Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
Investigator(s): Children's Bureau, Department of
Health and Human Services
Abstract: The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System (AFCARS) is a federally mandated data collection system
intended to provide case specific information on all children
covered by the protections of Title IV-B/E of the Social Security
Act (Section 427). Under the final AFCARS’ rule, states are required
to collect data on all adopted children who are placed by the
state’s child welfare agency or by private agencies under contract
with the public child welfare agency. States are required to collect
data on all children in foster care for whom the state child welfare
agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision. In
addition, states are encouraged to report other private adoptions
not involving the public welfare agency that are finalized in the
state.
AFCARS was designed to address policy development and program
management issues at both the state and federal levels. The data are
also useful for researchers interested in analyzing aspects of the
United States' foster care and adoption programs. Tables and other
reports summarizing the AFCARS data are available from the
Children's Bureau Web site.
AFCARS’ reporting periods extend from October 1 to September 30 of
the following year. The National Data Archive on Child Abuse and
Neglect distributes two data files for each fiscal year; one file
contains adoption data and the other foster care data. Each adoption
data file contains 37 elements that provide information on the
adopted child’s gender, race, birth date, ethnicity and prior
relationship with the adoptive parents. The date the adoption was
finalized, as well as dates parental rights were terminated,
characteristics of birth and adoptive parents, and whether the child
was placed from within the United States or from another country are
also captured. The foster care data files contain 66 elements that
provide information on child demographics including gender, birth
date, race, and ethnicity. Information about the number of previous
stays in foster care, service goals, availability for adoption,
dates of removal and discharge, funding sources, and the biological
and foster parents is also included in the foster care files.
Download Multi-Year User's Guide (Data Codebook) 1995-1999: PDF
Download Multi-Year User's Guide 2000-present:
PDF
Download Multi-Year Foster Care Codebook:
PDF
Download Multi-Year Adoption Codebook:
PDF
|
NDACAN
Dataset Number |
AFCARS Year and File Versions |
Download
Supplement |
|
168 |
2011 Adoption
Version 1a |
PDF |
|
167 |
2011
Foster Care Version 1a |
PDF |
|
164 |
2010
Adoption Version 1a |
PDF |
|
163 |
2010
Foster Care Version 1b |
PDF |
|
153 |
2009
Foster Care Version 1a |
PDF |
|
152 |
2009
Adoption Version 1a |
PDF |
|
149 |
2008
Foster Care Version 2a |
PDF |
|
148 |
2008
Adoption Version 2a |
PDF |
|
143 |
2007
Foster Care Version 2a |
PDF |
|
142 |
2007
Adoption Version 2a |
PDF |
|
137 |
2006
Foster Care Version 2a |
PDF |
|
136 |
2006
Adoption Version 2a |
PDF |
|
131 |
2005
Foster Care Version 3a |
PDF |
|
130 |
2005
Adoption Version 3a |
PDF |
|
124 |
2004
Foster Care Version 4a |
PDF |
|
123 |
2004
Adoption Version 3a |
PDF |
|
160 |
2003
Adoption Version 4a |
PDF |
|
118 |
2003
Foster Care Version 5a |
PDF |
|
105 |
2002
Adoption Version 3a |
PDF |
|
105 |
2002
Foster Care Version 5a |
PDF |
|
101 |
2001
Adoption Version 3a |
PDF |
|
101 |
2001
Foster Care Version 3a |
PDF |
|
97 |
2000
Adoption Version 4a |
PDF |
|
97 |
2000
Foster Care Version 3a |
PDF |
|
91 |
1999
Adoption Version 5a |
PDF |
|
91 |
1999
Foster Care Version 4a |
PDF |
| 86 |
1998
Adoption Version 5a |
PDF |
| 86 |
1998
Foster Care Version 6a |
PDF |
| 82 |
1997 Adoption
and Foster Care 1a |
PDF |
| 80 |
1996 Adoption
and Foster Care 1a |
PDF |
| 73 |
1995 Adoption
and Foster Care 1a |
PDF |
Relevant links:
Tables and other reports summarizing the AFCARS data are available from the Children's
Bureau Web page:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm
Presentation for states about AFCARS data collection:
http://www.xtria.com/nrccwdt/nrc_conf/pres2005/pre_conf/pre_conf_p01.html
List of AFCARS publications:
AFCARS Publications
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