Federal Income Security and Social Services Grants

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to solicit applications for awards to support researchers conducting secondary analyses of data to address key questions of relevance to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). CCDF is the primary federal funding source for child care subsidies and aims to help eligible low-income working families access child care and to improve the quality of child care for all children. CCDF also aims to improve implementation of high-quality child care programs to 1) promote childrens healthy development and learning and 2) support the education, training, and well-being of child care workers through efforts that include child care licensing, quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) and professional development opportunities. Analyzing existing data sets may provide researchers an efficient and cost-effective method for answering critical research questions of relevance to CCDF. Findings from these awards are intended to inform policy, program administration, and future research.Topics of particular interest to ACF may include, but are not limited to: reducing barriers to access and/or improvements in access to child care and early education, particularly high-quality programs for those most in need of services; consumer education; recruiting and retaining a qualified early care and education (ECE) workforce; stabilizing the supply of high-quality care and education programs; improving teacher and caregiver competencies through professional development; supporting workforce well-being; and, approaches to engage, support, and meet the needs of families. Data sets of particular interest to ACF may include, but are not limited to, the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education and state- or territory-level workforce registry, subsidy, Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), licensing, monitoring, Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR), or Preschool Development Grants B-5 data.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to solicit applications for Child Care Policy Research Partnerships (CCPRP). These five-year cooperative agreements will support partnerships between Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies in states, territories, or tribes and research partner organizations with demonstrated research capacity to develop rigorous investigations of child care subsidy policies and practices. Sponsored projects will inform local and federal understanding about the efficacy of child care subsidy policies and practices to increase low-income families access to quality child care. To ensure that the funded work is timely and relevant to the current child care context, the CCDF Lead Agency and their research partner organization(s) must collaborate actively throughout all phases of the project and are encouraged to engage other local and state child care entities, as appropriate. This iteration of the CCPRP awards will prioritize research projects implementing rigorous, policy-relevant evaluations that will test whether quality improvement initiatives in states, territories, or tribes implemented through the CCDF quality set-aside increase families access to quality child care, especially access for: children in underserved areas, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, and children in nontraditional-hour care. Sponsored projects will be expected to participate in a consortium that will meet and communicate regularly to identify opportunities for coordination, such as common data elements and research methods, and to develop collective expertise and resources for the field. The consortiums collaboration will support research capacity and learning within individual projects and across recipients. For further information about prior awards made for CCPRP, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/child-care-policy-research-partnerships-1995-2023.

The Transitional Living Program (TLP) provides safe, stable, and appropriate shelter for runaway and homeless youth ages 16 to under 22 for up to 18 months and, under extenuating circumstances, can be extended to 21 months. TLPs provide comprehensive services that supports the transition of homeless youth to self-sufficiency and stable, independent living. Through the provision of shelter and an array of comprehensive services, TLP youth will realize improvements in four core outcome areas (i.e., safe and stable housing, education/employment, permanent connections, and social and emotional well-being).

The Maternity Group Home (MGH) program provides safe, stable, and appropriate shelter for pregnant and/or parenting youth and young adults ages 16 to under 22 who have runaway or are experiencing homelessness, and their dependent child(ren), for 18 months and, under extenuating circumstances, up to 21 months. Service providers must accommodate for the needs and safety of the dependent children to include facility safety standards for infants and children on the premises. MGH services include, but are not limited to, parenting skills, child development, family budgeting, and health and nutrition education, in addition to the required services provided under the Transitional Living Program to help MGH youth and young adults realize improvements in four core outcome areas. The MGH combination of shelter and services is designed to promote long-term, economic independence to ensure the well-being of the youth and their child(ren).

