California

California [Context Data]

A. Context Statistics 1 2

General Child Population (Census Bureau) 3

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total children under 18 years	9,133,697	9,116,168	9,086,671	9,044,860	8,989,955
Race/ethnicity (%) 4
Alaska Native / American Indian	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4
Asian	11.0	11.2	11.4	11.5	11.6
Black	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.1
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4
Hispanic (of any race)	51.8	51.8	51.9	52.0	52.1
White	26.5	26.3	26.1	25.8	25.6
Two or more races	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.8	4.8
Child population in poverty (%)	22.7	21.2	19.9	18.1	17.4

Child Welfare Summary 5

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Child maltreatment victims	75,033	72,000	68,663	65,342	63,795
Foster care entry rate	3.7	3.5	3.4	3.1	3.0
Children in foster care on 9/30	56,766	55,980	54,683	51,866	52,336
Children adopted	5,471	6,079	6,542	6,524	6,966

Caseworker Visits 6

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Children receiving monthly visits (%)	92	93	94	94	94
Numerator	561,343	565,234	559,287	544,178	521,789
Denominator	612,097	604,855	597,193	581,567	554,313
Children receiving visits in the home (%)	79	80	79	79	79
Numerator	444,216	450,039	442,865	430,412	413,617
Denominator	561,343	565,234	559,287	544,178	521,789

1 The source data for each table is indicated in parentheses for each section. A calendar year is the basis for data from the Census Bureau. Most of the other data on these pages are from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) or the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and are based on the federal fiscal year, October 1 through September 30.  Back
2 Data that did not meet the quality standards for inclusion in the report are represented as DQ*. Incomplete data excluded from inclusion in the report are represented as --. For additional information on the data quality thresholds for the Child Welfare Outcomes Report, please reference the full report or the Child Welfare Outcomes data site.  Back
3 The total child population and data on race/ethnicity represent estimates from the Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/data/tables.html . Child poverty data are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS).  Back
4 For race/ethnicity tables, all races exclude children of Hispanic origin. The Child Welfare Outcomes Report data site http://cwoutcomes.acf.hhs.gov/cwodatasite provides alternative race/ethnicity breakdowns in which race and ethnicity are treated as two separate categories.  Back
5 A child victim is defined as a child for whom the state determined at least one maltreatment was substantiated or indicated. This includes a child who died of child abuse and neglect. This is a change from prior years when children with dispositions of alternative response victim were included as victims. The rate for foster care entry is per 1,000 children in the state population. Data on child maltreatment victims are from NCANDS. Data on foster care entry rate, children in foster care on 9/30, and children adopted are from AFCARS.  Back
6 The reporting population subject to the caseworker visits requirements includes all children under age 18 for at least the first day of the FY (October 1) who have been in foster care for at least one full calendar month during the FY. All states have the option of using an approved sampling procedure for the caseworker visits reporting requirement.  Back

B. Child Maltreatment Data (National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System [NCANDS]) 7

Overview Maltreatment Information 8

	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
Children subject of an investigated report alleging child maltreatment	367,223	40.2 per 1,000	375,972	41.2 per 1,000	376,738	41.5 per 1,000	365,921	40.5 per 1,000	360,040	40.0 per 1,000
Total child maltreatment victims	75,033	8.2 per 1,000	72,000	7.9 per 1,000	68,663	7.6 per 1,000	65,342	7.2 per 1,000	63,795	7.1 per 1,000
Child Fatalities	134	1.5 per 100,000	127	1.4 per 100,000	137	1.5 per 100,000	147	1.6 per 100,000	132	1.5 per 100,000

7 The unique count of child victims counts a child only once regardless of the number of times he or she was found to be a victim during the reporting year.  Back
8 The rates for Child Protective Services responses and victims are per 1,000 children under age 18; for fatalities, the rate is per 100,000 children under age 18.  Back
9 These percentages are calculated against the number of unique victims. A child may have been the victim of more than one type of maltreatment, or the same type of maltreatment more than once. As a result, the total percentages both within and across maltreatment categories may exceed 100.  Back
10 Response time is defined as the time between the report of suspected maltreatment and the first face-to-face contact with the alleged victim or with another person who can provide information on the allegation.  Back

C. Characteristics of Children in Foster Care (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System [AFCARS] Foster Care File)

