Imagine half a million young lives passing through our nation's foster care system each year, a reality both staggering in scale and deeply personal in its impact on every child, family, and community involved.
Key Takeaways
- In fiscal year 2022, a total of 572,000 children were served by the foster care system in the United States at some point during the year
- As of September 30, 2022, there were 369,424 children in foster care on that specific day, marking a 2% decrease from the previous year
- From 2000 to 2021, the number of children in foster care peaked at 443,000 in 2009 but has since declined by about 17% to 372,000 in 2021
- In FY 2022, neglect was the primary reason for 61% of all foster care entries nationwide
- Drug abuse by a caregiver accounted for 35% of foster care removals in FY 2022
- Physical abuse led to 12% of children entering foster care in FY 2022
- In 2021, 42% of children in foster care were White
- Black or African American children comprised 23% of the foster care population in 2021
- Hispanic children made up 22% of children in foster care in 2021
- In FY 2022, 49% of children in foster care were placed in non-relative foster family homes
- Relative/kinship foster homes housed 26% of children in FY 2022
- Group homes sheltered 7% of foster youth in FY 2022
- In FY 2022, 52% of children exiting foster care were reunified with parents or guardians
- Adoption accounted for 24% of foster care exits in FY 2022
- Guardianship/emancipation was 11% of exits in FY 2022
The foster care system serves hundreds of thousands of children annually, with ongoing challenges in achieving permanency.
Demographics of Children
- In 2021, 42% of children in foster care were White
- Black or African American children comprised 23% of the foster care population in 2021
- Hispanic children made up 22% of children in foster care in 2021
- Multiracial children represented 10% of the foster care caseload in 2021
- In FY 2022, 51% of children in foster care were male
- Females accounted for 49% of the foster care population in FY 2022
- 6% of children in foster care had a reported medical condition in FY 2022
- 15% of children in foster care were identified with a disability in FY 2022
- Siblings entered foster care together in 34% of cases in FY 2022
- In 2021, 77% of children in foster care had a prior child welfare history
- Children aged 0-5 years were 28% of foster care population in FY 2022
- School-age children (6-12) comprised 29% in FY 2022
- Teens (13-17) made up 31% of foster care in FY 2022
- 4% of foster youth were 18+ in FY 2022
- In California, 40% of foster children are Latino in 2021
- In Texas, Black children are 24% of foster care despite 14% of child pop in 2021
- New York's foster care is 45% Black children in 2021
- Florida has 23% Hispanic foster children in 2021
- Illinois reports 40% Black foster youth in 2021
Demographics of Children Interpretation
The portrait of American foster care reveals a system disproportionately shaped by poverty, race, and family disruption, where young children and sibling groups are most vulnerable, and a child's zip code remains a stark predictor of their likelihood to enter state care.
Entry into Foster Care
- In FY 2022, neglect was the primary reason for 61% of all foster care entries nationwide
- Drug abuse by a caregiver accounted for 35% of foster care removals in FY 2022
- Physical abuse led to 12% of children entering foster care in FY 2022
- Sexual abuse was the reason for 7% of foster care entries in FY 2022
- From FY 2018 to FY 2022, entries due to parental incarceration increased by 15%
- In 2021, 52% of children entered foster care due to neglect alone
- Infants under 1 year old comprised 18% of all foster care entries in FY 2022
- Children aged 1-5 years made up 27% of foster care entries in FY 2022
- Adolescents aged 13-17 represented 25% of entries into foster care in FY 2022
- In FY 2021, 206,000 children entered foster care nationwide
- California saw 28,000 children enter foster care in FY 2021
- Texas had 21,500 foster care entries in FY 2021
- Florida reported 17,200 children entering foster care in FY 2021
- New York had 11,800 foster care entries in FY 2021
- Pennsylvania saw 9,500 children enter foster care in FY 2021
- Ohio reported 8,900 foster care entries in FY 2021
- Illinois had 10,200 children enter foster care in FY 2021
Entry into Foster Care Interpretation
The sobering portrait of American foster care is not of a single monster but a dysfunctional family portrait: over half the children are removed for a kind of quiet abandonment called neglect, with their parents' battles against addiction, the justice system, or their own tempers providing the tragic, high-volume background noise.
Exits and Outcomes
- In FY 2022, 52% of children exiting foster care were reunified with parents or guardians
- Adoption accounted for 24% of foster care exits in FY 2022
- Guardianship/emancipation was 11% of exits in FY 2022
- 49% of children exiting to adoption were under age 9 in FY 2022
- The median length of stay for children adopted from foster care was 25.3 months in FY 2022
- In FY 2022, 116,000 children exited foster care to permanency
- 18% of youth aged out of foster care without permanency in FY 2022
- Black children had a 28% adoption rate from foster care in FY 2022, lower than White children's 32%
- 92% of adoptions from foster care were subsidized in FY 2022
- In 2021, 23,000 youth aged out of foster care
- Reunification rates dropped 5% from FY 2017 to FY 2021
- Older youth (14+) had only 15% adoption rate in FY 2022
- Infants adopted from foster care had median stay of 12.1 months in FY 2022
- Guardianship exits increased by 20% since FY 2012 in 2022 data
- California achieved 55% reunification rate in FY 2021
- Texas adoption rate was 22% of exits in 2021
- New York had 20% aging out rate for older youth in 2021
- Florida reunified 60% in 2021 exits
- Illinois reported 25% adoption exits in 2021
Exits and Outcomes Interpretation
While the foster care system celebrates over 116,000 children finding permanency, it’s a bittersweet victory where reunification is declining, adoption heavily favors the young, and the system's front door remains a revolving one, especially for older youth and Black children who face a persistent and inequitable exit strategy of aging out.
