skip to content
Back to top

Children's Bureau


 

The Children's Bureau is the first federal agency within the U.S. government and - in fact, the world - to focus exclusively on improving the lives of children and families. The Children's Bureau provides matching funds to states, tribes, and communities to help them operate every aspect of their child welfare systems—from the prevention of child abuse and neglect to the support of permanent placements through adoption and subsidized guardianship.  The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a government-wide compendium of all federal programs that provide assistance or benefits to the American public.

About the Children’s Bureau

The Children’s Bureau (CB) partners with federal, state, tribal and local agencies to improve the overall health and well-being of our nation’s children and families.

What We Do

New CB Video

Our Organization
 

History

For the Press

Laws & Policies

The Children's Bureau provides guidance to tribes, states, child welfare agencies, and more on the complex and varied federal laws as they relate to child welfare.

Child Welfare Policy Manual

Policy/Program Issuances

Federal Laws
 

Technical Bulletins

Policy Resources

Training & Technical Assistance

The Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Network provides tribes, states, courts and other facets of the child welfare system with assistance in meeting federal requirements, reaching desired outcomes, using monitoring systems and more to promote safety, permanency and well-being for children and families. Specifically, the T/TA Network provides T/TA, research and consultation on an array of federal requirements such as the Child and Family Services Reviews.
Many requests for T/TA are made to Regional ACF offices. For a list of Regional ACF offices and the states they serve, visit the ACF Office of Regional Operations.

For a full list of T/TA Network members and their contact information, view the Children’s Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network Directory (2013).

National Resource Centers

Information, Training and Technical Assistance

Quality Improvement Centers

Statutorily Mandated Programs/Services to Grantees

 

Co-Sponsored National Resource Centers

Funded by Intra-Agency Agreement


Regional Implementation Centers

Other Related Links

Tribal and State Grant Programs 

The Children's Bureau provides matching funds to tribes, states, and communities to help them operate every aspect of their child welfare systems—from the prevention of child abuse and neglect to the support of permanent placements through adoption and subsidized guardianship.

Title IV-E Programs
Title IV-E of the Social Security Act provides  funds for tribes and states 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 Foster Care

Title IV-E Adoption Assistance

Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance

John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Programs

CAPTA State Grants


Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CBCAP)

Children’s Justice Act

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:

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program: Title IV-B, Subpart 1, of the Social Security Act 

Promoting Safe and Stable Families: Title IV-B, Subpart 2 of the Social Security Act 

Court Improvement Program

 

Discretionary Grant Programs

The Children's Bureau uses a competitive peer review process to award discretionary grants for research and program development to state, tribal and local agencies; faith- and community-based organizations; and other nonprofit and for-profit groups. The following provides additional information about the Children’s Bureau’s discretionary grant programs:

Additional Information

FY2000 - FY 2012 Discretionary Grant Awards


Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants Library

HHS Grants Forecast

Funding Opportunity Announcements

Discretionary Grant Program Areas

Adoption Opportunities

Child Welfare Training

Abandoned Infants Assistance

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Discretionary Funds Program

Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CBCAP)

Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program
 

Adoption Incentive Awards

The Children’s Bureau issues awards to states for increasing the number of children from foster care who are adopted. This document provides the cumulative adoption incentive awards earned by states from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2011.

Click on this link to download the document: Adoption Incentive Awards History.PDF


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. Using this option, 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.

Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects for Fiscal Years 2012-2014 ACYF-CB-IM-12-05
This Information Memorandum (IM) announces the Child Welfare Demonstration Projects for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2012- 2014.

Title IV-E Child Waiver Demonstration Project Proposals

Proposals were submitted by states for consideration as new Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration projects under Section 1130 of the Social Security Act. All proposals are now undergoing review by federal staff to determine whether they meet statutory requirements and respond to the priorities outlined in ACYF-CB-IM-12-05. Details of the proposed demonstrations are subject to revision and refinement in response to comments, technical assistance, and negotiation between the states and the federal government prior to final approval.

