 |
||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Connections Count
Resources Connecting Foster Teens with Families for Life
From the Annie E. Casey Foundation/Casey Family Services
In this Issue:
HomeMaking It Possible
Youth & Family Perspectives
Featured Articles
Top 10: Data Snapshots
What Do You Think?
About
Making It
Possible
Want the media to cover your mini-convening on youth permanence and help shift public perceptions about securing families for youth at risk of "aging out"? Two tools may help.
New report says the number of youth “aging out” has increased 41 percent since 1998. Time for reform: Aging Out and on their Own.
Texas rethinks birth family connections with fascinating results. Birth Families as Permanency Resources for Children in Long-Term Foster Care, by Susan Mapp and Cache Steinberg,
Two views: Ethicists Reamer and Siegel on open adoption and a popular news account of two families' experiences with open adoption.
Youth and
Family Perspectives
“I entered foster care at age 14, and spent the next six years moving from home to home before ‘aging out’ of foster care. My experiences showed me the importance of stability and security. Everyone – whether they are 6, 16, or 26 – needs a permanent family.” Bregetta Wilson in The (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal , May 9, 2007.
Top 10: Data Snapshots
Foster Care by the Numbers: Adolescents in Care, 20041
Our vision is that each and every young person will leave foster care firmly embedded in a family relationship. -- Casey Family Services
Who is in care?
| 498,186 | Children aged 0-18 |
| 241,175 | Youth aged 11-18 |
| 48.4 | Percent of foster youth who are age 11-18 |
| 42 | Percent of foster care population who are children of color2 |
Adolescents in foster care: The challenge varies by state
- By number: California had more than 45,000 older youth in care; Nevada had 508
- By proportion: More than two thirds of foster children in Vermont were age 11-18; in Nevada, less than one third were
Top 10:
Adolescents in Foster Care by State
Nearly 60% of adolescents in foster care live in 10 states
| State | Foster youth ages 11-18 |
| California | 45,662 |
| New York | 16,911 |
| Pennsylvania | 12,157 |
| Michigan | 10,537 |
| Florida | 10,183 |
| Texas | 9,256 |
| Ohio | 8,966 |
| Illinois | 7,781 |
| Massachusetts | 7,089 |
| Maryland | 5,836 |
Adolescents in out-of-home care by state
| State | Children 0-18 (#) | Youths 11-18 (#) | Youths 11-18 (%) |
| Alabama | 5,807 | 3,204 | 55.2 |
| Alaska | 1,803 | 764 | 42.4 |
| Arizona | 8,984 | 3,413 | 38.0 |
| Arkansas | 3,054 | 1,439 | 47.1 |
| California | 89,297 | 45,622 | 51.0 |
| Colorado | 7,894 | 4,451 | 56.4 |
| Connecticut | 6,569 | 3,628 | 55.2 |
| Delaware | 849 | 508 | 59.8 |
| District of Columbia | 2,344 | 1,273 | 54.3 |
| Florida | 28,860 | 10,183 | 35.3 |
| Georgia | 14,133 | 5,644 | 39.9 |
| Hawaii | 2,950 | 1,103 | 37.4 |
| Idaho | 1,565 | 637 | 40.7 |
| Illinois | 18,010 | 7,781 | 43.2 |
| Indiana | 9,689 | 3,892 | 41.6 |
| Iowa | 5,374 | 3,281 | 61.0 |
| Kansas | 6,016 | 3,111 | 51.7 |
| Kentucky | 6,860 | 3,677 | 53.6 |
| Louisiana | 4,397 | 2,238 | 50.8 |
| Maine | 2,584 | 1,360 | 52.6 |
| Maryland | 10,356 | 5,836 | 56.3 |
| Massachusetts | 11,957 | 7,089 | 59.3 |
| Michigan | 21,138 | 10,537 | 49.8 |
| Minnesota | 6,976 | 4,310 | 61.8 |
| Mississippi | 2,917 | 1,250 | 42.8 |
| Missouri | 11,254 | 5,500 | 48.9 |
| Montana | 2,023 | 822 | 40.6 |
| Nebraska | 6,291 | 3,642 | 57.9 |
| Nevada | 4,023 | 1,219 | 30.3 |
| New Hampshire | 1,214 | 709 | 58.4 |
| New Jersey | 12,612 | 5,194 | 41.2 |
| New Mexico | 2,150 | 870 | 40.5 |
| New York | 31,657 | 16,911 | 53.4 |
| North Carolina | 9,985 | 4,382 | 43.9 |
| North Dakota | 1,307 | 747 | 57.1 |
| Ohio | 17,763 | 8,966 | 50.5 |
| Oklahoma | 10,572 | 3,713 | 35.1 |
| Oregon | 10,018 | 3,755 | 37.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 21,574 | 12,157 | 56.3 |
| Rhode Island | 2,253 | 1,395 | 61.9 |
| South Carolina | 4,734 | 2,410 | 50.9 |
| South Dakota | 1,594 | 649 | 40.7 |
| Tennessee | 9,588 | 5,584 | 58.2 |
| Texas | 24,535 | 9,256 | 37.7 |
| Utah | 2,096 | 1,281 | 61.1 |
| Vermont | 1,428 | 965 | 67.6 |
| Virginia | 6,868 | 4,224 | 61.5 |
| Washington | 9,365 | 3,244 | 34.6 |
| West Virginia | 3,911 | 2,458 | 62.8 |
| Wisconsin | 7,806 | 4,139 | 53.0 |
| Wyoming | 1,188 | 752698 | 63.3 |
| Total | 498,186 | 241,175 | 48.4 |
1 Source: CWLA’s NDAS database (http://ndas.cwla.org), which relies on AFCARS data. Numbers include children in out-of-home care on 9/30/2004, as reported by state agencies. Some NDAS notes on this data:
- “Out-of-home care is defined as 24-hour substitute care outside of the child’s home in pre-adoptive homes, relative foster homes, non-relative foster homes, group homes, institutions, and supervised independent living situations. Children who have run away or are in their own home on trial visits are also included in the numbers of children in care.”
- “There may be discrepencies between NDAS data and the same data available through other sources … due to differences in the ‘version’ of the data.” See AFCARS for latest numbers.
Can states be compared? For background on this issue, see the NDAS issue brief at : http://ndas.cwla.org/include/pdf/ComparStates_Revised_IB_051506.pdf
2 Includes children who are African American/Black, Latino/Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races.
Top 10:
Data Snapshots
Nearly 60 percent of adolescents in foster care live in 10 states.What Do You Think?
What are the top three things to consider when involving youth in your state CFSR process?.About Connections Count
Produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation/Casey Family Services, Connections Count is an electronic newsletter focusing on best practices information, tools, research, and data emerging on youth permanency in child welfare.Contact Us
Casey Family Services127 Church Street
New Haven, CT 06510
Tel: 203.401.6900
Fax: 203.401.6901