Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget July 13, 2021
Request: In Brief
Emilie Stoltzfus
The President’s FY2022 budget request includes about $11.8 bil ion in funding for child
Specialist in Social Policy
welfare purposes. In FY2021, $12.6 bil ion was provided under the same child welfare

authorities. However, as much as $2.0 bil ion of the FY2021 funding is temporary or
additional funding provided general y in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or to

assist with implementation of the Family First Prevention Servic es Act (Title VII,
Division E, P.L. 115-123). At the federal level, child welfare funding is primarily administered by the Children’s
Bureau, an agency within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS). Several competitive grant programs included in the Victims of Child Abuse Act are
administered by the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.
The FY2022 budget requests $9.7 bil ion to support provision of foster care, adoption assistance, and
guardianship assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (Title IV-E program). The FY2022 request for
Title IV-E support is roughly $135 mil ion less than the sum expected to be necessary for these activities in
FY2021. The decline is based on an expected end (during FY2022) of the pandemic-related increase in federal
cost sharing for Title IV-E assistance payments. During FY2022, the number of Title IV-E eligible children
receiving assistance on an average monthly basis is expected to total about 720,000 (including 522,000 receiving
adoption assistance, 152,000 receiving foster care maintenance, and 46,000 receiving guardianship assistance).
This is up from the estimated 700,000 children receiving these types of assistance in FY2021. Most of the
expected growth is attributed to expected increases in the number of children receiving adoption assistance.
FY2022 wil be the third year that states and tribes may opt to use the Title IV-E program to offer selected,
evidence-based prevention services. As of late June 2021, there were 13 jurisdictions (11 states, the District of
Columbia, one tribe) with an approved Title IV-E prevention services plan and 15 additional jurisdictions (13
states, two tribes) had submitted a plan that was under review. For FY2022, HHS anticipates about $100 mil ion
in federal Title IV-E spending for prevention services wil be used to assist some 40,000 children on an average
monthly basis. (By contrast, FY2021 federal Title IV-E prevention spending is estimated to be $13 mil ion on
behalf of an estimated 7,000 children).
While the FY2022 budget does not propose changes in child welfare programs with mandatory funding
authorities, it does cal for $976 mil ion in discretionary funds, which is $212 mil ion above the amount provided
for these programs via regular FY2021 appropriations (primarily Division H of P.L. 116-260). This includes a
request for $100 mil ion in new competitive grant funding (under Section 426 of the Social Security Act) to
demonstrate collaborative (cross-agency) approaches to advance racial equity in child welfare systems, including
by re-orienting their work toward family support and prevention of unnecessary foster care placements, and $2
mil ion for a related workforce development and retention initiative.
Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), the FY2022 budget seeks a combined $200
mil ion for state grants to improve state child protective services systems and for community-based grants to
prevent child abuse and neglect (up from $151 mil ion provided for these two grants in regular FY2021 funds).
The Administration also seeks $46 mil ion under the Adoption Opportunities program (up from $44 mil ion in
FY2021) to address an “urgent” need for states to carry out required “diligent recruitment” of foster and/or
adoptive family homes that match the racial and ethnic diversity of children in care needing these homes. In
addition to these and other requests for additional discretionary child welfare program funds, the budget seeks $19
mil ion in new program administration funds for HHS-ACF. The new support is requested to assist states and
tribes in implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act (Title VII, Division E, P.L. 115-123) and to help
states improve child abuse- and neglect-related data collection and tracking.
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
Title IV-E Foster Care, Prevention and Permanency Request.................................................. 2
Funding Certainty Grants ................................................................................................. 2
Discretionary Funding Increases Sought ............................................................................. 3
Title IV-B of the Social Security Act............................................................................. 3
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)...................................................... 4
Other Programs ......................................................................................................... 5

Tables
Table 1. Child Welfare Programs: FY2021 Enacted Funding and President’s Request for
FY2022 ...................................................................................................................... 6

Contacts
Author Information ......................................................................................................... 8

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Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

