Keeping Kids in Families: New Data on Trends in Foster Care Placements

mainechildrensalliance • April 2, 2019
Maine Making Strides in Keeping Children in Foster Care Connected to Families
New 10-year Data Snapshot with State-by-State Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation Shows Progress in Maine and in the Nation
AUGUSTA, MAINE
the report finds that nationwide care systems placed 86 percent of these children in families in 2017, compared with 81 percent in 2007
In the last decade, Maine’s rate of placements in families increased 14 percentage points, up from 80 percent in 2007
  • For teenagers, progress in family placements has been elusive. Nationwide, more than a third of young people in child welfare systems who are 13 and older lived in group placements in 2017 ― the same proportion as 10 years ago.
  • A breakdown by race shows that progress is highly uneven. Systems increased the placement rate of white youth in family homes from 81 percent to 87 percent, but outcomes for Latino and African-American children improved by just 3 percent, and by just 1 percentage point for Asian-American children.
The Maine Children’s Alliance joins the Casey Foundation in calling on child welfare systems to use the opportunities afforded by Family First to increase available services to stabilize families
  • Prioritize recruitment of kin and foster families for older youth and youth of color in recruitment planning;
  • Engage families in decision making, since kin and foster parents should be treated as important members of a child’s team;
  • Require director approval for non-kin placements.
Release Information
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