North Carolina
What North Carolina 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
North Carolina vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in North Carolina in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | North Carolina | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 108,815 | 46.1per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 57,66053.0% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 51,15547.0% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 106,717 | 45.2per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 25,478 | 10.8per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 46 | 1.95per 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 North Carolina does not report
For the measures on this page, North Carolina 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, North Carolina, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, North Carolina, 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 | 1,222 | 1,176 | 1,311 | 1,501 | 1,528 | 1,522 | 1,546 | 1,521 | 1,317 | 1,303 |
| Entered foster care | 5,300 | 5,798 | 5,597 | 6,032 | 5,830 | 5,334 | 5,334 | 4,759 | 5,522 | 5,124 |
| Exited foster care | 4,365 | 4,486 | 4,687 | 5,126 | 4,745 | 4,720 | 4,518 | 4,062 | 4,107 | 4,119 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 9,036 | 9,859 | 10,324 | 10,561 | 10,756 | 10,216 | 10,896 | 10,643 | 11,238 | 11,258 |
| Children served in foster care | 13,401 | 14,345 | 15,011 | 15,687 | 15,501 | 14,936 | 15,414 | 14,705 | 15,345 | 15,377 |
| Termination of parental rights | 975 | 1,123 | 1,210 | 1,284 | 1,434 | 1,033 | 1,187 | 1,130 | 1,212 | 1,154 |
| Waiting for adoption | 2,172 | 2,416 | 2,739 | 2,943 | 2,929 | 2,363 | 2,824 | 2,862 | 2,946 | 2,690 |
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 | 4,984 | 5,132 | 5,206 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 10,407 | 10,503 | 11,056 |
| Exited foster care | 4,631 | 4,776 | 4,380 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
North Carolina in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
- Child Abuse Prevention In America (videos & articles)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 26, 2026
KARA reports on the issues of at risk children by curating a wide lens on child abuse and child protection. This post pulls together recent coverage from newspapers, universities, public health departments, UNICEF, the White House, and fron...
- Part 5 of 5: Crime Dollar ROI From Early Childhood Programs
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 20, 2026
ROI Early Learning programs returns include reduced crime for at-risk children. The evidence is robust across decades of research, program evaluations, and cost-benefit analyses.
- State of Foster Care In America
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 16, 2026
American Fosters are struggling. These reports from around the nation indicate a great need for more help for at risk families and safe homes for children unlucky enough to be born into toxic homes.
- 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...
- Free and Discounted Resources for Foster Youth
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJuly 28, 2025
free and discounted resources for foster and adopted children and families
- Child Abuse Sad Stories (4 days in November)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenNovember 24, 2024
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.
- New Child Fatalities Database (thank you Safe Passage for Children of MN)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 10, 2024
New Child Fatalities Database (thank you Safe Passage for Children of MN)
- Child & Youth Suicides Feb 2023 (find your state here)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMarch 11, 2023
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association have joined forces to declare a national emergency in children’s mental health, largely due to the COVID-...