Block Grant 2501CAGARD

The federal Block Grant award of $264,250,435 provides funding for the Guardianship Assistance Program (CFDA 93.090), administered by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. The primary objective of this program is to provide federal financial support to states, tribes, and territories to facilitate permanent legal guardianship arrangements for children who have been removed from their homes and are in the child welfare system. The program focuses on supporting relative guardians who assume legal custody of children previously in foster care, with the goal of creating stable alternative placement options. The Block Grant award allows the California Department of Social Services to deliver a wide range of services, including guardianship assistance payments, case management, training, and administrative support to help vulnerable children achieve permanency and stability.

The Block Grant funding is further distributed through sub-awards to various county-level social services agencies, non-profit organizations, and local government entities across California. These sub-awardees administer the county-level, state-supervised programs to provide guardianship assistance payments, child welfare services, family preservation, and other support for relative guardians and the children in their care.