County-specific title

The caseload counts are based on the total number of children in foster care under DSS custody as counted on the last day of each month. Caseload statistics are provided on a monthly basis. The number of children in foster care under DSS custody is further broken down by the following categories: gender (female and male), age (0-5 years, 6-12 years, 13-17 years, and 18+ years), and race (White, African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Other), and Hispanic ethnicity (Hispanic, not Hispanic). The current placement (relative, foster home, group home, hospital, emergency shelter, court approved placement, other placement) information is provided in a separate table.

The caseload counts are based on the total number of unique children in foster care under DSS custody during a particular 12-month period. Caseload statistics are provided on a rolling quarter basis. We provide gender information as well. Per 1000 rates are calculated by using the number of children in custody and the census estimate for that group of children.

This page includes data about the number and characteristics of children aging out of foster care each year. The numbers of children aging out are included for the calendar year (January to December), federal fiscal year (October to September), state fiscal year (July to June), as well as April to March. This page includes gender, race, and age at which the child first entered foster care.

There is also information about the number of children who experienced one or multiple placement authorities (PAs). One PA indicates that a child was in foster care only once. Multiple PAs indicates that a child entered and left foster care more than one time. In other words, he or she had one or more re-entries into foster care.

Finally, there is information about the length of time spent in foster care for children who aged out. The data include the number of years in care and median number of days in care. IMPORTANT: These data are based on the total time (days) that a child spent in foster care, including all PAs. For example, if a child had two PAs, then the years in care and median days in care would be calculated based on adding the days in those two PAs together to create the total time in care. Further, these data represent all days in care, even those spent after they turned 18 years old under the CARS agreement. This method in distinct from other length of stay data on the website which is based on a child's first PA only.

This page provides earnings data for children aging out of foster care. The wage information comes from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission (NC-ESC) and only includes covered employment in NC. It does not include earnings from military, federal employment, agriculture, work in other states, or under-the-table work. Keep in mind that the likelihood that an individual moves out of state increases with the passage of each year. Moreover, some youth who aged out may not participate in the workforce because they are attending post-secondary school, or for other reasons, such as disability, illness, or providing care to young children.

NC-ESC records wages for each quarter of the year. Wage information is available from the first quarter of 2000 until now. Data are shown beginning with the number of children who had earnings in the quarter that they aged out. For example, a youth who aged out in January 2006 and had recorded wages in the January 2006 to March 2006 quarter would be counted in the "Number of children who had earnings in the quarter that they aged out" column. The other columns include the number of earners for 1 year after aging out of foster care, and subsequent years up to 7 years after aging out.

A year is comprised of four full quarters of wage data. Four full quarters after emancipation are used and do not include the quarter of exit because children leave at different months in the quarter. For example, a youth might emancipate in January 2006, while another youth will leave in February or March 2006. Both youths have left in the first quarter of 2006, but by excluding this partial first quarter and starting the first year after emancipation for both youth in the second quarter, they each have a full 12 months to show earnings after leaving care. The first full quarter is the quarter after emancipation. For example, a youth who aged out in February 2006 (the first quarter of 2006) and had recorded wages between April 2006 to March 2007 (second quarter of 2006 to first quarter of 2007) would be included in the "Number of children who had earnings the 1st year after aging out" column. Depending on whether the youth showed any wages in the first quarter of 2006, the youth would be counted in the "Number of children who had earnings in the quarter that they aged out" column. Note that if the youth had earnings in January 2006, this is before emancipation. So those with earnings in the quarter that they aged out could have had wages before or after emancipation.

Earners are defined as those who show any income during the full year (even as little as $5 per year).