South Carolina Foster Care Data
South Carolina ranks #20 of 51 jurisdictions for reunification: 48.7% of FY2022 exits returned to a parent or primary caregiver, 3.5 points above the national rate.
- C
- Four-measure profile grade
- 3,793
- #32 caseload nationally
- 48.7%
- Reunification (#20)
- 17.3%
- Adoption (#47)
The verdict
Signature read: median length of stay (8.7 mo) is South Carolina's shortest-relative AFCARS stamp in FY2022. South Carolina held 3,793 children in foster care on September 30, FY2022 and ranks near the national median on reunification (#20 of 51) at 48.7%, with a C four-measure profile grade that is not an overall quality verdict.
- #20
- reunification rank of 51 jurisdictions
- 48.7%
- FY2022 reunification rate
- #47
- adoption rank nationally
- 8.7 mo
- median length of stay
South Carolina's reunification share (48.7%) lands in the middle third of the FY2022 jurisdiction table (#20 of 51). Caseload is mid-pack: 3,793 children in care on September 30 (#32 nationally). Median stay is short-tail at 8.7 months among exits. Grade C 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
10% 29th percentile lower than 29% 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 SC · South Carolina C · #20 reunif
3,793 in care · 2,942 exits · FY2022
- REUN 48.7%
- ADOPT 17.3%
- AGE 10.2%
- LOS 8.7 mo
- RANK #20/51
- GRADE C
- CARE 3,793
- EXITS 2,942
- PHOTO Mississippi
- BOOK FY2022 TAR
Nearest caseload peer: Mississippi (32 children vs South Carolina)
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
459 501
Rose by 42 (+9.2%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children exiting care
2,758 2,942
Rose by 184 (+6.7%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children entering care
2,709 2,868
Rose by 159 (+5.9%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
-
Children waiting for adoption
1,438 1,513
Rose by 75 (+5.2%) across the FY2021–FY2022 pair.
How South Carolina's 2,942 FY2022 exits break down
Counts rounded from each published exit-share × 2,942 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 South Carolina'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.
South Carolina 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 South Carolina, nearest by metric distance rather than reunification-rank standings.
Similar median length of stay
Nearest jurisdictions by median months in care (8.7 mo here).
Similar adoption share of exits
Jurisdictions with a comparable adoption exit share (17.3% here).
Foster-family placement mix in South Carolina
Caseload is mid-pack: 3,793 children in care on September 30 (#32 nationally). Lead setting: foster family home at 58.6%.
South Carolina children returned to a parent or primary caregiver
Children exiting foster care via adoption in South Carolina
Youth exiting foster care at age 18+ without permanency
South Carolina's decade caseload trail (mid-pack AFCARS counts)
Signature read: median length of stay (8.7 mo) is South Carolina's shortest-relative AFCARS stamp in FY2022. AFCARS count series from FY2013 to FY2022 for South Carolina.
| Metric | FY2013 | FY2015 | FY2017 | FY2019 | FY2021 | FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children Served | 5,989 | 7,038 | 7,579 | 8,300 | 6,702 | 6,735 |
| In Care (Sep 30) | 3,188 | 3,726 | 4,041 | 4,521 | 3,944 | 3,793 |
| Entered Care | 2,939 | 3,644 | 3,686 | 3,958 | 2,709 | 2,868 |
| Exited Care | 2,801 | 3,312 | 3,538 | 3,779 | 2,758 | 2,942 |
| Waiting Adoption | 1,226 | 1,213 | 1,470 | 1,568 | 1,438 | 1,513 |
| Adopted | 506 | 403 | 487 | 529 | 459 | 501 |
South Carolina FAQ - mid-band jurisdiction
Signature read: median length of stay (8.7 mo) is South Carolina's shortest-relative AFCARS stamp in FY2022. Median stay is short-tail at 8.7 months among exits.
How many children are in foster care in South Carolina?
3,793 children were in foster care on September 30, 2022, in the FY2022 AFCARS state table.
What is South Carolina's foster care grade?
C. PlainFoster averages four FY2022 measure percentiles and assigns the displayed band from that composite.
What is the adoption rate in South Carolina?
#47 of 51 states, at 17.3%.
How does South Carolina compare to other states on aging out?
10.2% of youth age out without permanency, 1.0 points above the national rate. That is a lower rate than 29% of the 51 reporting states in FY2022 AFCARS.
Read our methodology - how South Carolina's FY2022 AFCARS row is sourced, computed, and verified.
U.S. Children's Bureau AFCARS FY2022 jurisdiction report for South Carolina (SC). ACF Trends in Foster Care and Adoption workbooks FY2013-FY2022; median months in care stamp 8.7 mo.
Source: U.S. Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families) AFCARS workbooks and jurisdiction reports · FY2022 South Carolina rates are exits shares from the jurisdiction report; in-care counts are the September 30 stock. Caseload is mid-pack: 3,793 children in care on September 30 (#32 nationally).