Publication#2011-194301ConnecticutAvenue,NW,Suite350,Washington,DC20008
Phone202-572-6000Fax202-362-8420
FOSTER CARE DATA SNAPSHOTMay31, 2011
ostercareisintended toprovideatemporarysafehavenforchildrenwhohavebeenabusedor neglected, orwhoseparentsforsomeotherreasoncannotprovideadequatecare.Itisnotintended tobeapermanentlivingarrangement. ThegoalofU.S.childwelfareistofindsafe,permanent
homesforchildren,eitherbyreunificationwiththeirfamiliesoforiginorthroughadoptionor placementwithapermanentlegalguardian.
Unfortunately,manychildreninfostercareneverend upinasafe,permanentfamily.Somespend yearsinmultiplefosterfamiliesandgrouphomes,anexperience that heightenstheirriskofemotion- al,behavioral,andacademicchallenges.Forthisreason,policymakers,administrators,andadvocates havefocusedtheireffortsonsafelyreducingthefostercarerolls. Theireffortstodatehaveyielded mixedresults.Whilethenumbersofchildreninfostercareandenteringcareeachyearhave decreased nationwide,thereiswidevariationamongthestates,andthedeclinehasnotbeen continuousoverthepastdecade.
TocoincidewithNational FosterCareMonthinMay,thisDataSnapshotexploresstateandnational trendsinthenumberofchildreninfostercare,aswellasthenumberenteringfostercare,eachyear from2000 to2009, usingdatafromtheAdoptionandFosterCareAnalysisandReportingSystem (AFCARS).OnSeptember30, 2009, 424,000 childrenwere infostercareintheUnitedStates,a decreasenationallyof23 percentfromthe544,000 childreninfostercareonSeptember30, 2000.
ABOUT THE DATA SOURCE
ThisDataSnapshotusesdatafrom the fostercarefileof theAdoptionandFos- terCareReportingSystem(AFCARS). TheAFCARSfostercarefileincludes child-specificinformationprovidedby statesfrom theirchildwelfareadminis-
FIGURE 1
Numberofchildreninfostercareattheendofthe fiscalyear,andenteringinthefiscalyear,byyear (inthousands)
600
544 545533519
507511511 493
trativedatasystemson allchildrenin
fostercarefor whomthestatechildwel- fareagencyhasresponsibilityfor place- ment,care,orsupervision,regardlessof eligibilityfor TitleIV-Efunds.Dataare includedfor afederalfiscalyear.
Childrenarecategorizedasbeingin fostercareiftheyenteredfostercare priorto theendof thecurrentfiscal yearandwerenotdischargedfrom theirlatest fostercarespellbythe endof thecurrentfiscalyear.
500
400
300
200
100
287 296
302
295 298
308303293
460
274
424
255
Childrenarecategorizedasenteringfos- tercareifthemostrecentdateof their removalfromparentalcustodywasafter thebeginningof thecurrentfiscalyear andbeforetheendof thefiscalyear.
0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
FiscalYear
NumberofchildreninfostercareatendofFY Numberofchildrenenteringfostercarein FY
FIGURE 2
Percentagechangeinnumberofchildreninfostercareattheend oftheFiscalYear,2000 to2009
KEY
Decreasedby25%ormore
Decreasedby>+10%butlessthan25% Change<10%
Increasedby>+10%butlessthan25%
increasedby25%ormore
Thenumberofchildreninfostercareattheend ofeachfiscalyeardecreasedfrom2001 to2004, increasedslightlyto511,000 in2005 and2006, andthencontinuedtodeclinesteadilyto424,000 attheend ofFY2009. (See Figure1.)
Similarly,thenumberofchildrenentering
fostercareeachyearhasdecreasedoverall,from
287,000 childrenin2000, to255,000 childrenin
2009. However,thenumberofchildrenentering carehasfluctuatedoverthecourseofthedecade, reaching ahighof308,000 childrenenteringcare in2005 beforestartingtodecline.
Formoreinformationontheimportanceoffoster care,visittheChildTrendsDataBank.
NATIONALAND STATE-LEVELCHANGES
INTHENUMBEROFCHILDRENINFOSTER CAREBETWEEN2000 AND 2009.
Nationally,thenumberofchildreninfostercare attheend ofthefiscalyeardecreasedby23%
between2000 and2009. ThemapinFigure2 illustratesthepercentagechange inthenumber ofchildreninfostercareattheend oftheyear between2000 and2009, bystate.Statesindark- ershadesexperienceddecreasesintheirfoster carepopulation,whilestateswiththelightest twoshadeshadincreases.Table1 ranksthe statesbythepercentagechange intheirfoster carepopulationsbetween2000 and2009.
•Mainehadthelargestdecline,withits fostercarepopulationdroppingbynearly half(48.4%).
