A selection of The Imprint’s most impactful stories from the past year
The number of youth in foster care had already declined in the United States when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. That year, it plummeted from a total of 425,974 to 407,332, with some fearing that the drop was less about improved child safety and more about the absence of adults outside the family who might report their concerns to the CPS hotline.
But the federal tally of foster care declined in 2021, and then again in 2022. While the 2023 report is not out yet, The Imprint’s own data collected directly from states shows that the number continued to decline in that year as well.
In 2024, The Imprint reported on several legislative, policy and advocacy efforts aimed at preventing the use of foster care in as many child welfare cases as possible, including:
-A Texas law that changed the definition of neglect in child welfare code.
-Bipartisan efforts in Congress to separate poverty from neglect.
–Second chances for Minnesota mothers who previously had lost parental rights to children.-A movement in New York City to narrow the front door.
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