Ohio
What Ohio 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
Ohio vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in Ohio in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | Ohio | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 198,540 | 77.1per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 69,36434.9% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 129,17665.1% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 90,992 | 35.3per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 19,381 | 7.5per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 134 | 5.21per 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 Ohio does not report
For the measures on this page, Ohio 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, Ohio, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, Ohio, 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 | 1,244 | 1,406 | 1,334 | 1,449 | 1,538 | 1,566 | 1,665 | 1,466 | 1,622 | 1,543 |
| Entered foster care | 9,875 | 9,924 | 10,360 | 10,772 | 11,845 | 12,325 | 12,410 | 10,720 | 10,505 | 9,701 |
| Exited foster care | 9,212 | 9,340 | 9,328 | 9,921 | 10,234 | 11,014 | 11,053 | 10,458 | 10,324 | 9,445 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 12,223 | 12,519 | 13,205 | 13,725 | 14,961 | 15,730 | 16,387 | 16,017 | 15,449 | 14,946 |
| Children served in foster care | 21,435 | 21,859 | 22,533 | 23,646 | 25,195 | 26,744 | 27,440 | 26,475 | 25,773 | 24,391 |
| Termination of parental rights | 2,591 | 2,644 | 2,643 | 2,730 | 2,936 | 3,117 | 3,290 | 3,269 | 3,353 | 3,461 |
| Waiting for adoption | 2,976 | 2,942 | 3,010 | 3,201 | 3,373 | 3,579 | 3,677 | 3,472 | 3,526 | 3,679 |
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 | 10,103 | 9,557 | 9,801 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 15,578 | 15,049 | 15,268 |
| Exited foster care | 9,214 | 9,419 | 8,783 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
Ohio in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
- A Closer Look At Child Fatality and Egregious Incident Reporting
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- Education 2026 - Educating At Risk Children (what tomorrow looks like)
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- Why Saving CASA Matters: The Revival of Child Advocacy in Minnesota's Courts
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This former CASA Guardian ad Litem is happy to see the saving and rebuilding of the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program in Minnesota. Thank you to Kathleen Blatz and the MN State GAL board for your hard work and dedication to th...
- Egregious Child Death in America Today
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 19, 2025
There are few states that report out egregious harm or death of children at the hands of their parents. Minnesota Nonprofit Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota has recently compiled this report on 88 of the 200 children dying at the hand...
- A Closer Look At Child Fatality and Egregious Incident Reporting
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJuly 29, 2025
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- Free and Discounted Resources for Foster Youth
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJuly 28, 2025
free and discounted resources for foster and adopted children and families
- Education in 2024 - Educating At Risk Children (what tomorrow looks like)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenApril 4, 2024
This is a synopsis of Education Week’s last 12 months of reporting on conditions in American schools today with attention to educating abused and neglected children. It’s a deep dive into what it means to be a teacher in America today.