Measure
The number of children exiting foster care, including their demographics, during the fiscal year.
How This Is Measured
The total count of children who have exited foster care during the fiscal year.
An exit occurs when Family Court issues a court order reunifying the child with their biological parent, finalizing a guardianship or adoption, or closing the child welfare case due to the child turning 21 years old. A child who is missing, absent or abducted from their foster care placement has not exited from foster care.
Why This Matters
Knowing the demographics and number of children exiting foster care helps the agency to make informed decisions. Examples include identifying age groups where additional resources are needed to facilitate permanency and being able to forecast if the child welfare population is decreasing or increasing based on the ratio of entries to exits.