Colorado Foster Care Data
Colorado ranks #49 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 33.3% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 11.9 points below the national rate.
- C
- Four-measure profile grade
- 4,133
- #26 caseload nationally
- 33.3%
- Reunification (#49)
- 19.3%
- Adoption (#44)
The verdict
Signature read: Colorado's 33.3% reunification share is among the lowest in the FY2022 corpus (#49). Colorado held 4,133 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and is among the lowest reunification rates nationally (#49 of 51) at 33.3%, with a C four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #49
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 33.3%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #44
- adoption rank nationally
- 10.8 mo
- median length of stay
Colorado sits in the lower third of the FY2022 reunification distribution (33.3% of exits, #49 of 51). Median stay is short-tail at 10.8 months among exits. 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
4% Among the lowest aging-out rates lower than 88% 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 CO · Colorado C · #49 reunif
4,133 in care · 3,022 exits · FY2022
- REUN 33.3%
- ADOPT 19.3%
- AGE 3.7%
- LOS 10.8 mo
- RANK #49/51
- GRADE C
- CARE 4,133
- EXITS 3,022
- PHOTO Iowa
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: Iowa (85 children vs Colorado)
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 exiting care
3,899 3,022
Fell by 877 (−22.5%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children entering care
3,542 3,097
Fell by 445 (−12.6%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children served
8,147 7,155
Fell by 992 (−12.2%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Parental rights terminations
520 560
Rose by 40 (+7.7%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How Colorado's 3,022 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 3,022 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 Colorado's reunification-light FY2022 exit mix
Named exit shares for this jurisdiction beside reunification vs the national rate. Competing shares of one exits denominator, not a scorecard.
Colorado 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 Colorado, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (10.8 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (19.3% here).
Foster-family placement mix in Colorado
Caseload is mid-pack: 4,133 children in care on September 30 (#26 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 50.0%.
Colorado children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in Colorado
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
Colorado's decade caseload trail (mid-pack AFCARS counts)
Signature read: Colorado's 33.3% reunification share is among the lowest in the FY2022 corpus (#49). AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for Colorado.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 10,542 | 10,449 | 10,577 | 9,742 | 8,147 | 7,155 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 5,851 | 5,644 | 5,704 | 5,340 | 4,248 | 4,133 |
| Entered Care | 4,820 | 4,926 | 5,134 | 4,420 | 3,542 | 3,097 |
| Exited Care | 4,691 | 4,805 | 4,873 | 4,402 | 3,899 | 3,022 |
| Waiting Adoption | 896 | 926 | 953 | 1,007 | 872 | 823 |
| Adopted | 782 | 820 | 948 | 919 | 790 | 745 |
Colorado FAQ - reunification-light jurisdiction
Signature read: Colorado's 33.3% reunification share is among the lowest in the FY2022 corpus (#49). Median stay is short-tail at 10.8 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in Colorado?
4,133 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is Colorado'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 Colorado?
19.3%, ranked #44 of 51 states.
How does Colorado compare to other states on aging out?
3.7% of youth age out without permanency, 5.5 points below the national rate. That is a lower rate than 88% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how Colorado's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for Colorado (CO). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; reunification share of exits stamp 33.3%.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 Colorado rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is mid-pack: 4,133 children in care on September 30 (#26 nationally).