May 2008Vol. 9, No. 4New AFCARS Report on Adoption and Foster Care Numbers
The Children's Bureau has released the latest national statistics on adoption and foster care for FY 2006 in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Report #14. The figures show some changes in numbers from 1 year earlier. For instance:
- The number of children in foster care dropped from 513,000 on September 30, 2005, to 510,000 on the same day in 2006.
- The number of children entering foster care dropped from 311,000 in 2005 to 303,000 in 2006.
- The number of children exiting foster care increased from 287,000 in 2005 to 289,000 in 2006.
- The number of children waiting to be adopted (with a goal of adoption and parents whose rights had been terminated) increased from 114,000 on September 30, 2005, to 129,000 on the same day in 2006. There was a significant increase in children in foster care with parental rights terminated for all living parents—this increased from 66,000 in 2005 to 79,000 in 2006.
One figure stayed the same: the number of children adopted with public agency involvement remained static at 51,000.
Read the full report on the Children's Bureau website: