We are grateful to the Children’s Defense Fund for preparing summaries of the Family First Prevention Services Act, which was signed into law on February 9, 2018 as part of Division E in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892).

The Family First Act is a landmark bill that focuses on the importance of children growing up in families. The legislation introduces historic reforms to help keep children safely with their families and avoid the traumatic experience of entering foster care. It also includes provisions to help ensure children are placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting appropriate to their special needs when foster care is needed.

See here for a short summary.

See here for a detailed summary.

See here for an implementation timeline.

See here for the law language.

Family First Act, Permanence, Prevention

Fact Sheet

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Sign the Pledge

Sign the pledge to show your support for today’s amazing foster parents and the importance of quality foster parenting.

See the Latest

CHAMPS is an exciting new policy campaign with dozens of partner organizations working together to highlight the vital importance of foster parents to the health and well-being of children in foster care. Check out what’s going on nationally and in the states.