and had been in a trial home placement that exceeded 30 days, this amount of time is discounted from the total length of stay in State custody.

Early Childhood Education

Number of licensed childcare providers (by provider type)

  • Metric Explanation: The goal of the Department is to provide early childhood education services in a safe, healthy, and secure environment. 

    This graph shows the number of licensed providers by type in a given month. You can also choose to view the combined total of both childcare provider types.

Number of children receiving childcare subsidies

  • Metric Explanation: The goal of the Child Care Subsidy program is to support access to early childhood education services for eligible families. 

    This data shows the number of children being supported by the subsidy program in a given month. You can select whether you want to view the number of children by age or the total number.

Children receiving Childcare Subsidies in high quality (4-5 Star) early childhood education

  • Metric Explanation: The goal of the Child Care Subsidy program is to support families in accessing high quality early childhood education (ECE) services.

    This data shows the total number of children ("Total Children") who are receiving a Subsidy through the Child Care Subsidy program whose early childhood education provider has a rising star rating of 4 or 5, as well as the number of children that meet this criteria ("By Age Group"). When stratifying by age group, the data also includes the relative share of the age group out of all children receiving Subsidy who meet this criteria.

Number of children receiving childcare subsidies by provider’s Rising Star level

  • Metric Explanation: Rising Stars for ME is a mandatory program for all licensed childcare programs in Maine. This data shows the number of children who are receiving childcare Subsidies and their childcare provider's associated star level in a given month.

    The star rating given to providers from Rising Stars for ME are designed to:

1. Recognize early childhood and out-of-school time programs that meet standards of evidence-based quality practices.

2. Encourage and support programs to engage in continuous quality improvement efforts.

3. Provide families with identifiable standards of quality.

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