Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care 2013 Technical Assistance Bulletin

Since 2011, the NCJFCJ has published Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care Technical Assistance Bulletins, which identify the disproportionality rates for all state and select Model Courts across the Country. 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 Technical Assistance Bulletin. This Bulletin, released May 2013, utilizes the most current (2011) Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS) data and 2011 census data estimates to calculate current disproportionality indexes for every state and select Model Courts across the country. The Bulletin  makes comparisons between 2000 and 2011 disproportionality rates to illustrate changes that have occurred in the last decade regarding overrepresentation of children of color in the foster care system and illustrates the differences in disproportionality rates (when data are available) between the Model Courts and their respective states.