Tribal Court Improvement Program

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Children's Bureau is offering a cooperative agreement funding opportunity under the Tribal Court Improvement Program. This funding is intended to help tribal courts and organizations assess, expand, or enhance the effectiveness of their handling of American Indian and Alaska Native child welfare cases, including family preservation, reunification, guardianship, and adoption proceedings. Eligible applicants are Indian tribes or tribal consortia that operate or plan to operate a Title IV-E program, or have a court that handles foster care or adoption cases. Applicants will either conduct an assessment in the first year and develop an implementation plan, or build on a recent assessment to implement improvements. The key objective is to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being needs of children are met in a timely and complete manner through continuous quality improvement of court hearings and legal representation.

The total funding available is up to $410,000 to support 4 awards ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 each for 48-month projects. This opportunity is funded under the Title IV-B, Subpart 2 - Promoting Safe and Stable Families program authorized by the Social Security Act. The application deadline is July 9, 2024, with an expected award date of September 30, 2024.