Each year, state agencies, territories, and tribes are required to report on how upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) funding will be use in compliance with Title IV-B, subparts 1 and 2, Title IV-E, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs, Independent Living and Education and Training Vouchers.  Program Instruction (PI) 11-06 stresses that allotments for funds are contingent on availability of appropriations. It is noted that Title IV-B programs are required to be reauthorized periodically by Congress.  The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 reauthorized funding for these programs for FYs 2007 – 2011.  With authorization up this year, all grant awards for FY 2012 must be approved.  With the lag in time of having a budget for Federal Fiscal Year 2011, the availability of funds for 2012 may be delayed and will reflect reductions in several of the capped funding sources that support a state’s child welfare system.

With the President’s signing of the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010, a major new provision was added that requires states to submit a new State plan as of June 30, 2011.  No longer will states have to include CAPTA funding information in the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) every five years.  The new CAPTA state plan will be in effect for the life of the state’s participation in the grant with a few conditions, including:  1) any significant changes to the grant program must be submitted to the Children’s Bureau (CB), 2) any changes to the prevention of child abuse and neglect program, 3) notify CB if grant funds are used differently than described in the current State plan, and 4)  continue to prepare and submit and annual report describing how funds were used and what objectives were achieved.