U.S.

Depart
mentofHealthandHumanServi
ces,Adminis
trat
ionforChi
ldrenandFamili
es,
Admini
st
rat
i
ononChi l
dren,Yout
handFamil
i
es,Childr
en'sBureau,htt
ps:
//www.acf
.hhs
.gov/
cb

The
AFCARS
Repor
t
Pr
eli
minar
yFY2019Est
imat
es¹asofJune23,2020-No.27

SOURCE:Adopt
i
onandFost
erCar
eAnal
yi
ssandRepor
ti
ngSyt
sem ( a²
AFCARS)FY2019dat

Number
s at
a
Glanc
e
Fi
scalYear 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Numberi
nfost
ercar
eonSept
ember30oft
heFY 421,
418 430,
101 436,
656 435,
031 423,
997

Numberent
eredf
ost
ercar
edur
ingt
heFY 268,
860 273,
332 270,
081 262,
791 251,
359

Numberexi
t
edf
ost
ercar
edur
ingt
heFY 242,
051 250,
500 248,
386 251,
161 248,
669

Numberser
vedbyt
hef
ost
ercar
esyst
em dur
ingt
heFY 663,
406 680,
433 685,
007 686,
151 672,
594

Numberwai
t
ingt
obeadopt
edonSept
ember30oft
heFY 109,
776 116,
391 123,
450 125,
285 122,
216

Numberadopt
edwi
t
hpubl
i
cchi
l
dwel
f
areagencyi
nvol
vementdur
ingt
heFY 53,
536 57,
176 59,
469 62,
997 66,
035
Numberwait
i
ngtobeadoptedforwhom par
ent
alr
ight
s(f
oral
ll
ivi
ngpar
ent
s)wer
e
62,
230 65,
447 69,
724 71,
480 71,
335
t
ermi
natedasoft
helastdayoftheFY

Chi
ldr
en
in
Fos
ter
Car
e on
Sept
ember
30,

2019
-
N=423,
997
AgeasofSept
ember30t
h Year
s Sex Per
cent Number
Mean 8.
4 Mal
e 52% 218,
415
Medi
an 7.
7 Femal
e 48% 205,
523

AgeasofSept
ember30t
h Per
cent Number MostRecentPl
acementSet
ti
ng Per
cent Number
Lesst
han1Year 7% 30,
626 Pr
e-Adopt
i
veHome 4% 17,
933
1Year 9% 36,
425 Fost
erFami
l
yHome(
Rel
ati
ve) 32% 133,
405
2Year
s 8% 31,
949 Fos
terFami
l
yHome(
Non-
Rel
ati
ve) 46% 195,
352
3Year
s 7% 28,
056 Gr
oupHome 4% 17,
991
4Year
s 6% 25,
430 I
nst
i
tut
i
on 6% 25,
832
5Year
s 5% 23,
026 Super
visedI
ndependentLi
vi
ng 2% 7,
924
6Year
s 5% 21,
427 Runaway 1% 4,
115
7Year
s 5% 20,
096 Tr
ial
HomeVi
si
t 5% 20,
337
8Year
s 5% 19,
076
CasePl
anGoal Per
cent Number
9Year
s 4% 18,
232
Reuni
f
ywi
t
hPar
ent
(s)orPr
imar
yCar
etaker
(s) 55% 226,
724
10Year
s 4% 18,
114
Li
vewi
t
hOt
herRel
ati
ve(
s) 3% 13,
873
11Year
s 4% 18,
156
Adopt
i
on 28% 113,
950
12Year
s 4% 17,
853
LongTer
m Fost
erCar
e 2% 7,
398
13Year
s 4% 18,
155
Emanci
pat
i
on 4% 16,
880
14Year
s 4% 18,
844
Guar
dianshi
p 4% 16,
095
15Year
s 5% 20,
429
CasePl
anGoal
NotYetEst
abl
i
shed 4% 17,
915
16Year
s 5% 22,
453
17Year
s 5% 22,
849
18Year
s 1% 5,
829
19Year
s 1% 3,
743
20Year
s 1% 3,
093

