California Foster Care Data
California ranks #16 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 49.6% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 4.4 points above the national rate.
- C
- Four-measure profile grade
- 45,924
- #1 caseload nationally
- 49.6%
- Reunification (#16)
- 26.0%
- Adoption (#27)
The verdict
Signature read: the September 30 stock (45,924 children, #1) is California's most extreme scale stamp. California held 45,924 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and ranks near the national median on reunification (#16 of 51) at 49.6%, with a C four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #16
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 49.6%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #27
- adoption rank nationally
- 18.3 mo
- median length of stay
California sits in the upper third of the FY2022 AFCARS reunification distribution (49.6% of exits, #16 of 51). Caseload is large-system scale: 45,924 children in care on September 30 (#1 nationally). Profile grade C averages four within-release percentiles; it is not a federal quality verdict.
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
13% 16th percentile lower than 16% 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 CA · California C · #16 reunif
45,924 in care · 21,775 exits · FY2022
- REUN 49.6%
- ADOPT 26.0%
- AGE 13.3%
- LOS 18.3 mo
- RANK #16/51
- GRADE C
- CARE 45,924
- EXITS 21,775
- PHOTO Florida
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: Florida (23,431 children vs California)
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.
-
Parental rights terminations
6,945 8,180
Rose by 1,235 (+17.8%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children exiting care
24,199 21,775
Fell by 2,424 (−10.0%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children entering care
22,892 20,609
Fell by 2,283 (−10.0%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children served
72,070 67,699
Fell by 4,371 (−6.1%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How California's 21,775 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 21,775 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 California's reunification-heavy FY2022 exit mix
Named exit shares for this jurisdiction beside reunification vs the national rate. Competing shares of one exits denominator, not a scorecard.
California exit routes
Reunification vs national
Same reunification rate as the bar chart; tick marks the national AFCARS rate as context only.
Nationwide peers with similar stay length or adoption share
Two AFCARS peer sets for California, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (18.3 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (26.0% here).
Scale composition for California
California held 45,924 children in foster care on September 30, 2022 (12.46% of the 368,530 children counted across all AFCARS jurisdictions in the national rollup) . Only 4 jurisdictions clear the 15,000-in-care threshold used here, sparse states under 1,000 cannot show a national-share read of this kind because their headcount is too small for the percentage to mean anything. Within that mega cohort, California ranks #1 of 4 by in-care count (cohort median 22,493; 2.0x the mega median).
FY2022 flow was 20,609 entries (11.04% of 186,602 national entries) and 21,775 exits (10.81% of 201,372 national exits) - a net decrease of 1,166 children over the fiscal year . At this caseload the entry/exit arithmetic is a system-throughput signal, not a single-county anecdote, comparing it to a sparse state whose entire census fits inside one metro district misreads both ends.
Placement mix is led by foster family home at 48.0% , with relative/kinship care next at 34.7% ; group/institutional settings account for 4.7% . Large systems carry multi-region provider networks and specialized congregate contracts that a sub-1,000-child jurisdiction rarely needs at the same scale, reading the percentage stack without that caseload note flattens an operational difference the raw rates alone do not show.
Foster-family placement mix in California
Caseload is large-system scale: 45,924 children in care on September 30 (#1 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 48.0%.
California children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in California
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
California's decade caseload trail (large-system AFCARS counts)
Signature read: the September 30 stock (45,924 children, #1) is California's most extreme scale stamp. AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for California.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 86,255 | 87,484 | 80,408 | 77,889 | 72,070 | 67,699 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 55,383 | 55,983 | 51,869 | 51,268 | 47,871 | 45,924 |
| Entered Care | 33,757 | 32,205 | 28,016 | 28,138 | 22,892 | 20,609 |
| Exited Care | 30,872 | 31,501 | 28,539 | 26,622 | 24,199 | 21,775 |
| Waiting Adoption | 15,667 | 14,180 | 15,097 | 14,436 | 15,386 | 15,349 |
| Adopted | 5,541 | 6,079 | 6,524 | 6,981 | 6,242 | 5,864 |
California FAQ - reunification-heavy jurisdiction
Signature read: the September 30 stock (45,924 children, #1) is California's most extreme scale stamp. Median stay is mid-band at 18.3 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in California?
45,924 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is California's foster care grade?
A C, based on four equally weighted AFCARS measures. It is a descriptive profile, not a judgment of overall system quality.
What is the adoption rate in California?
California adopts out 26.0% of exits, #27 of 51 nationally.
How does California compare to other states on aging out?
13.3% of youth age out without permanency, 4.1 points above the national rate. That is a lower rate than 16% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how California's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for California (CA). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; September 30 caseload stamp 45,924.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 California rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is large-system scale: 45,924 children in care on September 30 (#1 nationally).