Technical Assistance Materials for Child Welfare Waiver
Demonstration Projects

The following technical assistance documents are designed to assist states
in developing full proposals for a waiver demonstration project.

A Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Proposal Checklist

Waiver Terms and Conditions Template

Commonly Asked Questions About Cost Neutrality

Evaluation Technical Assistance for Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects

Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects Helpful Resources

Evaluation Brief: Critical Issues in Evaluating Child Welfare Programs

General Funding Information

Apply to be a Grant Reviewer

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Information about How to Apply for Children’s Bureau Funding

Information on the Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants

Grants.gov

Grant-Related Documents and Forms

Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Project Webinars

Title IV-E Waiver Demonstrations: Overview of Evaluation Requirements and Considerations (June 6, 2012)

National Town Hall on Child Welfare Webinar

Synthesis Reports, Summaries, and State Profiles of Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects

Synthesis of Findings from the Subsidized Guardianship Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (2011)

Synthesis of Findings from the Title IV-E Flexible Funding Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (2011)

Summary of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations (March 2012)

Profiles of Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects (February 2012)

Summary Table of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations

Summary of Subsidized Guardianship Waiver Demonstrations (June 2010)

Child Welfare Monitoring

To help states achieve positive outcomes for children and families, the Children’s Bureau monitors state child welfare services through the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), title IV-E foster care eligibility reviews, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) assessment reviews, and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) assessment reviews.

AFCARS Assessment Reviews
State AFCARS Assessment Review Reports by Fiscal Year

State Guide
Helps states prepare for an AFCARS assessment review and provides more detailed information on the AFCARS assessment review process.

Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs)

General Information and Overview of the CFSR Process

Planning a CFSR
This section includes the Child and Family Services Review Procedures Manual, CFSR planning documents, and training materials.

Procedures Manual

Child and Family Services Review Planning Documents

Child and Family Services Review Training Materials

Engaging State Legislators in the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews;
An Information-sharing Tool for Child Welfare Agency Administrators

Instruments Tools and Guides for CFSRs

State Plans and Reports/National Summaries
This section includes reports from the first and second rounds of the CFSRs and the compiled results from the first round of reviews.

Reports and Results of the First and Second Rounds of the Child and Family Services Reviews

52 Program Improvement Plans: Strategies for Improving Child Welfare Services and Outcomes

Compiled Results of the Fiscal Years 2001 - 2010 Child and Family Services Reviews

Table of Data Indicators for the Child and Family Services Reviews and Table With Composite Weights

Reports

Promising Approaches
 

SACWIS Assessment Reviews

SACWIS Assessment Review Process

SACWIS Assessment Review Guide

Title IV-E Reviews

Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Fact Sheet

Title IV-E Legislation/Policy

Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review Schedules


Instruments, Tools, and Guides for Title IV-E Reviews
This section includes documents used to plan and conduct the title IV-E foster care eligibility reviews.

Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review Guide

Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility On-Site Review Instrument

Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Onsite Review Instrument (Spanish version)

Peer Reviewer Information for Title IV-E Reviews
This section includes resources for training child welfare professionals to serve as reviewers.

Peer Reviewer Recruitment

Title IV-E State Reports and Program Improvement Plans




 

Statistics & Research

Using information collected through various monitoring and reporting systems, the Children's Bureau analyzes and reports data on a variety of topics, including adoption, foster care, and child abuse and neglect.

Adoption and Foster Care Statistics

Child Welfare Outcomes

Child Maltreatment Report

Reporting Systems

The Children’s Bureau supports the development of state and tribal child welfare reporting systems to enable the collection and analysis of important information about children and families, as well as improve case practice and management.

The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)


The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)

The National Youth in Transition Database (NTYD)



 

This site contains links to other web sites that may be of interest to you. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) / Children's Bureau (CB) does not endorse the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites. Their contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views or policies of the Children's Bureau. Access to this information does not in any way constitute an endorsement by the Department of Health and Human Services. Furthermore, ACF/CB does not endorse any commercial products.