Kansas Foster Care Data
Kansas ranks #11 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 51.6% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 6.4 points above the national rate.
- C
- Four-measure profile grade
- 6,808
- #20 caseload nationally
- 51.6%
- Reunification (#11)
- 29.5%
- Adoption (#15)
The verdict
Signature read: Kansas's 51.6% reunification share is among the highest in the FY2022 corpus (#11). Kansas held 6,808 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and sits in the top quarter nationally for reunification (#11 of 51) at 51.6%, with a C four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #11
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 51.6%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #15
- adoption rank nationally
- 21.0 mo
- median length of stay
Kansas sits in the upper third of the FY2022 AFCARS reunification distribution (51.6% of exits, #11 of 51). Caseload is mid-pack: 6,808 children in care on September 30 (#20 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
12% 18th percentile lower than 18% 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 KS · Kansas C · #11 reunif
6,808 in care · 3,253 exits · FY2022
- REUN 51.6%
- ADOPT 29.5%
- AGE 12.1%
- LOS 21.0 mo
- RANK #11/51
- GRADE C
- CARE 6,808
- EXITS 3,253
- PHOTO West Virginia
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: West Virginia (144 children vs Kansas)
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 adopted
840 959
Rose by 119 (+14.2%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children waiting for adoption
2,464 2,221
Fell by 243 (−9.9%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children in care on September 30
7,085 6,808
Fell by 277 (−3.9%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Parental rights terminations
1,638 1,584
Fell by 54 (−3.3%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How Kansas's 3,253 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 3,253 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 Kansas'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.
Kansas 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 long stays or matching adoption share
Two AFCARS peer sets for Kansas, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (21.0 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (29.5% here).
Foster-family placement mix in Kansas
Caseload is mid-pack: 6,808 children in care on September 30 (#20 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 44.4%.
Kansas children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in Kansas
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
Kansas's decade caseload trail (mid-pack AFCARS counts)
Signature read: Kansas's 51.6% reunification share is among the highest in the FY2022 corpus (#11). AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for Kansas.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 9,845 | 10,597 | 11,138 | 12,064 | 10,284 | 10,061 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 6,441 | 7,223 | 7,753 | 8,066 | 7,085 | 6,808 |
| Entered Care | 3,963 | 3,984 | 3,997 | 4,212 | 3,172 | 3,096 |
| Exited Care | 3,404 | 3,374 | 3,385 | 3,998 | 3,199 | 3,253 |
| Waiting Adoption | 1,843 | 2,340 | 2,583 | 2,376 | 2,464 | 2,221 |
| Adopted | 674 | 783 | 674 | 1,227 | 840 | 959 |
Kansas FAQ - reunification-heavy jurisdiction
Signature read: Kansas's 51.6% reunification share is among the highest in the FY2022 corpus (#11). Median stay is long-tail at 21.0 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in Kansas?
6,808 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is Kansas'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 Kansas?
Kansas adopts out 29.5% of exits, #15 of 51 nationally.
How does Kansas compare to other states on aging out?
12.1% of youth age out without permanency, 2.9 points above the national rate. That is a lower rate than 18% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how Kansas's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for Kansas (KS). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; reunification share of exits stamp 51.6%.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 Kansas rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is mid-pack: 6,808 children in care on September 30 (#20 nationally).