Too many children enter foster care for a very short period of time. Removal from the home and placement in foster care can be a traumatic experience for a child, and the state is looking at ways to serve these children in their homes. Nearly one third (30 percent) of children who enter Arkansas’s foster care system stay for one month or less, according to a new report by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF). That number is six times the national average.

This report is the first in a three part series.