Grants

Current as of:

The Children's Bureau administers discretionary and formula grants to support programs that serve children and families. We use a competitive peer-review process to award discretionary grants to state, tribal, and local agencies; faith- and community-based organizations; and other nonprofit and for-profit groups in order to promote knowledge development. States and tribes may also receive formula grants—which are distributed based on predetermined formulas and eligibility requirements—to help them operate their child welfare systems, including child maltreatment prevention, foster care, adoption, and applicable information systems.  

 

Working with CB

  • Apply on Grants.gov . It’s the single access point for more than 900 grant programs offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies, including the Children's Bureau.
  • Apply to Be a Grant Reviewer - The Children's Bureau is currently recruiting grant reviewers and panel chairpersons. Both novice and experienced reviewers may apply.

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Funding Opportunities

Discretionary Grants

The Children's Bureau uses a competitive peer review process to award discretionary grants for knowledge development to state, tribal and local agencies; faith- and community-based organizations; and other nonprofit and for-profit groups.

Featured Resources

State & Tribal Grant Programs

Title IV-E Programs

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act provides funds for states and tribes to provide foster care, transitional independent living programs for children, guardianship assistance, and adoption assistance for children with special needs. Funds are available under title IV-E for the following:

  • Title IV-E Adoption Assistance - Financial and medical assistance for the adoption of children with special needs and associated administrative and training costs
  • Title IV-E Foster Care - Assistance with costs of foster care for eligible children and associated administrative and training costs
  • Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance - Financial and medical assistance for guardianship of eligible children and associated administrative and training costs
  • Title IV-E Prevention Program - 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
  • John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood - Funds to help older youth in foster care and former foster care youth acquire training and independent living skills so they can become self-sufficient

Title IV-B Programs

Funds are available to states and tribes to promote flexibility in the development and expansion of coordinated child and family services programs that utilize community-based agencies, family support services, family preservation services, adoption promotion and support services, and time-limited family reunification services and that ensure all children are raised in safe, loving families. Funds are available under title IV-B for the following:

The Children’s Bureau conducted a review of state 2015-2019 Child and Family Services Plans (CFSP) and drafted a report - The report, “States’ Consultation and Collaboration with Tribes and Reported Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act: Information from States’ and Tribes’ 2015—2019 Child and Family Services Plans” summarizes information related to state implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and consultation and collaboration with tribes. The report also includes information reported in a sample of tribes’ CFSPs pertaining to ways in which states consulted and collaborated with tribes.

State & Tribal Child and Family Services Plan

In order to receive federal funding under title IV-B, a state or tribal agency requesting title IV-B funds must submit a 5-year Child and Family Services Plans (CFSP) and Annual Progress and Services Reports (APSRs). The CFSP is a strategic plan that sets forth a state’s or tribe’s vision and goals to strengthen its child welfare system. It outlines initiatives and activities that the state or tribe will carry out over the next 5 years to administer and integrate programs and services to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families. The APSR provides an annual update on the progress made by states or tribes toward the goals and objectives in their CFSPs and outlines the planned activities for the upcoming fiscal year.

The goals and objectives of the CFSP must address improved outcomes in the following areas:

  • Permanency for children
  • Well-being of children and their families
  • The nature, scope, and adequacy of existing child and family and related social services

States or tribes must base the development of each subsequent 5-year CFSP on a final review of the accomplishments and identified needs from the previous CFSP, including any new information (45 CFR 1357.16(f)).

There are a number of programs covered by the CFSP and APSR, including the following:

Developing a CFSP/APSR

  • State CFSP/APSR Toolkit - This toolkit provides resources to help states develop their CFSPs and APSRs.
  • Tribal CFSP/APSR Toolkit - This toolkit provides resources to help tribes develop their CFSPs and APSRs.
  • Information for Insular Areas - The Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands may each submit consolidated grant applications in accordance with 45 CFR Part 97. These jurisdictions do not need to submit an APSR as described in this PI if they choose to have their title IV-B, subparts 1 and/or 2 (including the monthly caseworker visit funds) and/or CAPTA allotments included in a consolidated grant, and may expend these funds under authority of another program that is available for consolidation. If an Insular Area chooses to consolidate its application for title IV-B, subparts 1 and/or 2, and/or CAPTA, it must notify its Children’s Bureau Regional Office in writing of its intent by June 30 of each year.

Current and Prior CFSPs/APSRs

 

The Children’s Bureau conducted a review of state 2015-2019 Child and Family Services Plans (CFSP) and drafted a report - The report, “States’ Consultation and Collaboration with Tribes and Reported Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act: Information from States’ and Tribes’ 2015—2019 Child and Family Services Plans” summarizes information related to state implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and consultation and collaboration with tribes. The report also includes information reported in a sample of tribes’ CFSPs pertaining to ways in which states consulted and collaborated with tribes.

 

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Programs

The Children's Bureau awards grants through several programs regulated by CAPTA:

Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects

The Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration authority provides states with an opportunity to use federal funds more flexibly in order to test innovative approaches to child welfare service delivery and financing. The states can design and demonstrate a wide range of approaches to reforming child welfare and improving outcomes in the areas of safety, permanency, and well-being.

This webpage provides summaries and profiles of the active Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration projects, including their programmatic goals, proposed service interventions, and evaluation designs.

This webpage provides summaries and profiles of the completed Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration projects, including their programmatic goals, proposed service interventions, and evaluation designs. It also includes synthesis reports for the Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration flexible funding and guardianship demonstration projects.

These technical assistance documents are designed to assist states in developing full proposals for a waiver demonstration project. These documents include a template for waiver terms and conditions for capped allocations, a compilation of commonly asked questions about cost neutrality, and evaluation technical assistance documents.

These documents can help staff from newly approved Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration projects complete the Initial Design and Implementation Report and subsequent quarterly progress reports, Semiannual Progress Reports, the Interim Evaluation Report, and the Evaluation Plan Outline.

This webpage features a list of screening and assessment instruments to measure child and adolescent well-being and trauma complied by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families.

Title IV-E Child Welfare Demonstration Project Requests for Extensions — Procedures and Criteria ACYF-CB-IM-17-04 - This Information Memorandum alerts title IV-E agencies to updated and streamlined procedures that the Department of Health and Human Services will follow in considering requests to extend child welfare waiver demonstration projects approved under the authority of section 1130 of the Social Security Act.

 

Funding Opportunities

Want to know about upcoming funding opportunities?

Visit the HHS Grants Forecast website and sort by the ACF operational division to receive information about upcoming funding opportunities.

MORE ACF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES