The Children’s Bureau supports the development of state and tribal child welfare reporting systems to enable the collection and analysis of important information about children and families, as well as improve case practice and management.
AFCARS
The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects case-level information from state and tribal title IV-E agencies on all children in foster care and those who have been adopted with title IV-E agency involvement. Title IV-E agencies are required to submit AFCARS data twice a year.
NCANDS
The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) is a voluntary data collection system that gathers information from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico about reports of child abuse and neglect.
NYTD
The National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) collects information about youth in foster care, including outcomes for those who have aged out of foster care.
State & Tribal Information Systems
Child welfare information systems are case management systems that serve as the record hubs for all children and families receiving child welfare support. Federal funding is available to both state and tribal title IV-E agencies to develop and maintain these automated systems.
Title IV-E Prevention Program
The title IV-E prevention program data reporting collects information for each child who receives title IV-E prevention services and is used to calculate annual title IV-E prevention services measures in accordance with the statute.