2,197 District of Columbia children were in foster care at the end of 2007

123 foster children (5.6%) were between ages of 0 and 1; Nationally: 13%
286 foster children (13%) were between ages of 2 and 5; Nationally: 21.2%
502 foster children (22.8%) were between ages of 6 and 12; Nationally: 27.3%
1,286 foster children (58.5%) were between ages of 13 and 21; Nationally: 38.5%
District of Columbia children spent an average of 51 months in foster care; Nationally: 27.5 months
638 children (29%) were in foster care for more than five years; Nationally: 12%
318 children (14%) were living with relatives in foster care; Nationally: 25%

District of Columbia's foster care caseload by race/ethnicity in 2007

2,047 children in foster care (93.2%) were non-Hispanic black; Nationally: 31.6%
16 children in foster care (0.7%) were non-Hispanic white; Nationally: 40.5%
0 children in foster care (0.0%) were American Indian/Alaskan Natives; Nationally: 1.9%
2 children in foster care (0.1%) were Asian; Nationally: 0.6%
1 children in foster care (0.0%) were Hawaiian; Nationally: .2%
20 children in foster care (0.9%) were multiple races or ethnicities; Nationally: 4.3%
100 children in foster care (4.6%) were Hispanic (any race); Nationally: 18.5%
11 children in foster care (0.5%) were denoted Other; Nationally: 2.4%

Number of different placements in which a foster child lived in District of Columbia

361 children in foster care (16.4%) experienced just 1 placement; Nationally: 34%
436 children in foster care (19.8%) experienced 2 placements; Nationally: 24%
342 children in foster care (15.6%) experienced 3 placements; Nationally: 14%
1,039 children in foster care (47.3%) experienced 4 or more placements; Nationally: 27%

560 District of Columbia children were waiting for adoption in 2007

42 foster children (8%) were waiting to be adopted between ages of 0 and 1; Nationally: 13%
129 foster children (23%) were between ages of 2 and 5; Nationally: 29%
224 foster children (40%) were between ages of 6 and 12; Nationally: 35%
165 foster children (29%) were between ages of 13 and 17; Nationally: 23%

Where did District of Columbia's children go after leaving foster care in 2007?

746 children in District of Columbia exited foster care in 2007
271 children (36%) were returned to their parents; Nationally: 52%
148 children (20%) were adopted; Nationally: 18%
162 children (22%) left to live with relatives or via guardianships; Nationally: 15%
157 children (21%) "aged out" of foster care at 18 or older; Nationally: 10%
11 children (1%) left for other reasons (ran away, transferred, died); Nationally 5%

District of Columbia IV-E foster care payments and expenditures

897 children in District of Columbia child welfare system are eligible for Title IV-E federal foster care reimbursement with an average monthly payment of $3,813 per child.
Title IV-E Foster Care expenditures 2006: $5,512,725
Title IV-E Adoption expenditures 2006: $1,652,505
For more information about your state's child welfare financing, please visit the State Child Welfare Policy Database at www.childwelfarepolicy.org.
*Except for the expenditure data, this information is from federal AFCARS data, 2007