The Numbers
In 2017, there were over 450,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. Due to the differences in when children age out in each state, that number includes those as young as newborn–and as old as 21.
The good news is that there were 17,000 fewer children in care in 2017 than there were in 2008. Michigan’s foster population decreased by almost 60%, Maryland’s by 50% and Washington D.C.’s by 33%. New York did not report its count in 2017, but the number of foster children there dropped a whopping 67% from 2008 to 2016.
The staggering number of children in U.S. foster care represents a great need for communities to come alongside and support parents, foster parents and children.
The bad news is that while the number of children in care decreased in some states, others had an alarming increase. Indiana’s population of children in care grew nearly 60%, Indiana’s and Arizona’s by about 70% and Minnesota’s by 62%.
