100% PUBLIC DATA

Sources & Methodology

Every number on this site comes from official U.S. government sources. No speculation. No anonymous claims. Just receipts.

All Primary Sources

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AFCARS (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System)

Official federal data on children in foster care — entries, exits, demographics, and aggregate outcomes. The primary source for the 328,947 total and 22,097 infant figures used on this site.

Federal Dashboard + Reports·May 2025 (FY2024 data)
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HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) Audit

Definitive audit identifying 74,353 missing episodes from foster care (2018–2020). Found 69% were never properly reported to the national system. The single most important document on this site.

Official Federal Audit·July 2023 (still the definitive national audit)
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National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)

23,160+ reports of children missing from foster care in 2024. Source for the 1-in-7 trafficking risk estimate for missing foster youth.

Annual Report·2025 Impact Report
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NCANDS / Child Maltreatment Reports

Substantiated maltreatment rates while children are in foster care (0.9% national average). Source for state-by-state maltreatment comparisons.

Federal Annual Report·2024 Report
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CDC National Vital Statistics System

U.S. births (~3.6 million per year). Establishes the starting point of the pipeline visualization.

Federal Vital Statistics·2025 Provisional Data
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Casey Family Programs & State Audits

Foster home turnover rates (30–50% annually), foster parent perpetrator data, and placement stability research.

Research Reports·2024–2025
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This website was built to make the truth unavoidable. Every statistic is directly traceable to the federal government's own publications.

Last updated: February 2026

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