Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care, 2012

In May 2011, the NCJFCJ published its first Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care Technical Assistance Bulletin, which identified the disproportionality rates for all state and select Model Courts across the Country. Since that time, the report has gained national attention and has 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 Technical Assistance Bulletin. This Bulletin, released May 2012, utilizes 2010 Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS) and 2010 census data to calculate current disproportionality indexes for every state and select Model Courts across the country. The Bulletin also makes comparisons between 2000 and 2010 disproportionality rates to illustrate changes that have occurred in the last decade regarding overrepresentation of children of color in the foster care system.