Meinhofer A, et al. - Trends in the number of children entering foster care because of parental drug use were determined and changes in their characteristics over time were assessed in this exploratory study. In the United States, the foster care caseload cases have risen steadily since 2012 following more than a decade of declines. Between 2012 and 2017, there was an increase in the number of children living in foster care and entering care by 12% and 8%, respectively. The opioid epidemic is proposed to be one explanation for this recent growth, however, evidence supporting this is scarce.