Overview Foster Care Information

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY					Entered Foster Care in FY					Exited Foster Care in FY					In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number	53,390	55,272	54,637	52,390	51,031	33,696	32,205	31,254	28,016	27,178	30,317	31,501	31,211	28,539	25,879	56,766	55,980	54,683	51,866	52,336
Median length of stay (months)	13.3	13.4	13.8	14.2	15.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	14.0	14.7	15.1	16.0	16.2	13.3	13.8	14.0	14.6	15.3

Age of Children in Foster Care (%)

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY					Entered Foster Care in FY					Exited Foster Care in FY					In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Under 1 year	6.9	7.1	7.2	7.9	7.9	18.2	18.9	20.0	21.2	21.0	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.6	7.1	7.2	7.8	7.9	7.5
1 year	7.5	7.8	8.2	8.3	8.6	7.2	7.4	7.1	7.3	7.2	8.5	8.4	9.0	9.2	10.1	7.8	8.2	8.1	8.7	8.5
2 years	6.8	6.7	6.9	7.1	7.2	6.4	6.5	6.1	6.4	6.5	7.9	7.9	8.0	8.2	9.5	6.7	6.9	6.9	7.2	7.0
3 years	5.7	6.1	5.9	6.2	6.2	5.8	5.6	5.6	6.2	6.0	6.9	6.9	6.8	7.4	7.6	6.1	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0
4 years	5.2	5.1	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.3	5.0	4.9	5.1	5.2	5.9	6.0	5.9	6.1	6.9	5.1	5.5	5.3	5.5	5.4
5 years	5.0	4.9	4.7	5.0	4.9	5.1	5.2	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.8	4.9	4.7	4.9	4.9	4.9
6 years	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.7	5.0	4.6	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.4	4.8	4.8	4.5	4.9	4.4
7 years	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.5	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.7	4.6	4.9	4.8	4.8	5.2	5.5	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5
8 years	3.9	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.0	4.5	4.0	4.2	4.2	4.0	4.6	4.6	4.3	4.8	4.4	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.1
9 years	3.6	3.9	4.1	4.3	4.3	3.6	3.6	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.7	3.9	4.4	4.4	4.7	3.9	4.1	4.3	4.4	4.1
10 years	3.6	3.6	3.9	4.1	4.1	3.3	3.3	3.5	3.8	3.9	3.4	3.6	3.6	4.1	4.2	3.6	3.8	4.0	4.1	4.0
11 years	3.5	3.6	3.5	3.9	4.0	3.2	2.9	3.3	3.4	3.8	3.2	3.1	3.3	3.4	4.1	3.6	3.5	3.8	4.0	3.9
12 years	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.9	3.3	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.6	2.9	3.0	3.1	3.3	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.6	4.0	4.0
13 years	4.0	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.4	3.4	3.6	3.6	2.9	2.7	2.9	2.9	3.3	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.8	3.9
14 years	4.7	4.4	4.3	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.1	3.9	3.9	2.9	3.0	2.9	3.0	3.2	4.5	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.0
15 years	5.7	5.4	5.2	4.8	4.5	5.2	5.2	4.7	3.9	4.2	3.5	3.3	3.3	3.1	2.9	5.5	5.3	5.1	4.6	4.6
16 years	6.8	6.7	6.2	5.6	5.2	5.9	5.9	5.6	4.4	3.9	4.2	4.3	4.1	3.7	3.2	6.7	6.3	6.0	5.3	4.9
17 years	8.1	7.4	7.4	6.6	4.7	5.2	5.0	5.2	3.8	3.4	4.8	4.7	4.3	3.5	2.7	7.4	7.5	7.1	6.0	5.7
18 years	6.2	6.0	5.5	5.5	4.0	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.6	5.5	5.4	5.3	4.5	2.9	5.9	5.5	5.6	5.1	3.8
19 years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.5	<.1	0.2	<.1	0.0	0.6	9.8	9.4	8.6	8.9	2.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.5
20+ years	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.5
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Race/Ethnicity of Children in Foster Care (%)

