Child Welfare Policy Manual

As a result of the enactment of the "Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act" (Public Law 113-183) and the "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008" (Public Law 110-351), the relevant CWPM Q/As are in the process of being revised to reflect the many changes made by the laws. Until such time as the edits to the sections of the CWPM are complete, please refer to the statute and official guidance from the Children's Bureau (such as Program Instructions and Information Memoranda) for definitive guidance on the requirements. You also may contact your Regional Office representative for further clarification.

This Child Welfare Policy Manual contains policy questions and answers applicable to child welfare programs operated by the Children's Bureau.

Overview

This manual is broken down into nine main policy areas (with detailed subsections): AFCARS, CAPTA, Independent Living, MEPA/IEAP, Monitoring, CCWIS, Title IV-B, Title IV-E, Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations and Consortia.

Note to Indian tribes, tribal organizations and tribal consortia:

• Policies applicable to all title IV-E agencies are located in the section 1, AFCARS; section 4, MEPA/IEAP section 8, Title IV-E ; and section 6, CCWIS.
• Policies applicable only to tribal title IV-E agencies are located in the section 9.2, Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations Applications of Title IV-E Eligibility Requirements for Title IV-E Tribal Agencies.
• Policies applicable to tribes receiving funds under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program are located in section 3, Independent Living.
• Policies applicable to tribes operating title IV-B programs are located in section 7, Title IV-B.
• Policies applicable to tribes operating under contract or agreement with a title IV-E agency are located in section 8, Title IV-E and section 9, Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations.

Additional questions about policies may be directed to the Children's Bureau Regional Program Manager.

Updates

Future policy guidance will be disseminated in this format and announced as "Updates!" to the manual. This web-based manual ensures that the most current policy information is available to states and Indian tribes, tribal organizations and tribal consortia in the quickest and most accurate way.

Questions

All questions/comments should be directed to the Children's Bureau Regional Program Managers.

Click here to see or print either the full table of contents, or the table of contents for just one section.

Table of Contents (full text)

1. AFCARS
2. CAPTA
3. INDEPENDENT LIVING
4. MEPA/IEAP
5. MONITORING
6. CCWIS
7. TITLE IV-B
8. TITLE IV-E
9. TRIBES/INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS AND CONSORTIA (policies related to the tribal IV-B/E procedural requirements, tribal IVE agencies and title IV-E agreements)