Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (93.674)

Also known as The Chafee Program

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.0 billion
• Grant awards345
• Typical award$1.8 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$139 million
• Size rank253 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceFormula grants

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $484 million in fiscal 2021 to $139 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 253rd largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 71% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 53 states and territories.

What the program funds

This program assists States and eligible Indian Tribes in implementing programs that assist youth who have experienced foster care to make successful transitions into adulthood and self-sufficiency. The program is focused on youth who experienced foster care at age 14 or older, youth who leave foster care for adoption or kinship guardianship after attaining age 16, youth likely to remain in foster care until age 18, and former foster care recipients between 18 and 21 years

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

State governments, including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (hereafter "states"), and eligible Indian tribes, Indian tribal organizations, or Indian tribal consortia (hereafter "tribes") with an approved plan.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Awards may be used to assist youth/young adults to make the transition to self-sufficiency; to receive education, training and related services; to prepare for and obtain employment; to prepare for and enter post-secondary training and educational institutions; to provide personal and emotional support to youth through mentors and the promotion of interactions with dedicated adults; and to provide financial, housing, counseling, employment, education, other appropriate support and services to current and former foster care recipients up to the age of 21, or age 23 if the state or tribe operates an extended foster care program and opts to extend services; and to ensure that children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age have regular, on-going opportunities to engage in age or developmentally appropriate activities.

Matching requirements

Statutory Formula: Title N/A, Part E, Subpart N/A,Public Law Social Security Act, P.L. 74-271.42 USC 674The federal government will pay 80 percent of the total amount of funds expended by the recipient up to the amount of Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood funds allocated. The recipient must provide matching contributions to cover the additional 20 percent of the costs.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Apr 12, 2026 to Jun 30, 2026 The plan or its annual update is due on June 30th of each year.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

FY 2024 awards for states range from $500,000 to $16,849,089 with an average of $2,654,363.19. FY 2024 awards for tribes range from $4,809 to $66,769 with an average of $24,821.57.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.

By state

52 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.