In the fiscal year of 2021, 27,145 of the children adopted in the United States with public agency involvement were white. In that same year, a further 10,991 children adopted in the country were Hispanic.

This dataset contains aggregate data concerning the number of children that exited DCF care to an Adoption. These figures are broken out by the DCF Region and Office responsible for the child's care, by their Race/Ethnicity, and by whether their exit from care occurred within 24 months of their entry to care or not. It would be appropriate to roll up the data from all variables across multiple time periods, as they represent specific events in the lives of these children. Please note that these figures do not represent unique children, and so should not be used as the basis for creating a rate based on the child population of the state. These data form the basis of measurement for the Juan F. Consent Decree Exit Plan Outcome #8: Adoption Within 24 Months, although those figures are reported to the DCF Court Monitor on a quarterly rather than annual schedule.

In 2021, there were 168,063 white children in foster care in the United States. This is compared to 86,645 Black or African American children and 85,215 Hispanic children who were in foster care.

Foster care in the United States

Foster care is where minors are taken care of in different institutions, such as a group home or private home of a caregiver certified by the state (called a foster parent). The procedure for becoming a foster parent in the United States varies from state to state. It is up to the state to determine the process; however it is overseen by the Department of Child Protective Services. It is sometimes seen as a precursor to adoption, which is different from fostering a child. There are many barriers to fostering and adopting children, such as high costs and long wait times, which can discourage people from doing it.

Who are foster children?

The number of children in foster care in the United States has decreased slightly since 2011. When looked at by age, most of the children in foster care in 2020 were one year old, and slightly more male children were in foster care than female children. Most of the children in foster care were placed into non-relative foster family homes, and in most cases, the primary goal of foster care is to reunify children with their parents or primary caregivers.

According to a survey conducted in 2021, 46 percent of White Americans had a favorable opinion of private infant adoption in the United States. In comparison, 44 percent of Hispanic Americans and 32 percent of Black Americans shared this belief.

This page includes reports on state-specific adoption statistics for fiscal year 2010. Receiving Adoption Subsidy: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Adoptive Family Structure: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Age at Adoption Finalization: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Prior Relationship of Adoptive Parent(s) to Child: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Race/Ethnicity of Public Agency Children Adopted: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Sex of Public Agency Children Adopted: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Child is Identified as a Special Needs Adoption: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Time between Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) and Adoption Finalization: 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010 Metadata-only record linking to the original dataset. Open original dataset below.

This data explores the race/ethnicity of public agency children adopted for the fiscal year 2006 (from October 1,2005 to September 30, 2006) by state.

Number of children under age 21 in foster care as of July 1 of each year, by race/ethnicity. This is a point-in-time, unduplicated count of children under the supervision of county welfare departments and excludes cases under the supervision of county probation departments, out-of-state agencies, state adoptions district offices, and Indian child welfare departments. The total by race/ethnicity may not add up to total number of children in foster care due to missing values. U.S. totals reflect children in foster care as of Sept. 30 each year. N/A means that data are not available. Data Source: As cited on kidsdata.org, Needell, B., et al. (May 2014). Child Welfare Services Reports forCalifornia, U.C. Berkeley Center for Social Services Research; U.S. data come from Child Trends analysis of Adoption and Foster CareAnalysis and Reporting System data available through the National DataArchive on Child Abuse & Neglect, as cited on KIDS COUNT (May 2014). Retrieved on May 31, 2015.

Users can look at annual reports and data related to Adoption and Foster Care, Child Abuse and Neglect, and Child welfare. Background Annual reports and data are collected by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Data on Adoption and Foster Care is presented in two forms; the annual Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and State-by-state Adoption and foster care statistics. Child Abuse and Neglect research is presented in the form of annual Child Maltreatment reports covering a variety of topics. Child Welfare outc omes are presented in annual and multi-year reports to Congress. User functionality Users can choose reports by year. For Adoption and Foster Care Statistics, users can compare gender, race, adoption finalization age, time between TPR and finalization, prior relationship of adoptive parent and child, special needs among children, adoptive family structure, and information about receiving state or federal subsidy among states. AFCARS reports cover a variety of background information about age, length of stay, race, gender, and exiting circumsta nces. Child Maltreatment reports give data in paragraph and limited table form related to abuse and child fatalities. Child Welfare reports discuss foster care, child victims, and adoption statistics in paragraph and table formats. Data Notes For the Adoption and Foster Care Statistics report, data are available from 2003 -2009. State-by-state statistics are available from 2000-2006. Child Abuse and Neglect reports are available from 1995 to 2009. Child welfare reports are available from 1998 -2007.

This dataset depicts the number of adopted children during the October 1, 2004 - September 30, 2005 time period. The numbers are categorized and broken down by state. The male and female figures are the percentage that each makes up of the total number of those adopted. This data was collected at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/statistics/gender_tbl1_2005.htm Access Date November 13, 2007.

In 2022, about 108,877 children in the United States were waiting to be adopted. This is a decrease from a high of 133,682 children who were waiting to be adopted nationwide in 2007.

This dataset contains demographic and case characteristics of children in foster care in Norfolk with the goal of adoption. The dataset includes the sex, age, race, placement, parental rights status and adoption status of these children. The data is from Virginia’s Online Automated Services Information System (OASIS). OASIS is a comprehensive system that tracks the day-to-day activities performed by social workers statewide and is the official case record system for foster care and adoption cases in Virginia.

