Child Welfare Financing Survey SFY2018

Child welfare agencies across the United States are charged with protecting and promoting the welfare of children and youth who are at risk of, or who have been victims of, maltreatment. State and local child welfare agencies rely on multiple funding streams to administer programs and services. While many funding sources are available to child welfare agencies, each has its own unique purposes, eligibility requirements, and limitations, creating a complex financing structure that is challenging to understand and administer. Each state’s unique funding composition determines what services are available to children and families and the way in which child welfare agencies operate.

To address this challenge, Child Trends conducts a biennial national survey of child welfare agency expenditures to promote a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that agencies face in serving vulnerable children. The Child Welfare Financing Survey originated in the mid-1990s and is a comprehensive guide to child welfare agency expenditures. It has been administered and published by Child Trends since 2007, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs.

Past Financing Surveys