Introduction
The President’s FY2022 budget request includes about $11.8 bil ion in funding for child welfare
purposes. This compares to $12.6 bil ion provided under the same child welfare authorities for
FY2021. However, as much as $2.0 bil ion of that FY2021 funding is temporary or supplemental
funding provided to (1) boost support for child and family services and assist youth in, or formerly
in, foster care during the COVID-19 pandemic ($485 mil ion);1 (2) temporarily increase the share
of Title IV-E foster care maintenance, adoption assistance and guardianship assistance payment
costs that is borne by the federal government (estimated $523 mil ion);2 (3) increase support for
community-based services to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect, and for
child protective services ($350 mil ion);3 and (4) assist certain jurisdictions that formerly operated
child welfare (Title IV-E) waiver projects to transition that work to implementation of the Family
First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) ($654 mil ion).4
Federal child welfare funding is primarily administered by the Children’s Bureau, which is an
agency within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS). However, several competitive grant programs included in the
Victims of Child Abuse Act are administered by the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ).

1 Division X of P.L. 116-260 appropriated $75 million for child and family services under the Promoting Safe and Stable
Families (PSSF) program (T itle IV-B, Subpart 2 of the Social Security Act [SSA]), $10 million for the Court
Improvement Program (Section 438 of the SSA), and $400 million for the Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful
T ransition to Adulthood (including $50 million for Chafee Educational and T raining Vouchers). Combined, this totaled
$485 million in additional funding that was directly appropriated by Division X. T hat amount is included in the $2.0
billion in estimated additional funding for FY2021. Separately, Division X of P.L. 116-260 temporarily authorized
expanded T itle IV-E eligibility to prevent aging out of foster care (April 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021) and
increased federal cost sharing for T itle IV-E prevention services and for the T itle IV-E kinship navigator program
(across the same time period). No data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration
for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget (OLAB) was received regarding increased
spending under those authorities, so any additional T itle IV-E funding that resulted is not included as part of the
estimated additional FY2021 funding. However, in a January 2021 communication with CRS the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) estimated that this increased federal cost sharing would result in $132 million in additional federal T itle
IV-E spending, across multiple years. For more information on Division X provisions, congressional clients may request
a copy of CRS Congressional Distribution Memorandum, Child Welfare and Hom e Visiting Provisions in the
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 , March 19, 2021. See also CRS Report R46770, Youth Provisions in the
Supporting Foster Youth and Fam ilies through the Pandem ic Act (Division X of P.L. 116-260).
2 Section 6008 of the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) authorized this temporary increase in federal cost
sharing via a 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). Acc ording to HHS,
ACF, OLAB, this temporary FMAP change is expected to increase federal T itle IV-E spending during FY2021 by $523
million. T he provision was also in place for three quarters of FY2020 and may be in place for the first quarter of
FY2022. For more information, see CRS Insight IN11297, Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Increase for
Title IV-E Foster Care and Perm anency Paym ents.
3 Section 2205 of the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2) provided $350 million in additional FY2021 CAPT A
funding. T his funding may be spent in any of FY2021 -FY2025. HHS, ACF, Supplem ental funding under the Am erican
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for the CBCAP and CAPTA State Grant program s, May 5, 2021, at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/
sites/default/files/documents/cb/pi2107.pdf.
4 Section 602(c)(2), Division N, P.L. 116-94 appropriated whatever funding needed to award “funding certainty” grants
to eligible jurisdictions for FY2020 and FY2021. Grants for FY2020 fun ding certainty were made in spring 2021 and
totaled $654 million. T hat amount is counted in this report as part of FY2021 child welfare funding.
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Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

