Updated February 19, 2019
Child Welfare: Purposes, Federal Programs, and Funding
What Is the Work of Child Welfare
Who Bears Public Responsibility for This Work?
Agencies?
As the U.S. Constitution has been understood, states are
Children depend on adults—usually their parents—to protect
considered to bear the primary public responsibility for
and support them. The broadest mission of child welfare
ensuring the well-being of children and their families. Public
agencies is to strengthen families so that children can depend
child welfare agencies at the state and local levels work with
on their parents to nurture them, keep them safe, and provide
an array of private and public entities—including the courts
them with a permanent, stable home. More specifically, child
and social service, health, mental health, education, and law
welfare agencies are expected to act to prevent children’s
enforcement agencies—to carry out child welfare activities.
abuse or neglect by their parents/caregivers. If abuse or neglect
This work is done consistent with state laws and policies. At
has already happened, the agencies are expected to provide
the same time, the federal government has long provided
assistance, services, or referrals needed to make sure children
technical assistance intended to improve state child welfare
do not experience maltreatment again. For some children, this
work. Further, through the provision of substantial child
means removal from the home and placement in foster care.
welfare funding, the federal government compels states to
meet federal program rules, including providing specific case
Foster care is understood as a temporary living situation, and
review protections to all children in foster care. Compliance
a primary task of a child welfare agency is to find children in
with federal requirements is monitored via federal plan
foster care a permanent home. Usually this is done by
approvals, audits, and reviews.
providing services that enable children to safely reunite with
their parents or relatives. If that is not possible, then the child
At the federal level, child welfare programs are administered
welfare agency works to find a new permanent family for the
by the Children’s Bureau within the U.S. Department of
child via adoption or legal guardianship. Foster youth who
Health and Human Services (HHS). At the state level, federal
are not reunited or placed with a new permanent family are
child welfare programs are often administered within the state
most often “emancipated” from care when they reach their
human services department, or by an independent, state-level
state’s legal age of majority. These youth are said to have
child and family services agency. However, some states have
“aged out” of care.
county-administered programs supervised by the state agency.
Child Welfare Spending and Programs
Federal child welfare policy has three primary goals:
State child welfare agencies spent close to $30 billion on child
ensuring children’s safety, enabling permanency for
welfare purposes during state FY2016, according to a survey
children, and promoting the well-being of children
by the research group Child Trends. The majority of this
and their families.
spending (56%) drew from state and local coffers. The
remaining funds were supplied by federal programs dedicated
Children Served
to child welfare purposes (27%)—including those authorized in
During FY2017, state and local child protection agencies
Title IV-E and Title IV-B of the Social Security Act (SSA) and
screened allegations of abuse or neglect involving some 7.4
the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)—or
million children, carried out child protection responses
from other federal programs that share some child welfare
involving 3.5 million of those children, and provided follow-
purposes but are not solely focused on child welfare (17%).
on services in the homes of some 1.1 million of those children.
Principally, these are the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
Some 270,000 children entered foster care during FY2017, and
and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
as of the last day of that fiscal year, 443,000 children remained
Total FY2019 federal funding authority dedicated solely to
in care (including those who entered care during FY2017 or in
child welfare is about $9.8 billion.
earlier years). Circumstances most often associated with foster
care placement were neglect and/or parental drug abuse.
Title IV-E
Among children who were in foster care on the last day of
Title IV-E of the SSA primarily supports provision of foster
FY2017, the median length of stay in care was just over a year
care, adoption assistance, and (in jurisdictions electing to
(12.9 months). The majority (81%) were living in a family
provide this) guardianship assistance to children who meet
setting, 12% lived in a group home or institution, and the
federal Title IV-E eligibility criteria. Beginning with
remainder lived in other settings.
FY2020, as authorized by the Family First Prevention
Services Act (“Family First,” Title VII, Division E of P.L.
Among the 248,000 children who formally exited foster care
115-123), states may also use Title IV-E to fund certain foster
during FY2017, the majority returned to their parents or went
to live with a relative (56%), while more than one-third (34%)
care prevention services. Funding is authorized permanently
left care for a new permanent family via adoption or legal
(no expiration) and on an open-ended entitlement basis.
guardianship (including with kin). However, some 8% aged
Under Title IV-E, states are required to provide assistance to
out of care, 1% were transferred to the care of another agency,
eligible children, and the federal government is committed to
and the remainder left foster care for other reasons.
paying a part of the cost of that aid (50% to 83%, depending
https://crsreports.congress.gov