The Basic Center Program (BCP) provides temporary shelter and counseling services to youth who have left home without permission of their parents or guardians, have been forced to leave home, or other homeless youth who might otherwise end up in the law enforcement or in the child welfare, mental health, or juvenile justice systems. BCPs work to establish or strengthen community-based programs that meet the immediate needs of runaway and homeless youth and their families. BCP award recipients provide youth under 18 years of age with emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling and referrals for health care. BCP award recipients can provide up to 21 days of shelter for youth and seeks to reunite young people with their families, whenever possible, or to locate appropriate alternative placements. Additional services may include: street-based services; home-based services for families with youth at risk of separation from the family; drug abuse education and prevention services; and at the request of runaway and homeless youth, testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

The Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau announces the availability of funding to tribes and tribal consortia for designing and implementing projects and/or activities that assess, expand, or enhance the effectiveness of tribal courts and/or legal representation in cases related to child welfare, family preservation, family reunification, guardianship, and adoption. In doing this work, recipients are required to engage in and demonstrate meaningful, ongoing collaboration with the relevant tribal social service agencies.The funding is intended to help tribal courts:(1) Conduct assessments of the courts handle child welfare proceedings;(2) Implement changes to address the results of court assessments;(3) Ensure that the safety, permanency, and well-being needs of children are met in a timely and complete manner; and(4) Continuously improve the quality of court hearings and legal representation, including the engagement of all parties in child welfare proceedings.These awards will be for 4-year projects.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) anticipates soliciting applications for the Family Self-Sufficiency Demonstration Development (FSSDD) Continuation Awards. FSSDD award recipients who participated in the initial awards (HHS-2021-ACF-OPRE-PE-1944) are eligible to apply for the cooperative agreements that are intended to build the capacity of human services organizations to strengthen and evaluate coordinated, client-centered approaches to improving family self-sufficiency.The FSSDD funding has two main purposes. The first purpose is for recipients to contribute to the evidence on interventions serving low-income families with children who are eligible for or at risk of becoming eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).The second purpose is for recipients to increase their internal research and evaluation capacity to develop and implement evidence-informed programming that improves participant outcomes.During the initial awards, recipients conducted foundational evaluation capacity-building activities relevant to their interventions. During this continuation, award recipients will move towards formalizing, implementing, and testing the interventions developed during the initial award to determine if the interventions can be implemented with fidelity and demonstrate promise as evidenced through positive participant outcomes. Recipients will be required to work with a federally funded, third-party technical assistance provider.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are nearly 3 times more likely to enter foster care, compared to non-Native children. These four year grants are intended to generate evidence for how best to effectively implement child welfare practices and ongoing active efforts to maintain AI/AN families by funding state and tribal partnerships to jointly design and operate Indian child welfare best practice implementation demonstration sites. The evidence generated and lessons learned through this effort are intended to contribute to implementation efforts nationally to help maintain and preserve AI/AN families and allow their children to remain connected to their communities and cultures. The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity is to create and implement intergovernmental partnership models to improve implementation of child welfare best practices that are culturally appropriate for federally recognized AI/AN children to prevent maltreatment, removal from families and communities, and improve safety, permanency, and well-being. Recipients will serve as demonstration sites to design and implement projects to effectively implement culturally appropriate best practices in Indian child welfare, including research and evaluation of improvements in child welfare practice, Indian child welfare codes, legal and judicial processes, case monitoring, case planning, data collection, in-home family preservation services, infrastructure, and systems change. Partnerships must include the state Court Improvement Program, the state child welfare agency, and one or more tribal governments or tribal consortia including corresponding tribal court(s). The "Tribal government" partner(s) may be tribal child welfare agencies where appropriate under tribal law or custom.Effective culturally appropriate best practices for implementation require a high degree of collaboration between state and tribal courts and Indian child welfare agencies. Thus, both states and tribes must identify, build, and enhance necessary capacities. State/tribal collaborations will work together to craft solutions for longstanding challenges to providing effective best practices in Indian child welfare in ways that work best for their communities. This funding opportunity is intended to encourage state and tribal governments to work together to find creative, rational ways to meet the needs of AI/AN families with culturally appropriate best practices in Indian child welfare, with active efforts to retain or reunite Indian children with family as the gold standard for best Indian child welfare practice. The award also provides an important opportunity for states and tribes to build or strengthen relationships of trust by working together toward common family preservation goals. As part of the project, recipients may also consider the role of civil legal services in implementation efforts. Assessment of the effectiveness and/or need for legal representation to parties in Indian child welfare cases may be included in project work, as may provision of direct civil legal services, to the extent that such legal services are an identified part of a pilot or practice model to be tested.For purposes of this funding opportunity, "Tribal courts" are defined consistent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs regulations as "a court with jurisdiction over child custody proceedings and which is either a Court of Indian Offenses, a court established and operated under the code or custom of an Indian tribe, or any other administrative body of a tribe which is vested with authority over child custody proceedings.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announces funding for a new Refugee Children and Youth Resilience Program. Through this award, ORR intends to establish a program that will strengthen support for ORR-eligible children, youth, and the adults caring for them by building staff capacity with child welfare knowledge at refugee-serving agencies. The goals of this new program are three-fold: 1) to provide virtual Training and Technical Assistance (T) through a child protection lens to ORR-eligible children, youth, and their families, as well as refugee-serving agencies, to ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth as they navigate the refugee resettlement and integration processes, 2) to provide in-person and group trainings to local agency staff to enable better communication and coordination between local child welfare agencies and refugee-serving agencies and to increase local capacity to support refugees children, youth, and their families, and 3) to provide virtual and emergency in-person child welfare and protection case consultations and deploy culturally competent social work, mental, and behavioral health staff to facilitate on-the-ground interventions, including during emergency crises involving refugee children, youth, and their families. The recipient is expected to foster and engage with a network of subject-matter experts (SMEs) with child welfare experience in the fields of refugee resettlement and social work to provide both remote and on-site training, technical assistance, and consultations on critical topics, such as family strengthening, family reunification, mental health, and integration.The recipient will be expected to conduct regular needs assessments to determine the T focus areas. Additionally, the recipient will be required to develop an online resource hub with resources related to refugee children and youth resiliency. This resource hub will contain relevant information about the research and best practices that support ORR-eligible children, youth, and families as they navigate the resettlement and integration processes in the United States.ORR-eligible children, youth, and families include those eligible for refugee benefits and services including refugees, asylees, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, victims of human trafficking, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Amerasians, children in the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program, and other populations as determined eligible by Congress.

