Working with previously untapped community partners helps kinship-serving agencies to better empower and sustain kinship families. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on June 13, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET featuring a panel representing national organizations, including Family Resource Centers, that have local programming in communities across the country. Speakers will share how and why they began supporting kinship families and provide strategies for approaching untapped collaborators and working with them to serve local communities.

This comprehensive child welfare resource provides state and national data on child maltreatment, foster care, kinship caregiving, permanency, and older youth in care. The data are essential to help policymakers understand how many children and youth come in contact with the child welfare system, and why. States can use this information to ensure that their child welfare systems support the safety, stability, and well-being of all families in their state.

This report is a formative evaluation of two employment programs targeting young people who are aging out of the foster care system: iFoster Jobs in Los Angeles County and Mentoring Youth to Inspire Meaningful Employment (MY TIME) in Chicago. Key questions addressed in the report include do the programs operate in keeping with their logic models, who do the programs serve, are the program goals attained, what are the programs’ successes and challenges, and do the programs have the potential for future rigorous evaluation.

In July 2026, the Administration for Children and Families released notice of funding opportunities for two highly anticipated competitive kinship navigator funding opportunities. Applications are due August 7, 2026.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs frequently support grandparents and other relatives who step in to care for children during difficult times. This resource explains federal funding opportunities available to Kinship Navigator Programs, which help caregivers connect with services such as financial assistance, legal support, health care, and community resources. TANF practitioners may want to consider strengthening partnerships with kinship organizations in pursuit of these grants to improve referrals and ensure the caregivers they work with receive the support they need to create stable homes for children. Additional supporting information is provided, including a toolkit for developing kinship navigator programs, a list of kinship navigator programs across the country, and a webinar recording examining which federally approved kinship navigator program model is right for your state or Tribe. 

As of July 15, 2026, 30 states have either ended or substantially reformed the practice of diverting Social Security survivor benefits from foster youth. The action marks a major milestone in protecting earned benefits for some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.

In addition, states can now preserve foster youth’s Social Security survivor benefits in Fostering the Future Accounts — the newly announced investment vehicle designed to empower foster youth and support long-term wealth building. Since the accounts were announced in June, 25 governors have pledged to open Fostering the Future Accounts in their respective states. States both ending the orphan tax and pledging to open Fostering the Future Accounts advance President Donald J. Trump and the First Lady’s Executive Order on Fostering the Future for American Children and Families designed to improve the nation's child welfare system and protect the financial future of children in foster care.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has announced the Title IV-E Prevention Accelerator Grant, a new funding opportunity to help eligible Title IV-E agencies implement and sustain evidence-based prevention services that strengthen families and help children safely remain at home. Grants ranging from $300,000 to $750,000 will support states and Tribes in building the infrastructure needed to move prevention programs from planning to long-term implementation.

For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, this opportunity highlights the value of partnering with child welfare agencies to better coordinate services for families with complex needs. State and Tribal TANF agencies may wish to explore collaboration with eligible Title IV-E agencies to align supportive services, strengthen prevention efforts, and improve outcomes for families. Applications are due August 17, 2026.

On July 9, 2026, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, joined “A Home for Every Child (AHEC),” the ACF initiative aimed at increasing the ratio of licensed foster homes relative to children in foster care. 

AHEC operationalized parts of the Fostering the Future for American Children and Families Executive Order by offering states an alternative Program Improvement Plan (PIP) under the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR)—replacing lengthy paperwork exercises with a single, unifying measure: a state’s ratio of licensed foster homes to children in care. Child welfare jurisdictions nationwide have volunteered to participate because PIPs, long criticized as burdensome busywork that pulled caseworkers away from families, are now a vehicle for state innovation and shared accountability.

Building financial security starts with making sure families know about available opportunities. This Urban Institute resource explores early findings showing that many families who could benefit from new Trump Accounts are unaware the program exists. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, the resource reinforces the importance of outreach and trusted communication when introducing new benefits or savings opportunities, like the Trump Accounts. The resource can help TANF programs think about how to share information more effectively, encourage participation, and connect eligible families with tools that may support their children's long-term financial well-being.

Supportive services—such as childcare, transportation, housing assistance, and career coaching—can make the difference between participating in employment services and successfully reaching long-term goals. This National Skills Coalition resource highlights how these supports can help people overcome everyday barriers that can prevent them from finding and keeping a job. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, this resource can offer practical ideas for strengthening service delivery by connecting families with the resources they need to participate in work activities, training, and education. Whether reviewing your program's supportive services or looking for new partnerships, this resource can help TANF practitioners better meet families where they are and support lasting economic stability.

This report is part of the Congressional Research Services series that focuses on changes in programs affecting low-income children in light of the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).

Child support can play an important role in helping families achieve greater financial stability. This report reviews how the child support enforcement system has changed since PRWORA and explains its relationship with public assistance programs. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners can use this resource to better understand how child support policies affect the families they serve, strengthen collaboration with child support agencies, and help parents access resources that support their children's well-being while working toward greater economic independence.