Adoption & Foster Care

This short research summary highlights findings to date from an ASPE study seeking to understand how states currently use treatment foster care to serve youth with serious emotional and behavioral disorders in the least restrictive possible setting.

This paper highlights the characteristics and experiences of the approximately 2.3 million U.S. children who live with neither biological nor adoptive parents, but instead live with relatives or non-relatives in foster care or less formal arrangements outside the foster care system.

This research brief highlights the gains the foster care system has made in safely discharging youth from foster care in a timely manner, particularly those entering foster care for the first time. For nearly two decades federal policies have emphasized the importance of reducing the lengths of stay in

This ASPE Research Brief presents analyses of the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health describing the characteristics, health and well-being of children who live with neither of their biological parents. The analysis compares children living with neither of their biological parents to children living with one or two biological parents.

ABOUT THIS ISSUE BRIEF

As the number of immigrant children and children of immigrants in the U.S. has grown, child welfare agencies are serving an increasingly diverse spectrum of families, including many with at least one parent or some children who were born outside the U.S.

Typically, one or two parents and a child – along with any siblings – comprise a family, and the parents’ interactions with the child are a primary driver of the child’s development. Yet nearly 4 percent of U.S. children (nearly 3 million) live in homes with no parent present.

Typically, one or two parents and a child–along with any siblings–comprise a family, and the parents’ interactions with the child are a primary driver of the child’s development. Yet nearly 4 percent of U.S. children (nearly 3 million) live in homes with no parent present.

This report draws lessons from 30 states’ implementation of existing optional Medicaid coverage for youth who age out of foster care and applies them to decisions and plans states will consider as they implement new ACA coverage that goes into effect in 2014.