Full Announcement_hhs-2026-acf-acyf-ct-0042.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application due Monday, August 10, 2026

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families Children’s Bureau

Foster Parents Network Analytics Hub (HUB) Opportunity number: HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-CT-0042

Contents

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 4

Basic information 5

Eligibility 6

Agency priorities 8

Program description 10

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 19

Find the application package 20

Get registered 21

Learn more 21

Step 3: Build Your Application 22

Application checklist 23

Application contents and format 25

Step 4: Learn About Review and Award 39

Application review 40

Award notices 48

Step 5: Submit Your Application 49

Application submission and deadlines 50

Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award 52

Post-award requirements and administration 53

Contacts and Support 54

Before you begin 3

Modifications 58

Contents 2

Before you begin If you believe you are a good candidate for this funding opportunity, secure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations now. If you are already registered, make sure your registrations are active and up to date.

SAM.gov registration (this can take several weeks)

You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Grants.gov registration (this can take several days)

You must have an active Grants.gov registration. Doing so requires a Login.gov registration as well.

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Apply by the application due date

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, August 10, 2026.

To help you find what you need, this NOFO uses internal links. In Adobe Reader, you can go back to where you were by pressing Alt + Left Arrow (Windows) or Command + Left Arrow (Mac) on your keyboard.

Before you begin 3 https://sam.gov/ https://grants.gov/

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1:

Review the Opportunity

In this step

Basic information 5

Eligibility 6

Agency priorities 8

Program description 10

Basic information Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families

Children’s Bureau

Strengthening foster home capacity through data-driven analysis and actionable insight.

Have questions?

See Contacts and Support.

Key facts

Opportunity name: Foster Care Network Analytics Hub (HUB)

Opportunity number:

HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-

CT-0042

Federal assistance listing:

93.648

NOFO version: Original

Key dates

Application submission deadline: Monday, August 10, 2026

Expected project start date: September 30, 2026

See intergovernmental review for other submission processes that may apply to this NOFO.

Summary The current Administration has launched its signature initiative, A Home for Every Child, which challenges states to improve the ratio of available foster homes to children who require safe and appropriate placement after entering state custody. This effort requires jurisdictions to focus on the dynamics that influence both the number of licensed and available foster homes and the number of children requiring placement.

To support child welfare agencies in improving their ability to utilize data to focus on these dynamics, ACF is funding the Foster Care Network Analysis Hub (HUB).

If awarded, you will focus on the following activities as a national hub:

• Building knowledge and capacity.

• Providing training and technical assistance.

• Promoting standardization and replicability.

• Serving as a national resource.

Funding details Type: Cooperative agreement

Expected total program funding: $2,500,000

Total expected awards: 1

Minimum award amount for the first budget period (award floor): $1,500,000

Maximum award amount for the first budget period (award ceiling): $2,500,000

We plan to fund a five-year project period. Each project period has five one-year budget periods.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 5

Eligibility Eligible applicants Eligibility is open to public or other nonprofit institutions of higher learning, and to public or other nonprofit agencies and organizations engaged in research or child welfare activities.

Other eligibility criteria

• Individuals (including sole proprietorships), federal entities, and foreign entities are not eligible to apply.

• Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible for awards under this funding opportunity.

Disqualifying factors We will review your application to make sure it meets these responsiveness requirements.

We won’t consider an application that:

• Requests funding above the award ceiling.

• Is submitted after the deadline.

• Is from an individual (including a sole proprietorship), a federal entity, or a foreign entity.

• Is received in paper format that didn’t have a previously approved exemption from ACF.

Application limits If you submit the same application more than once under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), we will only acknowledge the last on-time submission.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 6

Cost sharing This program has no cost-sharing requirement, meaning you do not need to contribute to the costs of this project.

If you choose to include cost-sharing funds, we won’t consider it during review. If you receive an award, we will include your voluntary commitment in the award, and you must report on the funds. If you don’t provide your promised amount, we may have to decrease your award amount or use other enforcement actions.

Post-award requirements

Before you apply, make sure you understand the requirements that come with an award.

See Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award for information on regulations that apply, reporting, and more.

Statutory authority Section 426 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 626(a)(1)(A))

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 7 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-1999-title42-section626&num=0&edition=1999

Agency priorities Required alignment with ACF vision, mission, values, priorities, and guiding principles The recipient of this award must implement any funds awarded under this NOFO to effectuate program goals or agency priorities in accordance with ACF’s vision, mission, values, priorities, & guiding principles when authorized. Funded activities must advance ACF’s vision of resilient, safe, healthy, and economically secure children, youth, families, and communities, and support ACF’s mission to foster health and well-being through effective, accountable, and compassionate human services when awarded in any programs that authorize these priorities.

