The average score on the rigorous annual performance review, which is tied to the daily rate that foster care agencies receive from ACS, rose to 82.2 in 2004 from 80 the previous year. Under the rating system, a score of 85 or higher indicates excellent performance; 80 to 84.99 indicates very good performance; 74 to 79.99 indicates high satisfactory performance; 73.99 to 70 indicates low satisfactory performance; 65 to 69.99 indicates a need for improvement and a score below 64.99 is unsatisfactory.

In 2004, nine agencies earned excellent ratings; 14 very good; 12 high satisfactory, and one low satisfactory. No agency received a needs improvement or unsatisfactory score.

“This is a meaningful improvement that reflects the continued commitment, dedication and hard work of our agency partners on behalf of the most vulnerable children of this City,” said Commissioner Mattingly.

For fiscal year 2006, agencies scoring in the “excellent” range will receive $26, or current rate, if higher, for each child in their care per day; those that scored “very good” will receive $25, or current rate, if higher; those with a “high satisfactory” rating, $24; and a “low satisfactory” rating, $23.50.

Developed in 2000, the scoring system, called the Evaluation and Quality Improvement Protocol (EQUIP), gauges agency performance in three areas: outcomes, quality and process. Outcomes account for 40 percent of the overall score, and measures the time it takes to find adoptive homes for children, how long it takes to reunite children with their birth families, and the rate of re-entry into foster care. It also measures each agency’s performance in preparing youth for independent living, finding foster homes for siblings and recruiting foster parents within a child’s community.

Quality accounts for 30 percent of the score, as does Process, which measures such factors as the time it takes to finalize adoptions, foster parent recertification and foster parent training, as well as the frequency of substantiated reports of abuse and neglect.

"We are committed to quality, we are proud of the agencies' hard work to improve their results, and we intend to continue working to improve the care received by all the children in our custody,” Commissioner Mattingly said.