A practical guide to ACF grants for child welfare, Head Start, TANF, family support, refugee services, and anti-trafficking, who is eligible, key programs, and how to apply.

2025–2026 STATUS UPDATE: Head Start has faced significant disruption in 2025. In April 2025 ~50% of federal Office of Head Start staff was cut and all regional Head Start offices closed. The March 2025 funding bill cut $750M from Head Start. During the 2025 government shutdown, programs in 40+ states missed scheduled funding; sites in 17 states plus Puerto Rico were forced to close. Verify current status at ACF Office of Head Start.

ORR made major program changes in 2025–2026. Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) eligibility was reduced from 12 months to 4 months in March 2025. Beginning FY 2026, ORR Refugee Support Services (RSS) formula grants are awarded only to states — no longer to non-state nonprofit replacement designees (ACF DCL 25-04). ORR has also been organizationally realigned. Verify at acf.gov/orr.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is the federal agency that funds many of the country’s largest programs supporting children, families, and vulnerable populations. As part of DHHS, ACF administers Head Start, TANF, child welfare, refugee services, anti-trafficking, and many family-support and youth programs.

For organizations serving children, families, runaway and homeless youth, refugees, survivors of trafficking, and Native communities, ACF funding is essential to understand alongside HRSA, CDC, and SAMHSA.

This guide covers how ACF grants work, the major programs, and how to win them.

TL;DR: Quick Answers

What does ACF fund? Head Start, TANF, child welfare and family support, child care, refugee resettlement, anti-trafficking, runaway and homeless youth, Native American family services, and many others.
Who can apply? Nonprofits, state and tribal governments, school systems, community-based organizations, and others depending on the program.
What are the major programs? Head Start and Early Head Start, TANF (formula to states), CCDF, Child Welfare Title IV-B and IV-E, Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY), Family Violence Prevention and Services (FVPSA), Refugee Resettlement, Trafficking Victims Programs, and many others.
What’s the timeline? Federal pacing; many programs are formula-based to states with discretionary competitions layered in.

How ACF Funding Works

ACF is part of DHHS, and like other federal grants, its funding mixes formula and competitive grants:

Formula grants flow to states and tribes for the largest programs, TANF, CCDF, Title IV-B and IV-E child welfare, refugee resettlement. State agencies then administer programs and often sub-grant to local providers.

Competitive (discretionary) grants are awarded directly to nonprofits and others for programs like Head Start, RHY, FVPSA discretionary grants, anti-trafficking grants, and many demonstration programs.

ACF is organized into program offices, each with its own portfolio:

Office of Head Start (OHS).
Office of Child Care (OCC).
Office of Family Assistance (OFA).
Children’s Bureau (CB).
Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB).
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP).
Administration for Native Americans (ANA).
Office of Community Services (OCS).

Major ACF Programs

A non-exhaustive sample:

Head Start and Early Head Start. Comprehensive early-childhood programs funded directly to grantees serving low-income children.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). State-administered cash assistance and supports.
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). State-administered child-care subsidy and quality funding.
Child Welfare Title IV-B and IV-E programs plus competitive demonstration grants.
Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Programs. Basic Center, Transitional Living, and Street Outreach grants.
Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). Funding for domestic-violence services and coalitions.
Office of Refugee Resettlement programs. Including reception and placement support, integration services, and Unaccompanied Children programming.
Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) grants. Victim services and outreach.
Administration for Native Americans (ANA) grants. Social and economic development for Native communities.
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). State-administered funding for Community Action Agencies.
Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grants.
Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE).

Who Is Eligible

Eligibility varies; common applicants include:

Nonprofits and community-based organizations
State, local, and tribal governments
School systems and Head Start grantees
Universities and research institutions
Faith-based and culturally specific organizations
Community Action Agencies (CSBG network)

Read each NOFO closely, see how to read a grant RFP.

How to Apply

Identify the right program office. ACF’s bureaus serve overlapping populations but operate differently; match precisely.
Register on SAM.gov and Grants.gov early.
Document need with ACF-relevant data. Child welfare data (AFCARS, NCANDS), poverty data (ACS), homelessness data, refugee arrivals, and trafficking case data ground your statement of need.
Use evidence-based practices. Programs increasingly favor practices with research evidence; cite the Title IV-E Clearinghouse or other relevant evidence registries where applicable.
Build a clear logic model and outcomes.
Show partnerships across systems. Schools, courts, health, and community partners strengthen proposals, secure letters of support.
Prepare a realistic budget and match. Match requirements vary by program.
Plan for compliance and reporting.

Tips for a Competitive ACF Application

Address equity and access explicitly. ACF programs increasingly prioritize reach to underserved populations.
Center children, youth, and families. Lived experience, family voice, and youth voice strengthen proposals.
Show cultural and linguistic responsiveness, especially for refugee, immigrant, Native, and culturally specific programs.
Demonstrate capacity for federal compliance. ACF programs come with serious reporting and oversight.
Plan sustainability and braided funding. Most family-support work depends on multiple funding streams.
Coordinate with state agencies and Community Action. Alignment with state plans helps; misalignment hurts.

How Grantboost Helps With ACF Applications

ACF’s portfolio is broad, organizations serving children and families often qualify for several ACF programs and complementary HRSA, ED, DOJ, and foundation funding. Grantboost continuously scans federal and state funding and surfaces scored, mission-matched opportunities across all of them.

Drafts come back in your organization’s voice (see training AI on your past proposals), structured around each ACF program’s specific requirements, with every grant tracked in one pipeline.

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ACF Grants: A Guide to Administration for Children and Families Funding