North Dakota
North Dakota is one of four states (with New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) whose screening data was excluded from national estimates in Child Maltreatment 2023 because both screened-in and screened-out referral counts could not be provided.
The funnel, FFY 2024
North Dakota vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in North Dakota in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | North Dakota | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 3,202 | Not reported | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 3,202100.0% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | Not reported | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 5,497 | 29.7per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 677 | 3.7per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 2 | 1.08per 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 Dakota does not report
A figure North Dakota did not report is shown as a labeled gap everywhere it would appear on this site — never as a zero, never as a blank cell. A state that does not report a number has not achieved zero of it.
- Referral rate · counts per 1,000 childrenNot reportedFFY 2024
- Screened out · counts referralsNot reportedFFY 2024
Maltreatment and fatalities over time (NCANDS)
Child fatalities reported to NCANDS, North Dakota, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, North Dakota, 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 | 104 | 96 | 133 | 132 | 162 | 172 | 197 | 197 | 229 | 225 |
| Entered foster care | 951 | 999 | 1,037 | 1,075 | 1,086 | 1,165 | 987 | 990 | 950 | 893 |
| Exited foster care | 785 | 813 | 976 | 991 | 970 | 1,043 | 1,020 | 901 | 960 | 801 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 1,227 | 1,365 | 1,359 | 1,407 | 1,495 | 1,576 | 1,502 | 1,556 | 1,510 | 1,547 |
| Children served in foster care | 2,012 | 2,178 | 2,332 | 2,388 | 2,461 | 2,613 | 2,518 | 2,451 | 2,461 | 2,346 |
| Termination of parental rights | 135 | 153 | 172 | 242 | 284 | 332 | 333 | 333 | 337 | 343 |
| Waiting for adoption | 237 | 262 | 296 | 355 | 396 | 429 | 421 | 443 | 416 | 431 |
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 | 765 | 743 | 751 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 1,289 | 1,143 | 1,102 |
| Exited foster care | 839 | 829 | 761 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
North Dakota in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
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The analysis by MAD is not, in my view, sufficiently compelling in some important respects to support the board in managing this risk. While I understand from a previous board meeting I attended as well as a legislative hearing on the topic...
- Child Welfare Articles and Statistics For Week of 6.10.2022
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- For New Mexico's At Risk Children - Life is Very Hard (find your state here)
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Across the board, America's Southern States seem to maintain an anti tax mantra that devalues the well-being of other people's children. This clear from the KIDS COUNT statistics over the years. This is their most recent data for 2020