	In Foster Care on 10/1 FY					Entered Foster Care in FY					Exited Foster Care in FY					In Foster Care on 9/30 FY
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Alaska Native / American Indian	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8	1.0	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7
Asian	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.4	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.3	1.6	1.4	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.2
Black	19.7	19.3	19.3	19.3	19.2	16.6	17.4	17.4	16.5	16.3	17.0	17.2	17.1	16.8	16.5	19.3	19.3	19.4	19.1	19.0
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2
Hispanic (of any race)	52.0	53.1	53.1	51.0	51.4	54.6	53.2	53.5	51.9	53.0	53.3	53.6	53.4	53.3	52.0	52.8	52.8	53.2	50.3	51.9
White	20.7	20.3	20.2	19.7	19.2	21.3	21.8	20.9	20.5	20.6	21.7	21.6	21.4	20.9	20.3	20.5	20.4	19.9	19.4	19.3
Two or more races	5.1	4.9	4.9	5.1	5.1	4.2	4.1	4.4	4.5	3.9	4.8	4.3	4.7	4.9	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.9	4.7
Unknown	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2
Missing data	<.1	<.1	<.1	2.6	2.8	0.4	0.8	0.9	3.8	3.1	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.4	3.5	0.1	0.4	0.4	3.9	2.7

D. Characteristics of Children "Waiting for Adoption" 11 (AFCARS Foster Care File)

Children Waiting for Adoption

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total waiting children	14,096	14,180	14,689	15,097	14,866
Number of waiting children whose parents' rights have been terminated	6,379	6,617	6,712	7,107	7,098

11 There is no federal definition for a child waiting to be adopted. The definition used in the tables on this page includes children and youth through age 17 who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parents' parental rights have been terminated. It excludes children 16 years old and older whose parents' parental rights have been terminated and who have a goal of emancipation. A state's own definition may differ from that used here.  Back

Age of Children Waiting for Adoption (%) 12

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Under 1 year	7.3	6.7	7.2	6.9	6.9
1 year	14.1	14.1	13.0	14.2	14.0
2 years	11.6	12.1	12.1	12.0	11.9
3 years	10.4	9.8	10.1	9.8	9.2
4 years	8.1	8.5	8.2	7.9	8.1
5 years	7.2	6.7	7.1	7.0	6.8
6 years	6.7	6.5	5.9	6.3	5.9
7 years	5.7	5.9	5.7	5.3	5.5
8 years	5.4	5.2	5.7	5.3	4.8
9 years	4.3	4.6	4.8	4.8	4.7
10 years	3.5	3.9	4.2	4.0	4.3
11 years	3.4	3.3	3.8	3.6	3.6
12 years	2.6	2.9	2.9	3.4	3.7
13 years	2.5	2.3	2.6	2.5	3.0
14 years	2.1	2.2	2.0	2.3	2.4
15 years	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.2
16 years	1.7	1.9	1.5	1.7	1.8
17 years	1.1	1.4	1.4	1.2	1.2

12 Children older than 17 years fall outside of the definition used to identify waiting children and are therefore excluded from this table.  Back

Race/Ethnicity of Children Waiting for Adoption (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Alaska Native / American Indian	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6
Asian	1.2	1.2	1.0	0.9	1.0
Black	16.0	16.2	16.3	16.7	16.4
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Hispanic (of any race)	54.0	54.4	54.8	50.9	53.1
White	22.4	21.8	22.0	21.3	21.0
Two or more races	5.4	5.3	4.9	5.3	5.0
Unknown	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2
Missing data	0.0	<.1	<.1	3.8	2.5

E. Characteristics of Children Adopted (AFCARS Adoption File)

Children Adopted

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total children adopted	5,471	6,079	6,542	6,524	6,966

Age of Children Adopted (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Under 1 year	2.3	2.9	2.5	2.2	1.9
1 year	16.4	15.7	16.9	15.9	16.1
2 years	15.8	16.1	15.7	15.2	17.6
3 years	12.5	12.8	11.9	13.1	12.0
4 years	9.7	9.7	9.5	9.4	9.4
5 years	8.4	8.1	8.2	7.9	7.1
6 years	6.8	6.5	6.3	6.1	6.4
7 years	5.2	6.0	5.5	5.6	5.6
8 years	4.6	5.1	4.9	5.0	4.5
9 years	3.8	3.9	4.1	4.9	4.2
10 years	3.3	2.9	3.5	3.8	3.5
11 years	2.9	2.5	2.8	2.8	3.3
12 years	2.1	2.1	2.3	2.0	2.3
13 years	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.8	1.9
14 years	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.6
15 years	1.2	0.9	1.1	1.0	0.9
16 years	0.9	1.1	0.8	0.9	0.9
17 years	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
18 years	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.1
19 years	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
20+ years	<.1	<.1	0.1	0.0	<.1

