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FosterData

About

The clearest picture of foster care, from the data itself.

Every state has an agency that runs foster care, and every one publishes reports. FosterData reads them, checks them, and turns them into stories, maps and tools anyone can use and cite.

Official sources only

We read the reports and datasets published by federal and state agencies. Third-party summaries can point us to an angle, but every claim cites the agency or dataset directly.

Every number travels with its source

Dataset, coverage and as-of date go with every stat, chart, CSV and embed. Preliminary monthly figures are labeled preliminary; finalized annual data anchors comparisons.

No placeholders, ever

Texas and Louisiana are live. The other 48 states are listed honestly as coming soon, with no estimated, scraped or borrowed numbers.

Local detail persuades

Statewide and national numbers set the scene. County and parish detail shows that the need is close to home, and that there is something nearby to do about it.

Pressure signals, not blame scores

A high county count reflects population, need and local practice. We never present raw counts as a ranking of any county, agency or family, and we say what a comparison does not prove.

Don’t sugarcoat. Don’t streak.

Hard data runs, including deaths and harm. But no topic is allowed to dominate the feed: we track the tone of recent pieces so heavy stories never run back to back, and inspiration stays prominent.

Data is just a heartbeat in digital form.

Help us turn data into dignity for every child.

Sources we use

How articles are made

Each article starts from a specific official report or dataset. Drafts are written with AI assistance, and every figure links back to the source it came from. Each article has one category, one primary state and several tags, so you can browse it like a blog.

Articles publish directly to this site. Posts to our social channels (@fosteradoptsupport) are reviewed and approved by a person before they go out, and we watch the mix so the feed stays honest and hopeful.

Stories and privacy

We share stories of foster parents, kin, caseworkers and alumni only with their consent. We never publish identifying details about a child or youth in care.

When we describe how to become a foster parent, we link to the state’s own official instructions and note the date we checked them, because a wrong first step costs trust.

Corrections

Agencies revise their data, and we make mistakes. When a figure changes or we get one wrong, we update it and note the change on the article. If you spot something, message us at @fosteradoptsupport with the article link and the official source.

Why official numbers sometimes disagree →