Consistent with ACF’s values, in carrying out any project that is funded under this NOFO, the recipient is required to adhere to the following principle:

1. Program integrity and fiscal stewardship: Administer funds in accordance with all applicable federal statutes, regulations, and award conditions; maintain strong internal controls; and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

The recipient is also required to adhere to the following principles when consistent with the authority and scope of the award and its activities:

2. Evidence-based and outcome-focused practices: Design and deliver services using evidence-based or evidence-informed approaches, establish measurable performance goals, and use data to monitor outcomes and drive continuous improvement.

3. Partnership and local leadership: Coordinate with state, tribal, territorial, local, and community partners, as appropriate, and tailor services to meet community-identified needs while respecting local decision-making authority.

In addition, in keeping with ACF’s priorities, the recipient must administer any project that is awarded under this NOFO in accordance with the following objectives when consistent with the scope of the award and its activities in programs that are authorized to advance them:

4. Family stability and child well-being: Strengthen families, promote safe and stable home environments, and improve outcomes for children and youth through prevention-focused and developmentally appropriate services.

5. Work, self-sufficiency, and economic mobility: Support pathways to employment, job retention, and economic independence for individuals and

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 8 https://acf.gov/about/acf-vision-mission-values https://acf.gov/about/acf-vision-mission-values families, including through workforce development, education, and supportive services.

6. High-quality early care and learning: Where applicable, invest in high-quality early childhood programs that support school readiness, healthy development, and long-term success.

The recipient must demonstrate ongoing compliance with these values and priorities, in all programs that are authorized to advance them, through program design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation. Failure to meaningfully align funded activities with the applicable requirements may result in corrective action, additional reporting requirements, or other enforcement actions consistent with federal grant regulations found at 2 CFR Part 200 and the terms and conditions of this award.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 9

Program description Purpose Child welfare agencies manage foster care systems to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children who cannot live at home, acting as a temporary, court-monitored system. Their role involves licensing foster homes, matching children with families, overseeing medical/educational needs, and pursuing reunification, adoption, or legal guardianship. Child welfare data on foster children is primarily stored and managed through federal systems like the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, which collects case-level information on demographics, removal reasons, and placement types for children in home of home care nationally. While many states are aware of emerging innovation in using these data to improve outcomes, they often lack the analytic capacity and expertise needed to use existing administrative data effectively. The Foster Care Network Analytics Hub (HUB) will serve as a national resource to support child welfare agencies to support data collection, measurement, and advanced analysis to understand the dynamics of child welfare foster home networks. ACF is particularly interested in applications that demonstrate the ability to transform child-centered administrative data into foster home–centered analytic frameworks, including the construction of longitudinal foster home records, implementation of advanced analytic methods, and translation of findings into actionable efforts.

Background The use of foster care administrative data collected from child welfare and other sectors to support decision-making and improve outcomes has continued to evolve in recent years. Specifically, analyzing children who are placed in foster care by child welfare agencies is essential for improving child safety, accelerating permanency, and evaluating the effectiveness of welfare policies. It allows agencies to identify trends, allocate resources efficiently, and improve system outcomes. To effectively meet this challenge, jurisdictions must be able to systematically measure and manage the factors that influence outcomes.

In recent years, the field has made meaningful progress in developing methods to track the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children in foster care. These advances have resulted in more refined measures of child-level foster care dynamics.

However, less progress has been made in developing comparable data collection, measurement, and analytic approaches to understand the dynamics of the foster home network. As a result, jurisdictions lack the ability to assess and manage critical processes, including recruitment, training, licensing, retention, placement matching, Step 1: Review the Opportunity 10 support provision, and transitions to permanency. Without this capability, agencies are unable to fully understand foster home trajectories, identify predictors of retention and attrition, assess placement stability, or manage foster home capacity in a strategic manner.

Project requirements Program objectives The following are the objectives of the HUB:

• Develop foster home-centered analytic capacity.

• Strengthening data integration and the creation of longitudinal, linkable foster home records.

• Build sustainable capacity within jurisdictions to analyze and use foster home-focused data.

• Promote standardization, cross-state alignment, and broader adoption of analytic approaches.

• Support the use of analytic outputs to inform agency operations, improve placement decision-making, and enhance overall system management.

