On January 6,  the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to implement statutory provisions related to the Tribal title IV-E program. The rule is effective February 12, 2012 and addresses multiple provisions related to the Fostering Connections Act (P.L. 110-351) that provided tribal agencies with the option of applying to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate a Title IV-E program. The legislation provided for planning grants for tribal agencies to use for the purposes of developing infrastructure programmatically and fiscally that would ensure that the tribes were able to operate a Title IV-E program that was consistent with federal guidance.  The Interim Final Rule provides further detail on how tribal agencies must operate going forward. Also on January 6, ACF released an Information Memorandum (ACYF-CB-IM-12-01) which informs states, tribes, and territorial agencies that an interim final rule was released.