Being taken away from my brothers and sisters…..they were my whole life. ..It was probably the most painful thing in the world. They told me that I would be able to see them a lot, but I was lucky to see them at all.
- Massachusetts Former Foster Youth
12,197 Massachusetts Children in Foster Care are Waiting for Reform
Children in foster care would benefit from federal financing reform, which would let states use funds flexibly to provide services before, during and after foster care. Savings could be reinvested: to reunite children with their families, place them with adoptive families, or provide guardianships when reunification and adoption are not possible.
In Massachusetts, only 9.0% of federal dollars for child welfare can be spent flexibly to serve children and families. Approximately $9.7 million dollars out of a total of $107.7 million child welfare dollars are flexible.
Who are Massachusetts' children waiting in the foster care system?
12,197 children in foster care
21.6% of foster children are between ages of 0 and 5
24.3% of foster children are between ages of 6 and 12
53.8% of foster children are between ages of 13 and 21
Average number of birthdays a child spends in foster care: 3 birthdays (31.0 months)
Nationally: 2 birthdays (28.8 months)
56% of children experience three or more foster care placements
Nationally: 42%
20.2% (2,467) of children live in group care or institutional settings
Nationally: 18.2% (93,521)
What are Massachusetts' foster children waiting for?
5,007 (41.1%) are waiting to be reunified with their birth families
Nationally: 251,020 (49.6%)
2,940 (24.1%) are waiting to be adopted
Nationally: 115,893 (22.9%)
Average time foster care children have been waiting to be adopted: 39 months
Nationally: 42 months
Where did Massachusetts' children go after leaving foster care in 2005?
6,329 children exited foster care
3,720 (58.8%) were returned to their parents
895 (14.1%) were adopted
846 (13.4%) left to live with relatives or via guardianships
773 (12.2%) "aged out" of foster care at 18 or older
95 (1.5%) left for other reasons (ran away, transferred, died)
This information is from federal AFCARS data, 2005