Program Activities To carry out the program objectives, recipients will focus on the following four activities:

Activity 1: Building knowledge and capacity The HUB will demonstrate the readiness and ability to link foster home records with relevant administrative datasets, including:

• Child-level placement and episode data.

• Licensing and provider management systems.

• Case characteristics (e.g., age, needs, placement type).

Linkages must enable analysis of:

• Which children are placed in which homes and under what conditions.

• Patterns of placement matching and disruptions.

• Alignment between foster home capacity and child needs.

The HUB will develop and produce a standardized set of measures that characterize foster home network dynamics, including but not limited to:

• Recruitment and licensing funnel

◦ Number of inquiries → applications → licensed homes.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 11

◦ Time from inquiry to licensure.

◦ Attrition points in the recruitment process.

• Utilization and capacity

◦ Number and proportion of homes with active placements.

◦ Placement capacity vs. actual utilization.

◦ Duration of inactivity between placements.

• Retention and attrition

◦ Length of time homes remain active (retention duration).

◦ Rates and timing of exit from fostering.

◦ Re-entry into fostering after inactivity.

• Placement dynamics (home-centered)

◦ Number and types of placements per home.

◦ Placement duration and stability within homes.

◦ Disruption rates associated with specific home characteristics.

The HUB will develop a longitudinal foster home record that captures the full lifecycle of each foster home, including:

• Inquiry and recruitment (if available).

• Licensing and approval dates.

• Periods of active and inactive status.

• Placement episodes over time.

• Receipt of services and supports (where available).

• Exit from placement.

The HUB will establish standardized definitions for:

• “Active” vs. “inactive” homes.

• Entry and exit points in the foster home lifecycle.

• Types of foster homes (e.g., kinship, non-kinship, therapeutic).

The HUB will utilize output from analytic outputs to inform agency operations, improve placement decision-making and enhance overall system management.

Activity 2: Providing training and technical assistance The HUB will demonstrate readiness and ability to provide technical assistance to states and jurisdictions in the following areas including but not limited to:

• Applying advanced analytic methods that support predictive and explanatory insight, including:

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 12

◦ Survival analysis or equivalent methods to model foster home retention and attrition.

◦ Identification of predictors associated with:

▪ Foster home exit.

▪ Placement disruptions.

▪ Sustained high-quality placements.

▪ Segmentation of foster homes based on patterns of utilization, stability, and service needs.

• Developing and operationalizing a Foster Home Lifecycle Framework that:

◦ Defines key stages (e.g., recruitment, onboarding, active service, dormancy, exit).

◦ Identifies transition points and associated risks (e.g., early attrition, post-first-placement drop-off).

◦ Enables agencies to target interventions at critical points in the lifecycle.

• Developing, implementing and supporting analytic tools (e.g., dashboards, forecasting tools) will be embedded into agency operations to support on-going system management and operational efficiency.

• Developing and implementing continuous monitoring and refinement through the use of performance metrics, data quality assessments, and iterative analytic improvement.

• Integrating analytic outputs into agency decision-making processes related to recruitment, placement matching, retention, and capacity management.

Activity 3: Promoting standardization and replicability The HUB will minimize variability, ensure high-quality data, and increase comparability within and between states and jurisdictions by:

• Developing documented, replicable analytic specifications that can be adopted by multiple jurisdictions.

• Explaining how various approaches can be used in states with different child welfare data systems, such as Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems (CCWIS) and Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS).

• Contributing to the development in collaboration with states and jurisdictions of common definitions and metrics to support cross-state comparability.

• Translating analytic outputs into tools that can be used by child welfare agencies, including:

◦ Developing interactive dashboards or reporting tools that display foster home network dynamics.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 13

◦ Creating forecasting tools to estimate foster home capacity needs under different scenarios.

◦ Identifying actionable levers for:

▪ Improving retention.

▪ Increasing placement stability.

▪ Optimizing recruitment strategies.

Activity 4: Serving as a national resource The HUB will serve as a national resource to support training and technical assistance, learning, and dissemination. This will include, but is not limited to:

• Providing technical assistance to states and jurisdictions in the areas of:

◦ Model development.

◦ Strengthening system coordination.

◦ Defining key areas of the foster care network.

◦ Monitoring the agency’s analytic model over time.

◦ Data linkage.

◦ Developing and sharing national webinars and training modules.

◦ Making information about findings, analytic strategies and lessons learned transparent and available.

◦ Disseminating tools, resources, and lessons learned to states and jurisdictions.

