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Children entering foster care by race and Hispanic origin in United States
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Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The number and percent of children and youth entering the foster care system by race or Hispanic origin. Some states allow children to remain in the foster care system until their 18th birthday while other states have age limits that extend a few years beyond this. The current indicator includes children of all ages.
Percent estimates in each race/Hispanic origin category are based on the total number of children with race/ethnicity data entering foster care. A small number of AFCARS records across many states were missing information on the child’s race/Hispanic group and were also not included in the “unable to determine” category. These missing data are excluded from percentage and frequency distributions. Children are categorized as entering foster care if they had a valid date for entry into care during a particular fiscal year. Race or Hispanic origin are mutually exclusive categories. Children who are of Hispanic origin are not classified as any other race. National estimates include Puerto Rico.
Percent estimates in each race/Hispanic origin category are based on the total number of children with race/ethnicity data entering foster care. A small number of AFCARS records across many states were missing information on the child’s race/Hispanic group and were also not included in the “unable to determine” category. These missing data are excluded from percentage and frequency distributions. Children are categorized as entering foster care if they had a valid date for entry into care during a particular fiscal year. Race or Hispanic origin are mutually exclusive categories. Children who are of Hispanic origin are not classified as any other race. National estimates include Puerto Rico.
Data Source
Child Trends analysis of data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), made available through the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect.
The data used in this publication, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) 2021 #274, were obtained from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect and have been used in accordance with its Terms of Use Agreement license. The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, the Children's Bureau, the original dataset collection personnel or funding source, NDACAN, Cornell University and their agents or employees bear no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.
The data used in this publication, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) 2021 #274, were obtained from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect and have been used in accordance with its Terms of Use Agreement license. The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, the Children's Bureau, the original dataset collection personnel or funding source, NDACAN, Cornell University and their agents or employees bear no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.
Notes
N.A. - Not available.
N.R. - Data are not reported.
N.R. - Data are not reported.
Last Updated
April 2023