Title IV-E Foster Care Program

Title IV-E Foster Care Program is sponsored by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Provides federal funding to states for foster care maintenance payments, adoption assistance, and administrative costs.

The Foster Care Program helps states and participating territories and Tribes to provide safe and stable out-of- home care for eligible children and youth until they are safely returned home, placed permanently with adoptive families or legal guardians, or placed in other planned arrangements for permanency.

It also provides funding for allowable pre-placement administrative activities for eligible children determined to be at imminent risk of removal who, absent effective provision of preventive services, would be placed in foster care. The program is annually appropriated and funding is awarded as an open-ended entitlement grant. The Title IV-E agency must submit quarterly reports of estimated and actual program expenditures.

Funding is contingent upon an approved title IV-E plan to administer or supervise the administration of the program. The program operates in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Tribes with approved title IV-E plans. Title IV-E agencies may elect to offer foster care to eligible young people up to the age of 21.

Participating young people must be completing secondary education, attending post-secondary education, working at least 80 hours per month, participating in certain pre-employment activities, or have a medical condition that prevents them from participating in education or work activities.

The following states been approved to operate a foster care program serving young people over age 18: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota,Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For maintenance payments, the Foster Care Program provides federal matching funds at the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which ranges from 50 to 83 percent, depending on the state's or Tribe’s per capita income.

Matching funds are provided based on the expenditures made on behalf of children determined eligible for the program who are placed in a family foster home or child care institution (CCI) that meets applicable licensure and safety related requirements.

As amended by the Family First Prevention Services Act, the law authorizes up to 12 months of foster care payments for a child placed with a parent residing in a licensed residential family-based treatment facility for substance abuse. The law also places time limits on the ability to claim foster care maintenance payments for children placed in certain CCI’s.

Administrative costs are matched at 50 percent and include costs such as eligibility determinations, case management for children in foster care, development and operation of automated information systems, and independent legal representation.

There is a 75 percent match for allowable training for title IV-E agency employees, persons preparing for employment by the title IV-E agency, foster parents, private child welfare agency staff providing services to children receiving title IV-E assistance, child abuse and neglect court personnel, guardians ad litem, court appointed special advocates, and attorneys for an agency, child, or the child’s parent.

In addition, $3 million annually is reserved for technical assistance and plan development/ implementation grants to eligible Tribes.