◦ Providing national resources on topics such as model development, system coordination and collaboration, data linkage, and continuous monitoring.

This program primarily supports the following ACF priorities:

• Ensuring value alignment in funding: The Foster Care Network Analytics Hub aligns with this priority by supporting ACF’s A Home for Every Child initiative and advancing agency priorities related to family stability and child well-being, evidence-based practice, and program integrity and fiscal stewardship. The HUB will help child welfare agencies make more informed, accountable decisions about foster home recruitment, retention, placement stability, and capacity management, ensuring federal investments are directed toward strategies that improve outcomes for children and families.

• Gold-standard research: The HUB advances this priority by strengthening the use of rigorous data analytics, standardized measures, and advanced research methods to better understand foster home network dynamics. Through the development of longitudinal foster home records, cross-system data integration, predictive analytics, and replicable analytic frameworks, the HUB will generate

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 14 actionable evidence and build national capacity to use high-quality data and research to improve child welfare system performance.

Cooperative agreement—description of ACF’s involvement A cooperative agreement is a specific method of awarding federal assistance in which substantial federal involvement is anticipated. A cooperative agreement clearly defines the respective responsibilities of the Children’s Bureau (CB) and the recipient. CB anticipates that agency involvement will produce programmatic benefits to the recipient that would not otherwise be available. For this project, CB involvement and collaboration will include:

• Participating in high‑level planning.

• Reviewing major milestones, Technical Assistance (TA) frameworks, and dissemination products.

• Participating in advisory meetings and learning communities.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 15

Funding policies and limitations Changes in HHS regulations As of October 1, 2025, HHS adopted 2 CFR 200, with some exceptions included in 2 CFR

300. These regulations replace those in 45 CFR 75.

General policies

• We will only make awards if this program receives funding. If Congress appropriates funds for this purpose, we will move forward with the review and award process.

• Support beyond the first budget period will depend on:

◦ Appropriation of funds.

◦ Satisfactory progress in meeting your project’s objectives.

◦ A decision that continued funding is in the government’s best interest.

• If we receive more funding for this program, we will consider:

◦ Funding more applicants.

◦ Extending the period of performance.

◦ Awarding supplemental funding.

• To the extent permitted by law, including any relevant court orders, you may not use funds from this NOFO for any diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI and DEIA) activities. This includes:

◦ DEI- or DEIA-related research.

◦ Activities that discriminate or show preference based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or other protected traits.

◦ Any efforts that promote a “discriminatory equity ideology.”

◦ To the extent permitted by law, including any relevant court orders, ACF will also not allow funds awarded under this NOFO to support any services or activities that inculcate or promote gender ideology.

For guidance on other types of costs that we restrict or do not allow, see General Provisions for Selected Items of Costs of the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR part 200.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 16 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-300 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-300 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72

Program-specific limitations and policies We do not allow the following costs under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO):

• Construction.

• Purchase of real property.

• Major renovation.

Indirect costs Indirect costs are those shared across multiple projects and not easily separated.

To charge indirect costs you can select one of two methods:

Method 1 — Approved rate. If you currently have an indirect cost rate approved by your cognizant federal agency, you may use that rate.

Method 2 — De minimis rate. If you do not have a negotiated indirect cost rate, you may elect to charge a de minimis rate (see 2 CFR 200.414(f)). This rate may be up to 15% of modified total direct costs (MTDC). See the definition of MTDC (2 CFR 200.1). You can use this rate indefinitely.

You may not charge costs included in your indirect cost pool as direct costs.

Subawards As the prime recipient, you must maintain a substantive role in the project. This means that you conduct funded activities and provide services necessary and integral to completing the project.

Monitoring your subrecipient’s activities alone as described in 2 CFR 200.332 is not a substantive role.

We do not fund awards where your role is primarily a conduit for passing funds to other organizations unless that arrangement is authorized by statute.

All subrecipients must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) through the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).

Subrecipients must meet the eligibility requirements of this NOFO.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 17 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200/section-200.414#p-200.414(f) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Modified%20Total%20Direct%20Cost%20(MTDC)) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.332

Salary rate limitation The salary rate limitation in the current appropriations act applies to this program. You may not use awarded funds to pay a salary at a higher rate than the rate for Executive Level II.

For the Executive Level II salary, please see the Office of Personnel Management information on executive and senior level employee pay.

The salary limitation reflects a person’s base salary (including any portion of the salary that is paid with indirect costs). It does not include fringe benefits or any income the person is allowed to earn outside of the duties of the applicant organization.

