Illinois
What Illinois 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
Illinois vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in Illinois in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | Illinois | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 166,821 | 61.8per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 94,55456.7% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 72,26743.3% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 160,006 | 59.3per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 31,611 | 11.7per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 66 | 2.45per 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 Illinois does not report
For the measures on this page, Illinois 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, Illinois, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, Illinois, 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 | 1,356 | 1,616 | 1,788 | 1,546 | 1,777 | 1,754 | 1,747 | 1,522 | 1,602 | 1,658 |
| Entered foster care | 4,648 | 4,893 | 4,929 | 4,455 | 4,843 | 5,751 | 6,709 | 7,837 | 6,944 | 5,718 |
| Exited foster care | 3,802 | 3,964 | 4,266 | 3,992 | 3,793 | 4,278 | 4,716 | 5,328 | 6,193 | 5,915 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 16,894 | 17,049 | 16,654 | 16,113 | 15,930 | 16,840 | 18,317 | 20,568 | 21,086 | 20,743 |
| Children served in foster care | 20,684 | 21,009 | 20,903 | 19,998 | 19,722 | 21,118 | 23,032 | 25,896 | 27,277 | 26,658 |
| Termination of parental rights | 1,766 | 1,638 | 1,653 | 2,522 | 2,469 | 2,292 | 2,215 | 2,065 | 2,152 | 2,660 |
| Waiting for adoption | 2,988 | 2,903 | 2,806 | 2,966 | 2,848 | 2,710 | 2,767 | 2,653 | 2,798 | 3,391 |
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 | 5,725 | 5,685 | 4,874 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 19,521 | 18,470 | 16,610 |
| Exited foster care | 6,302 | 6,626 | 6,636 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
Illinois in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
- Arming Teachers/Shooting Students (advocating for less violence and a more civil society)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 19, 2026
After the COVID19 lockdowns are lifted, and children and teachers return to the the classroom after months of fear and isolation, wouldn't it be wonderful if students and teachers do not have to replace the daily fear of a virus with the da...
- Best & Worst States For America's Children
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 19, 2026
Where does your state rank in protecting children & what can you do to make improvements. These statistics tell the stories of our best and worst states around the nation
- Part 2: The Science Behind Early Childhood Returns (ROI)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 23, 2026
The extraordinary ROI of early childhood programs stems from neurobiological and economic synergy. During ages 0–5, the brain forms 1 million neural connections per second, creating foundational skills that dictate lifelong learning, health...
- Tracking Foster Youth Into Adulthood: What Leading States Already Know
KARA reportingMike TikkanenApril 9, 2026
To understand how Child Protection Works (and doesn't work) tracking CPS/foster youth into adulthood by linking child welfare to education, work, housing, and justice data needs to happen across America. These examples show that it can be d...
- America’s Child Protection Crisis: Last Week’s Most Alarming CPS Cases and Reforms
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMarch 14, 2026
Each week, children are escaping brutal homes, being harmed in foster care, and caught in CPS systems that too often miss clear danger or punish families without proof. From multimillion‑dollar settlements and court battles in Texas, Washin...
- Education 2026 - Educating At Risk Children (what tomorrow looks like)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMarch 2, 2026
Teaching in America in 2026 means managing trauma, violence, long COVID, and historic shortages—all while trying to educate growing numbers of abused and at‑risk children. Drawing on recent data from Education Week, NCES, and school counsel...
- 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...
- Child Abuse Sad Stories (4 days in October)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 9, 2025
37% of children overall and 44% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17) 7.8 million children a year are reported to child protection services.