Focus Areas

Current as of:

The Children’s Bureau works with states, tribes, and communities to develop programs to assist America's children and their families and to collect information on child welfare for research and program improvement. The following are our focus areas for improving the overall health and well-being of our Nation’s children and families.

Adoption

The Children's Bureau supports programs, research, and monitoring to help eliminate barriers to adoption and find permanent families for children. It provides funding to states and tribes to help them support families who adopt from foster care, including incentive funds to states that achieve a high number of adoptions of children from foster care. The Children's Bureau also coordinates adoption reporting systems and training and technical assistance.

Child Abuse & Neglect

The Children’s Bureau supports programs, funding, research, and monitoring systems that prevent child abuse and neglect while ensuring that children who are victims receive treatment and care. Funding may also be used for assessments, investigations, prosecution, and treatment activities. Additionally, the Children's Bureau coordinates reporting systems and training and technical assistance to support these programs and participates on the Federal Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect to support prevention and treatment efforts.

Child Welfare

The Children’s Bureau supports state and tribal child welfare programs through child welfare services and reporting systems that promote positive outcomes for children and families involved in child welfare.

Child Welfare Services

Child Welfare Reporting Systems

Foster Care

Through the title IV-E foster care program, the Children’s Bureau supports states (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) in providing board and care payments for eligible children under the supervision of the state and placed in foster family homes or child care institutions that are safe and licensed.

Title IV-E Prevention Program

The title IV-E prevention program is optional title IV-E funding for time-limited prevention services for mental health, substance abuse, and in-home parent skill-based programs for children or youth who are candidates for foster care, pregnant or parenting youth in foster care, and the parents or kin caregivers of those children and youth.

Guardianship

The Children's Bureau provides funding to states and tribes that have been approved to operate a title IV-E Guardianship Assistance program to support relatives who become legal guardians of children for whom they previously cared for as foster parents.

Tribes

Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia are eligible for federal funding to administer title IV-B and title IV-E programs. Tribes are also eligible to apply for discretionary grants.