information for practice

Thousands of foster children and the states responsible for them are losing the critical help they need from the federal government. In 1998, 53 percent of the children in foster care were eligible for federal support, but, by 2005, the percentage had declined to 46 percent—an estimated 35,000 fewer eligible foster children. The number eligible for federal financial assistance is projected to continue to decline by approximately 5,000 children each year. The decrease in the number of children eligible for federal foster care has translated into an estimated $1.9 billion loss in federal foster care support to the states between 1998 and 2004. Because states are required by federal law to protect children from harm and provide foster care services when necessary, states must make up the difference. And as states devote more of their resources to foster care, fewer funds are available to provide the range of other services children and families need. Many factors affect the number of children eligible for federal foster care assistance, including changes in state policies and in the demographics of a state’s foster care population, but the decline is due in part to a federal eligibility policy known as the lookback.