Foster-2026 - foster care

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded the Department of Human Services Hawaii $35.634 million under the Foster Care Title IV-E program (CFDA 93.658) on October 1, 2025. The award funds foster care maintenance payments, case management, and permanency services for children in out-of-home care under Hawaii's child welfare system. The funding supports the state's provision of safe and stable foster care placements until children achieve permanency through reunification, adoption, or guardianship.

The grant operates as a formula award under Title IV-E, the federal foster care entitlement program that reimburses states for eligible expenditures in child welfare administration. Performance runs through September 30, 2026, with place of performance in Hawaii. The Department of Human Services Hawaii, a child organization within the University of Hawaii Systems, serves as the prime recipient administering this federal funding stream for statewide foster care operations.

As a formula grant, the award is effective without plan renewal, though Title IV-E plans may be amended as necessary. Quarterly awards are made on the basis of estimated expenditures and later revised to reflect only actual allowable claimed expenditures. The Department of Human Services Hawaii holds a substantial federal grant portfolio concentrated in entitlement and formula-based programs, with foster care representing one component of its broader child welfare and social services mission across multiple HHS funding streams.