This salary limitation also applies to subawards, contracts, and subcontracts under an ACF grant or cooperative agreement.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 18 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/

Step 2:

Get Ready to Apply

In this step

Find the application package 20

Get registered 21

Learn more 21

Find the application package The application package has all the forms you need to apply. You can find it at this NOFO’s Grants.gov opportunity page. Then select the Package tab.

We recommend that you select the Subscribe button from the View Grant Opportunity page for this NOFO to get updates.

If you can’t use Grants.gov to download application materials or have other technical difficulties, including issues with application submission, contact Grants.gov for assistance.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 20 https://www.grants.gov/support

Get registered SAM.gov You must have an active account with SAM.gov to apply. SAM.gov registration can take several weeks. Begin that process today.

To register:

• Go to SAM.gov Entity Registration and select Get Started. From the same page, you can also select the Entity Registration Checklist for the information you will need to register.

• You must agree to the financial assistance general certifications and representations [PDF] specifically. Those for contracts are different.

When you register, you will also receive your required Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

Once you register:

• You will have to maintain your registration throughout the life of any award.

• If your organization has multiple UEIs, use the one associated with your physical location.

Grants.gov You must also have an active account with Grants.gov. You can see step-by-step instructions at the Grants.gov Quick Start Guide for Applicants.

Need help? See Contacts and Support.

Learn more Visit Applying for an ACF Grant Award on the ACF Grants page.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 21 https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/financial-assistance-general-certification-representations.pdf https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/financial-assistance-general-certification-representations.pdf https://grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration http://www.grants.gov/quick-start-guide/applicants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

Step 3:

Build Your Application

In this step

Application checklist 23

Application contents and format 25

Application checklist Make sure that you have everything you need to apply. You will find the forms in Grants.gov.

File one: Narratives Use the Project Narrative Attachment form.

Component Included in page limit?

Table of contents Yes

Project summary Yes

Project narrative Yes

Line-item budget and budget narrative Yes

File two: Attachments Insert each in a single Other Attachments form.

Component Included in page limit?

ACF priorities alignment attestation No

Indirect cost agreement Yes

Legal proof of nonprofit status Yes

Organizational capacity supporting information (including organization chart) Yes

Third-party agreements Yes

Maintenance of effort certification No

Protection of human subjects certification No

Step 3: Build Your Application 23

Standard forms Use each required form in Grants.gov.

Component Included in page limit?

Project abstract summary No

Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) No

Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) No

Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B) No

Key Contacts No

Grants.gov Lobbying form No

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) No

Project/Performance Site Location(s) (SF-P/PSL) No

Step 3: Build Your Application 24

Application contents and format You will submit two files plus the standard forms in the application package.

Your organization’s authorized official must certify your application.

See intergovernmental review to find out if you need to make any other submissions.

Required format Page limit for file one and file two combined: 90 pages

File format: Portable Document Format (PDF) is recommended but not required. ACF supports the following file formats when you attach files to the Project Narrative Attachment form and the Other Attachments form:

Accepted file formats

• Adobe PDF (.pdf)

• Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)

• Microsoft Excel (.xls or .xlsx)

• Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt)

• Image formats (.JPG, .GIF, .TIFF, or .BMP only)

Document formats Paper size: 8 ½ inches x 11 inches

Margins: 1 inch all around

Language: English

If possible, include page numbers.

Do not include external links to information you want reviewers to assess because reviewers will score the application solely on information provided in the application.

Fonts Font: Times New Roman

Color: Black

Size: 12-point font Footnotes and text in tables and graphics may be 10-point.

Step 3: Build Your Application 25

Spacing Table of contents: Must be single-spaced

Project summary: Must be single-spaced

Project narrative: Must be double-spaced

Line-item budget and budget narrative: Can be single-spaced

Attachments: Can be single-spaced

Tables and footnotes throughout: Can be single-spaced

See disqualifying factors to understand what may disqualify your application from consideration.

File one To submit file one, you will use the Project Narrative Attachment form found in the Grants.gov application package for this NOFO.

This file includes:

• Table of contents.

• Project summary, one page.

• Project narrative.

• Line-item budget and budget narrative.

Table of contents At the beginning of file one, insert a table of contents that guides a reader through the contents of both files in your application. If possible, include links to the relevant content in file one.

Project summary Provide a one-page summary of the project description. Do not cross-reference to other parts of your application. The summary must include:

• At the top, the project title, applicant name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, and any website URL.

• A brief description of the project, including the needs and population you will address, your proposed services or research questions.