Foster Care Population
- In fiscal year 2022, a total of 572,000 children were served by the foster care system in the United States at some point during the year
- As of September 30, 2022, there were 369,424 children in foster care on that specific day, marking a 2% decrease from the previous year
- From 2000 to 2021, the number of children in foster care peaked at 443,000 in 2009 but has since declined by about 17% to 372,000 in 2021
- In 2021, 19 states saw an increase in foster care populations while 31 states and the District of Columbia experienced decreases
- Approximately 253,000 children entered foster care in fiscal year 2022, representing a 9% increase from FY 2021
- The foster care population includes over 90,000 children who have been in care for 3 or more years as of FY 2022
- Black children represent 23% of the foster care population despite being only 14% of the U.S. child population, based on 2021 data
- In 2020, the average age of children entering foster care was 7.8 years old
- Over 50% of children in foster care in 2022 were between the ages of 1 and 10 years
- Tribal children make up 2% of the foster care caseload but 1.4% of the child population in 2021
- In FY 2021, California had the largest foster care population with 49,740 children
- New York reported 14,634 children in foster care as of September 30, 2021
- Florida's foster care population stood at 22,399 children in FY 2021
- Texas had 20,807 children in foster care in FY 2021
- Pennsylvania reported 14,701 children in foster care in FY 2021
- Ohio had 12,845 children in foster care as of FY 2021 end
- Illinois foster care population was 15,607 in FY 2021
- Michigan reported 10,804 children in foster care in FY 2021
- Georgia had 12,621 children in foster care in FY 2021
- North Carolina's foster care population was 10,775 in FY 2021
Foster Care Population Interpretation
While the overall number of children in foster care shows a slow and welcome decline, the persistently high influx of new entries, coupled with the troubling overrepresentation of Black children and the tens of thousands languishing for years in the system, reveals a machine that is still, alarmingly, well-oiled for churning through young lives rather than healing them.
Placement Types and Stability
- In FY 2022, 49% of children in foster care were placed in non-relative foster family homes
- Relative/kinship foster homes housed 26% of children in FY 2022
- Group homes sheltered 7% of foster youth in FY 2022
- Trial home visits were used for 9% of placements in FY 2022
- Institutional settings accounted for 5% of foster care placements in FY 2022
- The average length of stay in foster care was 20.4 months in FY 2022
- 32% of children experienced 3 or more placements in FY 2022
- Only 42% of children had 1 placement during their foster care episode in FY 2022
- In 2021, 25% of foster youth changed schools due to placement changes
- Sibling separations occurred in 22% of foster care cases in FY 2022
- Pre-adoptive homes were used for 18% of placements in FY 2022
- Supervised independent living for older youth was 3% in FY 2022
- Emergency shelter care housed 1% of children in FY 2022
- In California, kinship care is 34% of placements in 2022
- Texas uses congregate care for 12% of foster children in 2022
- New York has 28% in kinship placements in 2022
- Florida reports average 18.5 months length of stay in 2021
- Illinois saw 35% of children with multiple placements in 2021
Placement Types and Stability Interpretation
Despite our best intentions, the foster care system often feels like a chaotic game of musical chairs where nearly half the kids are left without a family seat when the music stops, siblings get split up, and the average child waits over a year and a half for the music to start again.
Systemic and Policy Data
- Federal Title IV-E foster care funding was $8.7 billion in FY 2022
- There were 407,000 licensed foster family homes nationwide in 2021
- Child welfare workforce turnover rate averages 23% annually across states in 2021
- Caseloads average 15 children per worker in optimal states, but 50+ in high-stress areas in 2022
- 56% of states met federal permanency timelines in FY 2022
- Kinship navigator programs operate in 40 states as of 2023
- National adoption incentive payments totaled $75 million in FY 2021
- 27 states increased kinship care use by 10% or more from 2017-2021
- Preventative services diverted 15% of potential entries in pilot programs in 2022
- Chafee program served 120,000 aging out youth with $140 million in FY 2022
- 73% of states report foster parent shortages in 2022 surveys
- Average foster parent reimbursement is $675/month per child in 2022
- Trauma-informed training required in 45 states for foster parents in 2022
- In California, foster care budget was $2.5 billion in FY 2022
- Texas child welfare staff vacancy rate was 18% in 2022
- New York kinship support funding increased 15% to $100 million in 2022
- Florida has 1,200 licensed therapeutic foster homes in 2022
- Illinois implemented family first prevention services in 80 counties by 2022
Systemic and Policy Data Interpretation
The system is a paradox of massive funding and heartbreaking strain, where a chronic shortage of dedicated parents and overwhelmed caseworkers fights against genuine progress in kinship care and prevention, proving that the safety net for our most vulnerable children is both remarkably resilient and desperately frayed.
Sources & References
- Reference 1ACFacf.hhs.govVisit source
- Reference 2DATACENTERdatacenter.aecf.orgVisit source
- Reference 3CHAPINHALLchapinhall.orgVisit source
- Reference 4CHILDTRENDSchildtrends.orgVisit source
- Reference 5CHILDWELFAREchildwelfare.govVisit source
- Reference 6CDSScdss.ca.govVisit source
- Reference 7DFPSdfps.texas.govVisit source
- Reference 8OCFSocfs.ny.govVisit source
- Reference 9MYFLFAMILIESmyflfamilies.comVisit source
- Reference 10DCFSdcfs.illinois.govVisit source
- Reference 11CWLAcwla.orgVisit source
- Reference 12AFBHOMESafbhomes.orgVisit source