14 Foster Care Stats: The Importance of Foster Care in Ohio

Foster care provides children in need around the country (and the world) with a nurturing space filled with love. Without a loving foster home, many kids in care struggle in adulthood and don't have the opportunities to grow and thrive that every child deserves.

Stats are a great way to show just how important foster care is — particularly in the state of Ohio.

In the right context, they also help organizations and foster parents understand how to provide the best possible care to children in need and answer some of the most common questions that are asked.

Here are 14 important stats about foster care in Ohio. 

Number of Children in Care and Demographics

Understanding the importance of foster parents in the state of Ohio means looking at how many children are in care throughout the state.

• As of 2023, there are over 15,000 children in care in Ohio. [Foster Care Capacity]
• However, there are only around 7,300 licensed foster homes in the state. [Foster Care Capacity]
• Of the children in care in Ohio, around 41% of them are 11 years old and older. This is a crucial age group — teens need a loving home and family, too! [The Annie E. Casey Foundation]
• In Ohio, children in care are nearly split down the middle when it comes to gender. 51% are boys, and the other 49% are girls — and they all need a loving family to help them thrive! [Foster Care Capacity]
• Kinship care is prevalent in Ohio as well — just over 22% of children in care are living with a relative who isn’t their parent, such as a grandparent. [Ohio Aging]

Length of Stay

The ultimate goal of foster care is to reunite a child in care with their parents whenever possible. 

However, this isn’t always possible. Let’s look at some stats that show this point with data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).

• In Ohio, the median length of time spent in care is around 12.5 months.
• Around 66.5% of children in care are reunited with their parents.

Unfortunately, for some children in care, the reality is that they “age out” of foster care — this can lead to many struggles down the road, such as trouble finding employment or further education.

• Around 1,000 children age out of foster care in Ohio every year. [Ideastream]
• Only 60% of Ohio children in care at age 21 said that they had a high school diploma or a GED. [Ohio Capital Journal]
  • Another 46% said that they had jobs.
  • Additionally, 37% said that they were incarcerated after aging out.

On the bright side, in response to these numbers, Ohio implemented the “Bridges” program — a program devoted to helping young adults with housing and other support. In just two years, participation grew from 1,013 to 1,582!

Even with the Bridges program, these numbers show the importance of foster parents in the education of a child in care. Foster parents can make a difference by working together with teachers and other professionals to provide children in care with the school support and healthy home environment that they need! 

Foster Care Adoption in Ohio

In cases where a child in care can’t be reunited with their birth parents, adopting from foster care is one of the best ways to ensure that a child in care has a permanent place to call home.

• Of the 15,000 plus children in care in Ohio, there are over 3,000 waiting to be adopted by loving families. [SCENE]
• Around 1,200 of these children waiting for adoption are over the age of 13.

Learn More About Foster Care in Our Upcoming Webinar

Looking for more information about foster care in Ohio? If so, our upcoming webinar can give you the answers. 

By attending a Foster Parent Information Session Webinar and learning more about the fostering process, you can take the first step toward becoming a foster parent and providing a safe, loving, and supportive home for a child in need. 

Sign up for our webinar today, or get in touch with a Mentor Foster Care location near you:

• Akron Foster Care
• Canfield Foster Care
• Canton Foster Care
• Columbus Foster Care
• Elyria Foster Care
• Independence Foster Care
• Warren Foster Care
• Willoughby Hills Foster Care