Bolder Horizon Glossary
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)
AFCARS is the national database that tracks children in foster care and those adopted through the child welfare system. States and tribes that administer Title IV-E programs are required to report into AFCARS twice a year. The data include basics like the child’s age and race, information on their foster or adoptive family, and details about the child’s placements and case history. Policymakers and researchers use AFCARS to understand trends, measure outcomes, and guide improvements in child welfare.
Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)
Enacted in 1997, ASFA was a major reform focused on safety, permanency, and well-being. The law required that children’s safety be the top priority in all state decisions and established federal timelines to move children into stable, permanent homes. These timelines require that child welfare agencies terminate parental rights and pursue adoption, guardianship, or placement with a relative if children are unable to safely return home in a given timeframe. ASFA also added a direct focus on promotion of adoption to what is now known as the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program.
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
AFDC was the main federal cash assistance program for low-income families until it was replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 1996. Even though AFDC no longer exists, it still plays a big role in child welfare today. Under current law, a child is only eligible for federal foster care funding through Title IV-E if their family would have qualified for AFDC back in 1996.
This “AFDC lookback” has never been updated for inflation, meaning fewer children qualify for federal support each year. In Family First, Congress made the decision to exempt prevention services and placement in family-based residential treatment programs from the AFDC lookback, meaning states are able to receive federal reimbursement for these programs regardless of the child’s family income.
Chafee Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee)
The Chafee program provides federal funding to states and tribes to help young people in foster care and those who have recently aged out successfully transition to adulthood. It supports three main areas:
Independent living services for youth 14 and up as they prepare to leave care, those who exit foster care at 18 or older, and those adopted or placed in guardianship after turning 16.
Room and board assistance for young people who left foster care when they turned 18, up to age 21 (or 23 in states that extend foster care).
Education and training vouchers to help cover college or vocational training costs for youth eligible for Chafee services (See Education and Training Vouchers Program).
Together, these supports are meant to give young people who experienced foster care a stronger foundation as they enter adulthood.
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
CAPTA is the main federal law that guides how states respond to child abuse and neglect. It provides funding and sets requirements for states to support prevention, reporting, investigation, and treatment of child abuse cases. CAPTA also funds grants to states, tribes, and nonprofit organizations to test new approaches and improve practice. Beyond funding, the law defines child abuse and neglect at the federal level and establishes the federal role in research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection.
Title II of CAPTA, the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) program, provides grants to states to support community-driven efforts that strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect before it happens.
Child Care Institution (CCI)
Under federal law, a CCI is a licensed group setting that cares for children in foster care. It can be either publicly or privately run but must serve no more than 25 children. For youth age 18 or older, the definition also includes certain supervised independent living settings. Importantly, CCIs do not include juvenile detention facilities, training schools, or other facilities primarily for youth involved in the justice system.
Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) Program
The ETV program provides up to $5,000 per year to help Chafee-eligible youth cover the costs of college or career training. Funds can be used for the full “cost of attendance,” including tuition, fees, books, supplies, and room and board. ETVs can be used at a wide range of schools, from community colleges and universities to technical or vocational training programs. Originally capped at age 23, Family First gave states and tribes the option to extend eligibility to age 26. However, youth may receive ETV support for no more than five years total.
Family-Based Foster Care Placements
In family foster care, children live in the home of a relative (kinship care) or a nonrelative foster parent who has been approved by the child welfare agency. Family-based placements are the preferred option in child welfare because they allow children to live in a family setting rather than an institution or group facility. These placements provide day-to-day care, stability, and support while the child’s longer-term permanency plan (reunification, adoption, or guardianship) is being pursued.
Federal child welfare policy requires that children be placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting that can meet their needs. Family First reinforces this standard by prioritizing family-based placements whenever a safe and appropriate option is available.
Family-Centered Treatment Approaches
An approach to substance use disorder treatment that addresses the holistic needs of the entire family, not just the person struggling directly with the challenges of addiction. While the length of services and type of setting (in-home, outpatient, residential) can vary, what is common across these models is that children can remain with their parents while they are receiving treatment, and children also receive support to meet their needs as well.
Family Connection Grants
Created under the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Family Connection Grants funded projects to help children in or at risk of foster care stay connected to their families. The grants supported services like family-finding efforts, Kinship Navigator Programs, and residential family treatment. Notably, they were the first dedicated federal funding stream for Kinship Navigator Programs, which help relatives caring for children access supports and services.
Family Preservation
Family preservation refers to services and supports that help families in crisis remain safely together and avoid foster care placement. These services may include intensive in-home support, counseling, parenting education, or concrete assistance to stabilize the household. The goal is to address challenges early so children can remain with their families whenever safe and appropriate.