This dataset details the work accomplished by staff at the Norfolk Department of Human Services with the goal of finding safe, permanent homes for children in Norfolk’s foster care system. This dataset is updated monthly.

This data explores the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children's Bureau Adoption of Children with Public Child Welfare Agency Involvement by State for Fiscal Years 1995 - 2006. For Fiscal Years 1995 - 1997, The data for FY 1995-FY 1997 were reported by States to set baselines for the Adoption Incentive Program. They came from a variety of sources including the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), court records, file reviews and legacy information systems. For Fiscal Years 1998 - 2006, Unless otherwise noted, the data come from the AFCARS adoption database. Because AFCARS adoption data are being continuously updated and cleaned, the numbers reported here may differ from data reported elsewhere. In addition, data reported for the Adoption Incentive Program will differ from these data because adoptions reported for that program are identified through a different AFCARS data element and must qualify in other ways to be counted toward the award of incentive funds. Counts include adoptions reported as of 6/1/2005. Where appropriate, AFCARS data have been adjusted for duplication.

According to a survey conducted in 2021, ** percent of Americans approved of parents adopting a child of a different race in the United States while ** percent of Americans approved of parents in a same sex relationship adopting a child in the United States.

States report information from two reporting populations: (1) The Served Population which is information on all youth receiving at least one independent living services paid or provided by the Chafee Program agency, and (2) Youth completing the NYTD Survey. States survey youth regarding six outcomes: financial self-sufficiency, experience with homelessness, educational attainment, positive connections with adults, high-risk behaviors, and access to health insurance. States collect outcomes information by conducting a survey of youth in foster care on or around their 17th birthday, also referred to as the baseline population. States will track these youth as they age and conduct a new outcome survey on or around the youth's 19th birthday; and again on or around the youth's 21st birthday, also referred to as the follow-up population. States will collect outcomes information on these older youth at ages 19 or 21 regardless of their foster care status or whether they are still receiving independent living services from the State. Depending on the size of the State's foster care youth population, some States may conduct a random sample of the baseline population of the 17-year-olds that participate in the outcomes survey so that they can follow a smaller group of youth as they age. All States will collect and report outcome information on a new baseline population cohort every three years.

Units of Response: Current and former youth in foster care

Type of Data: Survey

Tribal Data: No

Periodicity: Annual

Demographic Indicators: Ethnicity;Race;Sex

SORN: Not Applicable

Data Use Agreement: https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/request-dataset.cfm

Data Use Agreement Location: https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/order_forms/termsofuseagreement.pdf

Granularity: Individual

Spatial: United States

Geocoding: State

This data explores the DHHS Children's Bureau data on Children in Public Foster Care Waiting to be Adopted. *There is no federal definition for a child waiting to be adopted. For analytical purposes, the definition used in the table above includes children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parental rights have been terminated. It excludes children 16 years old and older, whose parental rights have been terminated and who have a goal of emancipation. The # of children waiting to be adopted reported by individual States will likely differ somewhat from those in this table because State definitions vary according to State policies and practices. Because this data are being continuously updated and cleaned, the numbers reported here may differ from data reported elsewhere. This has resulted in an increase in the reported size of the waiting population for fiscal years 2002-2006. This change and other minor changes made to the computer program provide a more accurate picture of the size and nature of the "waiting" population at the end of each fiscal year.

The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2023, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960.

Familial structure in the United States

If there’s one thing the United States is known for, it’s diversity. Whether this is diversity in ethnicity, culture, or family structure, there is something for everyone in the U.S. Two-parent households in the U.S. are declining, and the number of families with no children are increasing. The number of families with children has stayed more or less constant since 2000.

Adoptions in the U.S.

Families in the U.S. don’t necessarily consist of parents and their own biological children. In 2021, around 35,940 children were adopted by married couples, and 13,307 children were adopted by single women.

This data explores special needs in adopted children's cases. In the child welfare field, the child characteristics included in the "special needs" category are determined by the State child welfare agency. They always include having a disability and frequently include membership in a sibling or minority group, or older age. ** data from Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland and Washington are questionable due to the large percentage of missing data.

The dataset contains demographic and case characteristics of children in foster care each month. The dataset includes the children’s sex, age, race, goal and average time spent in foster care in Norfolk. The data is from Virginia’s Online Automated Services Information System (OASIS). OASIS is a comprehensive system that tracks the day-to-day activities performed by social workers statewide and is the official case record system for foster care and adoption cases in Virginia.

This dataset details the work accomplished by staff at the Norfolk Department of Human Services with the goal of finding safe, permanent homes for children in Norfolk’s foster care system. This dataset is updated monthly.

This dataset explores the child's finalization age at adoption by state. The ages are grouped as under 1, 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-18, 19 and older. This dataset is from October 2005 - September 2006 (Fiscal year 2006).

This dataset explores the prior relationship of adoptive parents to their adoptee children during fiscal year 2006 (from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006). *The data from Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington was questionable due to the large percentage of missing data. *Iowa does not track non-welfare stepparent adoptions. Law defines relative as the fourth degree of consanguinity. *Nebraska includes great aunt/uncle, great grandparent, great great great grandparent, great great aunt/uncle, great great great grandparent, great great great aunt/uncle, adoptive sibling, biological sibling, first and second cousins, grandparent, parent-in-law, aunt/uncle. Fictive kin (ie. Godparents) are not included.