Fragmentation Contributes to Administrative Complexity in Child Welfare Funding

Interactive graphic with three columns: administering office, federal child welfare funding stream, and continuum of care or service-level allowable uses. It maps each funding stream to the continuum of care and services using data in the updated Appendix Table 1 (October 2026 CB edits). Use the view toggle above Column 3 to switch between continuum stages and service-level allowable uses. Use mouse hover, keyboard focus, click, or tap to highlight connections. Press Escape or Reset view to clear the selection.

Federal child welfare funding streams mapped to services and the continuum of care Three-column interactive graphic. Column one lists administering offices; column two lists federal child welfare funding streams and funding amounts; column three can toggle between continuum of care categories and Appendix Table 1 services. Curved lines connect each funding stream to the stages or services marked in Appendix Table 1. Hover, focus, click, or tap to highlight connections. Fragmentation Contributes to Administrative Complexity in Child Welfare Funding Federal child welfare funding is fragmented across multiple programs. No one source covers all services in the continuum. States braid and sequence funds to maximize use while managing administrative complexity. Most services have multiple potential federal funding sources. States may braid and sequence funding to maximize allowable uses. ADMINISTERING OFFICES FEDERAL CHILD WELFARE FUNDING STREAMS (Funding Shown) CONTINUUM OF CARE & SERVICES View by: Continuum stages Services CB Children’s Bureau OFA Office of Family Assistance OCS Office of Community Services CMS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 1 Title IV-E: Foster Care $4.3 billion 2 Title IV-E: Adoption Assistance $3.5 billion 3 Title IV-E: Kinship Guardianship Assistance $273.9 million 4 Title IV-E: Prevention Services $176.7 million 5 Title IV-E: Kinship Navigator Programs $16.7 million 6 Title IV-E: Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood $142.9 million 7 Title IV-E: Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) $42.6 million 8 Title IV-B: Subpart 1: Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services (CWS) $268.7 million 9 Title IV-B: Subpart 2: MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) $490.2 million 10 CAPTA: Title I: State Grant Program $103.5 million 11 CAPTA: Title II: Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) $70.4 million 12 TANF: Title IV-A: State Family Assistance Grant $2.3 billion 13 SSBG $971 million 14 Medicaid $1.2–1.4 billion 1 Primary Prevention Voluntary Community-Based Services 9 mapped funding streams 2 Child Welfare Intake Report and Intake 5 mapped funding streams 3 Investigation and Assessment Investigation Assessment 6 mapped funding streams 4 Family Preservation Foster Care Prevention Early Intervention 8 mapped funding streams 5 Child Placement Foster Care Extended Foster Care Kinship Care 9 mapped funding streams 6 Permanency Family Reunification Services Adoption Adoption Promotion and Support Kinship Guardianship Kinship Caregiver support Another planned permanency living arrangement 10 mapped funding streams 7 Transitions Out of the System Transitional and Independent Living Services 8 mapped funding streams 1 Primary Prevention Voluntary Community-Based Services 9 funding sources 2 Child Welfare Intake Report and intake 5 funding sources 3 Investigation and Assessment Investigation 3 funding sources 4 Investigation and Assessment Assessment 6 funding sources 5 Family Preservation Foster Care Prevention 8 funding sources 6 Family Preservation Early Intervention 8 funding sources 7 Child Placement Foster care 7 funding sources 8 Child Placement Extended foster care 1 funding source 9 Child Placement Kinship Care 9 funding sources 10 Permanency Family Reunification Services 6 funding sources 11 Permanency Adoption 6 funding sources 12 Permanency Adoption Promotion and Support 6 funding sources 13 Permanency Kinship Guardianship 8 funding sources 14 Permanency Kinship Caregiver support 8 funding sources 15 Transitions Out of the System Transitional and Independent Living Services 8 funding sources KEY / NOTES How to read: Three columns show administering office, funding stream, and continuum of care or services. It maps each funding stream to the continuum of care and services using data in Appendix Table 1. Use the toggle above Column 3 to view mappings by continuum of care categories or Appendix Table 1 service-level allowable uses. Hover, focus, click, or tap a funding stream, stage, or service to highlight connected relationships. Press Escape or Reset view to clear. Funding context: CB streams use FY2026; TANF FY2024; SSBG FY2023; Medicaid FY2022. Line thickness reflects the relative funding amount shown. Total funding is known, but the share used for each stage or service is not known. Federal funds account for 43% of total spending; state/local funds provide the majority. Thread color: CB OFA OCS CMS Highlight Title IV-E: Foster Care Highlight Title IV-E: Adoption Assistance Highlight Title IV-E: Kinship Guardianship Assistance Highlight Title IV-E: Prevention Services Highlight Title IV-E: Kinship Navigator Programs Highlight Title IV-E: Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood Highlight Title IV-E: Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) Highlight Title IV-B: Subpart 1: Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services (CWS) Highlight Title IV-B: Subpart 2: MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) Highlight CAPTA: Title I: State Grant Program Highlight CAPTA: Title II: Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) Highlight TANF: Title IV-A: State Family Assistance Grant Highlight SSBG Highlight Medicaid Highlight Primary Prevention Highlight Child Welfare Intake Highlight Investigation and Assessment Highlight Family Preservation Highlight Child Placement Highlight Permanency Highlight Transitions Out of the System Highlight Voluntary Community-Based Services Highlight Report and intake Highlight Investigation Highlight Assessment Highlight Foster Care Prevention Highlight Early Intervention Highlight Foster care Highlight Extended foster care Highlight Kinship Care Highlight Family Reunification Services Highlight Adoption Highlight Adoption Promotion and Support Highlight Kinship Guardianship Highlight Kinship Caregiver support Highlight Transitional and Independent Living Services