RD95 - Annual Report on Locality Utilization Rates and Average Lengths of Stay for Children Served by the Comprehensive Services Act


Executive Summary:
The 2004 Appropriations Act, Chapter 4, contains language in Item 299, B 2.d, requiring each locality to "submit to the Office of Comprehensive Services information on utilization of residential facilities for treatment of children and length of stay in such facilities". The Office of Comprehensive Services is required report to the Governor and Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees on utilization rates and average lengths of stays statewide and by locality. This report is due by November 1 of each year.

Report Methodology

To obtain the information to develop these locality statistics, child specific information was gathered using information from the CSA Data Set. Implemented in July 2003 under the guidance of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the CSA Data Set contains demographic, service and placement information on the approximately 15,000 children served by the Comprehensive Services Act. This information is reported quarterly by each locality. Information from the 4th quarter data set reporting, which is cumulative for the fiscal year, was used in determining the locality results for this Appropriations Act requirement.

Length of stay information is provided on two schedules. Schedule 1 summarizes, by locality, the total number of children who at some point in FY04 resided in a residential setting. For definitional purposes, any child that the local government indicated resided in a group home, residential treatment facility, or psychiatric hospital setting during the FY04 program year is considered residential. Children meeting these criteria were isolated from the year to date 4th quarter data set master file, and their length of stay in the residential setting(s) was calculated (in months). Schedule 1 also provides information on the total number children served in FY04, and calculates the percentage of residential children to total children served on a locality basis to determine the residential utilization rate. The statewide average length ofstay and residential utilization rate is also provided.

Schedule 2 summarizes residential placements by the three respective residential service options: Foster care, Special Education or Non-mandated residential services. It is important to note that Schedule 2 contains duplicative state mandate child information. For example, a child could receive both residential foster care services and residential special education services, either simultaneously or at different points of time in the year. Should that occur, the child was reported in both of the respective service options as identified by the local government. The statewide average length of stay and residential utilization rate for each residential service is also provided.

Both reports calculate length of stay for open CSA cases to the last day of the fiscal year, June 30, 2004. The actual residential service close date was used for length of stay calculations for any child discharged from CSA during the fiscal year.

When reviewing these reports, it is important to note that when the data set was initiated in July 2003, local governments were required to populate information based on placement as of July 1, 2003. Local governments were not required to provide historical placements prior to July 1, 2003. As such, there are some instances were placement information for an individual child may not include the pre-July 2003 residential service. As the data set information system matures, these phenomena will correct themselves as pre-July 2003 children are discharged from the reporting system.