Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Adoption File 2002

The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) is a federally mandated data collection system intended to provide case specific information on all children covered by the protections of Title IV-B/E of the Social Security Act (Section 427). Under the final AFCARS rule, states are required to collect data on all adopted children who are placed by the state's child welfare agency or by private agencies under contract with the public child welfare agency. States are encouraged to report other private adoptions not involving the public welfare agency that are finalized in the state as well. In addition, states are required to collect data on all children in foster care for whom the state child welfare agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision. AFCARS was designed to address policy development and program management issues at both the state and federal levels. The data are also useful for researchers interested in analyzing aspects of the United States' foster care and adoption programs. Tables and other reports summarizing the AFCARS data are available from the Children's Bureau Web site (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb). AFCARS reporting periods extend from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. The National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect distributes two data files for each fiscal year; one file contains adoption data and the other foster care data. Each adoption data file contains 37 elements that provide information on the adopted child's gender, race, birth date, ethnicity and prior relationship with the adoptive parents. The date the adoption was finalized, as well as dates parental rights were terminated, characteristics of birth and adoptive parents, and whether the child was placed from within the United States or from another country are also captured. The foster care data files contain 66 elements that provide information on child demographics including gender, birth date, race, and ethnicity. Information about the number of previous stays in foster care, service goals, availability for adoption, dates of removal and discharge, funding sources, and the biological and foster parents is also included in the foster care files.

收养与寄养分析与报告系统（Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System，AFCARS）是一项联邦强制要求的数据收集系统，旨在为所有受《社会保障法》第四编B/E篇（第427条）保护的儿童提供各案专属信息。根据最终版AFCARS规则，各州需收集由本州儿童福利机构或与公立儿童福利机构签订合同的私立机构安置的全部收养儿童的数据；同时鼓励各州上报本州内已办结法定程序、未涉及公立福利机构的其他私人收养相关数据。此外，各州需收集本州儿童福利机构负责安置、照料或监管的所有寄养儿童的数据。AFCARS的设计初衷是解决联邦与州两级层面的政策制定与项目管理问题，该数据集同样可为关注美国寄养与收养项目相关维度分析的研究人员提供参考。美国儿童局官网（http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb）可获取汇总AFCARS数据的各类表格与报告。AFCARS的报告周期为每年10月1日至次年9月30日。全国儿童虐待与忽视数据档案馆会为每个财年提供两份数据文件：一份为收养数据文件，另一份为寄养数据文件。每份收养数据文件包含37项数据要素，涵盖被收养儿童的性别、种族、出生日期、族裔及其与养父母的既往关系等信息，同时还记录了收养办结日期、父母权利终止日期、生父母与养父母的特征，以及该儿童是否由美国境内或境外安置等内容。寄养数据文件则包含66项数据要素，涵盖儿童人口统计学特征，包括性别、出生日期、种族与族裔；此外还收录了儿童既往寄养安置次数、服务目标、可被收养状态、移除与出院日期、资金来源，以及生父母与寄养父母的相关信息。