The AFCARS Report

Preliminary FY 2011 Estimates as of July 2012 No. 19

SOURCE: Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) FY 2011 data
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb

Numbers At A Glance
2007 Number in foster care on September 30 of the FY Number entered foster care during FY Number exited foster care during FY Number waiting to be adopted on September 30 of the FY Number waiting to be adopted whose parental rights (for all living parents) were terminated during FY Number adopted with public child welfare agency involvement during FY 488,285 293,276 294,989 133,682 82,020 52,686 2008 463,799 280,384 288,762 125,741 79,376 55,236 2009 421,350 255,161 278,157 114,450 71,093 57,115 2010 406,412 255,402 257,481 109,456 65,611 53,591 2011 400,540 252,320 245,260 104,236 61,361 50,516

Children in Foster Care on September 30, 2011 N=400,540

Age as of September 30th Mean Age Median Age Less than 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years 8 Years 9 Years 10 Years 11 Years 12 Years 13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 18 Years 19 Years 20 Years 9.3 8.8 6% 7% 7% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 3% 1% 1% 24,439 29,980 28,235 26,010 22,756 20,279 18,250 16,926 15,895 14,964 14,509 14,583 14,977 17,101 19,993 24,220 29,264 31,101 10,396 3,639 2,619 Placement Settings Pre-Adoptive Home Foster Family Home (Relative) Group Home Institution Supervised Independent Living Runaway Trial Home Visit Case Goals Reunify with Parent(s) or Principal Caretaker(s) Live with Other Relative(s) Adoption Long Term Foster Care Emancipation Guardianship Case Plan Goal Not Yet Established 52% 3% 25% 6% 5% 4% 5% 199,123 13,420 94,629 22,744 20,635 14,593 19,324 4% 27% 6% 9% 1% 1% 5% 14,213 107,995 188,222 23,624 34,656 3,868 5,870 20,568 Male Female Sex 52% 48% 209,532 190,932

Foster Family Home (Non-Relative) 47%

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FY refers to the Federal Fiscal Year, October 1st through September 30th. Data from both the regular and revised AFCARS file submissions received by July 12, 2012 are included in this report. Missing data are excluded from each table. Therefore, the totals within each distribution may not equal the total provided for that subpopulation (e.g. number in care on September 30th may not match the sum across ages for that group).

2|P age
Race and Ethnicity American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Hispanic (of any race) White Unknown/Unable to Determine Two or more Races 2% 1% 27% 0% 21% 41% 2% 5% 8,020 2,296 109,775 752 83,810 164,406 8,703 21,837 Mean Months Median Months Less than 1 Month 1 - 5 Months 6 - 11 Months 12 - 17 Months 18 - 23 Months 24 - 29 Months 30 - 35 Months 3 - 4 Years 5 Years or More Time in Care 23.9 13.5 5% 21% 19% 14% 9% 7% 4% 10% 10% 21,278 85,691 77,015 56,803 36,881 26,314 17,979 40,265 38,303

NOTE: All races exclude children of Hispanic origin. Children of Hispanic ethnicity may be any race.

Children Entering Foster Care during FY 2011 N=252,320

Age at Entry Mean Age Median Age Less than 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years 8 Years 9 Years 10 Years 11 Years 12 Years 13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 18 Years 19 Years 20 Years 7.7 6.6 16% 8% 7% 6% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 4% 3% 3% 4% 4% 5% 6% 6% 4% 0% 0% 0% 39,697 18,920 17,028 15,670 14,160 12,379 11,320 10,202 9,339 8,973 8,303 8,118 9,141 10,741 13,132 15,878 16,288 11,220 708 157 59 Race and Ethnicity American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Hispanic (of any race) White Unknown/Unable to Determine Two or more Races 2% 1% 23% 0% 21% 44% 3% 5% 5,206 1,744 58,276 605 51,969 111,563 8,252 13,491

NOTE: All races exclude children of Hispanic origin. Children of Hispanic ethnicity may be any race.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb Preliminary Estimates for FY 2011 as of July 2012 (19), Page 2

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Children Exiting Foster Care during FY 2011 N=245,260

Age at Exit Mean Age Median Age Less than 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years 8 Years 9 Years 10 Years 11 Years 12 Years 13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 18 Years 19 Years 20 Years 9.4 8.6 4% 8% 8% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 4% 4% 5% 10% 5% 1% 1% 10,780 18,542 19,190 17,448 15,221 12,932 11,756 10,627 9,722 9,178 8,558 8,032 8,040 8,196 9,238 10,874 13,070 25,183 13,370 2,540 2,345 Race and Ethnicity American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Hispanic (of any race) White Unknown/Unable to Determine Two or more Races 2% 1% 26% 0% 20% 44% 2% 5% 4,656 1,769 62,454 540 50,061 106,982 4,825 13,318

NOTE: All races exclude children of Hispanic origin. Children of Hispanic ethnicity may be any race.