¹‘
FY’ref
erstot
heFeder
alFi
sa
clYear,Oct
ober1stt
hroughSeptember30t
h.
²Dat
af r
om bot
hther
egul
arandr
evi
sedAFCARSf il
esubmissi
onsrecei
vedbyJune23,2020ar
einc
ludedi
nthi
srepor
t.TheDepar
tmenthasr
eques
tedPuer
toRi
co
r
esubmi
tthei
rAFCARSdat a;ther
efor
e,PRdat
aar
eexl
cudedfrom t
hisRepor
t,i
ncl
udinginthe"Number sataGl anc
e"count
s.Mi
si
sngdat
aareexl
cudedf
rom eac
h
t
abl
e.Theref
ore,t
hetotal
swithineachdi
st
ri
but
i
onmaynotequalt
hetotal
provi
dedforthatsubpopul
ati
on(e.g.numberi
nc ar
eonSept
ember30t
hmaynotmatchthe
s
um acr
ossagesf ort
hatgroup).
2|Page
Race/
Ethni
cit
y Per
cent Number Ti
mei
nCar
e Mont
hs
Amer
icanI
ndi
an/
Alasa
k Nat
i
ve 2% 10,
152 Mean 19.
6
Asi
an 1% 2,
179 Medi
an 13.
3
Bl
ackorAf
ri
canAmer
ican 23% 97,
142
Ti
mei
nCar
e Per
cent Number
Nat
i
veHawai
i
an/
OtherPaci
f
icI
sl
ander 0% 1,
135
Lesst
han1Mont
h 5% 21,
145
Hi
spani
c(ofanyr
ace) 21% 87,
625
1-5Mont
hs 21% 90,
922
Whi
t
e 44% 185,
825
6-11Mont
hs 20% 83,
617
Unk
nown/
Unabl
etoDet
ermi
ne 1% 6,
148
12-17Mont
hs 16% 66,
290
TwoorMor
eRaces 8% 32,
284
18-23Mont
hs 11% 45,
400
NOTE:Al
lracesexl
cudec
hil
drenofHI
spani
cor
igi
n.Chi
l
drenofHi
spani
cet
hni
ci
ty 24-29Mont
hs 8% 33,
317
maybeanyrace.
30-35Mont
hs 5% 21,
750
3-4Year
s 9% 39,
910
5Year
sorMor
e 5% 21,
646

Chi
ldr
en
Ent
eri
ng
Fos
ter
Car
e dur
ing
FY
2019
-
N=251,
359
AgeatEnt
ry Year
s Race/
Ethni
cit
y Per
cent Number
Mean 7.
2 Amer
icanI
ndi
an/
AlaskaNat
i
ve 2% 5,
596
Medi
an 6.
3 Asi
an 1% 1,
617
Bl
ackorAf
ri
canAmer
ican 21% 53,
089
AgeatEnt
ry Per
cent Number
Nat
i
veHawai
i
an/
OtherPaci
f
icI
sl
ander 0% 774
Lesst
han1Year 19% 47,
147
Hi
spani
c(ofanyr
ace) 21% 51,
780
1Year 7% 18,
199
Whi
t
e 46% 114,
462
2Year
s 6% 16,
120
Unknown/
Unabl
etoDet
ermi
ne 2% 4,
730
3Year
s 6% 14,
702
TwoorMor
eRaces 7% 18,
055
4Year
s 5% 13,
534
NOTE:Al
lracesexcl
udechi
l
drenofHI
spani
cor
igi
n.Chi
l
drenofHi
spani
cet
hni
ci
ty
5Year
s 5% 12,
576
maybeanyrace.
6Year
s 5% 11,
738
Ci
rcumst
ancesAssoci
atedwi
thChi
ld'
sRemoval Per
cent Number
7Year
s 4% 10,
948
Negl
ect 63% 158,
258
8Year
s 4% 10,
234
Dr
ugAbuse(
Par
ent
) 34% 86,
694
9Year
s 4% 10,
047
Car
etakerI
nabi
l
it
yToCope 14% 34,
594
10Year
s 4% 9,
764
Physi
cal
Abuse 13% 32,
008
11Year
s 4% 9,
739
Housi
ng 10% 25,
658
12Year
s 4% 10,
022
Chi
l
dBehavi
orPr
obl
em 8% 20,
871
13Year
s 4% 10,
319
Par
entI
ncar
cer
ati
on 7% 17,
669
14Year
s 4% 11,
065
Al
cohol
Abuse(
Par
ent
) 5% 13,
637
15Year
s 5% 11,
934
Abandonment 5% 11,
424
16Year
s 5% 11,
653
Sexual
Abuse 4% 9,
782
17Year
s 3% 8,
256
Dr
ugAbuse(
Chi
l
d) 2% 5,
500
18Year
s 1% 1,
967
Chi
l
dDi
sabi
l
it
y 2% 3,
969
19Year
s 0% 880
Rel
i
nqui
shment 1% 2,
350
20Year
s 0% 488
Par
entDeat
h 1% 2,
141
Al
cohol
Abuse(
Chi
l
d) 0% 991

