CB Fact Sheet
Children's Bureau
Children's Bureau
Mission Statement
The Children’s Bureau (CB), an agency within the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 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 provides leadership in addressing the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Program Description
CB has the primary responsibility for administering federal programs that support state child welfare services. With an annual budget of almost $12 billion, CB provides support and guidance to programs that focus on:
- Strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect
- Protecting children when abuse or neglect has occurred
- Ensuring that every child and youth has a permanent family or family connection
Program Administration
To achieve its goals, CB participates in a variety of projects, including:
- Providing guidance on federal law, policy and program regulations
- Funding essential services, helping states and tribes operate every aspect of their child welfare systems
- Supporting innovation through competitive, peer-reviewed grants for research and program development
- Offering training and technical assistance to improve child welfare service delivery
- Monitoring child welfare services to help states and tribes achieve positive outcomes for children and families
- Sharing research to help child welfare professionals improve their services
Structure
CB comprises the following eight divisions and teams that work to support its mission:
- Division of Child Welfare Capacity Building
- Division of Performance Measurement and Improvement
- Division of Policy
- Division of Program Implementation
- Division of Program Innovation
- Division of State Systems
- Office on Child Abuse and Neglect
- Regional Program Units
Visit the Children's Bureau Organization Structure for more information.
History
CB 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. Since its creation by President William Howard Taft in 1912, CB has tackled some of the nation’s most pressing social issues, including:
- Infant and maternal death
- Child labor
- Orphanages
- Child health and recreation
- Delinquency and juvenile courts
- Family economic security
- Abused and neglected children
- Foster care
In each of these areas, CB has provided groundbreaking leadership and garnered critical resources to improve the lives of children and families. CB celebrated its centennial anniversary on April 9, 2012, marking a full century of progress on behalf of children and families.
Number of Children/Youth Served by the Foster Care System
| FY | Served |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 570,000 |
| 2021 | 606,000 |
| 2020 | 631,000 |
| 2019 | 676,000 |
| 2018 | 689,000 |
This table shows an estimated count of all children who were in the public foster care system during the fiscal year. This number is the sum of two mutually exclusive groups of children: the children who are already in care on the first day of the fiscal year (i.e., October 1) and the children who entered foster care during the following year. An individual child is counted only once for each year.
Source: Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
Files
- PDF CB Fact Sheet (303.11 KB)