Get The Facts:
Foster Care & Adoption
Foster Care Statistics
Over 437,000 children and youth are in foster care.
Neglect is the #1 reason children are removed from the home
Children in foster care wait 3-4 years or more to be adopted.
118,000 children and youth in America are waiting to be adopted.
More Foster Care Stats
- 51% of children in foster care reunify with their parents or primary caregivers.
- 52% of foster children are adopted by a foster parent.
- More boys are in the foster care system than girls (52% to 48%).
- 44% of foster children are White, 23% African American, 21% Hispanic.
- 26% of children entering foster care are under the age of one.
- About 22% of youth in foster care are age 13 or older.
- 61% of children removed from their home due to abusive neglect.
- 34% of children removed from their homes due to parental drug abuse.
- 14% of children removed due to the inability of the caregiver to cope.
- 12% of children removed from their home due to physical abuse.
- Over 437,000 children and youth are in foster care.
- 45% of foster children live in non-relative foster family homes.
- 32% of foster children live in relative foster family homes.
- 23% of foster children live in institutions, group homes, trial and pre-adoptive homes.
- 118,000 children and youth in America are waiting to be adopted.
- Children in foster care wait 3-4 years or more to be adopted.
- On average, a child can spend almost 12 to 20 months in foster care.
- 10% of foster children spend more than 5 years in foster care.
- The average age of a foster child entering foster care is 7 to 8 years old.
- The average age of a foster child exiting foster care is 7 to 9 years old.
Why Are Children Removed From Their Homes?
Foster children usually enter the foster care system due to abuse and trauma in their home.
Neglect is the #1 reason children are removed, followed by parental drug use.
This displacement causes a unique set of emotional, social and academic challenges for them. They often experience grief, guilt, anger, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, low self-esteem, mental and physical health issues.
Common Reasons for Removal
- Neglect 61%
- Parent Drug Abuse 34%
- Caretaker Inability to Cope 14%
- Physical Abuse 12%
- Child Behavior Problem 11%
- Inadequate Housing 10%
- Parent Incarceration 8%
- Parent Alcohol Abuse 6%
- Abandonment 5%
- Sexual Abuse 4%
- Child Drug Abuse 2%
- Child Disability 2%
- Relinquishment 1%
- Parent Death 1%
- Child Alcohol Abuse 1%
Negative Effects of Foster Care
- 20,500 youth are emancipated from foster care without reunifying with their families, or being adopted.
- Of youth who age out of foster care, 1/4 are incarcerated within 2 years and only 1/2 graduate from high school.
- Children and adolescents with foster care experience are diagnosed with PTSD at twice the rate of U.S. war veterans.