Over the last decade (2012-2022), state and national data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) shows an interesting trend: while percentage changes from 2012 to 2022 may differ by only a few percentage points, the numbers increased steadily until 2015-2017, than began to shrink after 2017. Using 2017 as the beginning point, National data (available up to and including 2021) indicates:
- The total number of children in care on September 30 of each year decreased 11 percent from 437,000 to 391,000.
- The number of children waiting for adoption decreased nine percent from 124,000 to 114,000.
- The number of children adopted decreased 10 percent from 59,500 to 54,200.
Other national data trends with discussion can be viewed in Trends in Foster Care and Adoption FY 2012-2021 at https//www.acf.hhs.gov/cb.
The Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) provides Pennsylvania data in its State of the Child 2022 Report. Data indicated that the unduplicated number of children served in the child welfare system decreased 19 percent from 25,381 to 20,490. Data from 2021 indicated:
- 44 percent of the children were non-Hispanic white, 31 percent were non-Hispanic Black or African-American, and 12 percent were Hispanic or Latino.
- 85 percent were placed in a family setting (pre-adoption, family foster care, non-family foster care).
- 23 percent of the children were age 13+ when entering foster care for the first time and 48 percent of children re-entering care were age 13+.
- The top placement reasons for children entering foster care were parent drug abuse, neglect, caretaker inability to cope, inadequate housing and child’s behavior problem.
- 25 percent of children had a primary goal of adoption and 65 percent had a primary goal of reunification and 3.2 percent had a case plan goal of Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA). Eighty percent of APPLA youth exited to a non-permanent relationship.
- Black youth are 4.5 times more likely to re-enter foster care and more than four times more likely to remain in foster care than white children.
Youth Aging out of Care
More than 23,000 youth were discharged to emancipation in the U.S. during federal fiscal year 2012. In Pennsylvania, of 48,922 exiting foster care between 2017 and 2021 4,092 (8.4 percent) had a discharge reason of emancipation. A 2022 State of Child Welfare sub-report titled A System Under Stress: Examining How To Better Support Pennsylvania’s Child Welfare System and The Children and Families It Serves states that of youth age 14+ in foster care, 57 percent are in a family-setting and 31 percent are in congregate care. Other data indicates that:
- 44 percent have part-time or full-time employment
- 75 percent have obtained a GED or high school diploma
- 63 percent have stable housing