NOTE:Thesecategor
iesarenotmutual
l
yexcl
usi
ve,soper
cent
ageswi
l
ltot
almor
e
t
han100% andcountswil
lbemorethanthet
otal
numberofent
ri
es.

U..
S Depat
rmentofHeatlhandHumanSevc
ries,Admiit
nsrt
ainfr
o o Chilrna
de ndFami lis
e,
Admiit
nsrt
aino
o nChlrnide ,Youha
t ndFami l
is
e ,ChlrnsB
ide ' ue
rau,ht
ts/
p :w
/ wwa
.c.
fhhsg
.ovc
/b
Prl
eiminay
r Es
ti
mae
tsfr
o FY2019asofu
Jne23,2020(7,
2 )Page2
3|Page

Chi
ldr
en
Exi
ti
ng
Fos
ter
Car
e dur
ing
FY
2019
-
N=248,
669
AgeatExi
t Year
s Race/
Ethni
cit
y Per
cent Number
Mean 8.
6 Amer
icanI
ndi
an/
Alasa
k Nat
i
ve 2% 5,
549
Medi
an 7.
6 Asi
an 1% 1,
480
Bl
ackorAf
ri
canAmer
ican 21% 52,
099
Nat
i
veHawai
i
an/
OtherPaci
f
icI
sl
ander 0% 632
AgeatExi
t Per
cent Number
Hi
spani
c(ofanyr
ace) 21% 51,
550
Lesst
han1Year 4% 10,
681
Whi
t
e 46% 114,
978
1Year 9% 20,
979
Unknown/
Unabl
etoDet
ermi
ne 1% 3,
459
2Year
s 9% 21,
454
TwoorMor
eRaces 7% 18,
135
3Year
s 8% 18,
508
4Year
s 7% 16,
236
5Year
s 6% 14,
632 NOTE:Al
lracesexl
cudechi
l
drenofHI
spani
cor
igi
n.Chi
l
drenofHi
spani
cet
hni
ci
ty
maybeanyrace.
6Year
s 5% 13,
389
7Year
s 5% 12,
126 Reasonf
orDi
schar
ge Per
cent Number
8Year
s 5% 11,
521 Reuni
f
icat
i
onwi
t
hPar
ent
(s)orPr
imar
yCar
etaker
(s) 47% 117,
010
9Year
s 4% 10,
970 Li
vi
ngwi
t
hOt
herRel
ati
ve(
s) 6% 15,
422
10Year
s 4% 10,
494 Adopt
i
on 26% 64,
415

11Year
s 4% 9,
910 Emanci
pat
i
on 8% 20,
445

12Year
s 4% 9,
218 Guar
dianshi
p 11% 26,
103

13Year
s 4% 8,
987 Tr
ansf
ert
oAnot
herAgency 1% 2,
726

14Year
s 4% 8,
884 Runaway 0% 608

15Year
s 4% 9,
149 Deat
hofChi
l
d 0% 385

16Year
s 4% 9,
864
17Year
s 4% 9,
152
18Year
s 7% 17,
563
19Year
s 1% 1,
692
20Year
s 0% 1,
210

Ti nCar
mei e Mont
hs
Mean 20.
0
Medi
an 15.
5

Ti
mei
nCar
e Per
cent Number
Les
sthan1Mont
h 8% 20,
195
1-5Mont
hs 14% 34,
586
6-11Mont
hs 18% 45,
368
12-17Mont
hs 17% 41,
154
18-23Mont
hs 13% 32,
414
24-29Mont
hs 10% 23,
600
30-35Mont
hs 6% 15,
883
3-4Year
s 10% 25,
801
5Year
sorMor
e 4% 9,
368

