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Statistics & Research
The Children's Bureau provides State and national data on adoption and foster care, child abuse and neglect, and child welfare. The Children's Bureau also funds research in collaboration with other organizations.
Adoption and Foster Care Statistics
The Adoption and Foster Care Reporting and Analysis System (AFCARS) collects case level information on all children in foster care for whom State child welfare agencies have responsibility for placement, care or supervision, and on children who are adopted under the auspices of the State's public child welfare agency. See Federal and State Reporting Systems for more information.
- Trends in Foster Care and Adoption (PDF - 23 KB) - Graphically represented national estimates of foster care and adoption population characteristics. NOTE: The AFCARS Reports below do not reflect the updated foster care and adoption information reported in the chart. (Updated August 2008)
- Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) reports:
The difference among Preliminary, Interim, and Final AFCARS Reports:
- Preliminary reports of AFCARS data include data received by September 30 for the report period ending March 31 and by March 31 for the report period ending September 30. This generally encompasses the required data submissions and submission of corrected data by States to avoid possible financial penalties.
- Interim reports of AFCARS data include subsequent submissions of data made by States to improve the quality of data used to calculate awards for the Adoption Incentive Program, the Children's Bureau's Annual Report to Congress, and/or data utilized in the Child and Family Services Review or for other purposes. These are generally the data officially reported in the Children's Bureau's Annual Report to the Congress.
- Final reports are issued when it appears that States have resubmitted data to the point that outcomes no longer can be improved. These reports may be issued 3 or more years after the year of interest.
- AFCARS Assessment Reviews - Evaluate the ability of a State's automated information system to gather, extract and submit the correct AFCARS data accurately.
State-by-State Adoption and Foster Care Statistics
- State-Specific Adoption Statistics
- State Specific Foster Care Statistics
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Child Abuse & Neglect Research
Children's Bureau research on child abuse and neglect includes the annual Child Maltreatment reports.
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Child Welfare Research
Children's Bureau research on child welfare issues includes a series of annual Child Welfare Outcomes Reports to Congress. These reports include data from AFCARS and NCANDS.
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Children's Bureau-Funded Research
The Children's Bureau funds research in collaboration with other organizations.
- A Report to Congress on Barriers and Success Factors in Adoptions from Foster Care: Perspectives of Families and Staff Supported by the Adoption Opportunities Program - Outlines the findings of two adoption-research studies conducted as part of The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids. The studies identified the child, family, and agency factors that presented as barriers or promoters of successful adoptions from foster care. (PDF - 909 KB)
- A Report to Congress on Interjurisdictional Adoption of Children in Foster Care - Describes the nature, scope, and impact of interjurisdictional adoption placement efforts and the strategies that improve outcomes for children in foster care who are placed for adoption in other jurisdictions. (PDF - 218 KB)
- Chafee Independent Living Evaluation Project - The goal of this Project is to identify programs that can be rigorously evaluated and ultimately determine the effects of Independent Living Programs funded under CFCIP in achieving key outcomes for participating youth. This evaluation was called for in the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999.
- Child Welfare Systems' Responses to Children of Color - This ongoing research project was funded to review research examining the child welfare system's response to children of color, to identify programs and practices that address perceived racial or cultural disparities within the system, and to pilot intensive qualitative observational studies on policies and practices related to services for children of color in the child welfare system.
- Family Preservation and Family Support Services Program (FP/FS) - This study evaluates how States and communities implemented the FP/FS program, the ways in which program implementation altered the pre-existing service delivery system, and the effects this had on service delivery.
- Feasibility of Evaluating the State Court Improvement Program Volume I: Final Report (PDF - 300 KB): and
Feasibility of Evaluating the State Court Improvement Program Volume II: Evaluability Assessment Site Visit Summaries (PDF - 670 KB) - These evaluability assessments were completed through a contract awarded in the Fall of 2001 by the Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to determine the feasibility of evaluating state Court Improvement Program (CIP) projects.
- LONGSCAN reports - The website of the Consortium of Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) provides information about the study, sample demographics, measures utilized, and more.
- Implementation of Promoting Safe and Stable Families by Indian Tribes (PSSF) - The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which Indian Tribes use funds received under title IV-B, subpart 2 to provide services that strengthen families’ abilities to care for their children.
- National Incidence Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect - A congressionally mandated, periodic research effort to assess the incidence of child abuse and neglect in the United States.
- National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) - To learn what happens to the children and families who come in contact with the child welfare system, the Children’s Bureau of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has undertaken the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW).
- Terminating the Parental Rights of Older Children (TPR) - This Project provides a descriptive study of the effects of the termination of parental rights on older foster youths' foster care and adoptive experiences.
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Other Related Links
Abuse, Neglect, Adoption & Foster Care Research - The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) within ACF conducts and oversees research focused on child abuse, neglect, adoption, and foster care to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of programs and improve the well-being of children and families. OPRE projects include the Chafee Independent Living Evaluation Project, National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, and A Consortium of Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect.
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) - The mission of NDACAN is to facilitate the secondary analysis of research data relevant to the study of child abuse and neglect. By making data available to a larger number of researchers, NDACAN seeks to provide a relatively inexpensive and scientifically productive means for researchers to explore important issues in the child maltreatment field.
CFSP/APSR Toolkit - This toolkit is designed to create a central location for all technical assistance documents and materials, as well as references to specific laws, policies, and checklists that relate to the development of the State and Tribal Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP)/Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR).
Methamphetamine: The Child Welfare Impact and Response — Conference Proceedings - Proceedings from the May 2006 Children's Bureau conference on Methamphetamines and the impact of the drug on children and families, held in partnership with SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Child Care Bureau.
Federal and State Reporting Systems - Information on the Children's Bureau Federal and State reporting systems, which provide data to monitor and improve child welfare outcomes.
Child Welfare Monitoring - Information on the programs provided by the Children's Bureau that monitor State child welfare services, including the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) Assessment Reviews.
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