Description: The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects case level information on all children in foster care for whom state child welfare agencies have responsibility for placement, care, or supervision, and on children who are adopted under the auspices of the state's public child welfare agency.

States are required to report case-specific data on all children placed into foster care by state child welfare agency or private agencies contracted by the public welfare agency.

Population: AFCARS reports data on children placed into foster care by the state child welfare agency or private agencies contracted by the public welfare agency. As of 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care.

Periodicity: Data reported twice a year annually. Data available for 2000-2017.

(Information adapted from the publisher)

For more information, please see the Compendium of Family-Self Sufficiency Databases.