Arkansas Foster Care Data
Arkansas ranks #29 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 43.9% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 1.3 points below the national rate.
- C
- Four-measure profile grade
- 3,952
- #29 caseload nationally
- 43.9%
- Reunification (#29)
- 29.6%
- Adoption (#14)
The verdict
Signature read: adoption at 29.6% (#14) is Arkansas's most extreme exit share in FY2022. Arkansas held 3,952 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and trails most jurisdictions on reunification (#29 of 51) at 43.9%, with a C four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #29
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 43.9%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #14
- adoption rank nationally
- 15.2 mo
- median length of stay
Arkansas's reunification share (43.9%) lands in the middle third of the FY2022 jurisdiction table (#29 of 51). Caseload is mid-pack: 3,952 children in care on September 30 (#29 nationally). Median stay is short-tail at 15.2 months among exits. Grade C is a within-release composite, not an official assessment.
A within-release percentile composite of four AFCARS measures, not an overall quality verdict or a federal assessment. Reunification and adoption are each scored on their own percentile, never against each other.
Aging out of foster care vs. every US state
FY2022 AFCARS: youth who exit care at majority without a permanent family
8% 49th percentile lower than 49% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source ACF/AFCARS state tables · FY2022
AFCARS jurisdiction row
State TAR extract AR · Arkansas C · #29 reunif
3,952 in care · 2,836 exits · FY2022
- REUN 43.9%
- ADOPT 29.6%
- AGE 7.5%
- LOS 15.2 mo
- RANK #29/51
- GRADE C
- CARE 3,952
- EXITS 2,836
- PHOTO Nebraska
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: Nebraska (79 children vs Arkansas)
The 10 coded stamps above and the extract ID beside them come from the same Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 Title-IV-E/B TAR submission, standardized so every jurisdiction's row uses identical measure definitions. Read with this state →
Reunification neighbourhood
AFCARS annual change
What changed from FY2021 to FY2022
The latest comparable state count pair from the U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS trend series. These are reported changes, not a quality rating or an explanation of why a count moved.
-
Children entering care
2,964 2,336
Fell by 628 (−21.2%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children in care on September 30
4,515 3,952
Fell by 563 (−12.5%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children adopted
768 848
Rose by 80 (+10.4%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Parental rights terminations
674 605
Fell by 69 (−10.2%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How Arkansas's 2,836 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 2,836 exits. Named routes do not cover every AFCARS discharge reason; the residual is other published exit routes (guardianship, transfer, and similar), not missing rows.
Two views of Arkansas's mid-band FY2022 exit mix
Named exit shares for this jurisdiction beside reunification vs the national rate. Competing shares of one exits denominator, not a scorecard.
Arkansas exit routes
Reunification vs national
Same reunification rate as the bar chart; tick marks the national AFCARS rate as context only.
Nationwide peers with similarly short stays or matching adoption share
Two AFCARS peer sets for Arkansas, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (15.2 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (29.6% here).
Foster-family placement mix in Arkansas
Caseload is mid-pack: 3,952 children in care on September 30 (#29 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 46.7%.
Arkansas children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in Arkansas
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
Arkansas's decade caseload trail (mid-pack AFCARS counts)
Signature read: adoption at 29.6% (#14) is Arkansas's most extreme exit share in FY2022. AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for Arkansas.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 7,411 | 7,759 | 8,545 | 7,230 | 7,166 | 6,788 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 3,797 | 4,548 | 4,776 | 4,127 | 4,515 | 3,952 |
| Entered Care | 3,798 | 4,065 | 3,778 | 3,071 | 2,964 | 2,336 |
| Exited Care | 3,614 | 3,213 | 3,770 | 3,107 | 2,655 | 2,836 |
| Waiting Adoption | 994 | 1,122 | 1,330 | 1,182 | 1,232 | 1,213 |
| Adopted | 691 | 740 | 971 | 984 | 768 | 848 |
Arkansas FAQ - mid-band jurisdiction
Signature read: adoption at 29.6% (#14) is Arkansas's most extreme exit share in FY2022. Median stay is short-tail at 15.2 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in Arkansas?
3,952 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is Arkansas's foster care grade?
C. This profile grade equally combines within-release percentiles for reunification, adoption, aging out, and median length of stay.
What is the adoption rate in Arkansas?
29.6%, ranked #14 of 51 states.
How does Arkansas compare to other states on aging out?
7.5% of youth age out without permanency, 1.7 points below the national rate. That is a lower rate than 49% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how Arkansas's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for Arkansas (AR). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; adoption share of exits stamp 29.6%.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 Arkansas rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is mid-pack: 3,952 children in care on September 30 (#29 nationally).