Stats & Sources
County of Los Angeles
22,000 children are currently in foster care in Los Angeles County.
1,600 children in foster care are awaiting adoptive families.*
Nearly 50% all children in foster care in California reside in Los Angeles County.
29% of California children living in poverty are in Los Angeles County.**
More than 38% of the population of Los Angeles County live in economic hardship.
16% (1.6 million people) in L.A. live below the federal poverty limit.**
Victims of child abuse are 42% more likely to be abused and neglected again.
Those between infancy and age 3 are most likely to experience a recurrence.*
Nearly half of foster youth have learning disabilities or delays.
Only 58% of young people in foster care graduate from high school.
Fewer than 8% achieve a bachelor’s degree by age 26, compared with 46% of the general population.***
Half of youth who have aged out of foster care end up homeless or incarcerated.
Nearly 2,000 young adults 18-21 are enrolled in extended foster care in L.A..
Teen girls in foster care are 2.5 times more likely to become pregnant by age 19.
Half of young men aging out of foster care have become fathers, compared to 19% of their peers who were not in foster care.
75% of young women in foster care report at least one pregnancy by age 21,
compared to only one third of those in the general population.Eighty-seven percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have learning disabilities.
By grade 11, only 20% of students in foster care are proficient in English.
Only 5% are proficient in math.
75% of students in foster care are performing below grade level.
By third grade 80% have had to repeat a grade.
*from CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)
**from Catholic Charities
*** John Burton Advocates for Youth, ‘Foster Youth Outpace Peers in College Aid Applications for First Time’ (2019)