U..
S Depat
rmentofHeatlhandHumanSevc
ries,Admiit
nsrt
ainfr
o o Chilrna
de ndFami lis
e,
Admiit
nsrt
aino
o nChlrnide ,Youha
t ndFami l
is
e ,ChlrnsB
ide ' ue
rau,ht
ts/
p :w
/ wwa
.c.
fhhsg
.ovc
/b
Prl
eiminay
r Es
ti
mae
tsfr
o FY2019asofu
Jne23,2020(7,
2 )Page3
4|Page

Chi
ldr
en
Wai
ti
ng
to
be
Adopt
ed³
on
Sept
ember
30,

2019
-
N=122,
216
AgeasofSept
ember30t
h Year
s AgeatEnt
ryi
ntoFost
erCar
e Year
s
Mean 7.
8 Mean 5.
2
Medi
an 7.
1 Medi
an 4.
3

AgeasofSept
ember30t
h Per
cent Number AgeatEnt
ryi
ntoFost
erCar
e Per
cent Number
Les
sthan1Year 4% 4,
390 Lesst
han1Year 26% 31,
200
1Year 10% 11,
646 1Year 8% 9,
842
2Year
s 9% 11,
245 2Year
s 7% 8,
924
3Year
s 8% 9,
539 3Year
s 7% 8,
060
4Year
s 7% 8,
491 4Year
s 6% 7,
689
5Year
s 6% 7,
668 5Year
s 6% 7,
293
6Year
s 6% 7,
033 6Year
s 6% 7,
055
7Year
s 5% 6,
623 7Year
s 6% 6,
745
8Year
s 5% 6,
281 8Year
s 5% 6,
308
9Year
s 5% 6,
105 9Year
s 5% 5,
992
10Year
s 5% 6,
086 10Year
s 4% 5,
437
11Year
s 5% 6,
060 11Year
s 4% 4,
916
12Year
s 5% 5,
871 12Year
s 4% 4,
293
13Year
s 5% 5,
686 13Year
s 3% 3,
598
14Year
s 5% 5,
518 14Year
s 2% 2,
568
15Year
s 4% 5,
443 15Year
s 1% 1,
546
16Year
s 4% 4,
889 16Year
s 1% 638
17Year
s 3% 3,
642 17Year
s 0% 91

Pl
acementType Per
cent Number Race/
Ethni
cit
y Per
cent Number
Pr
e-Adopt
i
veHome 13% 15,
782 Amer
icanI
ndi
an/
Alasa
k Nat
i
ve 2% 2,
287
Fos
terFami
l
yHome(
Rel
ati
ve) 25% 30,
731 Asi
an 0% 487
Fos
terFami
l
yHome(
Non-
Rel
ati
ve) 53% 64,
067 Bl
ackorAf
ri
canAmer
ican 22% 26,
378
Gr
oupHome 3% 3,
896 Nat
i
veHawai
i
an/
OtherPaci
f
icI
sl
ander 0% 251
I
nst
i
tut
i
on 5% 6,
258 Hi
spani
c(ofanyr
ace) 22% 26,
815
Super
visedI
ndependentLi
vi
ng 0% 108 Whi
t
e 44% 54,
065
Runaway 0% 529 Unknown/
Unabl
etoDet
ermi
ne 1% 1,
371
Tr
ial
HomeVi
si
t 1% 623 TwoorMor
eRaces 8% 10,
291

Sex Per
cent Number NOTE:Al
lracesexl
cudechi
l
drenofHI
spani
cor
igi
n.Chi
l
drenofHi
spani
cet
hni
ci
ty
maybeanyrace.
Mal
e 52% 64,
082
Femal
e 48% 58,
129

³Wait
ingchi
l
drenarei
denti
fi
edaschi
ldr
enwhohav eagoal
ofadopt
ionand/orwhos
eparent
s’par
ent
alr
ight
shavebeenter
minated.Chi
l
dren16year
sol
dandol
der
whosepar
ents’par
ent
alr
ight
shavebeenter
minat
edandwhohav eagoalofemanci
pat
i
onhav ebeenexl
cudedf
rom t
heest
imate.

