There are 81,174 children in foster care in the state of California.

28.6% of foster children are between ages of 0 and 5
28.5% of foster children are between ages of 6 and 12
41.7% of foster children are between ages of 13 and 21

Average amount of time a child spends in foster care (36.7) months
Nationally: 2 years (28.8 months)

46% of children experience three or more foster care placements
Nationally: 42%

17.5% (14,237) of children live in group care or institutional settings
Nationally: 18.2% (93,521)

What are California's foster children waiting for?

43,426 (53.5%) are waiting to be reunified with their birth families
Nationally: 251,020 (49.6%)

4,180 (5.1%) are waiting to be adopted
Nationally: 115,893 (22.9%)

Average time foster care children have been waiting to be adopted: 44 months
Nationally: 42 months

Where did California's children go after leaving foster care in 2005?

42,589 children exited foster care
25,913 (60.8%) were returned to their parents
7,565 (17.8%) were adopted
1,599 (3.8%) left to live with relatives or via guardianships
4,393 (10.3%) "aged out" of foster care at 18 or older
3,034 (7.1%) left for other reasons (ran away, transferred, died)