Adoption Opportunities

 

The purpose of this program is to eliminate barriers, including geographic barriers, to adoption and to provide permanent, loving home environments for children who would benefit from adoption, particularly children with special needs.

Active 93.652 Administration For Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 It is anticipated that 33 grants will be awarded. 31 grants were awarded.
Fiscal Year 2017 21 grants were awarded.
Fiscal Year 2018 13 grants were awarded in FY 2018.
Fiscal Year 2019 11 grants were awarded in FY 2019.
Fiscal Year 2020 11 grants were awarded in FY 2020.
Fiscal Year 2021 12 grants were awarded in FY 2021.
Fiscal Year 2022 13 grants were awarded in FY 2022.
Fiscal Year 2023 It is anticipated that seven grants will be awarded in FY 2023. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption (CAPTA) Reform Act of 1978. 42 U.S.C. 5111 et seq., Title II, Section 205 State, local government entities, public or private licensed child welfare or adoption agencies or community based organizations are eligible. See the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for information on eligibility. Children who are in foster care with the goal of adoption, especially children with special needs, that is, children who are older, minority children and infants and toddlers with disabilities who have a life-threatening condition. Proof of non-profit status must be submitted prior to the award of a grant. Preapplication coordination is required. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. Pre-application assistance may be available. Applicants may refer to the NOFO on Grants.gov for further information. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. The criteria for selecting proposals will be published in the NOFOs available on https://www.grants.gov. Each application will be screened to determine whether it meets any of the disqualifying factors: missing the application deadline, required electronic submission or waiver requested and approved, or exceeding the Award Ceiling. Disqualified applications are considered to be "non-responsive" and are excluded from the competitive review process. Applications competing for financial assistance will be reviewed and evaluated by merit review panels using only the criteria described in the NOFO. Each panel is composed of experts with knowledge and experience in the area under review. Generally, review panels include three reviewers and one chairperson. Results of the competitive merit review are taken into consideration by ACF in the selection of projects for funding; however, merit review scores and rankings are not binding. Scores and rankings are only one element used in the award decision-making process. ACF reserves the right to evaluate applications in the larger context of the overall portfolio by considering geographic distribution of federal funds (e.g. ensuring coverage of states, counties, or service areas) in its pre-award decisions. ACF will complete a review of risk posed by applicants as described in 45 CFR 75.205. ACF may elect not to fund applicants with management or financial problems that would indicate an inability to successfully complete the proposed project. Applications may be funded in whole or in part. Successful applicants may be funded at an amount lower than requested. Funding decisions will be made by Commissioner, ACYF. The deadline for applications is listed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The range for approval/disapproval is 90 to 180 days. There is no appeal process for unsuccessful applicants. For existing recipients, appeals may take place in accordance with 45 CFR Part 16, subject to the limitations of Appendix A. Multi-year projects are funded on an annual basis through submission of a non-competing continuation application. Non-competing continuations will be issued based on availability of funds, satisfactory progress, compliance with award terms and conditions and a determination that continuation funding is in the best interest of the federal government. The criteria for selecting proposals will be published in the Funding Opportunity Announcement. Required activities under the Adoption Opportunities program include: (1) conducting an education and training program on adoption and prepare, publish and disseminate information and education and training materials regarding adoption, adoption assistance and post-legal adoption services; (2) conducting extensive recruitment efforts on a national level to promote the adoption of children with special needs and develop a national public awareness effort to unite children in need of adoption with appropriate adoptive parents; (3) operating a national adoption information exchange system; (4) providing technical assistance to programs related to the adoption of special needs children and promote professional leadership training of minorities in the adoption field; (5) encouraging corporations and small businesses to establish adoption benefit programs for employees who adopt children; (6) supporting placement of children in kinship care arrangements, pre-adoptive or adoptive homes; (7) increasing the effective use of public or private agencies for the recruitment of potential adoptive and foster families and to provide assistance in the placement of children for adoption, especially special needs children; (8) consulting with other appropriate Federal departments and agencies to promote the maximum coordination of services relating to adoption; (9) maintaining a National Resource Center for Special Needs Adoption; (10) providing programs to increase the numbers of minority children placed in adoptive families with a special emphasis on recruitment of minority families; and (11) providing programs to increase the number of older children placed in adoptive families. Project funds may not be used for construction. Grants shall supplement, not supplant, services provided using any other funds made available for the same general purposes. Performance Reports: Performance monitoring is described in the SF-PPR Performance Progress Report. 45 CFR Part 75 Subpart F applies to this program. All records are to be maintained in accordance with 45 CFR 75.361-365. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Awards may extend from 3 to 5 years. Average duration is expected to be 5 years. Annually. Post award, the Division of Payment Management will establish an account from which a recipients may draw down award funds. None/Not specified. Jan Shafer
330 C Street SW, Room 3503
Washington, DC 20201 US
jan.shafer@acf.hhs.gov
Phone: 202-205-8172 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb. 75-1536-0-1-506 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 22$32,438,125.00; FY 23 est $32,099,999.00; FY 24 est $32,240,360.00; FY 21$26,245,397.00; FY 20$22,422,512.00; FY 19$19,296,941.00; FY 18$24,097,720.00; FY 17$22,132,311.00; FY 16$28,479,778.00; - FY 2022: $355,000 to $6,900,000 with an average of $2,495,240.38. Not applicable. Not applicable.