➡ From Child Welfare Information Gateway NJ:
US: Emancipation from Foster Care: A Cruel Joke (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 15, 2016
The average length of time spent in foster care in 1999 was 32 months. By 2014, the average time had dropped to 19.5 months. Progress, but still unacceptably high. Much more unsettling, however, are the statistics on emancipation. In this same time period, the number of children aging out to a life on their own has increased from 18,964 to 22,392, despite a smaller foster care population.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/emancipation-foster-care-cruel-joke/16971