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to establish by cooperative agreement a National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (Center). The Center will be the Childrens Bureaus primary provider of training and technical assistance to build the capacity of Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) recipients, (to include states, tribes, tribal organizations, and migrant programs) and their partners to implement successful strategies that strengthen families and prevent child maltreatment. The key focus of the Center will be to enhance the ability of CBCAP recipients to effectively implement the requirements of the program and support evidence-informed and evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs and activities. The Center will facilitate CBCAP recipients work to plan for and develop a network of interdisciplinary community-based programs and activities that offer a continuum of services and resources that strengthen and support families to prevent child abuse and neglect. The Center will also promote CBCAP recipient efforts to engage individuals with lived expertise in critical decisions related to planning, implementing, and evaluating their CBCAP programs, and foster enhanced linkages between CBCAP recipients and child welfare, as well as other child and family systems to ensure families can access community supports tailored to address their unique needs. The project will have a 60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods.

The purpose of the Title V Competitive SRAE Program is to fund projects to implement sexual risk avoidance education that teaches participants how to voluntarily refrain from non-marital sexual activity. Successful applicants are expected to submit plans for the implementation of sexual risk avoidance education that normalizes the optimal health behavior of avoiding non-marital sexual activity, with a focus on the future health, psychological well-being, and economic success of youth. Applicants must agree to: 1) use medically accurate information referenced to peer-reviewed publications by educational, scientific, governmental, or health organizations; implement an evidence-based approach integrating research findings with practical implementation that aligns with the needs and desired outcomes for the intended audience; and 2) teach the benefits associated with self-regulation, success sequencing for poverty prevention, healthy relationships, goal setting, and resisting sexual coercion, dating violence, and other youth risk behaviors such as underage drinking or illicit drug use without normalizing teen sexual activity. The Title V SRAE legislation requires unambiguous and primary emphasis and context for each of the A-F topics to be addressed in program implementation. Additionally, there is a requirement that messages to youth normalize the optimal health behavior of avoiding non-marital sexual activity.

The Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families' Family and Youth Services Bureau announces the anticipated availability of funds under the General Departmental Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (GDSRAE) Program. The purpose of the GDSRAE Program is to fund projects to implement sexual risk avoidance education that teach participants how to voluntarily refrain from non-marital sexual activity. The services are targeted to participants that reside in areas with high rates of teen births and/or are at greatest risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The goals of GDSRAE are to empower participants to make healthy decisions, and provide tools and resources to prevent pregnancy, STIs, and youth engagement in other risky behaviors. Successful applicants are expected to submit program plans that agree to: use medically accurate information referenced to peer-reviewed publications by 1) educational, scientific, governmental, or health organizations; 2) implement sexual risk avoidance curricula and/or strategies with an evidence-based approach integrating research findings with practical implementation that aligns with the needs and desired outcomes for the intended audience; and 3) teach the benefits associated with self-regulation, success sequencing for poverty prevention, healthy relationships, goal setting, and resisting sexual coercion, dating violence, and other youth risk behaviors such as underage drinking or illicit drug use without normalizing teen sexual activity.

The Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families' Family and Youth Services Bureau will be accepting applications from eligible local organizations and entities, including faith-based organizations or consortia, for the development and implementation of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) in states that do not accept FY2024 allocations for State PREP. The purpose of this program is to support projects that educate youth, between the ages of 10 and 19 years, and pregnant and parenting youth under age 21, on abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV/AIDS. Projects are also required to implement at least three of the following six adulthood preparation subjects: healthy relationships, adolescent development, financial literacy, parent-child communication, educational and career success, and healthy life skills. The estimated award amount is based upon FY 2023 funding available for Competitive PREP awards and is subject to change.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF); Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF); Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) supports organizations and communities that work every day to end youth homelessness and adolescent pregnancy. FYSBs Division of Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) is accepting applications for the RHY Prevention Demonstration Program (RHY-PDP). RHY-PDP supports the design and delivery of community-based demonstration initiatives to prevent youth from experiencing homelessness. Through the development and coordination of partnerships with youth and young adult service providers, community organizations, and private and public agencies, the RHY-PDP will 1) identify young people at risk of experiencing homelessness; 2) design and develop a comprehensive community-based prevention plan to prevent youth homelessness; and 3) implement robust, holistic prevention services tailored for youth and young adults to respond to the diverse needs of youth who are at risk of homelessness and their families.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announces funding under the Refugee Family Child Care Microenterprise Development Project (RFCCMED). Through the RFCCMED program, ORR will fund successful applicants to provide refugee participants with training and technical assistance in professional child care, microenterprise development, and financial literacy; assist refugee participants in navigating the child care licensing process; and provide direct financial assistance as needed to enable participants to prepare their homes for child care business operation. Successful applicants will demonstrate internal capacity and partnerships to provide program services. The three main objectives of RFCCMED are to 1) help refugees to achieve economic self-sufficiency by establishing licensed family child care (FCC) businesses; 2) help refugee families gain access to licensed FCC businesses which will meet the early care and developmental needs of refugee children; and 3) assist refugees in learning how to navigate mainstream child care services.

