Iowa Foster Care Data
Iowa ranks #25 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 45.9% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 0.7 points above the national rate.
- B
- Four-measure profile grade
- 4,048
- #27 caseload nationally
- 45.9%
- Reunification (#25)
- 34.4%
- Adoption (#9)
The verdict
Signature read: adoption at 34.4% (#9) is Iowa's most extreme exit share in FY2022. Iowa held 4,048 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and ranks near the national median on reunification (#25 of 51) at 45.9%, with a B four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #25
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 45.9%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #9
- adoption rank nationally
- 15.1 mo
- median length of stay
Iowa's reunification share (45.9%) lands in the middle third of the FY2022 jurisdiction table (#25 of 51). Caseload is mid-pack: 4,048 children in care on September 30 (#27 nationally). Median stay is short-tail at 15.1 months among exits. Grade B 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
7% Among the lowest aging-out rates lower than 55% 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 IA · Iowa B · #25 reunif
4,048 in care · 2,749 exits · FY2022
- REUN 45.9%
- ADOPT 34.4%
- AGE 6.8%
- LOS 15.1 mo
- RANK #25/51
- GRADE B
- CARE 4,048
- EXITS 2,749
- PHOTO Nevada
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: Nevada (1 children vs Iowa)
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
3,269 2,749
Fell by 520 (−15.9%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children served
7,413 6,797
Fell by 616 (−8.3%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children entering care
2,904 2,699
Fell by 205 (−7.1%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children adopted
1,007 960
Fell by 47 (−4.7%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How Iowa's 2,749 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 2,749 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 Iowa'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.
Iowa 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 Iowa, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (15.1 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (34.4% here).
Kinship-led placement mix in Iowa
Caseload is mid-pack: 4,048 children in care on September 30 (#27 nationally). Lead setting: relative/kinship care at 41.7%.
Iowa children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in Iowa
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
Iowa's decade caseload trail (mid-pack AFCARS counts)
Signature read: adoption at 34.4% (#9) is Iowa's most extreme exit share in FY2022. AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for Iowa.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 10,570 | 9,806 | 9,388 | 9,774 | 7,413 | 6,797 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 6,341 | 5,993 | 5,952 | 5,955 | 4,144 | 4,048 |
| Entered Care | 4,500 | 4,007 | 4,129 | 3,769 | 2,904 | 2,699 |
| Exited Care | 4,229 | 3,813 | 3,436 | 3,819 | 3,269 | 2,749 |
| Waiting Adoption | 964 | 1,014 | 1,137 | 1,358 | 1,004 | 985 |
| Adopted | 917 | 1,017 | 1,006 | 1,228 | 1,007 | 960 |
Iowa FAQ - mid-band jurisdiction
Signature read: adoption at 34.4% (#9) is Iowa's most extreme exit share in FY2022. Median stay is short-tail at 15.1 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in Iowa?
4,048 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is Iowa's foster care grade?
A B, 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 Iowa?
Iowa adopts out 34.4% of exits, #9 of 51 nationally.
How does Iowa compare to other states on aging out?
6.8% of youth age out without permanency, 2.4 points below the national rate. That is a lower rate than 55% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how Iowa's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for Iowa (IA). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; adoption share of exits stamp 34.4%.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 Iowa rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is mid-pack: 4,048 children in care on September 30 (#27 nationally).