Maine Foster Care Data
Maine ranks #26 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 44.8% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 0.4 points below the national rate.
- B
- Four-measure profile grade
- 2,429
- #39 caseload nationally
- 44.8%
- Reunification (#26)
- 41.8%
- Adoption (#1)
The verdict
Signature read: adoption at 41.8% (#1) is Maine's most extreme exit share in FY2022. Maine held 2,429 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and ranks near the national median on reunification (#26 of 51) at 44.8%, with a B four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #26
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 44.8%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #1
- adoption rank nationally
- 24.5 mo
- median length of stay
Maine's reunification share (44.8%) lands in the middle third of the FY2022 jurisdiction table (#26 of 51). Caseload is sparse-system scale: 2,429 children in care on September 30 (#39 nationally). Median stay is long-tail at 24.5 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
2% Among the lowest aging-out rates lower than 94% 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 ME · Maine B · #26 reunif
2,429 in care · 863 exits · FY2022
- REUN 44.8%
- ADOPT 41.8%
- AGE 1.6%
- LOS 24.5 mo
- RANK #26/51
- GRADE B
- CARE 2,429
- EXITS 863
- PHOTO Montana
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: Montana (243 children vs Maine)
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
597 107
Fell by 490 (−82.1%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children entering care
909 1,130
Rose by 221 (+24.3%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children waiting for adoption
756 665
Fell by 91 (−12.0%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children exiting care
979 863
Fell by 116 (−11.8%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How Maine's 863 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 863 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 Maine'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.
Maine 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 Maine, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (24.5 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (41.8% here).
Foster-family placement mix in Maine
Caseload is sparse-system scale: 2,429 children in care on September 30 (#39 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 44.5%.
Maine children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in Maine
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
Maine's decade caseload trail (sparse-system AFCARS counts)
Signature read: adoption at 41.8% (#1) is Maine's most extreme exit share in FY2022. AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for Maine.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 2,453 | 2,763 | 2,651 | 2,997 | 3,181 | 3,291 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 1,787 | 1,873 | 1,584 | 2,096 | 2,202 | 2,429 |
| Entered Care | 962 | 902 | 820 | 1,246 | 909 | 1,130 |
| Exited Care | 666 | 890 | 1,067 | 901 | 979 | 863 |
| Waiting Adoption | 564 | 666 | 576 | 510 | 756 | 665 |
| Adopted | 214 | 328 | 456 | 294 | 339 | 324 |
Maine FAQ - mid-band jurisdiction
Signature read: adoption at 41.8% (#1) is Maine's most extreme exit share in FY2022. Median stay is long-tail at 24.5 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in Maine?
2,429 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is Maine's foster care grade?
B. PlainFoster averages four FY2022 measure percentiles and assigns the displayed band from that composite.
What is the adoption rate in Maine?
#1 of 51 states, at 41.8%.
How does Maine compare to other states on aging out?
1.6% of youth age out without permanency, 7.6 points below the national rate. That is a lower rate than 94% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how Maine's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for Maine (ME). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; adoption share of exits stamp 41.8%.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 Maine rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is sparse-system scale: 2,429 children in care on September 30 (#39 nationally).