eGuide Archives: Foster Care

Each May, we salute the compassionate people who make a difference by serving as foster parents, relative caregivers, mentors, advocates, social workers, and volunteers. Thanks to these unsung heroes, many formerly abused or neglected children and teens will either safely reunite with their parents, be cared for by relatives, or be adopted by loving families. Read more.

Total Population: 513,000 children were in the U.S. foster care system on September 30, 2005. Most children are placed temporarily in foster care due to parental abuse or neglect.

Age: Average Age: 10.0 years

6%	< 1 year
26%	1-5 years
20%	6-10 years
28%	11-15 years
18%	16-18 years
2%	> 19 years

Gender:

Male	52%
Female	48%

Race and Ethnicity: As a percentage, there are more children of color in the foster care system than in the general U.S. population. However, child abuse and neglect occur at about the same rate in all racial/ethnic groups.

Race/Ethnicity	In out-of-home care	In general population
Black (non-Hispanic)	32%	15%
White (non-Hispanic)	41%	61%
Hispanic	18%	17%
Am. Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic)	2%	1%
Asian/Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	1%	3%
Unknown	2%	N/A
2 or More Races (non-Hispanic)	3%	4%

Length of Stay: For the children in foster care on September 30, 2005, the average amount of time they had been in the system was 28.6 months. Half of those leaving care that year had been away from home for a year or longer. 54% of the young people leaving the system were reunified with their birth parents or primary caregivers.

Foster Homes: In 2004, there was a total of 153,000 licensed/certified/approved kinship and non-relative foster homes nationwide. In 2005, 24% of youth living foster care were residing with their relatives.

Adoptions: In 2005, 60% of adopted children were adopted by their foster parent(s). The "foster parent" category excludes anyone identified as a relative of the child. 25% of children adopted in FY 2005 were adopted by a relative. A "relative" includes a step-parent or other relative of the child.

Siblings and Extended Families: Over 2 million American children live with grandparents or other relatives because their parents cannot care for them. When relatives provide foster care (known as kinship care), siblings can often stay together. Kinship care also improves stability by keeping displaced children closer to their extended families, their neighborhoods, and their schools.

Youth in Transition: Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Several foster care alumni studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, these older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations: Read more.

Outcomes	National	Regional or Local
Earned a high school diploma	54%	50% - 63%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher	2%	2%
Became a parent	84%	42%
Were unemployed	51%	30%
Had no health insurance	30%	29%
Had been homeless	25%	36%
Were receiving public assistance	30%	26%

Reminder of the week:Even if you don’t have the time necessary to become a foster parent yourself, there are things that you can do with a spare hour or even just a few minutes to enrich the lives of a child in need in foster care. No matter how much time you have to give, you can do something positive that will change a lifetime for a young person in foster care. Read more: Minutes | Hours | Weeks | More time