Title IV-E Foster Care, Prevention and Permanency
Request
FY2022 funding for Title IV-E foster care, adoption assistance, and guardianship assistance is
requested at $9.720 bil ion, or 82% of the total child welfare request (compared to $9.856 bil ion
for FY2021). The reduced request for these Title IV-E activities (-$135 mil ion) is attributed to the
expected end in increased federal cost sharing for assistance payments that is tied to the COVID-
19 public health emergency.5 According to HHS-ACF, the number of children eligible for and
expected to receive Title IV-E foster care assistance on an average monthly basis in FY2022 is
151,9006 (which is expected to be less than 40% of al children in foster care).7 For that same year,
the numbers of children formerly in foster care receiving adoption and kinship guardianship
assistance are estimated to be 522,000 and 45,800, respectively.8
FY2022 wil be the third year for which states and tribes with an approved Title IV-E prevention
services plan may opt to provide selected evidence-based services to prevent foster care
placement. As of late June 2021, there were 13 jurisdictions (11 states, the District of Columbia,
and one tribe) with approved Title IV-E prevention services plans, al owing them to use Title IV-E
funds to support prevention work and an additional 15 jurisdictions (13 states and two tribes) had
submitted plans seeking approval.9 For FY2022, HHS-ACF estimates approximately $100 mil ion
wil be spent under Title IV-E for prevention services on behalf of 40,000 children. This compares
to an estimated $6.8 mil ion spent to serve 3,500 children in FY2020 and approximately $13
mil ion spent to serve an estimated 7,000 children in FY2021.10
Funding Certainty Grants
Under the Family First Transition Act (FFTA; Section 604, Division N of P.L. 116-94), any of the
24 jurisdictions (22 states, the District of Columbia, and one tribe) that operated an approved child
welfare demonstration project (“Title IV-E waiver” project) until the last day those projects were
authorized (September 30, 2019) is guaranteed a certain level of Title IV-E foster care funding for

5 Based on CRS communication with HHS, ACF, OLAB on June 11, 2021, the budget authority requested for T itle IV-E
foster care, as shown in the HHS, ACF, FY2022 Justification of Estim ates for Appropriations Com m ittees, includes
$99,750,000 that is being requested for federal T itle IV-E prevention services spending in FY2022. T he T itle IV-E foster
care, adoption assistance, and guardianship assistance number shown in the text then is based on the numbers shown in
the HHS-ACF justifications adjusted to remove the budget authority sought for T itle IV-E prevention activities.
6 Based on CRS communication with HHS, ACF, OLAB on June 11, 2021, the number of children estimated as
receiving “foster care” assistance in FY2022, as shown in FY2022 budget documents, includes 40,000 children who are
expected to receive prevention services. Accordingly, the number of children expect ed to receive foster care as shown in
this report is based on that information and is 40,000 less than the number shown in the FY2022 budget documents,
including as given at HHS, ACF, FY2022 Justification of Estim ates for Appropriations Com m ittees, May 2021, p. 316,
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/olab/fy_2022_congressional_justification.pdf.
7 HHS, ACF, FY2022 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, May 2021, p. 312,
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/olab/fy_2022_congressional_justification.pdf. This estimated
share of the caseload receiving T itle IV-E maintenance payments is as calculated by HHS-ACF based on FY2020 data.
8 Ibid., p. 316.
9 HHS, ACF, Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Children’s Bureau, “ Status of Submitted T itle
IV-E Prevention Program Five-Year Plans,” at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data/status-submitted-title-iv-e-prevention-
program-five-year-plans.
10 Information received by CRS from HHS, ACF, OLAB on June 16, 2021.
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Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

FY2020 and FY2021.11 Authorized for two years only, FFTA’s “funding certainty grants” were
designed to help these jurisdictions transition from waiver funding to traditional Title IV-E
claiming in the context of new policies under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA;
Title VII, Division E of P.L. 115-123).12 For FY2020 an eligible state’s or tribe’s funding certainty
level is general y equal to 90% of the maximum funding level it was guaranteed under its Title IV-
E waiver project, and for FY2021 the funding certainty level is set at 75% of the state’s or tribe’s
last maximum guaranteed level.13 A state’s or tribe’s funding certainty award is determined then by
comparing its relevant Title IV-E foster care claims in FY2020 (and separately in FY2021) to the
guaranteed funding level. If the relevant federal IV-E foster care funding a state received is less
than the funding certainly level for the given year, an award is made; if the amount received is
equal to or more than the funding certainty level, no funding certainty award is made.
Grant amounts owed to a jurisdiction may only be calculated once the amount of federal money
the jurisdiction claimed for Title IV-E during the relevant year is known. Accordingly, the amounts
of FY2020 grants were determined in FY2021, and in spring 2021 18 jurisdictions (16 states, the
District of Columbia, and one tribe) received awards totaling $654 mil ion. FY2021 grants are
expected to total $490 mil ion and wil be awarded during FY2022.14 Funding certainty grants are
not authorized for FY2022 and the President’s budget does not seek new funding for them.15
Discretionary Funding Increases Sought
While the President’s FY2022 budget does not propose to expand mandatory funding authorized
for child welfare purposes, it does seek discretionary funding increases of $212 mil ion spread
across multiple programs. The requested increases are sought to further racial equity in child
welfare practices and encourage greater support for families in order to prevent both child abuse
and neglect and the need to place children in foster care. Specifical y, the budget seeks the
following increases in discretionary funding:
Title IV-B of the Social Security Act
 $121 mil ion for Child Welfare Research, Training or Demonstration (Section 426
of the Social Security Act) (compared to $19 mil ion provided in FY2021). This
amount includes $100 mil ion for new competitive grants intended to support

