Program Description
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) State Grant program provides grants to help states improve child protective service systems. This program assists states in improving: intake, assessment, screening and investigation of child abuse and neglect reports; risk and safety assessment protocols; training for child protective services workers and mandated reporters; programs and procedures for the identification, prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect; development and implementation of procedures for collaboration among child protection services, domestic violence, and other agencies; and services to disabled infants with life-threatening conditions and their families. In addition, under this program, states perform a range of prevention activities, including addressing the needs of infants born with prenatal drug exposure, referring children not at risk of imminent harm to community services, implementing criminal record checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents and other adults in their homes, training child protective services workers, protecting the legal rights of families and alleged perpetrators, and supporting Citizen Review Panels.
Since FY 2018, Congress has directed that $60 million of the annual appropriation be used to help states improve their response to the families of infants affected by substance use disorders. States are required to use a substantial portion of their annual grant to strengthen procedures for the development, implementation and monitoring of plans of safe care for substance-exposed infants and their caretakers.
Budget Information
FY 2024: $105 million