Explore the Data

Child Out-of-Home Placements

The percentage of children in out-of-home placements has decreased in the past decade

Nebraska’s child protective custody system has been widely criticized for the high percentages of children that are placed in out-of-home care (such as foster care). However, there have been improvements in the past decade.

• In Lancaster County, the percentage of children in foster care continues to be higher than the national rate.^5,6
• Although the percentage of children in out-of-home placement is a relatively small percentage of Lincoln’s children, 584 children were in out-of-home placements in 2019.⁵
• Since 2010, the percentage of children in out-of-home placements has declined from 1.3% to 0.7%.

Footnotes

5.  All data is point-in-time. Lancaster County data 2006 through 2009 for December 20; 2011 and later for June 30. National data is for September 30 of each year.

6.  These figures exclude children who are removed from homes due to juvenile justice interventions.