National Tribal Child Welfare Center for Innovation and Advancement | HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0067

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0067

The National Tribal Child Welfare Center for Innovation and Advancement is a discretionary federal grant from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Children’s Bureau (CB), to create a single national Center funded through a cooperative agreement. The Center is intended to be CB’s main vehicle for delivering technical assistance to American Indian and Alaska Native Nations that operate or are developing Title IV-B and Title IV-E child welfare programs. The core idea is to strengthen tribal child welfare systems in ways that improve outcomes for children, youth, and families while also protecting and preserving tribal cultures. A defining feature of the opportunity is that the assistance is expected to be culturally grounded, explicitly honoring Indigenous Ways of Knowing and emphasizing collaborative, respectful partnership with tribes rather than one-size-fits-all technical support.

The Center’s work is organized around several technical assistance focus areas. One major area is workforce supports, aimed at building the knowledge, skills, and overall capacity of tribal child welfare professionals, which can include training, coaching, and practical tools that help staff manage complex cases while staying aligned with tribal values and community priorities. A second area is prevention programming, supporting tribes as they design, improve, and expand prevention services that help families before crises escalate and before foster care becomes necessary. The opportunity also prioritizes support for developing and strengthening tribal child welfare programs to meet federal requirements tied to Title IV-B and IV-E, which can involve policy and procedure development, program design, implementation supports, and guidance on compliance expectations in a way that fits tribal governance and community context. Another key component is tribal-state collaboration, focused on building and sustaining meaningful partnerships between states and tribes, including improving coordination, reducing jurisdictional friction, and strengthening shared approaches that better serve children and families. Finally, the Center is expected to help tribes build data capacity, including data collection, analysis, and visualization, as well as guidance around selecting or procuring case management systems that support good decision-making, accountability, and reporting needs.

The funding opportunity spells out three overarching goals from the Children’s Bureau. First, it aims to help tribes achieve sustainable, system-level change that improves safety, permanency, and well-being for children, youth, and families. Second, it seeks to dramatically improve the lived experience of children, youth, and families when involvement with the child welfare system is necessary, which signals an emphasis on practice quality, cultural respect, and reducing harm in the process of providing protection and services. Third, it is intended to ensure delivery of effective, high-quality technical assistance to tribal child welfare agencies, meaning the Center should be capable of national reach, consistent performance, and practical, usable support tailored to tribal needs.

Eligibility is broad in terms of organization type but specific about experience and qualifications. Applicants must be public or nonprofit institutions of higher education, or public or nonprofit agencies and organizations with knowledge and experience in Indian tribal affairs and child welfare, consistent with the cited sections of the Social Security Act. Collaborative and interdisciplinary applications are allowed, but any partnership must name a primary applicant that will be responsible for administering the cooperative agreement. The announcement also clarifies that individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified. Faith-based and community organizations may apply if they otherwise meet eligibility requirements, and the program notes federal nondiscrimination protections related to an organization’s religious character under applicable rules.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0067 and CFDA/Assistance Listing numbers 93.648, 93.652, and 93.658. The award instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial federal involvement during implementation, such as ongoing collaboration, shared planning, or active oversight from the funding agency. The opportunity anticipates a single award, with an award ceiling of $4,370,700. The original application closing date listed is July 11, 2024, and the opportunity was created May 8, 2024. Overall, the grant is designed to support a national technical assistance hub that can help tribes strengthen child welfare systems, expand prevention, improve data and infrastructure, navigate federal requirements, and build stronger working relationships with states, all while centering cultural continuity and tribally grounded approaches.

• The Administration for Children and Families - ACYF/CB in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Tribal Child Welfare Center for Innovation and Advancement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.648, 93.652, 93.658.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,370,700.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0067

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