Race/Ethnicity of Children Adopted (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Alaska Native / American Indian	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.8
Asian	1.5	1.3	1.5	1.0	1.1
Black	11.9	13.0	12.0	12.7	12.6
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3
Hispanic (of any race)	51.9	51.8	52.3	53.3	51.1
White	26.9	26.9	26.8	26.0	25.3
Two or more races	6.8	6.1	6.5	5.6	6.3
Unknown	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Missing data	0.0	<.1	<.1	0.3	2.4

California [Outcomes Data]

Reduce Recurrence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect (NCANDS)

Recurrence of Maltreatment Within 6 Months (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Children without a recurrence	93.6	93.6	94.1	94.0	94.0
Children with one or more recurrences	6.4	6.4	5.9	6.0	6.0
Number	37,346	35,816	33,661	32,176	31,859

Reduce the Incidence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (NCANDS and AFCARS Foster Care File)

2.1 Maltreatment in Foster Care (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Children maltreated while in foster care	0.26	0.20	0.19	0.18	0.19
Children not maltreated while in foster care	99.74	99.80	99.81	99.82	99.81
Number	87,087	87,484	85,896	80,408	78,215

Increase Permanency for Children in Foster Care (AFCARS Foster Care File)

3.1 Exits of Children From Foster Care (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adoption	18.3	19.9	20.4	22.2	25.8
Guardianship	8.3	8.9	10.7	11.0	10.9
Reunification	54.9	53.5	52.7	51.6	53.8
Other	17.1	16.2	15.6	15.1	9.3
Missing data	1.4	1.5	0.6	0.1	0.1
Number	30,317	31,501	31,211	28,539	25,879

Exits of Children With a Diagnosed Disability (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adoption	21.2	25.3	24.4	26.4	31.2
Guardianship	9.3	9.5	12.1	12.0	12.7
Reunification	46.1	41.9	42.3	41.2	44.0
Other	21.9	21.3	20.4	20.3	12.0
Missing data	1.5	1.9	0.8	0.1	0.2
Number	13,255	8,308	8,485	8,052	7,721

Exits of Children Older than Age 12 at Entry Into Foster Care (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adoption	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.9
Guardianship	4.1	4.3	5.2	5.8	7.3
Reunification	42.2	42.8	41.5	40.6	47.6
Other	49.8	48.5	50.1	52.1	42.8
Missing data	2.8	3.2	1.9	0.2	0.4
Number	7,840	8,026	7,647	6,439	4,385

Exits to Emancipation (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Children age 12 or younger at entry	26.8	24.4	21.4	21.9	19.6
Children older than 12 at entry	73.2	75.6	78.6	78.1	80.3
Missing data	<.1	0.0	<.1	0.0	<.1
Number	4,293	4,271	4,013	3,677	1,988

Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)

	Alaska Native / American Indian					Asian					Black (non-Hispanic)
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adoption	14.2	13.9	12.2	15.8	19.4	15.7	15.0	17.1	16.7	16.7	12.7	15.0	14.4	16.7	19.9
Guardianship	19.3	8.0	22.8	19.3	22.3	7.4	9.8	6.6	8.5	5.9	11.3	10.8	13.9	14.7	14.9
Reunification	45.4	57.6	48.8	44.0	49.8	55.7	58.5	64.7	61.1	71.5	48.8	48.7	47.8	47.3	50.7
Other	18.8	18.1	15.4	20.8	8.5	19.7	15.2	11.7	13.8	5.9	25.4	24.1	23.4	21.2	14.3
Missing data	2.3	2.5	0.8	0.0	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.7	1.5	0.6	<.1	0.2
Number	218	238	246	259	247	528	532	549	378	407	5,146	5,430	5,349	4,799	4,270

Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)

	Native Hawaiian/Other Pac. Is.					Hispanic (of any race)					White (non-Hispanic)
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adoption	13.2	9.1	10.8	10.7	32.2	17.9	19.2	20.1	22.2	25.6	22.4	25.1	25.3	27.5	31.8
Guardianship	7.9	13.0	7.8	11.9	5.1	7.8	9.2	10.8	10.7	10.4	6.9	6.8	8.4	8.3	8.4
Reunification	59.6	57.1	56.9	65.5	45.8	57.8	56.0	54.8	53.6	55.8	53.9	51.9	51.5	49.7	50.2
Other	17.5	20.8	23.5	11.9	16.9	15.1	14.2	13.7	13.4	8.1	15.3	14.5	14.1	14.2	9.3
Missing data	1.8	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	1.4	0.5	0.1	<.1	1.5	1.7	0.6	0.3	0.2
Number	114	77	102	84	59	16,161	16,900	16,673	15,198	13,467	6,590	6,810	6,675	5,965	5,254

