FY 2026 Guardianship Assistance Block Grant Award Summary

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) awarded the Department of Human Services Colorado a block grant of $878,231.00 for the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP, CFDA 93.090) for the fiscal year period October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. This funding supports the provision of guardianship assistance payments to relative guardians who have assumed legal guardianship of eligible children in Colorado's child welfare system. The program removes financial barriers that might otherwise prevent permanency, enabling children in foster care to transition into stable, legally recognized family settings with relatives rather than remaining in the foster care system.

Under this Title IV-E program, the Department of Human Services Colorado utilizes the block grant funding to administer guardianship assistance payments and related child welfare services. The award operates on a quarterly drawdown basis tied to estimated expenditures, which are subsequently revised to reflect only actual allowable claimed costs. As the state-level child welfare administrator, the department maintains responsibility for determining child eligibility, managing payments to qualifying relative guardians, and maintaining comprehensive financial and programmatic records in accordance with federal compliance requirements under 45 CFR Part 75 and 2 CFR Part 200.