•Nevadahadthelargestincrease,withits fostercarepopulationnearlydoubling(195%).
NUMBEROFCHILDRENINFOSTERCARE BYSTATEIN2009.
Table1alsopresentsthe total numberofchildren infostercareonSeptember30, 2009 bystate.
FIGURE 3
Percentagechangeinnumberofchildrenentering fostercare,2000 to2009
KEY
Decreasedby25%ormore
Decreasedby>+10%butlessthan25% Change<10%
Increasedby>+10%butlessthan25%
increasedby25%ormore
•Californiahadthelargestnumberof childreninfostercare(60,198children) onthisdate,primarilybecauseit hasthe largestchildpopulationinthenation.
YEAR-TO-YEARCHANGESINTHENUMBER OFCHILDRENINFOSTERCARE.
WhileFigure2andTable1demonstrate the overallpercentagechangebetween2000and2009, Table2highlightsthe percentagechangeinthe fostercarepopulation byyearineachstate.
•Almosteverystate,liketheUnitedStates asawhole,hasexperiencedfluctuationsin bothpositiveandnegativedirectionsfrom yeartoyear.
•OnlyCaliforniaandIllinoishavedecreased theirfostercaretotalseachyearsince2000.
NATIONALAND STATE-LEVELCHANGES INTHENUMBEROFCHILDRENENTERINGFOSTERCAREBETWEEN2000 AND 2009.
Figure3 illustratesthepercentagechange inthe
numberofchildrenenteringfostercareineach statebetween2000 and2009. Whilethenumber ofchildrenenteringfostercarenationally decreasedby12%between2000 and2009, not
allstatesexperiencedsimilardeclines.Asshown inthemap,stateshighlightedinthedarkest threeshadesexperienceddecreasesbetween
2000 and2009 inthenumberofchildrenenter- ingfostercare,andstateshighlightedinthe lightesttwoshadesexperiencedincreases.
(See Table3 forstaterankings.)
•Delawarehadthelargestdecrease,with
thenumberofchildrenenteringfostercare decliningbymorethanonehalf(53%).
•Nevadahadthelargestincrease,withthe numberofchildrenenteringin2009 more thantriplewhatit wasin2000 (332%).
NUMBER OF CHILDRENENTERING FOSTER CARE BY STATE IN2009.
Inadditiontopresentingthepercentagechange inthenumberofchildrenenteringfostercare
from2000 to2009, Table3 includesthenumberof childrenenteringfostercarein2009 andtherate ofchildrenenteringfostercareper 1,000 children ages0 to17 ineachstate.
•Again,Californiahadthelargestnumber ofchildrenenteringfostercarein2009.
•Wyominghadthehighestrateoffostercare entry,with8.18 ofevery1,000 children enteringfostercarein2009.
YEAR-TO-YEARCHANGESINTHENUMBER OFCHILDRENENTERINGFOSTERCARE.
Theoverallpercentagechange between2000 and
2009 inthenumberchildrenenteringfostercare, asshowninFigure3 andTable3, isbrokendown inTable4 toshowyear-to-yearchanges.Asisthe casewiththenumberofchildrenincare,thereis year-to-yearfluctuationinthedirectionandrate ofchange, andneitherthenationnoranysingle stateexperiencedcontinuousdecreasesor increasesinthesenumbersoverthisperiod.
CONCLUSION
Fostercareisanimportantsafetynetforsome childrenwhocannotremainsafelyathome becauseofabuseorneglect.Althoughonemight
expectthat thenumbersofchildrenneedingfoster caremightbeapproximatelyuniform(aftercon- trollingforpopulation)acrossstates,thedatapre- sentedinthissnapshotdocumentwidevariation
intermsofentriesandplacementsfromstateto state.Thereasonsforthesedifferencesarecom- plex,butcanpartiallybeexplainedbythewide variationinstatefostercaresystemswithrespect totheirfundingstructures,policiesandpractices. Formoreinformationaboutspecific statepolicies andfunding,visittheChildWelfarePolicyData- baseandtheFosteringConnectionswebsite.
ThisDataSnapshotwasdevelopedwithfundingfrom theAnnieE.CaseyFoundationbyAmyMcKlindon, withcontributionsfromSharon VandivereandDavid Murphey.Thedatausedinthispublicationwere
madeavailabletoChildTrendsbytheNationalData ArchiveonChildAbuseandNeglect,CornellUniversi- ty,Ithaca,NY,andhavebeenusedwithpermission. DatafromtheAdoptionandFosterCareAnalysisand ReportingSystem(AFCARS)wereoriginallycollected bytheChildren’sBureau,AdministrationonChildren, YouthandFamiliesU.S. DepartmentofHealthand HumanServices,whichalsofundedthecollection
ofthedata.NeitherChildren’sBureau,theArchive, CornellUniversity,northeiragentsoremployeesbear anyresponsibilityfortheanalysesorinterpretations presentedhere.
