DRA

April 13, 2020

Black Children

Continue to Be

Disproportionately Represented in Foster Care

The share of children who are black and in foster care remains much smaller than it was

nearly decade ago. Even so, black children are still overrepresented among youth in foster

care relative to the general child population.

In 2018, black children represented 14% of the total child population but 23% of all kids in

foster care.

By comparison: White kids represent 50% of the nation’s child population and only 44% of its

foster care population. Latino and Hispanic children represent 25% of kids nationwide yet just

21% of all kids in foster care. And Asian and Native Hawaiian kids make up 5% of the U.S. child

population but only 1% of its foster care population. In other words, these three groups are

under-represented in foster care when compared to their presence in the total child

population.

From 2016 to 2018, the data on kids in foster care, broken down by race and ethnicity, has

remained the same. This population has been 44% white, 23% black, 21% Hispanic or Latino, 2%

American Indian and 1% Asian or Native Hawaiian for the last three years, according to Child

Trends, which analyzed data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting

System.

This statistical stasis masks, to a degree, a longer-term trend: the share of black children in

care steadily declined from 30% in 2009 before stabilizing at 23% in 2016. During this same

time period, the percentage of white kids in care rose from 40% to 44%.

These figures only cover children in the U.S. foster care system — that is, boys and girls ages 0

to 17. Many states extend foster care benefits to young adults, who are not included in this

update.

Closer looks at the total foster care population nationally and in the states and of foster care

children by age group and gender can also be found here on the KIDS COUNT Data Center.

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