Federal Block Grant Award Summary

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families awarded Connecticut's Department of Children & Families a $26.26 million block grant for the Adoption Assistance program (CFDA 93.659) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. This federal assistance provides financial support in the form of adoption subsidies to facilitate the permanent placement of children with special needs who cannot be reunited with their biological families. The funding enables the state to offer Federal Financial Participation (FFP) to support adoption costs and remove financial barriers for families adopting children considered difficult to place due to physical, emotional, or developmental challenges.

Under this block grant, Connecticut DCF implements adoption assistance services through a flexible funding mechanism that allows the state to determine specific implementation strategies within broad federal guidelines. The program operates on a quarterly reimbursement basis, with estimated expenditures submitted to the Administration for Children and Families Regional Child Welfare Program Manager and later adjusted to reflect actual allowable claimed expenditures. All programmatic and financial records must be maintained in accordance with applicable federal regulations (45 CFR Parts 75, 1355-1356), with Title IV-E Plan amendments submitted as needed to support ongoing program operations and service delivery adjustments.