<P> In 2010, there were 408,425 children in foster care in the United States . 48% were in nonrelative foster homes, 26% were in relative foster homes, 9% in institutions, 6% in group homes, 5% on trial home visits (where the child returns home while under state supervision), 4% in preadoptive homes, 2% had run away, and 1% in supervised independent living . Of 254,114 who exited foster care in 2010, 51% were reunited with parents or caretakers, 21% were adopted, 11% were emancipated (as minors or by aging out), 8% went to live with another relative, 6% went to live with a guardian, and 3% had other outcomes . Of these children, the median length of time spent in foster care was 13.5 months . 13% were in care for less than 1 month, 33% for 1 to 11 months, 24% for 12 to 23 months, 12% for 24 to 35 months, 10% for 3 to 4 years, and 7% for 5 years or more . </P> <P> California has the largest population of foster care youth in the nation, with 55,218 children in the system as of 2012 . This is over twice as many as the 20,529 foster children in New York, the state with the second largest population of foster youth, had by the end of 2012 . Over 30 percent of California foster youth reside in Los Angeles County, amounting to 18,523 children . Children can be removed from their homes and placed into the foster care system for a variety of reasons, but, in California, 81.2 percent of children were removed because of neglect . Even after being placed in the foster care system, however, these children might not find the kind of care or stability they need . Girls in foster care have been shown to have marginally higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the general population of California . Children in foster care also have to face disproportionately high rates of mental illnesses as some studies have shown that as much as 47.9 percent of foster care youth showed signs of serious emotional or behavioral issues . After "aging out" of the system at age 18, research has shown that previous foster youth still face difficult instability in their lives . As much as 30 percent of previous foster children are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder . Only about 50 percent graduate from high school and less than 10 percent graduate from college . A study focused on foster care alumni in Los Angeles County showed that about 65 percent leave foster care without a place to live and 25 percent are incarcerated by age 20 . Despite these difficulties, California is working toward easing the transition for foster youth through programs and legislation like the California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010, which expanded upon similar federal legislation and increased the age limit for receiving foster care benefits . </P> <P> A law passed by Congress in 1961 allowed AFDC (welfare) payments to pay for foster care which was previously made only to children in their own homes . This made aided funding foster care for states and localities, facilitating rapid growth . In some cases, the state of Texas paid mental treatment centers as much as $101,105 a year per child . Observers of the growth trend note that a county will only continue to receive funding while it keeps the child in its care . This may create a "perverse financial incentive" to place and retain children in foster care rather than leave them with their parents, and incentives are sometimes set up for maximum intervention . </P> <P> Findings of a grand jury investigation in Santa Clara, California: </P>

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