Exits by Race/Ethnicity (%)

	Unable to Determine					Two or More Races					Missing Data
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Adoption	13.8	20.8	28.3	18.8	30.0	26.1	27.2	27.5	26.0	33.7	0.0	3.0	1.0	4.9	18.0
Guardianship	5.2	2.1	1.9	14.5	11.7	7.6	8.5	9.1	11.6	10.8	1.7	2.0	4.1	14.5	12.9
Reunification	50.0	52.1	43.4	50.7	46.7	48.4	44.3	46.2	46.5	46.5	88.3	80.8	87.6	66.1	63.0
Other	31.0	20.8	26.4	14.5	11.7	16.3	17.7	16.0	15.8	8.8	8.3	14.1	7.2	14.5	6.0
Missing data	0.0	4.2	0.0	1.4	0.0	1.5	2.3	1.2	<.1	<.1	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1
Number	58	48	53	69	60	1,442	1,367	1,467	1,401	1,210	60	99	97	386	905

Reduce Time to Reunification Without Increasing Reentry (AFCARS Foster Care File)

Time to Reunification (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Less than 12 mos.	65.5	63.9	63.2	63.9	63.2
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	29.4	30.6	31.3	30.7	30.9
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	3.1	3.6	3.4	3.4	3.6
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.1
48 or more mos.	1.1	1.0	1.1	0.9	1.2
Missing data	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	<.1
Number	16,648	16,843	16,449	14,720	13,925

Children Reentering Foster Care (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Children entering care for the first time	78.5	78.8	79.7	79.7	79.4
Children reentering care within 12 mos. of a prior episode	8.2	8.4	8.2	7.6	8.0
Children reentering care more than 12 mos. after a prior episode	12.8	12.3	11.6	12.4	12.3
Missing data	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.3
Number	33,696	32,205	31,254	28,016	27,178

Reduce Time in Foster Care to Adoption (AFCARS Foster Care File)

Time to Adoption (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Less than 12 mos.	4.6	4.9	4.5	3.9	3.4
At least 12 mos., but less than 24 mos.	33.3	32.4	30.8	29.4	29.8
At least 24 mos., but less than 36 mos.	36.4	34.8	36.6	35.1	36.1
At least 36 mos., but less than 48 mos.	16.3	17.3	17.4	19.9	18.4
48 or more mos.	9.3	10.5	10.7	11.7	12.3
Missing data	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	5,534	6,275	6,373	6,325	6,689

Increase Placement Stability (AFCARS Foster Care File)

Number of Placements by Time in Care (%)

	In Care Less Than 12 Months					In Care at Least 12 months but Less Than 24 months					In Care for 24 Months or Longer					Time in Care Missing or Out of Range
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Children with 2 or fewer placements	84.7	84.2	84.6	87.9	87.8	65.4	65.7	66.1	70.1	70.8	35.7	37.6	39.6	42.4	42.5	96.7	97.2	95.6	100.0	90.9
Children with 3 or more placements	15.0	15.5	15.3	12.1	12.2	34.5	34.2	33.9	29.9	29.2	64.3	62.4	60.4	57.6	57.5	3.3	2.8	4.4	0.0	6.1
Missing Placement setting counts	0.3	0.3	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.1	0.1	<.1	0.0	<.1	<.1	<.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Total number	39,020	37,824	36,431	32,984	31,341	23,043	23,893	23,325	21,865	20,811	24,873	25,589	26,004	25,527	26,030	151	178	136	32	33

Reduce Placement of Young Children in Group Homes or Institutions (AFCARS Foster Care File)

Most Recent Placement Settings of Children Who Entered Care During the Fiscal Year and Were Age 12 or Younger at the Time of This Placement (%)

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Group homes	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9
Institution	1.8	1.9	1.7	1.6	1.7
Other settings	97.4	97.2	97.5	97.5	97.4
Missing data	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Number	25,108	24,128	23,632	22,215	21,538