The Children’s Bureau works with states, Tribes, territories, communities, and child welfare partners to strengthen programs and services for children and families. Its focus areas include adoption, child abuse and neglect prevention, foster care, child welfare services, prevention services, kinship care, Tribal child welfare programs, and national child welfare data systems.
Explore the focus areas below to learn about Children’s Bureau programs, federal funding, policy guidance, research, data reporting, monitoring, and technical assistance.
Adoption
Explore Children’s Bureau adoption programs, funding, research, data, and technical assistance that help reduce barriers to adoption, support adoptive families, and connect children in foster care with permanent families.
Child Abuse and Neglect
Learn how the Children’s Bureau supports child abuse and neglect prevention, identification, investigation, treatment, research, data collection, and technical assistance. These programs help protect children, strengthen families, and improve responses to child maltreatment.
Child Welfare
Explore Children’s Bureau programs, services, and national reporting systems that support state and Tribal child welfare agencies and promote safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families.
Child Welfare Programs and Services
- Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services — Supports services that protect children, strengthen families, and promote safe and stable living arrangements.
- Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations — Learn about demonstration projects that tested flexible approaches to financing and delivering child welfare services.
- Child Welfare Training Program — Supports workforce development and training for child welfare professionals.
National Child Welfare Data and Reporting Systems
- Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) — Provides national data on children in foster care and adoption.
- National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) — Collects data on youth in foster care, services received, and outcomes for young people transitioning from care.
- National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) — Collects national information on reports of child abuse and neglect and child protective services responses.
- Title IV-E Prevention Program Data Reporting — Provides information about federal reporting requirements for title IV-E prevention services.
Foster Care
Learn how the Title IV-E Foster Care Program provides federal funding to support eligible children placed in safe, licensed foster family homes and child care institutions, as well as related program administration and services.
Title IV-E Prevention Program
Explore the Title IV-E Prevention Program, which provides optional federal funding for eligible mental health, substance use, and in-home parent skill-based services designed to help children and youth remain safely with their families and avoid unnecessary foster care placement.
Kinship Care
Explore federal programs, funding, policy guidance, and resources that help title IV-E agencies support kinship caregivers and children placed with relatives or other kin.
Tribal Child Welfare
Learn about federal funding, title IV-B and title IV-E programs, discretionary grants, technical assistance, and other Children’s Bureau resources available to Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia.