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Trends: Exits from Foster Care to Reunification

To view Exits from Foster Care to Reunification, select a jurisdiction and click "View Data" below. This data reflects the percentage of children entering foster care in any given year who return home within 12 months, excluding children who are in care for only eight days or less, as well as those who return home for trial home visits.

You may also compare data to the national median, which is a comparison that is made in the Child Welfare Outcomes Report. Comparisons of states should be considered cautiously given the significant differences in state policies regarding placement and permanency.

View Data

United States
Alabama Louisiana Oklahoma
Alaska Maine Oregon
Arizona Maryland Pennsylvania
Arkansas Massachusetts Puerto Rico
California Michigan Rhode Island
Colorado Minnesota South Carolina
Connecticut Mississippi South Dakota
Delaware Missouri Tennessee
District of Columbia Montana Texas
Florida Nebraska Utah
Georgia Nevada Vermont
Hawaii New Hampshire Virgin Islands
Idaho New Jersey Virginia
Illinois New Mexico Washington
Indiana New York West Virginia
Iowa North Carolina Wisconsin
Kansas North Dakota Wyoming
Kentucky Ohio

Questions to Consider

· How do federal, state and local policy and practice changes account for the trend?

· How does your state’s timeliness to reunification compare to the national median?

· When children return home, do they re-enter care at a later time?

· What can additional data (age, race, etc.) tell us about children who are still in foster care beyond 12 months and the barriers to timely reunification?

· Of the children returned home within 12 months, what percentage return home between eight and 30 days, and are there strategies to keep these children out of care in the first place?

What's Wrong With AFCARS? Information on the limitations of AFCARS.

The Strengths and Limitations of AFCARS. See Can AFCARS Be Rescued?

Learn More. Information on additional child welfare data.