The Family Room Blog

During National Adoption Month, adults are being asked to consider opening their hearts and homes to one of the 14,000 teens between the ages of 14 and 16 in foster care.

ACF leadership visits New York and New Jersey to survey affected programs and meets with local officials who are ready to rebuild.

ACF leadership reflects on program outreach in Indian Country, spotlighting a recent trip to Native American communities in South Dakota. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration Disaster Technical Assistance Center has put together a resource list for the disaster behavioral health needs of children and youth, related organizations, and tips for parents, caregivers, and teachers as they help their children recover from a disaster or childhood trauma.

Struggles with unemployment and housing instability, income changes, frequent moves and the stress of military service on family life create unique challenges for service members and veterans that can impact their child support cases.  Homeless veterans report that child support concerns are among their most difficult issues. 

The Children’s Bureau has released a new guide for youth in foster care to help them understand their feelings and behaviors and make decisions about their mental health care, including whether psychotropic medications might help.

Lillian Sparks, commissioner of Administration for Native Americans, and Jeannie L. Chaffin, director of Office of Community Services, blog about the history of the Administration for Children and Families' work in promoting economic prosperity in tribal communities.

Addressing human services is one of the critical improvements to the federal emergency response system since Hurricane Katrina dealt such a devastating blow to New Orleans in 2005. ACF's Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response coordinates efforts that reflect the understanding that emergency response calls for not only immediate shelter, food and medical care, but also that essential human services remain available.

Weather forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that this year’s Halloween most definitely will not be a treat for folks on the East Coast. What many are dubbing “Frankenstorm” — a winter storm mixed in with late season Hurricane Sandy —poses hazards including gale-force winds, heavy rains and snow, flooding, and electrical power outages along the mid-Atlantic and in New England.

The Office of Child Support Enforcement invites you to download our series of fact sheets to learn why and how this federal agency, together with our partners in the national child support program, work with both parents to deliver vital child support services to children.