Children's Bureau Website - Programs & Funding

Administration for Children and Families

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Programs & Funding

With an annual budget of more than $7 billion, the Children's Bureau works with States, Tribes, and communities to develop programs to assist America's children and their families. The Children's Bureau awards funds to both States and Tribes on a formula basis and to individual organizations that successfully apply for discretionary funds. Current Children's Bureau discretionary grant opportunities may be found on Grants.gov.

Discretionary Grant Programs

The Children's Bureau awards discretionary grants for research and program development, through a competitive peer-review process, to State, Tribal and local agencies, faith-based and community-based organizations, and other nonprofit and for profit groups. Additional information is available on these discretionary grant programs as follows:

2011 Discretionary Grant and Cooperative Agreement Awards - Complete listing of awardees for Children's Bureau discretionary grants for FY 2011.
Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants Library - The Discretionary Grants Library is an online tool that allows you to search for and view products and information related to specific CB grant projects.

View Children's Bureau Discretionary Grant Awards in two ways:

Search by State Using the Database of all ACYF Grant Awards (information available starting with FY 2002) - Database includes abstracts and contact information for all ACYF grant awardees and may be searched by State and other key words. To search by State, use the Keyword Search function and type in the State name.
View by Children's Bureau Discretionary Grant Type (information available starting with FY 2000) - Complete listing of awardees for Children's Bureau discretionary grants by year and by type of grant, including new FY 2011 awardees.

Forecasts and future FOAs - as they become available, Children's Bureau Discretionary Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement forecasts are published here - https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/hhsgrantsforecast/, summaries are published on Grants.gov, and the full announcements are published here - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/index.html
Adoption Opportunities - Help eliminate barriers to adoption and find permanent families for children.
Child Welfare Training - Upgrades the skills and qualifications of child welfare workers.
Abandoned Infants Assistance - Provides funding for the development of comprehensive service programs for infants and their families.
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Discretionary Funds Program - Support research and demonstration and training programs for preventing child maltreatment.
Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CBCAP) - Support selected Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and migrant programs in developing linkages with statewide CBCAP program and/or providing services otherwise consistent with the purposes of CBCAP.
Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program - Trains designated staff of eligible health centers in providing adoption information/referrals to pregnant women on an equal basis with all other courses of action.

State & Tribal Grant Programs

The Children's Bureau provides matching funds to States, Tribes, and communities to help them operate every aspect of their child welfare systems -- from prevention of child abuse and neglect to adoption -- and the information systems necessary to support these programs. The funds come from:

Title IV-E Foster Care - Assistance with costs of foster care for eligible children and associated administrative and training costs.
Title IV-E Adoption Assistance - Financial and medical assistance for adoption of children with special needs as well as associated administrative and training costs.
Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance (PDF - 41 KB) - Financial and medical assistance for guardianship of eligible children and associated administrative and training costs.
John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program - Funds to help older youth in foster care and former foster care youth acquire training and independent living skills so they can become self-sufficient.
Child Welfare Services: Title IV-B, Subpart 1 of the Social Security Act - Preventive intervention, alternative placements, and reunification efforts to keep families together.
Promoting Safe and Stable Families: Title IV-B, Subpart 2 of the Social Security Act - Family support, family preservation and support, time-limited family reunification services, and services to support adoptions.
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) State Grants - Assistance to improve State child protective service systems.
Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CBCAP) - Support for community-based, prevention-focused programs and activities.
Children's Justice Act - Funds for improving the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect.
Court Improvement Program - Funds for improvement of courts' handling of child abuse and neglect litigation.

Adoption Incentive Awards

Adoption Incentive Awards History (PDF - 284 KB) - Cumulative Adoption Incentive Earning History by State - FY1998-FY2010

Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects

The Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration authority provides States with an opportunity to use Federal funds more flexibly in order to test innovative approaches to child welfare service delivery and financing. The States can design and demonstrate a wide range of approaches to reform child welfare and improve outcomes in the areas of safety, permanency, and well-being.

