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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 guide helps title IV-E agencies prepare for an Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) assessment review. It includes technical assistance and tools to conduct a self-assessment of a title IV-E agency’s data collection system and guidance for developing a system that supports AFCARS data collection.

Frequency Report Utility

September 3, 2012

The FRU can generate a report that provides an overview of the number and type of raw responses being generated for a particular data element to help title IV-E agencies assess and improve data quality.

Data Compliance Utility

September 3, 2012

The DCU contains the same data compliance checks as the federal AFCARS and creates a report showing if a title IV-E AFCARS file meets federal standards.

Data Quality Utility

September 3, 2012

The DQU performs comprehensive checks on AFCARS data to help title IV-E agencies assess and improve data quality.

About AFCARS

July 2, 2012

This document provides general information about the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).

This Program Instruction (PI) notifies States of the new policy and procedures regarding the collection of funds resulting from penalties being assessed due to a State’s substantial failure to meet the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) standards and requirements in 45 CFR 1355.40.