Child and family well-being for all families, including families most impacted by racial disparities, is the responsibility of equitable, diverse, and culturally competent systems and the community. The purpose of this NOFO is to fund grants that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of field-initiated approaches to addressing racial bias and inequity in child welfare; and improving the safety, stability, and well-being of families in traditionally underserved communities.

As a field-based initiative, this funding opportunity will enable communities to design and lead targeted solutions to local issues of systemic disproportionality and inequitable access to services experienced by traditionally underserved communities at varying points across the child welfare continuum.

Grant recipients will utilize supporting data, and any pre-analysis if available, from their respective states or communities that describes the problem of inequity and racial bias as it exists in their community. The Children’s Bureau (CB) is open to the type of data submitted and encourages applicants to use the best information or evidence available. Recipients are encouraged to either establish partnerships to access needed data or to consider other publicly available data sources (i.e., Census, community organization data dashboards, etc.). Upon award, grant recipients will complete a thorough exploration or assessment that, at a minimum, involves a review of current practices, policies, and service delivery to the target population with input from community members and families with lived child welfare experience. Ultimately, applicants will demonstrate readiness and a commitment to inclusive, co-designed solutions to address issues of racial bias and inequity in child welfare and reflect what communities say they need to thrive.

The purpose of this NOFO is to fund eight projects for a 5-year period that bring forward innovative, community-supported approaches to addressing racial bias and inequity in child welfare systems. Projects will use supporting data to identify and define the problem that needs to be addressed in their community. Projects will work in sync with families with lived experience to co-design and develop solutions to racial bias, disproportionality, and disparities experienced by historically underserved families in their community at a selected point(s) on the child welfare continuum. Projects will focus efforts on historically underserved and overrepresented communities and actively work to reduce structural barriers to accessing services wherever possible.

Deadline: July 31, 2023