Kids Count Data Center

Definitions: The number and rate per 1,000 of children under age 18 entering 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 entering foster care if they have a valid data for entry into care during a particular 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 the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), made available through the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Footnotes: Updated May 2013.
N.A. - Data not available.

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.