11 HHS, ACF, ACYF, Children’s Bureau, Family First Transition Act, PI-20-04, February 27, 2020, at
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/pi2004.pdf.
12 For more information on this issue, congressional clients may request a copy of CRS Congressional Distribution
Memorandum Title IV-E Waiver Projects and Im plem entation of Fam ily First, September 19, 2019. See also CRS
Insight IN10858, Fam ily First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA).
13 Generally, the funding certainty grants were designed to ensure a former waiver jurisdiction received relevant T itle
IV-E foster care funding in FY2020 that was no less than 90% of its guaranteed waiver funding level, and receives
funding in FY2021 that is no less than 75% of that waiver funding level. Division X of P.L. 116-260 made an adjustment
to the calculation of this guaranteed level to account for increased federal T itle IV-E funding authorized via the Family
First Coronavirus Relief Act (P.L. 116-127). See HHS, ACF, ACYF, Children’s Bureau, Adjustm ent of Baselines for
Fam ily First Transition Act Funding Certainty Grants, PI-21-07, Section E, March 9, 2021, at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/
sites/default/files/documents/cb/pi2104.pdf.
14 Information received by CRS from HHS, ACF, OLAB on June 11, 2021. FY2020 funding certainty grants were made
in spring 2021 to AZ, AR, CA, DC, FL, HI, IL, IN, KY, NE, NV, NY, OH, OR, T N, UT , WA, and the Port Gamble
S’Klallam T ribe.
15 HHS, ACF, FY2022 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, May 2021, p. 308,
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/olab/fy_2022_congressional_justification.pdf.
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Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

ongoing, cross-agency collaborations that advance practice and policy changes to
increase racial equity and reduce the use of foster care—providing greater support
to families to prevent both child abuse and neglect and unnecessary removal of
children to foster care, and $2 mil ion to support related child welfare workforce
recruitment, retention, and training initiatives.16
 $106 mil ion in discretionary funding for the MaryLee Al en Promoting Safe and
Stable Families (PSSF) program (compared to $83 mil ion provided in FY2021),
with the greater discretionary funding used to17
 increase support for the development, operation, and evaluation of kinship
navigator programs ($30 mil ion requested, compared to $20 mil ion provided
in FY2021);
 boost funds for the Family First (Title IV-E) Prevention Services
Clearinghouse to support program evaluation, including technical assistance
to states on program evaluations ($9 mil ion requested, compared to $2.75
mil ion provided in FY2021); and
 offer an additional $7 mil ion for regional partnership grants (RPGs) to
improve outcomes for children and families affected by substance use
disorder.
 $275 mil ion for the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services (CWS)
program (compared to $269 mil ion in FY2021) to help improve state and tribal
agencies’ child welfare services with the goal of keeping families together.18
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
 $120 mil ion for grants to strengthen state child protective services under CAPTA
(compared to $90 mil ion provided for these grants in regular FY2021 enacted
funding) to enhance interagency collaboration, better support families to prevent
child abuse and neglect, and improve services to families and children affected by
substance use disorder.19
 $80 mil ion for CAPTA’s community-based grants for child abuse prevention
(CBCAP) (compared to $61 mil ion provided for these grants in regular FY2021
enacted funding) to increase the ability of state lead agencies to develop and
coordinate effective and cultural y responsive community-based family support
and prevention services for historical y marginalized communities (including
families of color, immigrant populations, rural communities, and others).20

