ACF Unveils New Initiative to Strengthen American Families – A Home for Every Child

The Administration for Children and Families announced the launch of “A Home for Every Child,” a national initiative aimed at right-sizing the ratio of foster homes to the number of kids in the foster care system. The initiative will focus on both sides of the equation — increasing the availability of safe homes through diligent recruitment, prioritizing kin, and improving retention of existing caregivers while reducing entries into foster care through effective prevention and faster pathways to permanency. ACF plans to leverage all $11.4 billion of its annual federal funding for foster care and child welfare to advance this mission and will come alongside state agencies to give broad latitude, flexibility, and technical support to reimagine community-specific interventions. ACF will eliminate outdated bureaucratic barriers that discourage families from stepping forward, including streamlining foster family licensing, supporting kinship caregivers, and encouraging faith-based partnerships to expand the network of caring families.