ACF News

Today, the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families released a new “Core Competencies for Human Trafficking Response in Health Care and Behavioral Health Systems ” resource. These core competencies highlight skill sets for health care professionals to identify, respond to and serve individuals who have experienced or are at risk of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.

The Children’s Bureau at HHS' Administration for Children and Families published the 30th edition of the Child Maltreatment Report, which analyzes data collected by state child protective services (CPS) agencies. The report presents fiscal year 2019 data, which is the latest data available.

The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) today announced the opportunity to virtually submit names to be written on the ANA’s Missing and Murdered Native Americans (MMNA) Memorial Shawl.

Today, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), AdoptUSKids, and the Ad Council launched a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) that encourage prospective parents to consider adopting teens from foster care.

A total of 113 grant awards to 100 organizations across 30 states to promote healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood was announced by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families. This funding represents a 33 percent increase in the number of grants in operation throughout the 2015-2020 cohort. The grant awards will help individuals, couples, fathers and youth build strong relationships to support families and communities.

The 2020 National Native American Language Summit, hosted by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and U.S. Department of Education (ED) drew record attendance and introduced new Language Legacy Awards this week, as the event was held virtually this year. Registration for the summit exceeded 500 people, the greatest number of attendees in its seven-year history.

The 2020 recipients of the annual Adoption Excellence Awards were announced today at an HHS virtual ceremony for National Adoption Month. The awards, given each year by the Children’s Bureau of HHS’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF), recognize individuals, families, and organizations who have demonstrated excellence in making contributions to providing permanency for children in foster care.

Today, the Trump administration announced that the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL), and Agriculture (USDA) will be joining efforts to put American workers first in a post-COVID-19 economic recovery initiative to help more families experience the benefits of work.

The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) within HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) recently awarded 8.8 million dollars to 19 organizations that provide case management services to survivors of human trafficking. Awardees will conduct outreach to potential victims of human trafficking and provide training to build the capacity of local service providers and community partners to respond to human trafficking.

A total of 53 Native American/Alaska Native and Pacific Islander communities and organizations received 13.6 million dollars in federal grants last month from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) located in HHS’ Administration for Children and Families. ANA promotes self-sufficiency for Native Americans by providing discretionary grant funding for community based projects, and training and technical assistance to eligible tribes and Native organizations. The grants will finance community-based projects to improve social, cultural and economic well-being.