Since 2011, the NCJFCJ has published Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care Technical Assistance Bulletins, which identify national and state-level disproportionality rates. The reports have gained national attention and have been used in a number of ways by a broad spectrum of stakeholders and interested parties.
Due to the ongoing need for dialogue surrounding the most currently available statistics on disproportionality, the NCJFCJ has published an updated Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care (Fiscal Year 2013) Technical Assistance Bulletin. This Bulletin, released June 2015, utilizes the most current (2013) Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data and 2013 census population estimates data to calculate current disproportionality indexes for the nation, every state, and Washington, D.C. The Bulletin makes comparisons between 2000 and 2013 disproportionality rates to illustrate changes that have occurred in the last decade regarding the overrepresentation of children of color in the foster care system. African American and Native American disproportionality rates are illustrated in color-coded maps demonstrate trends over time.
New this year, the Bulletin identifies some of the limitations of the data to help users be more informed consumers of the information and better understand what the data mean and do not mean.