Foster care in the United States over the last decade has seen a shift in the amount of children entering its system. In 2013, 633,000 children were in foster care and that number continued to increase until 2018 when it reached its peak at 689,000.
The latest data from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services shows a decline in the number of children in the system at around 570,000, but that’s not the case in every state.
North Carolina is one state seeing an increase in the number of children in its foster care system. In 2013, the number of children being served was 13,401. In 2022, it grew to 15,377. In Mecklenburg County, there are an estimated 400 to 500 children in the county foster care system, and now more than ever, there’s a growing need for foster parents.
How do children wind up in foster care?
The foster care system is meant to provide temporary care and a safe environment for children who cannot live with their biological families, whether it’s because of abuse, neglect or parental incapacity. The goal of foster care: ensure the well-being of children while working toward reunification with their birth families or finding a permanent placement, such as adoption, if reunification is not possible.
When a child enters the foster care system, they are placed under the custody of the state or a child welfare agency. From there, social workers and case managers assess the child’s needs and try to match them with a suitable foster family.
Foster parents are carefully screened, trained and licensed to provide care and support to foster children. They also receive financial assistance from the government or child welfare agency to help cover the costs of the child’s needs, including food, clothing and medical care.
Throughout their stay in foster care, children are scheduled to have regular check-ins with social workers. They also may receive additional support services such as counseling, education assistance and health care.
The system is complex and requires coordination among various professionals, including social workers, legal representatives and healthcare providers to try to ensure the best possible outcomes for the children involved.
Foster care by the numbers
In order to truly understand the status of the foster care system in America, one should look at some of the statistics associated with it.
According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children (ASPCC), there are more boys in the foster care system than girls (52% to 48%). The demographic data shows the following: 44% of foster children are white, 23% are Black and 21% are Latino/Latina.
When it comes to the age of the children in the system, 26% of children entering foster care are under the age of one and about 22% of youth in foster care are 13 or older. In addition, the average age of a child entering foster care is 7 to 8 years old while the average age of a child exiting foster care is 7 to 9 years old.
Children enter the foster care system for an array of reasons, but according to ASPCC data, 61% of children are removed from their home because of abuse and neglect. Around 34% of the children removed from their homes are due to parental drug abuse, and 12% of children enter the system because of physical abuse.
Relatives of children can opt to take custody of them while they’re in the custody of the state or agency. However, data shows up to 45% of foster children live in non-relative foster family homes and only 32% of foster children live in relatives’ homes.
The outcomes for children who enter the foster care system vary, according to all available data. On average, a child can spend almost 12 to 20 months in foster care. However, some children wait three to four years or more to be adopted. In fact, 10% of foster children spend more than five years in foster care.
In 2022, 570,000 children were in the foster care system throughout the year, according to the U.S. DHHS. Of those kids, only 201,000 exited the system and 53,700 of those were adoptions.
Foster care in North Carolina
North Carolina’s foster care system has trended upward over the last nine years according to U.S. DHHS data. North Carolina’s data shows out of the state’s 2,301,503 children, 15,377 were in foster care.
Over 93,000 children in North Carolina were the subject of an investigation regarding child maltreatment in 2021. Of those investigations, 21,242 children were deemed victims of child maltreatment and 45 of those children died. White children made up most of the victim demographic at 44.9%. However, despite only making up 22.4% of the 18 and under population in North Carolina, Black children accounted for over 33% of maltreatment cases in 2021.
Nearly 98% of child maltreatment victims were neglected, with nearly five percent of those victims also experiencing emotional abuse, medical neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse in addition to overall neglect.
The average length of stay in foster care for children in North Carolina was just over 14 months, according to state DHHS data. The percentage of white children who were waiting to be adopted in 2021 was 52%, and for Black children, the percentage was 28.2%
However, 54.5% of children adopted in 2021 were white, while only 19.7% of those adoptions were for Black children. From 2020 to 2021, NCDHHS reported 89.7% of children who exit the system don’t have a recurring incident within 12 months. The percentage of those who experienced a recurrence once or more within 12 months was 10.3%, a drastic increase from the 2019 data point of 3.8%.
The way children exit the foster care system in North Carolina is split. In 2021:
- 26.6% of children were adopted
- 22.4% were placed under a guardianship
- 45.6% were reunified with their families
- 5.3% aged out or left the system due to other circumstances
COVID-19 created an increased need for foster parents across the country, and that also includes North Carolina. Alex Burnett, communications director for Mecklenburg County, says they are actively seeking out folks who would be interested in fostering one of the estimated 400 youth in Mecklenburg County’s system.
“I believe we’ve got 60 or 70 something foster families licensed here in Mecklenburg County,” Burnett explained. “There’s a lot of foster youth, we need parents … so, we’re doing a very big recruitment effort in Mecklenburg County to get [people] licensed.”
In a conversation with Qnotes publisher Jim Yarbrough, Liz Graham, the Marketing Coordinator for Public Information in Mecklenburg County confirmed that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples interested in being a part of the foster care program are encouraged to reach out. For more information, visit https://cfas.mecknc.gov/services/adoption-and-foster-care
This is the first part of a two-part series. In part two, we will dive deeper into the foster care system in Mecklenburg County and what it means to be a foster parent.