Resource Library

This webinar was the seventh session in the AFCARS Final Rule Training Series. For this webinar, the Children's Bureau shared two new Technical Bulletins: 

• Technical Bulletin 22: Reporting Population and Data Extraction
• Technical Bulletin 23: Compliance and Data Quality

And a revised version of the previously released Technical Bulletin 21: File Structure and Encryption. There was also an opportunity to continue to ask questions so that the Children’s Bureau may develop relevant technical assistance resources.   We encourage you to submit any questions to AFCARS@acf.hhs.gov.

This technical bulletin provides title IV-E agencies with information on the standards an AFCARS data file must meet to comply with the provisions of the AFCARS regulations found at 45 CFR §1355.41— §1355.47. This technical bulletin was last revised on October 6, 2023. 

This technical bulletin addresses how to extract data for the Out-of-Home Care and Adoption and Guardianship Assistance Files defined in AFCARS Technical Bulletin #21. Additionally, this document includes guidance on extracting corrected files (previously referred to as subsequent files) after the required AFCARS reporting periods. This technical bulletin was last revised on October 2, 2023.

This technical bulletin provides agencies with information required to create the AFCARS data files.  It provides technical specifications on the structural layout of the XML data and shares the XML schema for the Out-of-Home Care File and the Adoption and Guardianship Assistance File.  It also covers information on encryption of the file records. This Technical Bulletin was last revised on October 10, 2023.

This technical bulletin gives reporting instructions and provides examples for the AFCARS 2020 out-of-home care and adoption and guardianship assistance data elements. The regulation for each element is shown in a blue box. Following the regulation language, CB provides explanatory text, examples, differences between AFCARS 1993 and AFCARS 2020, and data reporting standards. This Technical Bulletin was last revised on January 14, 2022.

This codebook shows the data elements included in an Agency File submission, along with definitions, values, and technical guidance provided to states.

This codebook shows the data elements included in a Child File submission, along with definitions, values, and technical guidance provided to states.

This is a presentation that provides an overview of the AFCARS 2019 NPRM and where to submit comments.

This guide describes the standard and specialized calls used in planning for a NYTD Review. It includes a general timeline for the calls, and the time frame, participants, and content discussed for each type of call.

This is a list of the Out-of-Home Care and Adoption and Guardianship Assistance data elements with their definitions as published in the AFCARS final rule issued on December 14, 2016 (81 FR 90524)