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The purpose of this funding opportunity is to fund cooperative agreements that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies that prevent child maltreatment, reduce entry into the public child welfare system, and enhance the overall well-being outcomes of children and families. Funding will be used to improve the safety and stability of all families and reinforce supportive, nurturing relationships by: enhancing the capacity of communities to offer broad-based family supports; using data to inform and align strategies across sectors to address site specific barriers; supporting strategic collaborations with traditional family serving agencies and non-traditional partners; and coordinating, monitoring, and reporting on strategies and outcomes across multi-sector partners. The project period is for 5 years.

When children are placed in out-of-home care (also called foster care), it is important that child welfare agencies find safe, permanent homes for them as quickly as possible. In many circumstances, children can be reunited with their families, but in some cases, children find homes with relatives or adoptive families. Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) have consistently found that many child welfare systems need to improve their adoption work, as evidenced by their difficulty in achieving substantial conformity on permanency outcomes. These shortcomings include failure to make concerted efforts towards timely permanency for adoption and preserving family connections; inadequate engagement of parents, children and youth in case planning; limited and ineffective service provision; insufficient frequency and duration of child visitations/parenting time; punitive uses of visitation/parenting time; delays in establishing the goal of adoption; a lack of meaningful concurrent planning; and lengthy appeal processes for contested termination of parental rights. These permanency outcomes relate to basic social work, legal, and judicial practices that impact adoption outcomes and also have effects on the safety and well-being of children in care. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to award up to five 5-year cooperative agreements for the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies that focus on better adoption outcomes by improving basic social work, legal, and judicial practice in order to eliminate systemic barriers to: adoption; preventing entry into foster care; and other forms of permanency. Due to the intersection of permanency, safety, and well-being, an effective system reform effort focused on improving adoption outcomes by improving concurrent planning and reducing time to permanency will also require attention to safety and well-being outcomes.

NIFA requests applications for the FAP for fiscal year (FY) 2017 to assess, develop, and evaluate family maltreatment prevention and treatment programming to support the Air Force Medical Operations Agency (AFMOA) Family Advocacy Program (FAP). The anticipated amount available for FAP in FY 2017 is approximately $2,293,000. The primary objective for this project is: · To assess, develop, and evaluate family maltreatment prevention and treatment programming to support the Air Force Medical Operations Agency (AFMOA) Family Advocacy Program (FAP).

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage research applications to develop and test the effectiveness and implementation of family navigator models designed to promote early access, engagement and coordination of mental health treatment and services for children and adolescents who are experiencing early symptoms of mental health problems. For the purposes of this FOA, NIMH defines a family navigator model as a health care professional or paraprofessional whose role is to deploy a set of strategies designed to rapidly engage youth and families in needed treatment and services, work closely with the family and other involved treatment and service providers to optimize care and monitor the trajectory of mental health symptoms and outcomes over time. Applicants are encouraged to develop and test the navigator model's ability to promote early access, engagement and coordination of mental health treatment and services for children and adolescents as soon as symptoms are detected. Of interest are navigator models that coordinate needed care strategies, determine the "personalized match" to the level of needed service amount, frequency and intensity, and harness novel technologies to track and monitor the trajectory of clinical, functional and behavioral progress toward achieving intended services outcomes.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage research applications to develop and pilot test the effectiveness and implementation of family navigator models designed to promote early access, engagement and coordination of mental health treatment and services for children and adolescents who are experiencing early symptoms of mental health problems. For the purposes of this FOA, NIMH defines a family navigator model as a health care professional or paraprofessional whose role is to deploy a set of strategies designed to rapidly engage youth and families in needed treatment and services, work closely with the family and other involved treatment and service providers to optimize care and monitor the trajectory of mental health symptoms and outcomes over time. Applicants are encouraged to develop and pilot test the navigator model's ability to promote early access, engagement and coordination of mental health treatment and services for children and adolescents as soon as symptoms are detected. Of interest are navigator models that coordinate needed care strategies, determine the "personalized match" to the level of needed service amount, frequency and intensity, and harness novel technologies to track and monitor the trajectory of clinical, functional and behavioral progress toward achieving intended services outcomes.

