Virginia
What Virginia 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
Virginia vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in Virginia in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | Virginia | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 92,753 | 49.2per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 34,87137.6% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 57,88262.4% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 45,799 | 24.3per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 4,484 | 2.4per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 40 | 2.12per 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 Virginia does not report
For the measures on this page, Virginia 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, Virginia, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, Virginia, 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 | 709 | 632 | 562 | 627 | 801 | 879 | 769 | 844 | 878 | 792 |
| Entered foster care | 2,583 | 3,040 | 2,879 | 2,940 | 2,741 | 2,940 | 2,800 | 2,505 | 2,335 | 2,372 |
| Exited foster care | 2,856 | 2,796 | 2,745 | 2,892 | 2,842 | 2,849 | 2,701 | 2,687 | 2,595 | 2,240 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 4,327 | 4,597 | 4,735 | 4,890 | 4,795 | 4,915 | 4,925 | 4,773 | 4,977 | 5,039 |
| Children served in foster care | 7,182 | 7,393 | 7,479 | 7,782 | 7,635 | 7,754 | 7,612 | 7,451 | 7,570 | 7,279 |
| Termination of parental rights | 1,052 | 1,101 | 1,125 | 1,322 | 1,307 | 1,091 | 1,236 | 1,243 | 1,289 | 1,190 |
| Waiting for adoption | 1,503 | 1,532 | 1,708 | 1,886 | 1,826 | 1,766 | 1,934 | 1,967 | 1,899 | 1,810 |
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 | 2,408 | 2,669 | 2,678 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 4,901 | 5,241 | 5,576 |
| Exited foster care | 2,368 | 2,231 | 2,273 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
Virginia 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...
- 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
- America’s Child Abuse Emergency: 546,000 Victims, 2,000 Deaths, and a System That Chooses This
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 6, 2026
Child abuse in the United States is not rare or random — it is the predictable outcome of policy choices. In 2023, about 546,000 children were confirmed victims of abuse or neglect and an estimated 2,000 were killed, roughly five children e...
- Child Endangerment (Star Tribune "IN HARM'S WAY")
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 4, 2026
Minnesota’s child protection system is repeatedly returning severely abused children to unsafe homes — and some are dying as a result. Drawing on the Star Tribune’s “In Harm’s Way” investigation, Safe Passage’s child fatality data, and my e...
- Essential Foster Care Videos and Podcasts: Powerful Resources for Foster Youth and Families
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 2, 2026
Aging Out of Foster Care: Hannah’s Story – Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Short video about abuse, instability in care, and aging out at 18, stressing that teens are never too old to need a permanent family.
- Why the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Organization Is So Successful (calling all volunteers)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenNovember 29, 2025
Over 48 years, CASA/GAL (Guardian ad Litem) programs have grown into a national network of more than 900 organizations with 80,000–100,000 guardian ad litem volunteers serving close to a quarter‑million abused and neglected children each ye...
- Manner of Child Death Unknown (State by State)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 23, 2025
WHEN YOU Share KARA’s reporting with FRIENDS, INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK and most of all, your State Representative (find them here) change will come a little bit faster. When enough of us become informed and speak up for abused and neglected chi...
- Child Endangerment (Star Tribune "IN HARM'S WAY")
KARA reportingMike TikkanenSeptember 22, 2025
The Star Tribune's investigative report titled "IN HARM'S WAY" provides a rare glimpse into the world of Child Protective Services. This report illuminates the disheartening fact that children often do not have a right to safety.