The Children’s Bureau (CB) seeks to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships with states, tribes, and communities.
Each administration presents a set of priorities that reflect their vision for improving outcomes for children, youth, and families. The Associate Commissioner identified four overarching priorities to prevent children from entering foster care, support youth who transition out of foster care, increase the recognition of and needed additional support for kinship caregivers, and transform the child welfare workforce to increase recruitment and retention and overall job satisfaction. All four of these priorities will be approached with the administration’s commitment to addressing disproportionality and disparity for marginalized communities.
- Children's Bureau Equity Public Statement: This is a statement from CB on the steps being taken to advance equity for all children and families.
- Letter From Aysha E. Schomburg on Equity in Child Welfare: This letter outlines how the federal government, and CB specifically, are committed to advancing equity through federal-level work with states, territories, tribes, and grant recipients.
- Addressing Disproportionality, Disparity, and Equity Throughout Child Welfare: This page highlights CB’s commitment to addressing disproportionality and disparity for Black and African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic and Latino, LGBTQIA2S+ people, those experiencing poverty, and other marginalized populations involved with child welfare.
The Associate Commissioner identified the following four priority issues to guide the work of the Children’s Bureau:
Preventing Children From Entering Foster Care
Even knowing the number of youth residing in foster care has trended down in previous years according to the latest AFCARS data (PDF) we know that there are still too many children and youth who enter foster care unnecessarily. One strategy to further reducing the number of children that enter foster care is recognizing that poverty does not equal neglect . Engaging families and supporting them with resources and services before any need for family separation presents itself can further advance the trend of lowering the number of children and youth being removed from their families of origin and placed in out-of-home care.
Related Resources
- Title IV-E Prevention Program: This webpage provides an overview of the Family First Prevention Services Act and guidance that has been released to help States implement the law and utilize the available funding streams.
- Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) State Grants: This webpage provides an overview of the CAPTA State grant program and shares highlights and important key statistics about child abuse and budget information.
- Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) Grants: This webpage provides an overview and purpose of the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) grants including how these funds can be accessed.
Public Statements
- Dear Colleague Letter on TANF and Child Welfare (PDF): This joint letter between ACF and the Office of Family Assistance, in partnership with CB on new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Learning Community focused on the TANF and Child Welfare collaboration with a particular emphasis on prevention.
- Dear Colleague Letter on the 5th Year of the Family First Prevention Services Act (PDF): This letter includes resources to aid jurisdictions as they develop their FFPSA plans, including links to plans that have been approved, sample program plans, resources for tribes, and responses to policy questions.
- Guidance for Title IV-B and IV-E Agencies When Serving LGBTQI+ Children and Youth: This webpage offers guidance to title IV-B and IV-E agencies on serving LGBTQI+ children and youth who are involved in the child welfare system.
Additional Resources
- Separating Poverty From Neglect in Child Welfare: This publication discusses research on the overlap of families experiencing poverty and those who are reported to the child welfare system for neglect. It also includes strategies to help prevent and address poverty and neglect simultaneously.
- Visioning for Prevention: Protecting Children Through Strengthening Families : This webpage offers a collection of publications and digital resources that can be used to help systems become more prevention focused.
Supporting Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care
Even with the goal of continuing to reduce the number of children and youth who enter foster care, some youth will transition out of foster care without legal permanency. When a youth is preparing to transition out of foster care, efforts need to be made to equip them with the tools and resources that will offer them an increased opportunity to transition to adulthood successfully. Youth need to feel connected to caring and supportive adults and be encouraged to speak up on what they need to be successful.
Related Resources
- National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD): This webpage provides an overview and access to resources related to the administration of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD).
- John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood: This web page provides an overview of and related resources for the administration of the Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood.
Public Statements
- Changes to Medicaid Eligibility for Youth/Young Adults Age 18 Who Transition Out of Foster Care and Move to a New State: This webpage provides information for child welfare agencies about changes in Medicaid eligibility for young adults who turn age 18 on or after January 1, 2023 who move to a new state after transitioning from foster care.
Additional Resources
- Belonging Matters—Helping Youth Explore Permanency : This bulletin can be used by child welfare workers and adoption professionals to assist youth in foster care explore options for permanency and understand the importance of permanent connections.
- National SOGIE Center : This website provides resources to promote the well-being and permanency of LGBTQIA2S+ children and youth.
- Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency : This website offers resources to help child welfare agencies better engage youth in foster care in their efforts to achieve permanency.
