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Federal Funding Sources

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the Cabinet-level Federal department that directly supports demonstration, research, training, and service delivery activities for a range of children's issues. The Children's Bureau, a branch of the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, is the main Federal funding source for child welfare activities. Other agencies that fund programs on children and family issues include the Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, and more.

• Children's Bureau funding

Grants.gov Grants.gov is the single access point for organizations to find and apply online for more than 900 competitive grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies. Federal Register Online Updated daily, this is the official website for rules, proposed rules, and funding notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

2004 Green Book (WMCP 108-6)
Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives (2004)
Supplies data on major programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, including child welfare.

ARC Federal Funding Toolkit
Accessing Resources for Community and Faith-Based Organizations (ARC) Initiative (2004)
Helps community and faith-based organizations navigate the Federal funding process effectively.

Child Welfare: Recent and Proposed Federal Funding
Congressional Research Service, Domestic Social Policy Division (2007)
View Abstract and Document
Describes child welfare programs funded through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.

Children's Budget
First Focus
Offers an interactive tool to explore Federal spending on children's programs. The tool includes raw data from 2004 to present on mandatory and discretionary Federal spending as well as descriptions of more than 180 Federal programs.

Chronology of Congressional Child Welfare Financing Proposals 1980-2003 (PDF - 172 KB)
Children's Defense Fund (2004)
Highlights Federal legislative proposals introduced between 1980 and 2003, enacted and not enacted, that included child welfare financing provisions.

Finding Federal Funding
The Finance Project
Offers funding guides and an online search tool for leaders who are interested in finding Federal funding for programs and services in specific policy and program areas such as early care and education, programs for youth, workforce development, and more.

How Federal Legislation Impacts Child Welfare Service Delivery

Kids' Share: An Analysis of Federal Expenditures on Children Through 2008 (PDF - 1820 KB)
Isaacs, Vericker, Macomber, & Kent (2009)
Examines how much of the Federal budget was directed toward children in 2008. Findings are based on detailed budget data released in May 2009 and capture the effects of early responses to the recession.

To receive notification of Children's Bureau discretionary grant funding announcements, join the grant announcement listserv.

Updated on March 1, 2010