ACF News

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new office, the Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS), under the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). This new office reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to prioritizing domestic violence prevention and addressing the intersections of domestic violence prevention work across the federal government. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announced the award of $560 million this week  in addition to the $1 billion awarded last month for a total of $1.56 billion to help cover American households home heating and cooling costs. The grant awards are part of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help low-income households with their energy costs — a program that the Biden Administration significantly increased funding for through the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure law.

Esta semana, el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los EE. UU. (HHS, por sus siglas en inglés), a través de la Administración Para los Niños y Familias (ACF, por sus siglas en inglés), anunció una nueva regla propuesta para disminuir los obstáculos en las normas de licencia para los parientes a cargo de niños. Esta regla propuesta se alinea con las prioridades del presidente Biden de proporcionar los recursos necesarios para mantener unidas a las familias y apoyar el cuidado por parientes.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announced a new proposed regulation to lessen obstacles in licensing standards for kinship foster caregivers. This proposed rule aligns with President Biden’s priorities on providing necessary resources to keep families together and support kinship care.

Today, the Children’s Bureau at the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the annual child maltreatment report. The report reveals that of the nationally estimated 3,016,000 children who were the subject of a child welfare agency response in fiscal year (FY) 2021, 600,000 children (estimated) were determined to be victims of maltreatment, the lowest number of children identified as victims of maltreatment in the last five years.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is announcing the launch of the new National Early Care and Education Workforce Center (the ECE Workforce Center). The ECE Workforce Center is the result of a $30 million investment to support research and technical assistance for states, communities, territories, and Tribal Nations to improve the recruitment and retention of a diverse and qualified workforce across early care and education programs.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the award of nearly $300 million in Preschool Development Grants Birth through Five (PDG B-5) to 42 states, providing critical resources to support the early care and education system that families rely on, including the early childhood workforce that is that backbone of our economy and communities across the country. 

During National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced the establishment of the Joint Forced Labor Working Group (“Working Group”) to develop tools and resources to assist the healthcare and public health (HPH) sector with preventing, identifying, and addressing forced labor in their supply chains.

As part of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has released new resources to help state agencies and community providers strengthen the child welfare response to human trafficking. The resources will equip diverse health and human service professionals, including child welfare workers, with tools to effectively prevent and respond to children and youth at risk for, currently experiencing, or who have experienced human trafficking, particularly those connected to the child welfare system, in foster care, and who have run away or are missing from care.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hosted nine cross-sector summits (PDF) in 2022 to build knowledge among partners about the economic mobility challenges facing their communities.