Through the title IV-E Foster Care program, the Children’s Bureau supports states and participating territories and tribes to provide safe and stable out-of-home care for children and youth until they are safely returned home, placed permanently with adoptive families or legal guardians, or placed in other planned arrangements for permanency. The program is authorized by title IV-E of the Social Security Act, as amended, and implemented under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 45 CFR parts 1355, 1356, and 1357.
Foster Care Programs
CB provides funding to states and tribes to provide safe foster care placements for children and youth who cannot remain in their homes. Our funding also provides assistance to youth aging out of foster care so that they can achieve self-sufficiency.
The Children’s Bureau implements the following foster care programs:
- The Title IV - E Foster Care Program
- The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee)
How to Become a Foster Care Parent
The Children’s Bureau, together with its services, Child Welfare Information Gateway and AdoptUSKids , provides resources about the foster care system. See the following for more information and resources about becoming a foster parent and foster parenting:
- How to Become a Foster Parent
- Foster Care FAQs
- Home Study Requirements for Prospective Foster Parents
- Background Checks for Prospective Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Caregivers
- National Foster Care and Adoption Directory
- Children in Foster Care video from AdoptUSKids
- Who Can Foster and Adopt
Foster Care Reporting Systems
The Children’s Bureau collects case-level information from states on all children in foster care, and we recently began collecting information on independent living services for youth in foster care and those who age out of care.
See the following for more information about our reporting systems:
- The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
- The National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)
Foster Care Training and Technical Assistance
The Children’s Bureau provides training and technical assistance to states and tribes through its Capacity Building Collaborative:
- The Capacity Building Center for States
- The Capacity Building Center for Tribes
- The Capacity Building Center for Courts
Additional resources are available through the following CB-funded entities:
- Child Welfare Information Gateway
- National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI)
- National Training and Development Initiative for Foster and Adoptive Parents (NTDC)
- Quality Improvement Center — Workforce Development
- Center for Excellence in Foster Family Development
Special Initiative
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Children’s Bureau value the input of youth/young adults who have lived experience in the foster care system. The ACF Youth Engagement Team 2020-2021 used the expertise of youth formerly in foster care to identify key recommendations toward achieving permanency for all children and youth waiting in foster care. This team of young adults provided specific recommendations on how agencies and courts could improve permanency outcomes by supporting connections with kin, securing relational permanency for youth, and achieving successful adoptions for older youth.
- Letter From the Children’s Bureau Regarding the Foster Youth to Independence Initiative
- ACF Youth Engagement Team
- Recommendations for Improving Permanency and Well-Being
Permanency Innovations Initiative
The federal Permanency Innovations Initiative (PII) was a multi-site federal demonstration project designed to improve permanency outcomes among foster care children who had the most serious barriers to permanency. This 5-year initiative included six grantees, each with a unique intervention designed to help a specific subgroup of children leave foster care in fewer than three years.
Foster Care Highlight
For the most recent foster care data from AFCARS, please see Adoption and Foster Care Statistics under Statistics and Research.
Youth.gov provides interactive tools and other resources to help youth-serving organizations and community partnerships plan, implement, and participate in effective programs for youth.