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All data pertain to children in the United States. Except where footnoted, data are for the period ending Sept. 30, 2005 and were taken from Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Report: Preliminary FY 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm.
Children and youth at risk [1]
- 3.6 million children and youth were investigated as potential victims of abuse or neglect.
- 25 percent of children and youth investigated (899,000) were confirmed as victims of abuse or neglect.
Children and youth in care
- 513,000 children and youth were in foster care on September 30, 2005.
- 48 percent of all children and youth in foster care (247,645) were over the age of ten.
- 51 percent (262,706) had reunification with their birth families as their case goal.
Length of stay in care for children and youth
- 39 percent (201,960) are placed in the child welfare system for less than one year.
- 28 percent (148,730 children) are in the system for three years or more.
- 48 percent (246,650 children) have reunification with their birth families as their case goal.
Living situation for the 513,000 children and youth in foster care
Kinship care (relatives or tribal members as caregivers) for children and youth.
- 24 percent of children and youth in foster care (124,153) were placed with related kinship caregivers who were licensed parents.
- In 2006, more than 2.4 million grandparents were the primary adults responsible for their grandchildren. [2]
- In 2004, there were 9,891 kinship homes licensed as foster homes and 97,665 licensed non-relative family foster homes in the United States. [3]
Length of stay in care for children and youth.
- About two in five children and youth (42%) stay less than one year in foster care.
Siblings in care
Note: National statistics are not available, and state data are limited. Estimates are that over half of children and youth in foster care have siblings who are also in care. For example:
- In October 2005, 68 percent of children and youth in the California child welfare system had at least one sibling in foster care. [4]
- In 1998, 64 percent of children and youth in the New York child welfare system had at least one sibling in foster care. [5]
- 77% of a nationally representative sample of youth in foster care reported wanting to see more of their siblings. [6]
Racial/ethnic group representation
Research shows no significant racial differences in the overall incidence of abuse and neglect of children and youth. When other potential predictors are taken into account, African American youth suffering certain types of abuse are more likely to be investigated by Child Protective Services than white youth. [7]
The relative rate of African American children in the child welfare system compared to non-Hispanic white children in the child welfare system is about 3:1 (2.21/0.72). [8]
The relative rate of Native American children in the child welfare system compared to non-Hispanic white children in the child welfare system is about 3:1 (2.12/0.72). [9]
Children and youth of color are less likely to be reunified with their birth families. [10]
Emancipation (when a youth in foster care becomes a legal adult)
- 20 percent of youth in foster care were 16 or older (104,710).
- Of the 287,000 youth exiting care in 2005, 9 percent (24,407) left foster care through the process of becoming legally emancipated.
References
(Revised: 2-21-08)
[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children and Families (2006). Child Maltreatment 2005. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Downloaded February 21, 2008 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs.
[2] United States American Community Survey 2006. Table B10050 Living with own grandchildren under 18 years. Retrieved February 13, 2008 from http://factfinder.census.gov.
[3] Child Welfare League of America National Data System: Out of Home Care Homes and Facilities, Number of Licensed, Approved and Certified Homes and Facilities, 2004. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from http://ndas.cwla.org.
[4] Needell, B., Webster, D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Shaw, T., Dawson, W., Piccus, W., Magruder, J., Exel, M., Conley, A., Smith, J., Dunn, A., Frerer, K., Putnam Hornstein, E., & Kaczorowski, M.R., (2005). Child Welfare Services Reports for California. Retrieved May 15, 2006, from University of California at Berkeley Center for Social Services Research website. URL: http://cssr.berkeley.edu/CWSCMSreports/
[6] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2003). National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). One Year in Foster Care Wave 1 Data Analysis Report. Retrieved February 22, 2008 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/abuse_neglect/nscaw/ 6 Sedlak, A., & Schultz, D. (2001). Racial differences in child protective services investigation of abused and neglected children. In D. M. Derezotes, J. Poertner, & M. F. Testa, (Eds.). Race Matters in Child Welfare: The Overrepresentation of African American Children in the System. Washington, DC.: CWLA Press. Source data: National Incident Studies I-III (1980, 1986, 1993) available from National Data Archive of Child Abuse and Neglect at http://www.ndacan.cornell.edu/NDACAN/Datasets_List.html.
[7] The Relative Disparity Rate or Relative Rate Index compares the likelihood of one group experiencing an event to the likelihood of another group experiencing the same event. Source: Barbara Needell, “Race/Ethnic Disproportionality and Disparity in Child Welfare: New Views, New Measures” power point presentation available at http://cssr.berkeley.edu/CWSCMSreports/presentations/. The rates of placement in care for African American and Native American/Alaskan Native children were derived from the AFCARS report and The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2005). KIDS COUNT State level Data On-line. Retrieved January 19, 2007 from http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/profile_results.jsp?r=1&d=1&c=9&p=5&x=146&y=5.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Hill, R. (2001). The role of race in parental reunification. Paper presented at the Race Matters Forum meeting, Jan. 9-10, Chicago, IL. Available online on May 15, 2006, from Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Human and Health Services, as Chapter 6 in Assessing the Context of Permanency and Reunification in the Foster Care System at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/fostercare-reunif01/. |