Child Welfare Programs

Every year, thousands of young men and women age out of the foster care system lacking the stability and life skills to prepare them to live as productive adults. Many of these youths will find themselves without a high school degree and unable to secure gainful employment, which can lead to homelessness, poverty and entry into the criminal justice system. This session highlighted innovative approaches states are taking to protect foster care children and provide hope to those who find themselves rapidly aging out of the foster care system.

This Act directs the state housing and development authority to determine the number of homeless people, including homeless children, in the state, and the number of homeless people in the state who are not residents of the state; oversee and encourage a regional homeless delivery system; and facilitate the dissemination of information to help people access local resources related to homelessness, housing, and community development.

This report includes bar charts for outcome indicators for two major child welfare programs administered by states—adoption and foster care.  This includes the nubmer of children per thousand in the foster care system who were victims of maltreatment by a foster parent or facility staff member; the percent of children reunited with their families in less than 12 months; the median time to adoption from time of latest removal from the home; the percent of children in the foster care system for less than 12 months that had two or fewer placements; the percent of children in the foster care system for 12 to 23 months that had two or fewer placements; the percent of children in the foster care system for 24 or more months that had two or fewer placements; and the percent of children that re-entered foster care in less than 12 months of being reunited with their families.