Indicator: 17 - Children and Youth in State Care or Custody

Why This Is Important

Placement in the State's custody is an indicator of family dysfunction so severe that a child cannot remain safely in the home. Placement most commonly occurs either because a member of a household has physically or sexually abused a child, or because a child's caretaker(s) has severely neglected a child. Youth occasionally come into Maine Department of Human Services care when parents or other legal guardians place them voluntarily in that care as part of that parent's short-term plan to resume full care of the child(ren). This is an important indicator for communities as they consider how well families are able to nurture their children and what supports are needed and available to them.

Where We Stand

The chart above shows how many children and youth were in the care/custody of the State of Maine as of January 1 in each year. Between 1993 and 2000, this number grew steadily. Since then, it has leveled off; 3,190 were in custody on January 16, 2001, and this number fell slightly to 3,158 on January 15, 2002.

In general, a slight majority of the Maine young people in care are male, and most are white. About 1 in 6 is younger than 4 years old, a little less than a third is between ages 4 and 10, and 1 in 14 is over age 17.

Data Sources and Context

The data source for this indicator is the Bureau of Child and Family Services, Maine Department of Human Services. These numbers include some children who are in custody for only a short time, often only a few days.