Federal Financial Participation (FF_)
FFP is the share of a state’s program costs that the federal government reimburses. The percentage varies by program and by state.
Federal Fiscal Year (FFY or FY)
Federal budgets and funding cycles are tied to the federal fiscal year (as opposed to the calendar year), making it an important reference point for policy and appropriations work. The federal government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Each fiscal year is named for the calendar year in which it ends. State fiscal years don’t always align with the federal schedule; some follow the calendar year, while others run from July 1 to June 30.
Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP)
FMAP is the rate by which the federal government reimburses states for certain programs, including Medicaid, CHIP, and certain social services including Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance. Each state’s FMAP is recalculated annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The formula is based on state income levels: states with lower per capita incomes receive a higher federal match, while wealthier states receive a smaller match. In practice, FMAP ranges from 50% (the minimum) to more than 80% in the lowest-income states. This sliding scale is meant to balance state and federal responsibility for program costs.
Foster Care Maintenance Payments (FCMPs)
Foster Care Maintenance Payments are the monthly payments made to foster parents, kin caregivers, or group care providers to cover the basic costs of raising a child in foster care. Federal law defines these costs broadly to include food, clothing, shelter, school supplies, daily supervision, personal items, liability insurance, and reasonable travel for family visits or to keep a child in their school. For children eligible under Title IV-E, payments are shared between the state and federal government. For children not IV-E eligible, the state (and often local government) covers the full cost. These payments are provided at a flat monthly rate, which is set by each state and may vary depending on factors such as the child’s age and level of need.
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections)
Fostering Connections is a major child welfare reform law aimed at improving permanency, stability, and long-term outcomes for children in foster care. It amended Titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act in several important ways to emphasize kinship care: expanding support for kin families, investing in family-finding and Kinship Navigator Programs, and creating the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program, which allows states to receive federal funds to support relatives who take legal guardianship. The law also promoted educational stability, strengthened adoption incentives, expanded access to foster care and adoption programs for tribes, and gave states and tribes the option to extend foster care to age 21 with federal support, an important step in helping older youth transition to adulthood.
Guardianship
Guardianship is a legal arrangement in which a caregiver—often a relative or other trusted adult—assumes responsibility for raising a child when the parents cannot safely do so. Unlike adoption, guardianship does not require terminating parental rights. Parents may retain certain legal ties, such as visitation or decision-making rights, while the guardian provides day-to-day care and stability. Guardianship can be a permanent option for children when reunification with parents is not possible and adoption is not the right fit, especially when children want to remain connected to their families. Federal support for guardianship is available through the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) for eligible children.
Independent Living
Independent living services are designed to help older youth in foster care or those who have aged out build the skills and supports they need for adulthood. Services can include life skills training, financial literacy, job readiness, housing support, and mentoring. Independent living is a key component of the Chafee program and may also include supervised independent living placements for young people who remain in extended foster care.
Institutional Care
Institutional care refers to any non-family setting where children in the child welfare system may be placed, such as group homes, residential treatment centers, or psychiatric facilities. These settings are typically intended only for children and youth with significant behavioral health needs that cannot be safely met in a family or community-based setting.
Best practices indicate that institutional care should be time-limited, high quality, and focused on treatment and stabilization so that the child can return safely to family and community as soon as possible. Federal policy emphasizes that children should grow up in the least restrictive, most family-like setting that can meet their needs.
Kin/Relative
In child welfare, “kin” and “relative” are often used to mean the same thing. Federal law and regulations typically use the term “relative,” especially in defining eligibility for foster care and related programs. However, states and tribes have the flexibility—and are encouraged—to define “relative” more broadly to include fictive kin (close family friends or other trusted adults who have a significant relationship with the child). We use the term “kin” to reflect that broader understanding, even though statutes and regulations usually say “relative.”
Federal child welfare policy emphasizes placing children with kin whenever a safe and appropriate placement is available, recognizing that children often do better when they can remain connected to family and community.
Kin Caregiver
A kin caregiver is a grandparent, other relative, or fictive kin (a close family friend or trusted adult) who provides full-time care for a child when the child’s parents are unable to do so. Kin caregivers may be part of the formal child welfare system—licensed or approved as foster parents—or they may provide care informally, outside the child welfare system. Both groups play a critical role in keeping children connected to family and community when safe and appropriate.
Kinship Navigator Program
Kinship Navigator Programs help grandparents, relatives, and fictive kin raising children connect with the resources, supports, and services already available in their communities. These programs provide information and referral, help families navigate complex systems, and often offer direct assistance.
They also promote coordination among public agencies, community organizations, and nonprofits to make sure kinship families can access the help they need. Under Family First, Kinship Navigator Programs are eligible for federal Title IV-E reimbursement if they meet evidence-based standards, making them an important part of the shift toward strengthening families and supporting kinship care.