Synthesis of Findings from the Subsidized Guardianship Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (2011) (PDF - 273 KB) - This report is based on evaluation reports submitted by States that most recently received title IV-E waivers to implement subsidized guardianship demonstration projects: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Synthesis of Findings from the Title IV-E Flexible Funding Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (2011) (PDF - 602 KB) - This report is based on evaluation reports and site visits to States that received title IV-E waivers to implement flexible funding demonstration projects: California, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon.
Summary of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (March 2012) (PDF - 294 KB) - A brief description of the common themes, research evaluation designs, and the status of individual projects including links to individual States' progress and evaluation reports.
Profiles of Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects (February 2012) (PDF - 1,261 KB) - Detailed information such as evaluation design and outcome findings for individual State demonstration projects.
Summary Table of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (PDF - 146 KB) - As of March 2012.
Summary of Subsidized Guardianship Waiver Demonstrations (June 2010) - This report is based on evaluation reports submitted by States that received Title IV-E Waivers to implement subsidize guardianship demonstration projects: Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. (PDF - 66 KB)
Synthesis of Findings from the State Assisted Guardianship Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Projects (September 2005) - This report is based on evaluation reports submitted by States that received Title IV-E Waivers to implement assisted guardianship demonstration projects: Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oregon.
Synthesis of Findings from the Title IV-E Flexible Funding Waiver Demonstrations (September 2005) - This report is based on evaluation reports submitted by States that received Title IV-E Waivers to implement flexible funding demonstration projects: Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon.
Synthesis of Findings from the State Substance Abuse Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Projects (September 2005) - This report is based on evaluation reports submitted by States that received Title IV-E Waivers to implement substance abuse demonstration projects: Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, and New Hampshire.

Child and Family Services Plan

The CFSP is a five-year strategic plan that sets forth the vision and the goals to be accomplished to strengthen the States' overall child welfare system. The goals and objectives of the plan must address improved outcomes in the following areas:

Safety of children;
Permanency for children;
Well-being of children and their families; and
The nature, scope, and adequacy of existing child and family and related social services.

After each five-year plan, States must base the development of the next five-year plan on a final review of the accomplishments and identified needs from the previous five-year plan, including any new information (45 CFR 1357.16(f)).

A primary purpose of the plan is to facilitate integration of the programs that serve children and families. There are a number of programs covered by the CFSR/APSR including:

Annual Progress and Services Report

The Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR) provides annual updates on the progress made toward accomplishing the goals and objectives in the CFSP. Completion of the APSR satisfies the Federal regulations by providing updates on a State's annual progress for the previous fiscal year and planned activities for the upcoming fiscal year.

CB has developed Guidance for both States and Tribes on what program areas are to be covered in both the CFSP and APSR.

Information on Developing a CFSP/APSR

General Funding Information

Information about Children's Bureau funding:

Children's Bureau Grant Programs - Information on both Discretionary and State Grant Programs.
Apply to Be a Grant Reviewer - The Children's Bureau is currently recruiting grant reviewers and panel chairpersons. Both novice and experienced reviewers may apply using a five-step submission process.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance - A government-wide compendium of all Federal programs that provide assistance or benefits to the American public.

How to apply for Children's Bureau funding:

Information on the Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants - How to apply for grants.
Grants.gov - The single access point for more than 900 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies, including the Children's Bureau.
Grant-Related Documents and Forms - Forms, certifications, and issuances commonly used in applying for Administration for Children and Families grants and reporting on the status of grant projects.

Previous awards:

FY 2000 - FY 2011 Discretionary Grant Awards - Awards for Children's Bureau discretionary grants by year.
Search by State Using the Database of all ACYF Grant Awards (information available starting with FY 2002) - Database includes abstracts and contact information for all ACYF grant awardees and may be searched by State and other key words. To search by State, use the Keyword Search function and type in the State name.
View by Children's Bureau Discretionary Grant Type (information available starting with FY 2000) - Complete listing of awardees for Children's Bureau discretionary grants by year and by type of grant.