16 Ibid., pp. 172-173.
17 Ibid., p. 287. In FY2021, the funding provided for kinship navigators and for the T itle IV-E clearinghouse was $19
million and $2.6 million, respectively, based on a separate proviso of the appropriations law that increased PSSF
discretionary funds reserved for other program-related research and evaluation. T he appropriations language included in
the FY2022 budget request is unclear on how that proviso would apply to amounts requested for those purposes in
FY2022 as well as the amount requested for regional partnership grants (RPGs).
18 Ibid., p. 166.
19 Ibid., p. 150.
20 Ibid., p. 160.
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Other Programs
 $48 mil ion for Chafee Educational and Training Vouchers (ETVs) (compared to
$43 mil ion in regular FY2021 funding) to enable an additional 1,000 to 2,000
current and former foster youth to receive this post-secondary education support.21
 $46 million for Adoption Opportunities (compared to $44 mil ion in FY2021) to
address an “urgent” need for improved “diligent recruitment” efforts to identify
home and families that meet the needs, and reflect the racial and cultural
representation, of children in care.22
 $70 mil ion combined for three grant programs under the Victims of Child Abuse
Act, including $50 mil ion for Children’s Advocacy Centers (compared to $30
mil ion in FY2021),23 $14 mil ion for Court Appointed Special Advocates
(compared to $12.5 mil ion in FY2021),24 and $6 mil ion for training of judicial
practitioners and personnel in handling of child abuse cases (compared to $3.5
mil ion in FY2021).25
Separately, and apart from direct child welfare program support, the FY2022 budget requests an
additional $19 mil ion in federal administration funds to enable HHS-ACF to help states and tribes
implement the Family First Prevention Services Act and to help states improve data collection and
tracking related to child abuse and neglect.26
Table 1 shows, by child welfare program, final FY2021 funding and funding requested for
FY2022 as part of the President’s budget.

21 Ibid., p. 219.
22 Ibid., p. 176.
23 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, FY2022 Performance Budget, May 2021, p. 120 at
https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1399261/download.
24 Ibid., p. 134.
25 Ibid., p. 135.
26 HHS, ACF, FY2022 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, May 2021, p. 227,
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/olab/fy_2022_congressional_justification.pdf.
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Table 1. Child Welfare Programs:
FY2021 Enacted Funding and President’s Request for FY2022
(Dol ars in mil ions; parts may not sum to total due to rounding)
FY2021
FY2022
Program
(Enacted Funding)
(President’s Request)
TOTAL
$12,614a
$11,799a
(including additional and
temporarily authorized
fundingb)
Title IV-B of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §621 et seq.)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services (CWS)
$269
$275
MaryLee Al en Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF)
$493c
$451c
= $407 regular funds +
$85 supplemental
Child Welfare Research, Training or Demonstration
$19
$121
Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §670 et seq.)
Foster Care
$5,783d
$5,730d
Adoption Assistance
$3,802
$3,736
Kinship Guardianship Assistance
$271
$254
Prevention Services
$13d
$100d
Prevention Services Clearinghouse
$1
$1
+$2.6 out of PSSF funds +$9 requested out of PSSF funds
Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development and Technical Asst.
$3
$3
Chafee Foster Care Program for the Successful Transition
$493
$143
to Adulthood (Chafee)
= $143 regular funds +
$350 supplemental
Chafee Educational and Training Vouchers (ETVs)
$93
$48
= $43 regular funds +
$50 supplemental
Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentive Payments
$75
$75
Funding Certainty Grants
$654
$490
(Temporarily authorized by the Family First Transition Act,
Section 602, Division N of P.L. 116-94)
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and Related Programs (42 U.S.C. §§5101 et seq.)
State Grants (Title I)
$190
$120
= $90 regular funds +
$100 supplemental
Discretionary Activities (Title I)
$35
$35
Community-Based Grants to Prevent Child Abuse
$311
$80
(CBCAP grants) (Title II)
= $61 in regular funds +
$250 mil ion supplemental
Children’s Justice Act Grants
$20
$20
Adoption Opportunities
$44
$46
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Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