The Street Outreach Program (SOP) provides street-based services to runaway, homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to or are at risk of being subjected to sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of human trafficking in persons. These services, targeted in areas where street youth congregate, are designed to assist such youth in making healthy choices and providing them access to shelter as well as basic needs, including food, hygiene packages and information on a rage of available services.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) anticipates soliciting applications for Behavioral Interventions Scholars awards to support dissertation research by advanced graduate students who are using approaches grounded in behavioral science or behavioral economics to examine research questions of relevance to social services programs and policies. These awards are meant to build capacity in the research field to apply a behavioral science or behavioral economics lens to issues facing families with low incomes in the United States, and to foster faculty mentorship of high-quality doctoral students. Applicants are required to demonstrate how their research is grounded in behavioral economics/behavioral science and the applicability of their research to practices or policies serving children, adults, and families with low incomes, especially those that seek to improve their well-being. For information about OPRE, please go to https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre. For information about related work ongoing within OPRE, please go to https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/behavioral-interventions-to-advance-self-sufficiency-bias-research-portfolio.SAM .gov System Alert - Entity Validation Delays:All applicants must be registered at SAM.gov and establish a Unique Entity Identifier. Due to high demand, SAM.gov is experiencing a considerable delay in processing entity legal business name and address validation tickets. As needed, please start the process early to avoid interruptions in application submissions. You can find SAM resources related to this process here - https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view=KB0058422=7bb8810ddba05990060d5425f3961912=1. Interested in this announcement? Create an account at Grants.gov and subscribe to this forecast to receive notifications of updates and publication.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announces funding for the Refugee Career Pathways (RCP) program. Through the RCP program, ORR will provide funding to enable refugees and other eligible populations to achieve self-sufficiency by obtaining the means to secure professional or skilled employment drawing upon previously acquired knowledge, skills, and experience. Under the RCP program, the primary focus is to assist participants in learning about career pathways and developing individualized plans to gain employment and advance within their chosen career field. Allowable activities will include case management, training and technical assistance, specialized English language training, and mentoring. In addition, eligible refugee participants may receive federal financial assistance for costs related to the establishment or re-establishment of credentials, such as obtaining educational credits or enrollment in required certification programs. ORR is requiring that RCP programs have a partnership with at least one educational institution (i.e., university, college, community college, or other institution with expertise in career and technical education) to facilitate career opportunities in ways that supplement, rather than supplant, existing services. RCP programs implemented by an educational institution must collaborate with at least one refugee-focused entity (i.e., resettlement office and/or other organization with programming specifically aimed at refugees).

Offering services and supports to older adults or persons with disabilities can enable them to maintain their independence and status in the community. In addition, we recognize that family caregivers provide most of the support that makes it possible for older people and people with disabilities to live in the community. Providing care can take a physical, financial, and emotional toll on family caregivers. Offering assistance to family caregivers can make it easier for them to continue providing care and allows older adults and persons with disabilities the opportunity to remain in the community.In 2019, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) established a new grant program that is testing models of programming designed to place volunteers in communities to assist caregivers, older adults, and persons with disabilities in maintaining independence by providing non-medical care. ACL proposes to continue the Volunteer Care Corps by funding a new one cooperative agreement to a national organization to advance the following broad objectives: Test person-centered model approaches of delivering local volunteer programming to assist older adults, persons with disabilities and their family caregivers in maintaining their independence. Evaluate locally developed test models to determine the benefit to volunteers, family caregivers, older adults, and persons with disabilities. Develop and implement a plan to broadly disseminate proven local models for replication in other communities.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) intends to award one cooperative agreement designed to better understand and address the needs of the Aging Network by documenting and reporting on Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), Tribal Organizations, and other organizations activities and expertise in health and the delivery of community-based services and supports.The Aging Network reaches into every community in the nation, playing a vital role in strategic planning, program development and administration, and service delivery. To ensure that older Americans have access to high quality aging services, the Aging Network must constantly review its programs and explore ways to innovate and enhance program design and delivery. There is an ongoing need to understand and document the activities that are undertaken in the Aging Network as its members grow and advance to accommodate the ever-evolving needs of the communities they serve. This funding announcement seeks to broaden the knowledge base of the Aging Network around ACL priorities, such as caregiving, housing, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as other critical issues. The primary goal is to increase ACL and the Aging Networks understanding of how AAAs, Tribal Organizations, and other agencies as appropriate, are adapting, enhancing, and expanding services and supports to meet current and future needs of older adults and their caregivers.