The NRCFCPPP prepared fact sheets about foster care for the National Foster Care Month campaign. For each state and the District of Columbia you can find the following information:

• Number of children in foster care
• Average age and number of children in care by age range
• Gender
• Race/ethnicity of children in out-of-home care and of the general population in the state
• Average length of stay in care
• Percentage of children reunified with parents or primary caretakers
• Number of licensed foster homes
• Percent of youth living with relatives
• Percent of children adopted by foster parents and by relatives
• Contact information to find out how to become a foster parent in that state.

Most data was supplied by the Children's Bureau for Fiscal Year 2003. Some states have provided more current statistics from their own data systems.

The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning also compiled this complete listing of state foster care contacts (updated 5/09) as part of the 2009 National Foster Care Month campaign.

Last updated 05/06/09