Foster Care Facts
The numbers behind the American foster care system, and one story inside them.
Foster Care in America
Behind every number is a story that isn't over.
Many of the readers this devotional is written for have lived part of these numbers. A few facts to keep the whole picture in view.
331,747
children in the U.S. foster care system
Fiscal year 2025, from federal AFCARS data. Some states are still refining their submissions, so treat this as a close estimate.
34,817
children waiting for a family to adopt them
Fiscal year 2024 federal data: children whose parents' rights have ended and whose plan is adoption. HHS no longer publishes an official "waiting" count, so this is the closest measure.
One of those numbers
I entered foster care around the age of twelve and lived in more than fifteen different homes. One of those families tried to adopt me, but in the end it fell through.
At sixteen, the court allowed me to make my own decision, and I chose to leave the system and be emancipated. I went back to my family for a short while, took a full-time job, and began learning how to support myself.
I know what it is to be one of these numbers. I also know the story didn't end there.
Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, AFCARS Dashboard (fiscal year 2025 preliminary count in care; fiscal year 2024 waiting figure), as summarized by the Christian Alliance for Orphans and the Adoption Council of America. Official data: acf.gov AFCARS.
Read the story that didn't end there.
Your Story Isn't Over is written for readers who have lived chapters they never chose.
About the Devotional