Child Welfare Agencies Reported Spending $34.3 Billion In State Fiscal Year 2022

Spending by child welfare agencies increased slightly over a decade to a total of $34.3 billion during state fiscal year (SFY) 2022, according to a new national survey conducted by Child Trends. Between 2012 and 2022, child welfare spending increased by 3%, despite a 3% reduction from SFY 2020 to SFY 2022 when foster care caseloads declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In federal fiscal year 2022, an estimated 4.3 million referrals for suspected child abuse or neglect of approximately 7.5 million children were received by child welfare agencies, the report stated. Approximately 570,000 individual children . . .