A total of 30,340 children have been released to sponsors — primarily parents and other relatives — from the start of the year through July 7, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which has overseen the care of the children after they are turned over by Customs and Border Protection. More children have been released in Texas than in any other state, with sponsors there receiving 4,280 children, followed by New York with 3,347. Florida has received 3,181 children and California 3,150. Maryland and Virginia have each also received more than 2,200 children…

Sponsors must be vetted by social workers, a process that includes a criminal-background check, and must also promise to make sure that the child appears for required immigration court appearances. The adults do not have to be citizens or legal permanent residents, and officials have acknowledged that some sponsors may be living in the United States illegally.

Children who are not able to find qualified sponsors are placed in long-term shelters or in foster care. Roughly 10 percent of the unaccompanied minors who have been taken into custody this year have been placed in such care, which is overseen by the federal Administration for Children and Families, said Kenneth J. Wolfe, a spokesman for the department.