A new Child Trends analysis of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) shows that the percentage of foster youth who emancipated from foster care is at its lowest point in the past decade. In federal fiscal year (FY) 2023, 81 percent of foster youth ages 18 to 21 emancipated from foster care, compared to 82 percent in FY 2013 and the decade’s peak of 89 percent in FY 2021. Emancipation happens when a young person reaches the age of majority according to law in their state—most commonly due to age or marriage. Young people who emancipate from foster care leave without the permanent connections to supportive adults or family that are beneficial to all young adults.
After rising through 2021, emancipation among foster youth ages 18 to 21 dropped to 10-year lows in 2023
Source: Child Trends’ analysis of data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). The figure includes young people ages 18 through 21 who exited foster care to emancipation in each federal fiscal year.
Decreasing levels of emancipation may signal that child welfare systems are better meeting the needs of older youth in care through greater efforts to connect them with permanent legal families (reunification, adoption, or guardianship) or, when permanency is not an option, by providing additional supports and services through enrollment in extended foster care. Extended foster care offers developmentally appropriate services and supports tailored to foster youth ages 18 to 21 (or 23 in some states) while they progress toward common young adult milestones like educational attainment and career goals.
Interested in working with Child Trends on tracking trends in emancipation and other child welfare indicators? Contact Alaina Flannigan, PhD, at aflannigan@childtrends.org.