U..
S Depat
rmentofHeatlhandHumanSevc
ries,Admiit
nsrt
ainfr
o o Chilrna
de ndFami lis
e,
Admiit
nsrt
aino
o nChlrnide ,Youha
t ndFami l
is
e ,ChlrnsB
ide ' ue
rau,ht
ts/
p :w
/ wwa
.c.
fhhsg
.ovc
/b
Prl
eiminay
r Es
ti
mae
tsfr
o FY2019asofu
Jne23,2020(7,
2 )Page4
5|Page
Ti
mei
nCar
e Mont
hs OfChil
drenWaiti
ngforAdopt
ionwhoseParent
s'Par
entalRi
ghtshavebeen
Mean 31.
2 Ter
minated(N=71,
335),Ti
meElapsedsi
nceTer
minat
ionofParent
alRight
s
asofSeptember30,2019
Medi
an 25.
6
Ti
meSi
nceTPR Mont
hs
Mean 17.
6
Ti
mei
nCar
e Per
cent Number
Medi
an 9.
0
Les
sthan1Mont
h 0% 504
1-5Mont
hs 3% 4,
115
6-11Mont
hs 9% 10,
918
12-17Mont
hs 16% 19,
863
18-23Mont
hs 17% 20,
220
24-29Mont
hs 15% 18,
115
30-35Mont
hs 10% 12,
542
3-4Year
s 20% 24,
406
sorMor
5Year e 9% 11,
533

Chi
ldr
en
Adopt
ed
wit
h Publ
ic
Agenc
y I
nvol
vement
i
n FY
2019⁴-
N=66,
035
AgeatAdopt
ion Year
s TimeElapsedf
rom Ter
minat
ionofPar
ent
alRi
ght
s
toAdopti
on Months
Mean 6.
4
Mean 11.8
Medi
an 5.
2
Medi
an 8.
9

AgeatAdopt
ion Per
cent Number
TimeElapsedf
rom Ter
minat
ionofPar
ent
alRi
ght
s
Les
sthan1Year 2% 1,
307 toAdopti
on Per
cent Number
1Year 12% 7,
903 Lesst
han1Month 3% 1,
736

2Year
s 14% 9,
378 1-5Mont
hs 28% 18,
316

3Year
s 11% 7,
242 6-11Mont
hs 35% 22,
503

4Year
s 9% 6,
044 12-17Mont
hs 17% 11,
204

5Year
s 8% 5,
007 18-23Mont
hs 8% 5,
110

6Year
s 7% 4,
349 24-29Mont
hs 4% 2,
454

7Year
s 6% 3,
823 30-35Mont
hs 2% 1,
330

8Year
s 5% 3,
373 3-4Year
s 2% 1,
603

9Year
s 5% 3,
088 5Year
sorMor
e 1% 559

10Year
s 4% 2,
886
11Year
s 4% 2,
623 Race/
Ethni
cit
y Per
cent Number
12Year
s 3% 2,
236 Amer
icanI
ndi
an/
Alasa
k Nat
i
ve 2% 1,
107
13Year
s 3% 1,
908 Asi
an 0% 266
14Year
s 2% 1,
485 Bl
ackorAf
ri
canAmer
ican 18% 11,
663
15Year
s 2% 1,
187 Nat
i
veHawai
i
an/
OtherPaci
f
icI
sl
ander 0% 118
16Year
s 2% 1,
144 Hi
spani
c(ofanyr
ace) 20% 13,
494
17Year
s 1% 931 Whi
t
e 50% 32,
835
18Year
s 0% 88 Unknown/
Unabl
etoDet
ermi
ne 1% 782
19Year
s 0% 18 TwoorMor
eRaces 9% 5,
707
20Year
s 0% 6

NOTE:Al
lracesexl
cudechi
l
drenofHI
spani
cor
igi
n.Chi
l
drenofHi
spani
cet
hni
ci
ty
maybeanyrace.

⁴Notethatt
headopt
i
ondat
areport
edint
hissecti
onar
efr
om t
heAFCARSAdopt
i
onf
i
le.Ther
efor
e,t
henumberofadopt
i
onsr
epor
tedher
emaynotequal
thenumber
repor
tedasdish
cargest
oadopt
ionfr
om f
ostercar
e.

