HHS Guidance

This Information Memorandum provides information on best practices, resources, and recommendations for using foster care as a support for families to mitigate the trauma of removal, expedite safe and successful reunification, and improve parent and child well-being outcomes.  It emphasizes the importance of kinship placements and the need to  build and support relationships between resource families and parents to facilitate improved engagement of parents, promote timely reunification, build protective capacities in parents, and strengthen overall child and family well-being, while ensuring child safety. 

Program Instruction that provides information about flexibility in Title IV-E program requirements that are available under the Stafford Act regarding the extension of foster care to 19, 20, or 21;  suspension of work and education requirements for extended foster care; allowance for unaccredited residential treatment centers to bill as QRTPs, provided they meet all other statutory requirements, if they are unable to meet accreditation standards during the crisis; and the ability of IV-E agencies to claim Title IV-E reimbursement for provisionally licensed families if the disaster precludes completion of the licensing process.

Letter which describes existing flexibilities in the title IV-E program that may help agencies better serve children, youth, and families during the COVID-19 pandemic including enhanced foster care maintenance payment (FCMP) rates; modifying foster family home licensing standards; temporary absences from title IV-E foster care placements;  re-entry into foster care after age 18; hazard pay for child welfare agency caseworkers; option to provide Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood Program (Chafee Program) services until age 23.

This letter outlines changes to two formula grant opportunities: extending the application deadline for kinship navigator program funding and eliminating the application requirement for Family First Prevention Services Act Transition Grants. These changes are intended to ease administrative burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provides Children’s Bureau guidance on Stafford Act Flexibility for the fingerprint-based criminal record check and monthly caseworker visits be in the child’s residence requirements.