Children's Bureau

**What We Do** The Children's Bureau (CB) partners with federal, state, tribal and local agencies to improve the overall health and well-being of our nation's children and families. The Children's Bureau (CB) partners with federal, state, tribal, and local agencies to improve the overall health and well-being of our Nation's children and families. With an annual budget of approximately $12 billion, CB provides support and guidance to programs that focus on the following: - **CB seeks to improve outcomes in the following key areas:** - **Prevention:** Preventing child abuse and neglect and entry into foster care - **Safety:** Preventing and responding to the maltreatment of children - **Permanency:** Stabilizing children's living situations and preserving family relationships and connections - **Well-being:** Enhancing families' capacity to meet their children's physical health, mental health, and educational needs and to help them address any existing trauma - **To accomplish our mission, we provide the following:** - **Guidance** on federal laws, policies, and program regulations - **Funding for essential services** and assistance to states and tribes in operating every aspect of their child welfare systems - **Support for innovation** through competitive, peer-reviewed grants for research and program development - **Training and technical assistance** to improve child welfare service delivery - **Monitoring for child welfare services** to help states and tribes achieve positive outcomes for children and families - **Research** to help child welfare professionals improve their services **Mission Statement** The Children's Bureau (CB) advances the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families by strengthening child welfare systems, supporting prevention and family stability, and promoting safe, permanent homes. As part of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), CB advances ACYF and ACF priorities through federal leadership, partnership, oversight, and resources. * * * **Program Description** CB has the primary responsibility for administering federal programs that support state child welfare services. With an annual budget of almost $12 billion, CB provides support and guidance to programs that focus on: - Strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect - Protecting children when abuse or neglect has occurred - Ensuring that every child and youth has a permanent family or family connection * * * **Program Administration** To achieve its goals, CB participates in a variety of projects, including: - Providing guidance on federal law, policy and program regulations - Funding essential services, helping states and tribes operate every aspect of their child welfare systems - Supporting innovation through competitive, peer-reviewed grants for research and program development - Offering training and technical assistance to improve child welfare service delivery - Monitoring child welfare services to help states and tribes achieve positive outcomes for children and families - Sharing research to help child welfare professionals improve their services * * * **Structure** CB comprises the following eight divisions and teams that work to support its mission: - Division of Child Welfare Capacity Building - Division of Performance Measurement and Improvement - Division of Policy - Division of Program Implementation - Division of Program Innovation - Division of State Systems - Office on Child Abuse and Neglect - Regional Program Units Visit the [Children's Bureau Organization Structure](https://acf.gov/cb/about/our-organization) for more information