This brief analyzes Title IV-E foster care program reported expenditures and reimbursements using the most recent years of publicly available claims data (from fiscal years 2019 to 2023). The content explores administrative costs, identifies how average monthly costs per child have changed over time, and provides a snapshot of the variation seen across states in FY2023. Key findings include:
- From FY2019 to FY2023, administrative costs – and not other program costs like payments to foster parents – have been the largest driver of Title IV-E foster care reported expenditures and reimbursements.
- In-placement administration costs were the largest category of administrative expenses – over $1 billion larger than any other expense category – during this period.
- For pre-placement administration costs, nearly all Title IV-E foster care reported expenditures (97 to 99 percent) have been spent on case planning and management, with only a small portion (one to three percent) spent on legal representation.
- Average monthly administrative expenses per child have increased 40 percent from FY2019 to FY2023 as the average monthly number of children served through administrative-related Title IV-E foster care activities has declined; further, total administrative reported expenditures have remained relatively stable during this time period.
Per child in FY2023, states and territories had, on average, monthly reported expenditures of $2,576 on in-placement administration (range of $263 to $10,041), $869 on pre-placement administration (range of $0 to $7,210), and $530 (range of $0 to $8,555) on other administration (runaway and sex trafficking prevention) costs. The average monthly combined administrative reported expenditures per child ranged across states from $420 to $12,659.
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