---

Child Welfare: Purposes, Federal Programs, and Funding
on the state), as well as a part of the cost of administering the
foster youth up to age 21 (or up to age 23 in states that offer
program (50% in all states) and for training (75% in all states).
foster care support up to age 21). Funding is separately
The federal budget authority for this Title IV-E spending is
authorized for Educational and Training Vouchers (ETVs),
expected to total $8.6 billion for FY2019, with most spending
which may provide up to $5,000 per year (for a maximum
used for foster care payments, case planning and review,
of five years or up to age 26) to allow Chafee-eligible youth
licensing/background checks, and other foster care
to attend college or post-secondary training.
administrative activities.
Funding for Chafee basic grants is authorized as a capped
HHS estimates 667,000 children received Title IV-E support in
mandatory entitlement; ETV funding is authorized on a
an average month during FY2018. Most received adoption
discretionary basis. Both funding authorizations are permanent
assistance (466,000); smaller numbers received foster care
(no expiration date). States are required to provide no less than
payments (168,000) or guardianship assistance (33,000). In
$1 for every $4 in federal funding they receive under this
general, unless a state has a Title IV-E waiver, it must only
program. Combined FY2019 funding is $183 million.
spend Title IV-E dollars (federal and state) on children who
Figure 1. Federal Child Welfare Funding by Purpose
meet federal eligibility criteria. For foster care assistance,
these include an income test (applied to the home the child
is removed from), removal requirements, (which typically
must include judicial findings that the home is “contrary to
the welfare” of the child and that “reasonable efforts” to
prevent foster care were made), and placement in a licensed
family home or other Title IV-E eligible facility. While the
share varies by state, nationally about 40% of children in
foster care meet those federal criteria.
Title IV-B
Title IV-B—the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare
Services (CWS) program and the Promoting Safe and
Stable Families (PSSF) program—primarily authorizes
formula grants for child and family services. In February

2018, these funding authorities were extended through
Source: Prepared by CRS using FY2019 appropriation levels or
FY2021 by Family First (P.L. 115-123). Total FY2019
definite budget authority from P.L. 115-245, and for Victims of Child
funding for CWS and PSSF, including for related research,
Abuse Act programs from P.L. 116-6.
training, and competitive grants, is $710 million.
Notes: Funding to states for “services to current and former foster
There are no federal eligibility criteria for receipt of Title IV-
youth” is authorized in Chafee. Funding to states for “child and family
B services. Funds are to be used to protect children (CWS);
services” is authorized in CAPTA and Title IV-B. Competitive funding,
support, preserve, and reunite families (CWS and PSSF);
whether authorized in CAPTA, Title IV-B or IV-E (including Adoption
Incentives), Adoption Opportunities, or the Victims of Child Abuse Act, is
and promote and support adoption (CWS and PSSF).
shown as “competitive grants, research, evaluations & incentives.”
Children served may be living at home or in foster care.
States must provide no less than $1 in nonfederal funds for
CAPTA
every $3 they receive in federal Title IV-B formula funding.
Federal policy concerning states’ receipt of and responses to
Funding is authorized on a discretionary basis for CWS and
allegations of parental or caregiver child abuse and neglect—
on a discretionary and a capped mandatory basis for PSSF.
the front door to child welfare involvement for most children
Some PSSF program funding is reserved each year for
and families—is primarily addressed in CAPTA. That law
specific programs, including the Court Improvement
authorizes formula grants to states to improve child protective
Program (about $30 million), grants to improve monthly
services, funds for research and technical assistance related to
caseworker visits with foster children ($20 million), and
preventing and treating child abuse and neglect, and formula
Regional Partnership Grants (RPGs) to improve outcomes
grants to support community-based efforts to prevent child
for children affected by parental substance abuse ($20
abuse and neglect. CAPTA’s discretionary funding authorities
million). FY2019 appropriations (P.L. 115-245) maintained
expired with FY2015, but funding has been continued.
the FY2018 level of PSSF discretionary funding (P.L. 115-
FY2019 appropriations for all CAPTA grants and activities
141), which was a $40 million increase from the prior year.
totaled $158 million (same as FY2018). As was the case
The FY2019 measure also continued the same use of the
with FY2018, the FY2019 appropriations act (P.L. 115-
$40 million: an additional $19 million for RPGs, $19
245) provided $85 million of this total to CAPTA state
million for grants to states and tribes to help them
grants ($60 million more than they received in FY2017).
implement kinship navigator programs (consistent with
The conference agreement to the FY2019 measure stated
requirements of Family First), and $2 million for HHS to
that the $60 million was continued to help states develop
enhance its help to states in implementing evidence-based
and implement “plans of safe care” for infants identified as
prevention services (as authorized in Family First).
substance-exposed, including services for their caregivers.
Chafee Program
Emilie Stoltzfus, Specialist in Social Policy
Title IV-E of the SSA also includes the Chafee Foster Care
Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood. States receive
IF10590
formula Chafee grants for services to assist children who
experience foster care at age 14 or older, including former
https://crsreports.congress.gov

---

Child Welfare: Purposes, Federal Programs, and Funding


Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10590 · VERSION 9 · UPDATED

---