Step 3: Build Your Application 26

Project narrative The project narrative is where you address all your proposed activities. It is a critical section of your application, which we evaluate using merit review criteria and rank based on application scores.

Remember that substance and measurable outcomes are more important than length.

We are particularly interested in project narratives that convey strategies for achieving intended performance.

In it, you must:

• Explain how the project will meet the purpose of the NOFO, as described in the program description section.

• Make sure your narrative is clear, concise, and complete.

• Use cross-referencing rather than repetition.

• Be sure to include any required supporting documents noted. You generally provide these in your attachments.

• Use the headings and order of the sections that follow.

Purpose and need

Objectives

State your main objectives and any sub-objectives. Address how the objectives stated relate to the overall purpose of this program and describe how you will achieve the objectives.

• State your main objectives and any sub-objectives, including all the details requested in the objectives section.

• Describe your understanding of child welfare administrative data, specifically foster care data and the development of longitudinal, linkable foster home records.

• Outline your vision for the HUB that supports child welfare agencies to more effectively collect, measure, and analyze data to understand the dynamics of child welfare foster home networks.

Expected Outcomes

Identify the outcomes you plan to achieve from the project. Outcomes should relate to the overall program as described in the program description section. If research is part of the proposed work, outcomes must include hypothesized results and implications of the proposed research.

Step 3: Build Your Application 27

Response

Approach

Outline your action plan. Describe the scope of your proposed project and describe in detail how you will accomplish it. Account for all functions or activities you identify in your application.

Explain potential obstacles and challenges to accomplishing your project goals. Explain the strategies you will use to address them.

You must respond to the objectives discussed in the project description and describe how you will carry them out. Include each of the following sections:

• Building Knowledge and Capacity

◦ Outline an approach to ensure that participating states and jurisdictions have the data access, infrastructure, and analytic readiness necessary to support data integration, linkage, and advanced analysis.

◦ Explain how the project will ensure that states and jurisdictions build on existing knowledge and advances the field’s ability to measure and manage foster home network dynamics using administrative data.

◦ Demonstrate the ability to ensure that participating states and jurisdictions can link administrative data with child-level placement and episode data, licensing and provider management systems, and case characteristics.

◦ Articulate an understanding and ability to produce a set of nationally standardized measures that characterize foster home network dynamics including recruitment and licensing, utilization and capacity, retention and attrition, and placement dynamics.

◦ Demonstrate the knowledge of and ability to develop a foster home record that captures the full lifecycle of each foster home.

◦ Explain the processes and resources necessary to establish standardized definitions necessary for foster home data analysis as identified in the project description.

◦ Identify a plan for developing and operationalizing foster home–centered analytic infrastructure among participating states and jurisdictions, including longitudinal data, cross-system linkages, standardized definitions, and lifecycle modeling.

Step 3: Build Your Application 28

• Providing Training and Technical Assistance

◦ Describe how advanced analytic methods (e.g., survival analysis, segmentation, predictive or explanatory modeling) will be applied to identify drivers of foster home retention, utilization, and placement stability nationally and among participating states and jurisdictions.

◦ Demonstrate an approach to developing and operationalizing a Foster Home LifeCycle Framework as identified in the project description.

◦ Describe how analytic tools (e.g., dashboards, forecasting tools) will be embedded into participating state and jurisdictions agency operations to support ongoing system management and operational efficiency.

◦ Articulate an approach to developing and implementing continuous monitoring and refinement through the use of performance metrics, data quality assessments, and iterative analytic improvement.

◦ Explain how analytic outputs could be integrated into participating state and jurisdictional agency decision-making processes related to recruitment, placement matching, retention, and capacity management.

• Standardization and replicability

◦ Describe an approach to develop documented, replicable specifications in collaboration with states and jurisdictions that can be adopted by multiple jurisdictions.

◦ Articulate how proposed approaches to meeting the objectives in the project description can be modified across states with different child welfare systems including SACWIS and CCWIS.

◦ Outline an approach to developing common definitions and metrics to support cross-state comparability.

◦ Explain how the HUB will support jurisdictions in translating analytic outputs into tools that can be used by their child welfare agency including dashboards, forecasting tools, and identifying actionable levers as outlined in the project description.

• Serving as a national resource

◦ Describe how the project will provide training, technical assistance, and structured support to participating jurisdictions to build analytic capacity and ensure effective implementation as described in the project description.

◦ Describe how findings, analytic methods, and lessons learned will be documented and disseminated to support cross-state learning and broader field adoption.

