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Every Kid Needs a Family
This KIDS COUNT report urges support for family-centered care to reduce group placements and improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families.
There are four ways children can leave foster care for permanent homes: Reunification with birth parents, adoption, guardianship and placement with relatives.
Adoption is a legal process that permanently transfers parental responsibility from a child's birth parents to their adoptive parents. After reunification, it is the next most secure permanency option for children in foster care.
In 2021, one in four children exiting foster care — around 53,300 kids in the United States — were adopted. About 80% of these children were under age 11, and more than half — 52% — were between the ages of 1 and 5.
Find state and national data related to adoption for children in foster care on the KIDS COUNT® Data Center.
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This KIDS COUNT report urges support for family-centered care to reduce group placements and improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families.
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This data snapshot shows foster care placements improved from 2007–2017, but racial disparities and gaps for teens in care still remain.
We hope you'll find value in this report. We’d love to get a little information from you, which we'll use to notify you about relevant new resources.