1DataforPuertoRiconotavailablefor2000, thereforepercentagechange from2000to2009 couldnotbecalculated.Percentagechangeinthenation- alnumberofchildreninfostercarefrom2000to2009 excludesPuertoRico.
TABLE 2
PercentagechangeinnumberofchildreninfostercareattheendofFiscalYear, bystate(2000to2009)
2000 to
2001
2001 to
2002
2002 to
2003
2003 to
2004
2004 to
2005
2005 to
2006
2006 to
2007
2007 to
2008
2008 to
2009
l...-.... -. . ls -. . -. - . -. . . -. -. ri -...... -. . -. r ss -...... -. . lifr i -. -. -. - . -. -. -. -. - .
Colorado-5.2429.01-4.94-6.370.21-0.90-4.451.850.08
Connecticut6.35-19.2612.240.903.375.92-22.34-7.11-11.39
Delaware-6.83-13.39-8.134.3013.3111.647.73-18.93-13.22
Districtof Columbia9.33-0.54-6.90-15.65-3.41-5.99-7.220.91-4.78
Florida-11.28-1.58-4.02-5.911.55-0.28-9.81-15.84-13.66 ri . -. . . -. -. -. - . - .
ii . . . . -. - . - . - . - . I ...... -. - . Illi is -. - . - . -. -. -. -. -. -. I i ...... -. . .
Iowa2.640.69-4.337.4426.1933.06-8.85-18.17-2.65
Kansas-2.44-3.42-6.614.83-3.719.563.72-4.90-9.75
Kentucky2.4610.531.191.493.175.35-0.67-4.94-4.32
Louisiana-7.07-3.88-5.96-3.179.927.862.30-5.03-5.51
Maine1.10-4.40-10.51-6.38-10.64-10.09 -5.11 -5.38-11.70 rl-. -. -. -. -. . - . - . -.
ssc stts -. . . -. -. -. -. -. -. ic i . . . -. -. -. . -. - . i st -. -. - . -. . . -. - . - . ississi i . - . . . . -. . -. .
Missouri1.62-2.73-8.67-1.03-2.93-10.95-3.292.86-2.13
Montana-7.89-4.78-2.418.799.46-11.70-11.47-7.892.44
Nebraska10.22-8.47-10.0622.22-0.97-0.71-5.04-4.83-4.44
Nevada83.2211.227.1114.1814.869.170.40-0.87-4.86
NewHampshire-1.750.23-5.731.56-4.69-2.72 -5.41-5.07-9.62 rs . . . -. -. -. - . -. -.
ic-...... -.-. r-. -. -. -. -. -. . -. -.
rtrli-.-.....-.-.-. rt t . . . . . -. -. -. -.
Ohio5.99-2.53-8.15-6.83-3.10-4.672.31-19.47-10.99
Oklahoma3.191.594.9922.410.603.71-0.28-10.08-17.77
Oregon-2.471.510.1810.219.67-3.26-10.31-6.00-3.76
Pennsylvania-1.440.43-2.645.27-1.15-2.56-1.31-7.86-12.18
RhodeIsland4.87-1.28-1.092.423.9413.27-4.22-11.57-12.26 trli . . -. -. . . . -. -.
tt.....-.-.-. . ss -. -. . . -. -. - . -. -.
s...... -.-.-. t...... -. .
Vermont-0.5010.42-7.671.630.28-3.97-5.08-8.33-11.50
Virginia1.133.54-0.89-2.512.2311.69-0.99-13.16-12.10
Washington1.746.24-4.721.687.473.866.221.26-11.78
WestVirginia-2.66-2.3726.37-1.947.64-1.614.350.05-3.97
Wisconsin-9.59-7.93-10.52-0.153.80-5.77-2.55-0.58-8.35
Wyoming18.40-3.7313.5612.235.074.58-5.38-6.260.09
1Nationalestimate excludesPuertoRico.
TABLE 3
Percentagechangeinnumberofchildrenenteringfoster careinFY2009,bystateandnumberandrateofchildrenenteringfostercarein2009,bystate
Rateofchildren
State
Overallpercent changefrom
2000 to2009
Numberofchildren enteringfostercare in20091
enteringfoster carein2009,per
1,000children2
l r - .. ist - . , . i - . , .
t - .. ii- . , .
Maryland-29.43%2,7722.05
Maine-28.42%7532.78
Oklahoma-27.81%4,7345.15
Michigan-26.56%7,8633.34
Vermont-25.17%5504.35 isc si - . , .
lifr i- .,. lri - . , . r - . , .
iss ri- .,. Illinois -21.66% 5,176 1.62
Washington-19.74%6,0923.88
Districtof Columbia -19.48%6245.42
Georgia-16.66%5,8572.27
Massachusetts-16.39%6,1714.30
I- .,.ls- . .
ctic t- .,. rtrli -. , .
