Alabama
What Alabama reported to the federal government about the children in its custody and the children it investigated. Where a year says not reported, that is the record.
The funnel, FFY 2024
Alabama vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in Alabama in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | Alabama | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 25,105 | 22.1per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 24,81198.8% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 2941.2% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 34,588 | 30.5per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 11,205 | 9.9per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 36 | 3.17per 100,000 children | 2.41 |
Referrals, reports, children, and victims are four different denominators and are not interchangeable. A referral may concern more than one child; a child may appear in more than one referral; a victim is a child with a substantiated or indicated disposition. National figures are the Children's Bureau's own estimates, not sums of the state rows.
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS), Tables 2-3, 3-1, 3-3, 4-1
What Alabama does not report
For the measures on this page, Alabama reported a figure in every year covered. That is not the same as the figures being complete or comparable — see the methodology for what the federal record does not measure at all.
Maltreatment and fatalities over time (NCANDS)
Child fatalities reported to NCANDS, Alabama, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, Alabama, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child victims (substantiated or indicated)
Foster care (AFCARS)
| Measure | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adopted with public agency involvement | 532 | 544 | 512 | 503 | 504 | 714 | 738 | 816 | 794 | 772 |
| Entered foster care | 3,041 | 3,192 | 3,605 | 3,772 | 4,098 | 4,075 | 3,985 | 3,504 | 3,631 | 3,350 |
| Exited foster care | 2,888 | 2,994 | 3,244 | 3,329 | 3,379 | 3,631 | 3,958 | 3,603 | 3,741 | 3,278 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 4,435 | 4,526 | 4,745 | 5,053 | 5,637 | 5,930 | 5,783 | 5,573 | 5,341 | 5,260 |
| Children served in foster care | 7,322 | 7,520 | 7,989 | 8,381 | 9,015 | 9,561 | 9,741 | 9,175 | 9,081 | 8,538 |
| Termination of parental rights | 615 | 573 | 461 | 421 | 533 | 514 | 523 | 549 | 492 | 486 |
| Waiting for adoption | 1,084 | 1,044 | 1,020 | 1,075 | 1,272 | 1,346 | 1,688 | 1,761 | 1,675 | 1,598 |
Source: AFCARS state tables, FY2013 to FY2022
AFCARS 2020 rule, FFY2023 to FFY2025 (preliminary)
Collected under the AFCARS 2020 final rule, first effective FFY 2023. Counts include ages 0 to 23. Figures are preliminary estimates from submissions received by February 27, 2026, and states may still revise them. This series is not comparable with the FY 2013 to FY 2022 series, which was collected under the 1993 rule and counted a narrower population; this site does not join the two. Wyoming first submitted under the new rule for FFY 2024 and Washington for FFY 2025; earlier years for those states are shown as not reported.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entered foster care | 3,687 | 3,298 | 3,208 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 5,754 | 5,691 | 5,616 |
| Exited foster care | 3,339 | 3,282 | 3,218 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
Alabama in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
- School Performance, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow & What To Do
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 5, 2026
• “Since 2020, national and state test data show steep declines in foundational reading and math skills that are not bouncing back on their own. If current trends hold, by 2034 a majority of U.S. students will need remedial support, deepeni...
- COVID + ICE RAIDS Impacting America's Schools
KARA reportingMike TikkanenFebruary 26, 2026
COVID school closures and ICE raids have combined to drive U.S. reading, math, history, and civics scores to historic lows. This post outlines national NAEP data, the states with the deepest learning loss, and what these trends mean for chi...
- The Importance of Foster Youth Rights (find your State here)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 22, 2025
This article is derived from Hana Ikramuddin's excellent Imprint News Article about Fosters not being notified of their rights - Read the Imprint article here. Hana tells us the story of AIayna Ghost’s years in Foster Care from ages 7 to 18...
- What Teachers Are Facing Today and Tomorrow
KARA reportingMike TikkanenAugust 11, 2024
Teachers feel undervalued and overwhelmed. Turnover his high and a number of states are using unqualified people to fill positions.
- American Crime Costs & Statistics
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJuly 17, 2022
READ TO THE END TO LEARN THE COSTS OF CRIME IN AMERICA TODAY
- Other People's Children Are Not Society's Problem - Senator Ron Johnson
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJanuary 30, 2022
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is not alone in publicly stating the expensive and mean spirited political platform Other People's Children Are Not Society's Problem - Senator Ron Johnson
- October Is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 4, 2021
Watching your mother being beat up or raped is the same trauma as being beaten or raped to a five or nine year old. Untreated trauma lasts forever and it changes a person forever. The United Nation's-Secretary General Antonio Guterres has w...
- Minnesota Child Protection Stories, Statistics & COVID - May 2020
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJuly 26, 2020
Kids At Risk Action writes and reports on child abuse issues providing a passionate voice for Minnesota's at risk children All Adults Are the Protectors of All Children