In the United States, more than 360,000 children were in foster care in 2023, a decrease of nearly 8,000 children from the previous year.
Foster care is a temporary living situation for children whose parents cannot take care of them. While in care, children may live with relatives, with foster families or in group facilities. There are four ways children can leave foster care for permanent homes: 1) Reunification with birth parents or primary caregivers; 2) adoption; 3) guardianship: and 4) placement with relatives. Among children exiting foster care each year, just under half— about 84,000 kids in 2023 — are reunited with a parent or primary caretaker.
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