Unstable conditions at home can cause infants and toddlers to be placed in out-of-home care.
The denominator is the number of infants and toddlers ages 0-2 in the population. The numerator is the number of infants and toddlers who were removed from home and placed in foster care.
These indicators can be disaggregated by race/ethnicity. Classification of infants and toddlers into racial and ethnic groups may vary from state to state, but typically a caseworker enters this information into the database. The included subgroups are non-Hispanic American Indian/ Alaska Native, non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic (of any race), non-Hispanic multi-racial, and non-Hispanic White.
Sources:
Children’s Bureau Administration on Children, Youth and Families. (2021). Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Foster Care File 2020, Version 1 [Data set]. National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN). https://doi.org/10.34681/PGQ6-1Y26
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. (2021). Annual state resident population estimates for 6 race groups (5 race alone groups and two or more races) by age, sex, and Hispanic origin: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021. https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-state-detail.html