Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
ACF Recovering from Disasters and Other Disruptions
After disasters and other breaks in continuity of services, child welfare agencies' tasks are continuing to manage, capturing lessons learned, and rebuilding better systems. In this section you will find federal and state resources for longer term recovery and rebuilding from natural disasters or other major unexpected events, including resources on mental health services and research.
Administration for Native Americans
The mission of ANA is to promote the goal of self-sufficiency and cultural preservation for Native Americans by providing social and economic development opportunities through financial assistance, training, and technical assistance to eligible Tribes and Native American communities, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Native Pacific Islanders organizations. ANA provides funding for community-based projects that are designed to improve the lives of Native children and families and reduce long-term dependency on public assistance.
Advancing the Self-Sufficiency and Well-Being of At-Risk Youth: A Conceptual Framework
This report explores how programs can help advance the self-sufficiency and well-being of at-risk youth. The research-based framework presented for efforts to help at-risk youth enter a career workforce trajectory is particularly relevant for youth who are or could be served by Administration for Children and Families programs but may also apply to other programs.
Administration for Children and Families/Family and Youth Services Bureau Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs
Eligibility: Youth aged 16 to 22 who are unable to return to their homes
Focus: Life skills training
Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs that serve transition-age youth include the Transitional Living Program and the Maternity Group Homes Program.
The Transitional Living Program for Older Homeless Youth promotes the independence of youth between 16 and 22 years old who are unable to return to their homes. Grantees provide housing and a range of services, including life skills training, financial literacy instruction, and education and employment services. Youth might live in group homes or in their own apartments, depending on the program and each young person's independent living skills.
The Maternity Group Homes Program, part of the Transitional Living Program, supports homeless pregnant and/or parenting young people between the ages of 16 and 22, as well as their dependent children. Services are provided for up to 21 months.
Administration for Children and Families
This site provides information about resources for children, youth, and families, including child care, Head Start, child support enforcement, domestic violence services, runaway and homeless youth programs, child welfare services, and more.
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
AFCARS collects case level information on all children in foster care for whom state child welfare agencies have responsibility for placement, care, or supervision, and on children who are adopted under the auspices of the state's public child welfare agency. AFCARS also includes information on foster and adoptive parents.
Child Welfare Outcomes 2006–2009: Report to Congress
The tenth in a series of reports from the Department of Health and Human Services this report is designed to inform Congress and child welfare professionals about national and state performance on several measures of outcomes for children served by child welfare systems across the United States.
Children's Bureau
The Children's Bureau (CB) is one of two bureaus within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Children's Bureau seeks to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships with states, tribes, and communities. It has the primary responsibility for administering federal programs that support state child welfare services.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Child Welfare Information Gateway connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.Tools to build logic models, as well as examples of program approaches, are provided for a range of child welfare topics.
Child Welfare Outcomes 2008–2011:Report to Congress
This report, from the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families' Children’s Bureau, informs Congress and professionals in the child welfare field about national and state performance on multiple outcomes measures for children in the child welfare system that address safety, permanency, and well-being.
Coping with Disasters and Strengthening Systems: A Framework for Child Welfare Agencies
This resource was developed by the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRCOI) a service of the Children's Bureau and provides information for before a disaster occurs, during a disaster, and after a disaster.
Creating a New Narrative: Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities
This video from the Child Welfare Evaluation Virtual Summit Series introduces a vision for the future of evaluating tribal child welfare and a guide for developing culturally and scientifically rigorous evaluations.
Cutting the Red Tape for Foster Youth Success
This blog entry discusses the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, a new law that added child welfare professionals to the list of approved people who can access foster youths’ education records and help transfer their credits to new schools. This can help ease the transition to a new school and increase the chances of these young people graduating from high school.
Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)
FYSB supports the organizations and communities that work every day to reduce the risk of youth homelessness, adolescent pregnancy and domestic violence. Learn more about FYSB programs.
Framework for Advancing the Well-being and Self-Sufficiency of At-Risk Youth
This brief summarizes a research-based framework that can serve as the foundation for efforts to move at-risk youth toward positive social, emotional, and economic functioning in adulthood.
Keep in Touch
Young people offer advice on staying connected and living independently
Learn More About Positive Youth Development
Learn more about Positive Youth Development with this resource by RHY. Positive Youth Development (PYD) 101 Online is a series of short courses intended to introduce PYD to new youth work professionals, volunteers, and advocates.
Measurement Matters: How Should My Program Measure Changes in Child Well-Being?
Released as part of the Child Welfare Evaluation Virtual Summit Series, the Children’s Bureau has developed the video "Measurement Matters: How Should My Program Measure Changes in Child Well-Being?," which presents guidance about issues to consider when attempting to measure changes in well-being outcomes over time.
Mental Health: The First Step to Well Being
This collection of articles from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth analyzes some of the most prominent mental health issues facing at-risk youth in order to provide youth workers with insight into the prevention and treatment of mental health challenges. Post-traumatic stress disorder, the risks and uses of psychotropic medications, and postpartum depression in teen mothers are discussed.
National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes
The National Resource Center for Tribes will join the Children's Bureau's Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network which is designed to improve child welfare systems and to support States and Tribes in achieving sustainable, systemic change that results in greater safety, permanency, and well-being for children, youth, and families.
National Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues
National Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues provides consultation, training, and technical assistance on all legal and judicial aspects of the child welfare system, including federal law, court improvement, agency and court collaboration, permanency planning, legal representation, and other emerging child welfare issues. The Resource Center, funded by the Children’s Bureau, is comprised of the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, the National Center for State Courts, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections
The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections at the Hunter College School of Social Work is a training, technical assistance, and information services organization dedicated to help strengthen the capacity of State, local, Tribal and other publicly administered or supported child welfare agencies in order to: institutionalize a safety-focused, family-centered, and community-based approach to meet the needs of children, youth and families. NRCPFC is a service of the Children's Bureau at the Department of Health and Human Services.
The NRCPFC is committed to providing T/TA & Information Services that are:
- Proactive
- Integrated
- Culturally Competent
- Collaborative
- Individualized
- Strength-based
- Family-centered practice
- Community-based practice
- Evidence-Based & Evidence-informed
National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NCFY)
NCFY is a free information service for Community, organizations, and individuals interested in developing new and effective strategies for supporting young people and their families. Their website includes youth development resources, funding announcements for FYSB's programs, free publications, and a calendar of conferences and trainings.
NCFY Voices: The Youth Dreamers Think Big
Two young people from Youth Dreamers share how they raised money to build a safe place for youth in their community to go after school. Youth Dreamers is a youth leadership group in Baltimore, MD.
National Youth in Transition Database
The National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) will collect case-level information on youth in care including the services paid for or provided by the State agencies that administer the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP), as well as the outcome information on youth who are in or who have aged out of foster care.