Foster Care By the Numbers
International Christian Adoptions
The statistics are sobering, and they paint a picture of how urgent the need is to find stable, loving homes for children and youth in the foster care system.
None of these things have to happen. You can be part of the solution
- There are currently more than 424,000 children in the foster care system in the United States.
- The average age of a foster child is 8 years old.
- More than 30,000 teens age out of foster care every year and most have nowhere to go. No family support. No home.
- After foster youth reach the age of 18:
- 20% instantly become homeless
- 70% will rely on government assistance
- Half will have no earnings and lack the skills and resources to find employment
- Some will be trafficked
- 7 out of 10 girls will be pregnant by the age of 21
Foster care exits by percentage:
- 54% are reunified with their biological families
- 26% are adopted
- 11% are transitioned to a legal guardianship
- 8% are emancipated
- 1% run away, die or other result