U..
S Depat
rmentofHeatlhandHumanSevc
ries,Admiit
nsrt
ainfr
o o Chilrna
de ndFami lis
e,
Admiit
nsrt
aino
o nChlrnide ,Youha
t ndFami l
is
e ,ChlrnsB
ide ' ue
rau,ht
ts/
p :w
/ wwa
.c.
fhhsg
.ovc
/b
Prl
eiminay
r Es
ti
mae
tsfr
o FY2019asofu
Jne23,2020(7,
2 )Page5
6|Page
Adopt
iveFami
lySt
ruct
ure Per
cent Number Sex Per
cent Number
Mar
ri
edCoupl
e 68% 44,
223 Mal
e 51% 33,
627
Unmar
ri
edCoupl
e 3% 2,
232 Femal
e 49% 32,
394
Si
ngl
eFemal
e 26% 16,
817
Si
ngl
eMal
e 3% 2,
220
Recei
veAdopt
ionSubsi
dy Per
cent Number
Yes 93% 61,
434
Rel
ati
onshipofAdopt
ivePar
ent
stoChi
ldPr
iort
o
No 7% 4,
555
Adopti
on Per
cent Number
Non-
Relat
i
ve 11% 7,
242
Fos
terPar
ent 52% 33,
357
St
eppar
ent 0% 93
Ot
herRel
ati
ve 36% 23,
202

FY2019AFCARSFost
erCar
eDat
aRel
ease

Aftertherel
easeoft heFY2016AFCARSRepor t
,theChil
dren’
sBureaubroughtt
otheatt
enti
onofthereaderour
continui
ngeffor
tstoaddressAFCARSdat aqual
it
yandhighli
ghtedt
heissueof“dr
oppedcases”(i
.
e.,casesthat
appearinonesi x-
mont hAFCARSs ubmisi
sonwit
houtadateofdish
cargeanddonotappearinthesubsequent
si
x- monthsubmisi
son).Thef owi
ol
l nglnk
i ’
s“Techni
c al
Di css
su i
on”t
abprovi
desamor edet
ail
eddesr pt
ci i
onoft he
droppedc asesissue:
ht
tps:
//
www.
acf
.hhs
.gov/
cb/
resour
ce/
tr
ends-
in-
fos
ter
-car
e-and-
adopt
i
on

Ear l
yinouref fortst
ounderstandthedroppedc asesisu
se,itwasunderstoodthatt hemajori
tyfel
lint
oac at
egoryof
thoseex iti
ngc are.However,morerecentanalye
ssi ncl
udeacategoryofinstancesi nwhichrecordnumberschange
(i
.e.,chil
dr ecordsundergoamer geproces;
s henc e,t
hechil
d’sr
ecordisinthes ubsequents ubmisi
son,butwi
tha
dif
ferentrec or
dnumber ).Therecordsmergeproc esstypi
cal
lyhappenswhenac hil
d’si
nformati
onex i
st
sinthe
State’sinformationss
ytem,butthec hi
ldi
sinadvertentl
yassi
gnedanewr ecordnumber ,someti
mesduet oa
re-entryintocare.Wedonotbel i
evethetwoaforement i
onedcategor
iesaccountf orall
droppedc asesandwil
l
continuet owor ktowar
daddr esi
sngtheisu
se.

Wehavehist
ori
cal
l
yaddressedt
hedroppedcasesbyexl
cudi
ngtheserecor
dsf
rom ourAFCARSes
ti
mat
es,andwe
bel
i
evet
hishasameli
orat
edmostnegati
veef
fectsont
heannualest
imates.

Althoughtherehasbeensomedec r
easeinthenumbersofdroppedcases,wehavebegunf or
mallyaddr
essi
ngthe
i
susewi theachappli
cabl
eState,beginni
ngwiththeFY2017AFCARSdat a.Tot
heextentpracti
cabl
eand
reasonable,wewil
latt
empttoaddressprioryear
s'dat
a.Thus,ther
emaybesomedi f
ferencesbetweenhist
ori
cal
number spresent
edinthi
sreportcomparedtoprevi
ousrepor
ts.

U.
S.DepartmentofHealt
handHumanServices,Administ
rat
ionforChi l
drenandFamil
ies,
Admini
str
ati
ononChi l
dren,Yout
handFamil
ies,Chil
dren'
sBur eau,ht
tps://
www.acf
.hhs.
gov/
cb
Prel
imi
naryEst
imat
esf
orFY2019asofJ une23,2020(27),Page6