Examples of research topics of interest to MCHB include but are not limited to the following: Health care access and continuity of care, including transition into adulthood (e.g., employment and health care); Family engagement and family partnerships; Family well-being, coping, resilience, and social networks; Variations in access to services affecting family functioning in diverse populations; Service systems and infrastructure including: characterizing the current ASD diagnostic and service utilization patterns in community settings, examining the relationship between diagnosis and services availability for ASD, and evaluating services and intervention outcomes; Increasing identification of ASD including Aspergers in diverse populations, including ethnic minorities and girls; Safety issues including wandering from residential and educational settings.

THE ADMINISTRATION for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families' Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) announces the availability of funds under the Street Outreach Program (SOP). SOP WORKS to increase young people’s personal safety, social and emotional well-being, self-sufficiency, and to help them build permanent connections with families, communities, schools, and other positive social networks. These services, which are provided in areas where street youth congregate, are designed to assist such youth in making healthy choices and to provide them access to shelter and services which include: outreach, gateway services, screening and assessment, harm reduction, access to emergency shelter, crisis stabilization, drop-in centers, which can be optional, and linkages/referrals to services. THE AWARD process for FY2018 SOP allows for annual awards over a three-year project period, as funds are available.

1) Access to Services: The foundation provides funding for community organizations and schools that are providing vital resources and actively assisting children with autism spectrum disorder and their families through education and technology, advocacy programs, diagnostic and clinical services, direct family support, safety equipment, emergency care, respite services, and other opportunities that will enhance the quality of life for those affected. 2) Active Lifestyle: The foundation provides support for recreational and sports programs, aquatic programs, social skills training, family events and summer camps for all individuals on the autism spectrum. 3) Adult Community-Based Services: The foundation supports opportunities in the areas of job training, vocational skills programs, employment, housing, transportation, and healthcare delivery for adults on the autism spectrum.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting applications for the establishment of a Marriage Strengthening Research & Dissemination (MAST R & D) Center. The grantee will oversee a 60-month plan that aims to form a nexus between basic research on marriage and families in the United States and programmatic approaches to supporting healthy marriages and families, especially approaches fundable by the federal Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) program. The Center will contribute to the research base relevant to marriage/relationships (including current and future relationships among youth) and HMRE programs/practices; build and support capacity for demographic trends and practice-focused research; and translate and disseminate emerging research. The Center will be expected to have a primary focus on economically disadvantaged families and other under-studied population groups. The Center also will be expected to actively engage a range of stakeholders, including investigators, practitioners, program officials and policymakers, throughout the course of the project.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage research to improve self-management and quality of life in children and adolescents with chronic conditions. Managing a chronic condition is an unremitting responsibility for children and their families. Children with a chronic condition and their families have a long-term responsibility for self-management. This FOA encourages research that takes into consideration various factors that influence self-management such as individual differences, biological and psychological factors, family/caregivers and sociocultural context, family-community dynamics, healthcare system factors, technological advances, and the role of the environment.

1) Access to Services: The foundation provides funding for community organizations and schools that are providing vital resources and actively assisting children with autism spectrum disorder and their families through education and technology, advocacy programs, diagnostic and clinical services, direct family support, safety equipment, emergency care, respite services, and other opportunities that will enhance the quality of life for those affected. 2) Active Lifestyle: The foundation provides support for recreational and sports programs, aquatic programs, social skills training, family events and summer camps for all individuals on the autism spectrum. 3) Adult Community-Based Services: The foundation supports opportunities in the areas of job training, vocational skills programs, employment, housing, transportation, and healthcare delivery for adults on the autism spectrum.  

The National Institute on Aging invites researchers to submit innovative R01 research grant applications on aging and the family.  The objective of this research program is to expand understanding of the role of families and interpersonal relationships in the health and wellbeing of older people. This will be accomplished through increasing scientific knowledge on the effects of family and interpersonal relationships on behavioral and social processes of relevance to aging; and on how these processes change over the life course and across cohorts. A broad range of methods and approaches are encouraged. 

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), will solicit applications for Family Strengthening Research Scholars grants to support dissertation research on healthy marriage/responsible fatherhood policy issues. These grants are meant to build capacity in the research field to focus research on questions that have direct implications for healthy marriage/responsible fatherhood policy decision-making and program administration, and to foster mentoring relationships between faculty members and high-quality doctoral students. These grants are intended to address issues of significance to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly for underserved/understudied populations (e.g., low-income families, minority populations), utilize rigorous research methodology (both primary data collection and secondary data analysis), and help inform the development of future intervention research.

