Delaware Foster Care Data
Delaware ranks #39 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 39.8% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 5.4 points below the national rate.
- D
- Four-measure profile grade
- 548
- #50 caseload nationally
- 39.8%
- Reunification (#39)
- 20.7%
- Adoption (#40)
The verdict
Signature read: the September 30 stock (548 children, #50) is Delaware's sparsest scale stamp. Delaware held 548 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and is among the lowest reunification rates nationally (#39 of 51) at 39.8%, with a D four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #39
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 39.8%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #40
- adoption rank nationally
- 13.5 mo
- median length of stay
Delaware sits in the lower third of the FY2022 reunification distribution (39.8% of exits, #39 of 51). Median stay is short-tail at 13.5 months among exits. Profile grade D 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
26% 0th percentile lower than 0% 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 DE · Delaware D · #39 reunif
548 in care · 256 exits · FY2022
- REUN 39.8%
- ADOPT 20.7%
- AGE 25.8%
- LOS 13.5 mo
- RANK #39/51
- GRADE D
- CARE 548
- EXITS 256
- PHOTO District of Columbia
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: District of Columbia (121 children vs Delaware)
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 waiting for adoption
107 148
Rose by 41 (+38.3%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children adopted
88 55
Fell by 33 (−37.5%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children entering care
294 370
Rose by 76 (+25.9%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children in care on September 30
444 548
Rose by 104 (+23.4%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How Delaware's 256 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 256 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 Delaware'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.
Delaware 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 Delaware, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (13.5 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (20.7% here).
Foster-family placement mix in Delaware
Caseload is sparse-system scale: 548 children in care on September 30 (#50 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 62.4%.
Delaware children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in Delaware
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
Delaware's decade caseload trail (sparse-system AFCARS counts)
Signature read: the September 30 stock (548 children, #50) is Delaware's sparsest scale stamp. AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for Delaware.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 1,160 | 1,006 | 1,194 | 964 | 724 | 804 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 702 | 682 | 791 | 585 | 444 | 548 |
| Entered Care | 379 | 397 | 448 | 300 | 294 | 370 |
| Exited Care | 458 | 324 | 403 | 379 | 280 | 256 |
| Waiting Adoption | 218 | 223 | 281 | 201 | 107 | 148 |
| Adopted | 112 | 79 | 108 | 129 | 88 | 55 |
Delaware FAQ - reunification-light jurisdiction
Signature read: the September 30 stock (548 children, #50) is Delaware's sparsest scale stamp. Median stay is short-tail at 13.5 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in Delaware?
548 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is Delaware's foster care grade?
D. PlainFoster averages four FY2022 measure percentiles and assigns the displayed band from that composite.
What is the adoption rate in Delaware?
#40 of 51 states, at 20.7%.
How does Delaware compare to other states on aging out?
25.8% of youth age out without permanency, 16.6 points above the national rate. That is a lower rate than 0% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how Delaware's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for Delaware (DE). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; September 30 caseload stamp 548.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 Delaware rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is sparse-system scale: 548 children in care on September 30 (#50 nationally).