Definitions: The number and rate per 1,000 of children under age 18 in the foster care system. Most states allow children to remain in the foster care system until their 18th birthday, though some states have age limits that extend a few years beyond this. To allow for comparison across states, this indicator includes the population under age 18 in foster care. Children are categorized as being in foster care if they entered prior to the end of the current fiscal year and have not been discharged from their latest foster care spell by the end of the current fiscal year. Census numbers indicate population estimates of children ages 0 to 17 in each state as of July 1st of the respective year.
Data Source: Child Trends analysis of data from theAdoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), made available through the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Footnotes:
Updated April 2013.
N.A. - Data not available.
Note: Maps use the natural break classification method, which reflects patterns
in the data by dividing the map into naturally occurring groups. Using statistical tools, this method
determines cut-off points for each group by identifying large gaps in data values.
Note: The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are
not included in maps and rankings because they are not states and therefore comparisons on many
indicators of child well being are not meaningful.