The purpose of the RRTCs, which are funded through the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, is to achieve the goals of, and improve the effectiveness of, services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act through well-designed research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities in important topical areas as specified by NIDILRR. These activities are designed to benefit people with disabilities, family members, rehabilitation service providers, policymakers and other research stakeholders. The purpose of this particular RRTC is to conduct research, training, technical assistance, and related activities to contribute to effective support of family caregivers of people with disabilities, and ultimately to improved community living, health and function, and employment outcomes of people with disabilities who are supported by family members.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start (OHS) announces the availability of approximately $7,582,500 to be competitively awarded for the purpose of operating a National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety (NC HBHS). The NC HBHS will provide training and technical assistance (TTA) that reflects current evidence, is research-informed, and promotes best practices. The NC HBHS will strengthen professional development outcomes for staff and improve outcomes for children and families enrolled in Head Start and/or Early Head Start programs. The NC HBHS TTA efforts will lead to improved health, behavioral health, and safety of children and families. Because of the complex work the NC HBHS will conduct, the recipient will be expected to bring together knowledgeable subrecipients within the fields child nutrition and oral health; physical activity; health (including hearing and vision screening); behavioral health promotion and prevention, including the promotion of mental health, resilience and wellbeing; and the prevention of mental illness and substance use disorders; safety practices; child and adult trauma; child incidents and maltreatment; emergency preparedness, response and recovery; prenatal care; environmental health and safety; and staff wellness.

The Runaway and Homeless Youth Program's Basic Center Program (BCP) provides temporary shelter and counseling services to youth who have left home without permission of their parents or guardians, have been forced to leave home, or other homeless youth who might otherwise end up in the law enforcement or in the child welfare, mental health, or juvenile justice systems. BCPs work to establish or strengthen community-based programs that meet the immediate needs of runaway and homeless youth and their families. BCPs provide youth under 18 years of age with emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling and referrals for health care. BCPs can provide up to 21 days of shelter for youth and seeks to reunite young people with their families, whenever possible, or to locate appropriate alternative placements. Additional services may include: street-based services; home-based services for families with youth at risk of separation from the family; drug abuse education and prevention services; and at the request of runaway and homeless youth, testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) is soliciting applications for Behavioral Interventions Scholars grants to support dissertation research by advanced graduate students who are using behavioral science approaches to examine specific research questions of relevance to social service programs and policies. These grants are meant to build capacity in the research field to apply a behavioral lens to issues facing poor and vulnerable families in the United States, and to foster mentoring relationships between faculty members and high-quality doctoral students. Applicants are required to demonstrate the applicability of their research to practice or policy serving low-income children, adults, and families, especially those that seek to improve their well-being.

This FOA, formerly HHS-2017-ACF-OPRE-PD-1209 will now be listed under HHS-2017-ACF-OPRE-PR-1209. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), will solicit applications for Family Strengthening Scholars grants to support dissertation research on healthy marriage policy issues. These grants are meant to build capacity in the research field to focus research on questions that have direct implications for healthy marriage policy decision-making and program administration, and to foster mentoring relationships between faculty members and high-quality doctoral students. These grants are intended to address issues of significance to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly for underserved/understudied populations (e.g., low-income families, minority populations), utilize rigorous research methodology (both primary data collection and secondary data analysis), and help inform the development of future intervention research.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) seeks to stimulate research that focuses on reducing negative individual and family outcomes related to unwanted transitions at the end of life and optimizing the individual and family outcomes related to high quality coordination of care of care of individuals who are enrolled in hospice. This FOA emphasizes individuals who are receiving hospice care and their family caregivers, in any setting where hospice care is provided, including their home, a relative's home, a hospice inpatient facility, an assisted living facility, a short- or long-term care facility, or a hospital.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) invites eligible entities to submit competitive grant applications for funding under the Refugee Family Child Care Microenterprise Development Project (RFCCMED). Through the RFCCMED program, ORR will provide funding for applicants which, through internal capacity and partnerships, will provide refugee participants with training and technical assistance in professional child care, microenterprise development, and financial literacy; assist refugee participants in navigating the child care licensing process; and provide direct financial assistance as needed to enable participants to prepare their homes for child care business operation. The three main objectives of RCCMED are to 1) help refugees to achieve economic self-sufficiency by establishing licensed FCC businesses; 2) help refugee families gain access to licensed FCC businesses which will meet the early care and developmental needs of refugee children; and 3) assist refugees in learning how to navigate mainstream child care services.