Colorado-8.48%6,3535.08
Pennsylvania-8.25%11,2263.99
NorthDakota-6.56%9406.52
Virginia-5.70%2,5821.40
Utah-4.10%2,0602.36 r-. , .
ss-.,. tt . , .
Isl.,. rs. , .
NewHampshire4.34%5051.65
Mississippi5.09%2,1072.74
Idaho7.81%1,2152.90
Tennessee8.61%5,9523.97
NewMexico11.85%1,9913.90 rs . , .
isi.,. trli . , .
l.,.rss . , . WestVirginia 25.42% 3,000 7.68
Texas29.38%12,7691.85
Kentucky30.50%5,3875.30
Wyoming44.91%1,1398.59
Arizona63.39%7,5884.36
Ii.,.
.,. rtic --- , .
1Numbercalculatedforchildrenages0-20.
2Rates calculatedforchildrenages0-17.
3DataforPuertoRiconotavailablefor2000,thereforepercent-change from2000to2009 couldnotbe calculated.Percent-changeinthe national numberofchildreninfostercarefrom2000to2009 excludes Puerto Rico.
TABLE 4
PercentagechangeinnumberofchildrenenteringfostercareinFiscalYear, bystate(2000to2009)
2000 to
2001
2001 to
2002
2002 to
2003
2003 to
2004
2004 to
2005
2005 to
2006
2006 to
2007
2007 to
2008
2008 to
2009
l... ..-..-. .ls -. . - . - . . -. -. . . ri -. . . . . -. . . -. r ss -. . . -. . . . -. . lifr i -. . -. - . . . . - . -.
Colorado0.9410.43-1.622.22-1.68-7.74-8.902.46-3.58
Connecticut-1.811.8413.28-6.65-2.269.45-14.24-0.30-7.74
Delaware-1.16-2.24-6.212.215.1110.388.72-43.51-29.03
Districtof Columbia6.06-1.22-11.451.3926.06-27.09-12.5421.50-12.36
Florida-0.4911.39-1.21-3.0011.11-0.67-13.86-16.42-9.63 ri . . . . -. - . -. - . - .
ii . . -. -. - . - . - . -. -. I . . . . . -. . - . - . Illi is -. -. -. -. . - . . . - . I i -. . . . . -. . . .
Iowa3.72-0.14-1.463.9413.74-17.55-7.91-11.814.12
Kansas-11.19-2.40-3.2213.492.6712.4116.23-13.79-9.96
Kentucky11.1914.384.481.397.006.13-8.23-0.55-6.52
Louisiana-4.53-1.33-5.55-1.9622.4017.62-8.37-6.336.70
Maine-0.48-18.826.35-10.62-10.021.3814.386.41-16.05 rl-. -. -. . -. -. - . -. .
ssc stts -. -. -. . -. . . . -. ic i . - . -. . -. -. . -. -. i st -. . - . -. . -. -. -. - . ississi i . - . -. . . -. . -. .
Missouri2.44-3.42-11.164.35-2.52-12.31-5.64-3.829.78
Montana-5.16-13.28-10.034.5116.61-17.67-8.82-4.93-4.50
Nebraska6.890.03-13.2542.93-5.13-3.63-5.90-6.556.64
Nevada395.992.917.02-5.114.078.82-6.33-9.62-13.13
NewHampshire10.335.432.66-3.11 -2.141.645.03-2.39-11.56 rs . . . -. - . . -. -. -.
ic.. -. .-.-..-.-. r-.. - . -. - . . -. . -.
rtrli-..-. .. -.-.- .-. rtt . . . -. . - . -. . .
Ohio4.94-7.27-6.57-6.04-6.39-2.40-2.25-13.43-14.03
Oklahoma-1.086.72-3.03-3.079.56-2.83-2.30-12.93-19.67
Oregon-2.9512.30-2.3411.4111.78-14.57-13.03-1.191.14
Pennsylvania10.411.30-4.7111.770.58-3.060.77-8.99-13.85
RhodeIsland5.965.96-0.955.23-5.3429.66-13.83-14.68-2.76 trli . . -. -. . . . . -.
tt-.-..-..-..-. . ss. . . . . -. -. -. -.
s.. -...-.- .-.-. t-. . - . . . -. -. -. .
Vermont-1.0914.44-12.8615.86-8.33-8.96-11.844.37-14.73
Virginia6.0612.742.352.002.9311.88-8.41-8.90-21.38
Washington-4.18-7.82-7.585.786.87-3.803.86-5.34-8.03
WestVirginia-6.615.55-0.472.3427.06-0.330.896.35-8.09
Wisconsin-14.05-2.02-0.8712.638.08-9.99-4.70-4.53-8.71
Wyoming13.99-9.7121.0119.313.42-1.99-10.395.941.33