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The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to inform title IV-E agencies that a final rule was published amending the AFCARS regulations to require state title IV-E agencies to collect and report data elements related to the procedural protections of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). This final rule was published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2024 (89 FR 96569).

On November 22nd, 2024 the Children's Bureau released a Dear Colleague Letter pertaining to the recent guidance issued by the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services that emphasized the importance of the new CMS guidance, specifically for child welfare leaders seeking to address health care needs, both as a strategy for preventing entry into the child welfare system, as well as for addressing the needs of children and youth in foster care.

This Information Memorandum (IM) notifies child welfare agencies about the release of updated nonregulatory guidance: Nonregulatory Guidance: Ensuring Educational Stability and Success for Students in Foster Care.

The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to inform title IV-E agencies of changes to PRWORA that permit citizens of “freely associated states” to be “qualified aliens” thereby, potentially eligible for title IV-E programs.

This Program Instruction (PI) provides State, Territorial, and Tribal title IV-E agencies (hereafter, "title IV-E agencies") with the renewed and revised form and instructions approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for reporting quarterly financial information on the title IV-E Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, Guardianship Assistance, Kinship Navigator and Prevention Services Programs, as well as annual reporting data for Adoption Savings.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) value collaborative efforts that support and stabilize families, broadly defined, and achieve safety and well-being for children.

This Program Instruction (PI) provides guidance to state, territorial and Tribal title IV-E agencies on the actions required to apply for title IV-B, subpart 2 funding to support the development, enhancement or evaluation of kinship navigator programs. These are federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 funds, provided in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.

The Administration for Children and Families Children's Bureau (CB) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) released a joint letter regarding their commitment to addressing the complex needs of young people who navigate both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to remind title IV-E agencies that for all adoption assistance agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2024, eligibility for title IV-E adoption assistance must be determined using the “applicable child” eligibility criteria described in section 473(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act.

This Program Instruction provides instructions on the requirements state title IV-E agencies must meet when electing the title IV-E prevention program, ACF-ACYF-CB-PI-24-07 supersedes ACYF-CB-PI-18-09 issued November 30, 2018, upon publication.