Report Finds California Foster Youth Beat National Average in High School Completion 

Child Trends has released an array of child welfare factsheets based on data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2015. The factsheets on Transition-Age Youth in Foster Care indicate that a total of 113,829 transition-age youth (TAY) (16- to 21-year-olds) were in foster care in FFY 2015, with 18,277 (16%) in California.

According to the analysis, California’s rate of high school completion for foster youth at age 19 (73%) and 21 (84%) were higher than the national average for foster youth at age 19 and 21 (56% and 76%, respectively), however lower than California’s general population at age 19 and 21 (88% and 90%, respectively).

In California, nearly half (47%) of TAY in foster care experienced one to two placements (compared to 45% in the U.S.), 22 percent had experienced three or four placements (compared to 21% in the U.S.) and 31 percent had experienced 5 or more placements (compared to 33% in the U.S.).

To view the factsheet on Transition-Age Youth in Foster Care for California, follow this LINK. For the U.S. factsheet, follow this LINK. To view factsheets by state or for the U.S. on the other topics by Child Trends, including adoption, child maltreatment, foster care and kinship caregiving, follow this LINK.