◦ Propose strategies for scaling and adapting models across states with varying data systems (e.g., CCWIS/SACWIS environments).

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◦ Outline an approach to developing and sharing webinars and training modules on key needs identified during technical assistance.

◦ Develop and disseminate tailored and national resources on topics such as model development, system coordination, and continuous monitoring.

You must describe how your proposed project aligns with the Administration’s priorities and the program requirements outlined in this NOFO, including how proposed activities, partnerships, analytic approaches, and expected outcomes support the development of foster home–centered analytic capacity and the goals of A Home for Every Child.

Project timeline and milestones Provide a timeline for your project that includes milestones. To do so:

• Organize the information by task and subtask, showing related milestones.

• Provide monthly or quarterly quantitative projections for tasks you plan to complete and by when. For example, provide the number of people you plan to serve or the number of a certain activity you plan to complete by a specific date.

• Provide target dates for activities you can’t quantify.

• Cover the full period of performance in your timeline.

Impact

Project performance evaluation plan

Describe how you will evaluate your project’s performance and how it will contribute to continuous quality improvement. This plan must describe:

• How you will monitor ongoing activities and progress toward the project’s goals and objectives.

• The inputs, key activities, and expected outcomes of the funded activities. Inputs might include your collaborative partners, key staff, budget, service processes, or other resources.

• How you will measure the inputs, activities, and outcomes.

• How you will use the resulting information to improve your funded activities.

• Any processes that support overall data quality.

• The organizational systems and processes you will use to track performance outcomes.

• How your organization will collect and manage data in a way that allows for accurate and timely reporting of performance outcomes. This might include assigned skilled staff, data management software, and data integrity.

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• Any potential obstacles to implementing the project performance evaluation and how you will address them.

• A timeline for how you will review information from the performance evaluation and apply it to your ongoing project.

Expected outcomes

Identify the outcomes you plan to achieve from the project. Outcomes should relate to the overall program as described in the program description section. If research is part of the proposed work, outcomes must include hypothesized results and implications of the proposed research.

Resources and capabilities

Organizational capacity

Provide the following information for your full project team, including the applicant organization and any cooperating partners, contractors, and subrecipients:

• Provide details related to experience and expertise in administering, developing, implementing, managing, and evaluating similar projects; including data-driven system change in the area of policy, practice, and/or resource allocation.

• Provide experience and expertise collaborating with child welfare practitioners, leadership, and policy staff; engaging communities or stakeholders with transparency; providing training or technical assistance to public child welfare agencies; and developing guidance, data, tools, or resources for implementing new programs, policies, or practice strategies.

• Provide experience and expertise of working across key child welfare domains, including an understanding of how placement and capacity decisions are made and how foster care continuum information is documented through foster care records and administrative data.

• Describe your organization’s experience in translating analytic outputs into practical tools that are used in agency operations and system management, expertise and experience in developing standardized metrics, definitions, and analytic frameworks.

• Describe your organization’s specific experience working with child welfare administrative data systems (e.g., SACWIS and CCWIS), including data integration, linkage, and longitudinal data development.

• Describe your organization’s specific expertise in foster home or provider level analytic approaches, including the use of advanced analytic approaches (e.g., longitudinal analysis, survival analysis, segmentation, or predictive/explanatory modeling) to generate actionable insights, including translating analytic outputs

Step 3: Build Your Application 31 into practical tools; and addressing data quality, governance, and responsible data use.

Current and pending funding support

Provide a list of your current and pending funding for ongoing projects and proposals.

Include all sources, such as federal, state, and local governments, public or private foundations, and for-profit organizations.

Indicate which projects and proposals require committed time from the project director, principal investigator, or other key personnel of the project you are proposing in this application.

Show the total award amount, awarding entity, and the amount of time each key staff member will devote to each project.

Plan for oversight of federal award funds and activities

You must ensure proper award oversight. The regulation that governs this oversight is 2 CFR part 200. It includes standards for:

• Financial and program management.

• Property management.

• Procurement.

• Performance and financial monitoring and reporting.

• Subrecipient monitoring and management.

• Record retention and access.

• Remedies for noncompliance.

• Prior written approval.

Describe your framework to make sure that your federal funds and activities have proper oversight. Include:

• A description of the governance, policies and procedures, and systems you use for record-keeping and financial management.

• A description of the procedures you use to identify and mitigate risks and issues.

These might include audit findings, continuous performance assessment findings, and monitoring.

