These issuances are the Children’s Bureau’s primary means for communicating with grantees or potential grantees on a variety of matters, such as program activities and priorities, progress reports, research findings, funds available, related regulations, and proposed and pending federal legislation affecting human service programs. Information Memoranda may also provide program tools, models, and techniques that grantees may use for program development.
Disclaimer: Information Memoranda (IMs) provide information or recommendations to States, Tribes, grantees, and others on a variety of child welfare issues. IMs do not establish requirements or supersede existing laws or official guidance.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to update the National Model Foster Family Home Licensing Standards to reduce unnecessary administrative burden and clarify how the standards apply to non-kinship foster families as title IV-E agencies adopt kin-specific licensing standards.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to provide courts, CIPs, and child welfare agencies with preliminary best-practice information on technological changes needed for remote court proceedings for foster care, guardianship, or adoption.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to inform state and tribal title IV-B/IV-E agencies that pursuant to the Order and Final Judgment of the court in Texas v. U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Serv., Case No. 6:24-cv-348-JDK (E.D. Tex.), Doc. 37 (filed June 13, 2025), the Designated Placements Final Rule is vacated in its entirety effective June 13, 2025.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum is to provide state, tribal, and territorial agencies and Court Improvement Program (CIP) grantees an update regarding implementation of the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to inform states and Tribes of enactment of the Supporting America's Children and Families Act and provide information on the new law.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum is to inform state and tribal title IV-B and title IV-E agencies of a nationwide stay of the Designated Placements Final Rule and corresponding regulation at 45 CFR 1355.22.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to inform state and tribal title IV-B and title IV-E agencies of a final rule issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that implements Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).
This Information Memoranda (IM) provides State, Tribal and Territorial title IV-E agencies an updated Title IV-E Plan Pre-Print for the Foster Care Assistance, Adoption Assistance, Guardianship Assistance and Kinship Navigator programs.
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to inform title IV-E agencies that a final rule was published amending the AFCARS regulations to require state title IV-E agencies to collect and report data elements related to the procedural protections of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). This final rule was published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2024 (89 FR 96569).
This Information Memorandum (IM) notifies child welfare agencies about the release of updated nonregulatory guidance: Nonregulatory Guidance: Ensuring Educational Stability and Success for Students in Foster Care.