- Youth Development : This webpage from the provides resources on the topics of youth development and authentic youth engagement and the important role these play in all areas of child welfare service delivery.
Supporting Kin Caregivers
To better support kinship care providers, agencies should address barriers to licensing, build a support system that goes beyond navigation, support informal care providers, and help kin navigate complex family relationships.
Related Resources
- Title IV-E Plan Amendment—Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes: This Program Instruction (PI) provides instructions for title IV-E agencies that opt to adopt licensing or approval standards for relative or kinship foster family homes that differ from the standards used for non-relative foster family homes.
- Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance: This webpage provides an overview of the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program including program highlights and access to additional related resources.
- Federal Fiscal Year 2023 Title IV-B, Subpart 2 Funding Available to Develop and Enhance or to Evaluate Kinship Navigator Programs: This webpage provides guidance to state, territorial, and tribal title IV-E agencies on the actions required to apply for the title IV-B, subpart 2 funding from the Children’s Bureau.
- 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers : This webpage presents the nearly 350 actions that the federal government will take to support family caregivers and more than 150 actions that can be adopted at other levels of government across the private sector to better support family caregivers.
Public Statements
- Dear Colleague Letter on Supporting Kinship Caregivers: Read a letter from the Administration for Children and Families and the Administration for Community Living about efforts to support grandfamilies and kinship families to prevent unnecessary child welfare involvement and maintain kin connections.
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes: This Information Memorandum (IM) informs title IV-E agencies that a final rule was published allowing title IV-E agencies to adopt foster family home licensing or approval standards for foster family homes of relatives or kin that differ from non-relative foster family homes standards; to require equal foster care maintenance payments (FCMP) in these homes, and to make a technical change.
Additional Resources
- Kinship Care and the Child Welfare System : This publication from the Child Welfare Information Gateway provides guidance, resources, and support on how kinship care providers can work with child welfare systems.
- It's All Relative: Supporting Kinship Care Video Series : This series of videos and accompanying discussion guide provides guidance, resources, and support on how kinship care providers can work with child welfare systems.
States, Territories and Tribes That Have Adopted Separate Licensing or Approval Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes
A final rule approved in 2023 allows title IV-E agencies to adopt separate licensing or approval standards for relative kinship foster family homes to increase the utilization of kinship family placements. The final rule also promotes equity by stating that a licensed or approved relative or kinship foster family home should receive the same foster care maintenance payment amount that would have been made if the child was placed in a non-related/non-kinship foster family home.
The map and table below highlight which states, territories and tribes have federally approved amendments to their title IV-E plans and adopted adopted separate licensing standards. These will be updated on a quarterly basis as new plan amendments are approved.
For questions regarding these approved amendments or a specific state, territory or tribe, please contact your regional program manager.
*As shown on the map of the United States above, Nevada, Kansas, Tennessee, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Michigan are approved.
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Investing in the Child Welfare Workforce
A competent, skilled, and informed child welfare workforce is best suited to effectively support children and families in the communities where they live. These resources focus on the well-being of the workforce, capacity building, race equity, the "great resignation," and nontraditional workforce members, including peer workers and those with lived experience.
Related Resources
- National Child Welfare Workforce Institute : This website offers links to toolkits, stories, and other workforce development resources to support varying levels of professionals working within child and family serving systems.
- Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development : This website provides an overview of the QIC for Workforce Development and how it selects, implements, rigorously evaluates, and disseminates knowledge about innovative and promising workforce improvement strategies to address pervasive child welfare workforce challenges and improve child and family outcomes.
- Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Analytics : This website provides an overview of the QIC for Workforce Analytics their work with a mix of tribal and public child welfare agencies to support data-driven decision making and to implement and test customized workforce strategies designed to strengthen the child welfare workforce and improve agency outcomes.
- Center for Workforce Excellence and Leadership : The Center for Workforce Equity and Leadership’s (CWEL) mission is to advance equity and social justice within the child welfare workforce and improve workforce recruitment and retention through site-specific support.
Additional Resources
- National Title IV-E Stipends/Paybacks Matrix : This webpage provides a list of BSW and MSW programs that offer title IV-E stipends or paybacks.
- Workforce : This webpage discusses recruiting and supporting stable child welfare workforces, training and supporting workers, and addressing issues related to recruitment, workloads, and turnover.
- Supervising for Quality Child Welfare Practice : This bulletin discusses child welfare supervision and how agencies can strengthen the effectiveness of their services. It also provides child welfare supervisors, managers, and related professionals with examples on how to strengthen their supervisory capacity.