FY2021
FY2022
Program
(Enacted Funding)
(President’s Request)
Victims of Child Abuse Act (34 U.S.C. §§2030-20304)
Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and related technical
$30
$50
assistance and training
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs)
$12.5
$14
Training for Judicial Practitioners and Personnel
$3.5
$6
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Justification of Estimates for Appropriations
Committees, May 2021; and CRS communications with HHS, ACF, Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget (OLAB),
June 11, 2021.
Notes: Parts may not sum to total due to rounding. Numbers shown include final appropriations provided for
FY2021 via P.L. 116-260, Division H (and for supplemental funds, Division X of P.L. 116-260, and P.L. 117-2), or
amounts requested in the FY2022 President’s budget. In the case of Title IV-E foster care, adoption assistance,
guardianship assistance, and prevention services, however, the amount general y includes definite budget authority,
HHS, ACF, OLAB estimated as necessary for these purposes in the given year. See table note a for an exception
to this rule and table note d for additional information about the foster care and prevention numbers.
a. These FY2021 final and FY2022 request total amounts include $654 mil ion and $490 mil ion, respectively, for
funding certainty grants. These grants were authorized for FY2020 and FY2021 (so the budget authority
belongs to those years). However, based on the statute, the amount of these grants may not be determined
prior to the subsequent fiscal year. Thus, $654 mil ion (FY2020 authority) was awarded during FY2021 and
$490 mil ion (FY2021 authority) is expected to be awarded in FY2022; those amounts are shown in the year
they are expected to be awarded. Funding certainty grants were temporarily authorized in the Family First
Prevention Services Act (Title VII, Division E of P.L. 115-123) and are not authorized for FY2022 or later
years and the President’s FY2022 budget does not request any additional authority to fund them for that
year.
b. This amount includes $835 mil ion in supplemental funding provided as definite sums in the Supporting Foster
Youth and Families Through the Pandemic Act (Division X of P.L. 116-260) and in the American Rescue Plan
Act (Section 2205 of P.L. 117-2). It also includes $523 mil ion that is the estimated amount of additional
federal Title IV-E funds paid to states and tribes based on the temporary increase in the federal medical
assistance percentage (FMAP), including in the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (P.L. 116-127). For more
information, see CRS Insight IN11297, Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Increase for Title IV-E Foster
Care and Permanency Payments. Division X of P.L. 116-260 also provided additional authority for use of Title
IV-E foster care funds to maintain youth in care who would otherwise age out during the pandemic, and to
expand federal cost sharing for Title IV-E prevention services and Title IV-E kinship navigator funding. The
amount of budget authority associated with those additional provisions (each slated to expire on September
30, 2021) was not itemized in data received by CRS from HHS, ACF, OLAB.
c. These numbers include both mandatory and discretionary funding provided for PSSF. Final FY2021 funding is
shown post-sequestration, which reduced the appropriated mandatory PSSF funding by close to $19.7
mil ion. The President’s FY2022 budget request is shown pre-sequestration. However, the OMB Report to
Congress on the BBEDCA 251A Sequestration for Fiscal Year 2022 shows a reduction of 5.7% applicable to PSSF
account, which would again be roughly $19.7 mil ion.
d. The information shown for Title IV-E foster care and Title IV-E prevention services is based on CRS
communication with HHS, ACF, OLAB on June 11 and 16, 2021. According to this communication, the
budget authority associated with Title IV-E foster care (for FY2021 and the FY2022 request) includes budget
authority for Title IV-E prevention services. The data shown here are based on HHS-ACF estimates that
separate these two purposes. However, when summed (for each year) they equal the number shown for
foster care in HHS, ACF, FY2022 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, May 2021, p. 308,
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/olab/fy_2022_congressional_justification.pdf.

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Child Welfare in the President’s FY2022 Budget Request: In Brief

Author Information

Emilie Stoltzfus

Specialist in Social Policy

Disclaimer
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Congressional Research Service
R46838 · VERSION 1 · NEW
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