Demystifying the Foster Care System (INFOGRAPHIC)
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The Facts of Foster Care: What You Need to Know About the Foster Care System
Foster care is a state-run child welfare system that provides alternative living situations to children whose parent or parents are unable to provide adequate care.
The idea behind foster care is that a child is better off in a household than an orphanage, even if the child is only living there temporarily.
Goals for children in foster care include reunification, adoption, and guardianship.
This graphic helps to visualize the realities of the system and the outcomes for foster youth around the country.
Foster Care: The Numbers
- 2 million children live in the U.S., according to the 2010 census.
- 402,379: Number of children living in the foster care system
- 101,840: Number of foster children up for adoption
This means about 1 in 184 children in the U.S. are in the foster care system.
- 34 months: The average wait for adoption
- 20 months: The average length to stay in foster care
A Profile of Foster Youth
53%: Case Goal to reunify with parent(s) or principal caretaker(s)
Sex:
52% male
48% female
Age:
Mean age 8.9 years
Median Age 8.2 years
Race:
American Indian/Alaskan Native: 2%
Asian: 1%
Black or African American: 24%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: >1%
Hispanic (of any race): 22%
White: 42%Unable to determine: 3%
Two or more races: 6%
If one child were to represent all others in the foster care system, he would be 9 years old, white, more likely to be disabled than a child outside of the system, and trying to reunify with his family.
Profile of Foster Families
Households interested in becoming foster families must apply through the state and go through a process to ensure that the family is qualified and ready to support a foster child. The process is thorough and includes a social services investigation.
While the foster family does receive money from the state to support their foster children, foster families are generally motivated by the opportunity to change a child’s life. The following section illustrates what these families look like, by the numbers.
- 38 million households in the U.S. have at least one child younger than 18.
- 184,000 households have at least one foster child younger than 18.
- 42% of household with children have at least one child as compared to 22% of foster households.
- 37% of households with children have at least two children as compared to 28% of foster households.
- 21% of households with children have three or more children as compared to 50% of foster households.
Foster family income:
- Mean household income for households with foster children: $56,364
- Mean household income all households with children: $74,301
The following is for households with one or more unrelated foster children younger than 18.
Percentage Income 1%none15%Less then $20,00037%$20,000 to $49,99936%$50,000 to $99,99911%$100,000+15% of households are below 100% of the poverty line
38% of households are below 200% of the poverty line
15% Households receiving food stamps
10% Households with public assistance income
47% Households paying more than 30% of income housing
Poor Outcomes for Foster Youth
Unfortunately, former foster youth are much more likely than the general population to fall intoadverse circumstances.
Former foster youth are much more likely than the general population to:
Commit a crime:
- Male foster youth 4 times as likely
- Female foster youth 10 times as likely
Experience homelessness:
- About 25 percent of former foster youth experience homelessness within 4 years of leaving the system.
Be unemployed:
- In 2012, only 48 percent of male former foster youth were unemployed.
Develop PTSD:
- Former foster youth 5 times as likely
Develop drug or alcohol dependence:
- Former foster youth experience more than 7 times the rate of drug dependence and 2 times the rate of alcohol dependence.
They are less likely than the general population to graduate high school or college.
- 25 percent of foster youth are in college by age 19, compared with 41 percent of the general population.
They rely on government services to meet basic needs
- 33% male former foster youth receive government services to meet basic needs.
- 75% female former foster youth receive government services to meet basic needs.
Sources:
Foster Care Statistics 2013, Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, April 2015
www.childwelfare.gov/pub/PDFs/foster.pdfThe AFCARS Report, Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, July 2014
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport21.pdfWilliam P.O’Hare, Data on Children in Foster Care from the Census Bureau, Kids Count, June 2008
http://www.aecf.org/m/pdf/FosterChildren-July-2008.pdfParenting Children in Foster Care, Child Welfare Information Gateways, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, July 2014 https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/resources-foster-families/parenting/
Facts About Foster Care: NYC, The U.S., and Outcomes, The Center for Family Representation https://www.cfrny.org/news-blog/foster-care-facts/
Many dedicated social service professionals work very closely with foster care agencies or with children within the foster care system. We have created this graphic in an effort to continue to educate social service professionals about what the latest unbiased and authoritative data collecting bureaus have published in regards foster children and foster families. We also explore the data surrounding some of the outcomes for children who have spent time as part of the system to help us gain perspective on how we can continue to support these children and those who care for them.
Demystifying Foster Care, SocialWork@Simmons