• The key staff who will be responsible for maintaining oversight of program staff and any partners or subrecipients.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 3: Build Your Application 32 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#subpart-D https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#subpart-D

Project sustainability plan

You must propose a plan for project sustainability after the period of federal funding ends. We expect you to sustain key elements of your project. These elements can include strategies or services and interventions that have improved practices and outcomes.

• Provide an approach to project sustainability that is effective and feasible.

Describe:

◦ The key people and organizations whose support you will require.

◦ The types of alternative support you will require to maintain the project.

• If the proposed project involves key project partners, describe how you will maintain their cooperation or collaboration after the federal funding ends.

Protection of sensitive or confidential information

Describe how you will collect and safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other information that is considered sensitive. Make sure your approach is consistent with applicable federal, state, local, and tribal laws regarding privacy and obligations of confidentiality. Provide:

• The methods and systems you will use to make sure that you properly handle confidential and sensitive information, including information from any subrecipients or contractors.

• A plan for the disposition of such information at the end of the period of performance.

For more information, see 2 CFR 200.303(e).

Dissemination plan

Propose a plan to disseminate reports, products, and project outputs to key target audiences. Include:

• Dissemination goals and objectives.

• Strategies to identify and engage with target audiences.

• How you will allocate enough staff time and budget for dissemination.

• A preliminary plan to evaluate whether target audiences receive project information and use it as intended.

• The dissemination timeline.

• How dissemination activities will promote standardization, cross-state comparability, and adoption of analytic approaches.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 3: Build Your Application 33 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.303

Line-item budget and budget narrative The line-item budget and budget justification support the information you provide in the Budget Information Standard Form SF-424A.

HHS now uses the definitions for equipment and supplies in 2 CFR 200.1. The new definitions change the threshold for equipment to the lesser of the recipient’s capitalization level or $10,000 and the threshold for supplies to below that amount.

Justify the costs you ask for and provide detail, including calculations for the “object class categories” in the Budget Information Standard Form. You will provide this information for each year of the period of performance. See information on funding periods.

As you develop your budget, consider:

• If the costs are necessary, reasonable, allocable, and consistent with your project’s purpose and activities.

• How you calculate your costs in ways that are clear and repeatable.

• The restrictions on spending funds. See the funding policies and limitations.

Please also review the Standard Form instructions.

To create your line-item budget and justification, see detailed budget instructions on our website.

In general, you must:

• Indicate the method you will use for your indirect cost rate. See the indirect costs section for further information.

• Include estimation methods, quantities, unit costs, and other similar quantitative detail necessary for the calculation to be duplicated.

• For any cost sharing, include a detailed listing of any funding sources identified in Block 18 of the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance.

• For applicants planning to use subawards, if your subaward budget is more than 50% of total direct costs, justify why you are subawarding that portion of the project. Explain:

◦ How you plan to maintain a substantive role in the project.

◦ Why you cannot achieve your goals without the subrecipients’ participation.

Proprietary or personally identifiable information Clearly identify any salary or other proprietary information or personally identifiable information within your application. Identification will ensure this information is not shared with reviewers. Note on page 1 of the attachments file (file two) where the information to be redacted is located.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 3: Build Your Application 34 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Equipment) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Supply) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.1 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/prepare-budget https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/prepare-budget

If you have an exemption for a paper submission, you can protect salary information and any proprietary information by placing that information only in the original application. You can remove the information from the copies, keeping summary information.

File two: Attachments To submit file two, you will use the Other Attachments form found in the Grants.gov application package for this NOFO.

This file includes all attachments.

ACF priorities alignment attestation Not included in the page limit. This should be submitted with the application or before award.

You must self-certify that you will align with the ACF priorities that are relevant to this funding opportunity, as identified in both the Program description and Step 4, under Merit review process, Scoring criteria, Alignment with ACF Vision, Mission, Values, Priorities, and Guiding Principles, elements 2 and 3. You must provide the following on your organization’s letterhead.

I hereby attest and certify that:

_____________________ (Applicant Name) affirms its commitment to supporting and advancing ACF’s published Vision, Mission, Values, Priorities, and Guiding Principles of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), consistent with applicable federal statutes, regulations, and Administration priorities.

Insert Date of Signature:

Print Name and Title of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR):

Signature of AOR:

Indirect cost agreement If you include indirect costs in your budget using an approved rate, include a copy of your current agreement approved by your cognizant agency for indirect costs. If you use the de minimis rate, you do not need to submit this attachment.

See the indirect costs section for more information.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

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