Reasons for Discharge Reunification with Parent(s) or Primary Caretaker(s) Living with Other Relative(s) Adoption Emancipation Guardianship Transfer to Another Agency Runaway Death of Child 52% 8% 20% 11% 6% 2% 1% 0% 125,908 20,076 49,866 26,286 15,707 4,560 1,387 343

Time in Care Mean Months Median Months Less than 1 Month 1 - 5 Months 6 - 11 Months 12 - 17 Months 18 - 23 Months 24 - 29 Months 30 - 35 Months 3 - 4 Years 5 Years or More 21.1 13.2 12% 15% 19% 15% 10% 7% 5% 9% 7% 30,109 37,413 47,250 36,290 25,237 17,363 12,210 23,288 16,028

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb Preliminary Estimates for FY 2011 as of July 2012 (19), Page 3

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Children Waiting to be Adopted3 on September 30, 2011 N=104,236

Age as of September 30th Mean Age Median Age Less than 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years 8 Years 9 Years 10 Years 11 Years 12 Years 13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 8.0 7.2 4% 9% 9% 8% 7% 6% 6% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 4% 3% 3,761 9,169 9,462 8,623 7,582 6,643 5,942 5,534 5,266 5,075 4,814 4,823 4,810 4,800 4,902 5,012 4,474 3,544 Mean Age Median Age Less than 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years 8 Years 9 Years 10 Years 11 Years 12 Years 13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years Age at Entry into Foster Care 5.0 4.1 25% 9% 8% 7% 7% 6% 6% 6% 5% 5% 4% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 0% 0% 25,525 9,546 8,345 7,551 7,085 6,682 6,309 5,755 5,286 4,866 4,188 3,607 3,042 2,379 1,750 1,051 464 99

Placement Types Pre-Adoptive Home Foster Family Home (Relative) Foster Family Home (Non-Relative) Group Home Institution Supervised Independent Living Runaway Trial Home Visit Sex Male Female 53% 47% 12% 23% 54% 4% 5% 0% 1% 1% 12,961 24,148 56,471 3,701 5,534 85 542 617

Race and Ethnicity American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Hispanic (of any race) White Unknown/Unable to Determine Two or more Races 2% 0% 28% 0% 22% 40% 1% 6% 1,856 439 29,164 190 22,929 41,655 1,440 6,513

NOTE: All races exclude children of Hispanic origin. Children of Hispanic ethnicity may be any race.

Waiting children are identified as children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parents parental rights have been terminated. Children 16 years old and older whose parents parental rights have been terminated and who have a goal of emancipation have been excluded from the estimate. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb Preliminary Estimates for FY 2011 as of July 2012 (19), Page 4

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Time in Care Mean Months Median Months Less than 1 Month 1 - 5 Months 6 - 11 Months 12 - 17 Months 18 - 23 Months 24 - 29 Months 30 - 35 Months 3 - 4 Years 5 Years or More 35.8 26.5 0% 4% 10% 15% 15% 12% 9% 19% 16% 444 4,346 10,207 16,156 15,234 12,450 8,988 20,079 16,331

Of Children Waiting for Adoption whose Parents Parental Rights have been Terminated (N=61,361), Time elapsed since termination of parental rights as of September 30, 2011

Mean Months Median Months

23.6 11.5

Children Adopted with Public Agency Involvement in FY 20114 N=50,516

Age at Adoption Mean Age Median Age Less than 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years 8 Years 9 Years 10 Years 11 Years 12 Years 13 Years 14 Years 15 Years 16 Years 17 Years 18 Years 19 Years 20 Years 6.4 5.2 Time elapsed from Termination of Parental Rights to Adoption Mean Months Median Months 1,059 5,806 7,011 5,855 4,831 3,937 3,357 2,914 2,555 2,373 2,143 1,871 1,645 1,387 1,132 919 898 641 149 20 6 Race and Ethnicity American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Hispanic (of any race) White Unknown/Unable to Determine Two or more Races 2% 0% 23% 0% 21% 45% 1% 7% 773 233 11,719 82 10,757 22,864 451 3,634 Less than 1 Month 1-5 Months 6-11 Months 12-17 Months 18-23 Months 24-29 Months 30-35 Months 3-4 Years 5 Years or more 13.6 9.7 3% 25% 33% 17% 9% 5% 3% 4% 2% 1,275 12,622 16,510 8,491 4,276 2,418 1,383 2,019 803

2% 11% 14% 12% 10% 8% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0%

NOTE: All races exclude children of Hispanic origin. Children of Hispanic ethnicity may be any race.

Note that the adoption data reported in this section are from the AFCARS Adoption file. Therefore, the number of adoptions reported here may not equal the number reported as discharges to adoption from foster care. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb Preliminary Estimates for FY 2011 as of July 2012 (19), Page 5

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Adoptive Family Structure Married Couple Unmarried Couple Single Female Single Male 68% 2% 27% 3% 33,718 1,114 13,331 1,415 Yes No Receive Adoption Subsidy 90% 10% 45,504 5,003 Male Female Sex 51% 49%

Relationship of Adoptive Parents to Child Prior to Adoption Non-Relative Foster Parent Stepparent Other Relative 15% 54% 0% 31% 7,196 25,610 49 14,462

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb Preliminary Estimates for FY 2011 as of July 2012 (19), Page 6