State Foster Care Stats Lookup
Type a U.S. state name to look up its latest AFCARS foster-care numbers, entries, exits, in-care population, reunification and adoption rates, and median time in care. Data drawn from the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (ACF AFCARS).
How this tool works
This lookup queries the latest available federal AFCARS submission for the state you select. The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System collects child-level data from every U.S. state and territory and aggregates it into state-level performance metrics published by the ACF Children's Bureau. Numbers reflect federal fiscal year totals (October 1 through September 30).
What the metrics mean
- Entries - Children newly placed into foster care during the fiscal year.
- Exits - Children who left foster care during the year (reunified, adopted, aged out, transferred to relative custody, or other).
- In care (Sep 30) - Snapshot of children in care at the close of the fiscal year.
- Reunification rate - Share of exits returned to the biological family.
- Adoption rate - Share of exits finalized as adoption.
- Aging-out rate - Share of exits where the youth turned 18+ without permanency.
- Median months in care - Median length-of-stay for children currently in placement.
For deeper analysis, including 10-year trends, NCANDS maltreatment data, and placement-type breakdown, visit the corresponding state page from the result panel above. For methodology, see our methodology page.
Every figure on PlainFoster is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.