HHS Expands Foster Care Data Tracking Requirements
Published Date: 6/30/2026
Notice
Summary
The government is updating the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) to include 62 new data points, mainly about protections for Native children. This change affects state child welfare agencies, making their reporting a bit more detailed and time-consuming. Comments on this update are open until July 30, 2026, helping shape how the system supports kids in foster care and adoption.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
States face bigger AFCARS reporting load
The AFCARS rule added 62 data elements (per the December 2024 final rule) and raised the estimated time per state recordkeeping response from 8,538 to 9,036 hours. The notice reports 53 state respondents, 2 responses each, producing 957,813 annual hours of state recordkeeping burden.
Tribal reporting time per response unchanged
Tribal title IV-E agencies must continue AFCARS recordkeeping at the previously estimated 8,538 hours per response. The notice lists 17 tribal respondents, 2 responses each, yielding 290,292 annual tribal recordkeeping hours.
Total AFCARS annual burden: 1,250,485 hours
The notice estimates total annual AFCARS burden at 1,250,485 hours across respondents: 957,813 hours (state recordkeeping), 290,292 hours (tribe recordkeeping), and 2,380 hours (reporting at 17 hours per response for 70 respondents).
Personalized for You
How does this regulation affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this federal register document means for your household, plus every other regulation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-16414, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
This document withdraws a proposed rule that was published in the Federal Register on January 11, 2008. The proposed rule would have amended the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) regulations at 45 CFR 1355.40 and the appendices to Part 1355 to modify the requirements for States to collect and report data to ACF on children in out-of-home care and in subsidized adoption or guardianship arrangements with the State. This document also withdraws the provision of the 2008 proposed rule that implemented the AFCARS penalty requirements of the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-145).
2026-11530, Employment and Training Services for Noncustodial Parents in the Child Support Program; Rescission
The government plans to cancel a recent rule that let child support agencies offer job training to noncustodial parents using federal funds. This change affects agencies and parents involved in the child support program and could shift how support services are funded and delivered. Comments on this proposal are open until August 10, 2026, so folks have time to weigh in before it’s final.
2026-09383, Restoring Flexibility To Support Head Start Program Access
The government wants to give Head Start programs more freedom by removing some strict rules about staff wages and benefits. This change aims to save over $2 billion and help programs serve more kids better. If you want to share your thoughts, make sure to comment by June 11, 2026!
2026-06632, Work Participation Rate Calculation Changes: Recalibration of the Caseload Reduction Credit and Prohibition of Small Checks in Work Participation Rate Calculation
The government is updating how it measures work participation for families getting help through TANF. They’re changing the base year for counting caseload drops from 2005 to 2015 and won’t count tiny monthly payments under $35 in work rate calculations. These changes, required by a 2023 law, affect states and could impact funding starting soon, so everyone should pay attention and share their thoughts by May 6, 2026.
2026-16392, Announcement of the Intent To Award Sole-Source Awards to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The ACF, OHS announces the intent to award two sole-source grants in the total amount of up to $7,200,000, or $3,600,000 each, to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to support the establishment and provision of Early Head Start (EHS) and/or Head Start Preschool (HSP) services. These awards are made pursuant to new statutory authority and recent appropriations providing $8 million to extend Head Start eligibility and services in the Freely Associated States, as authorized under the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024 (Division G, Title II of Public Law 118-42), and the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
2026-16134, Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs
This NPRM proposes to rescind and replace the Head Start Program Performance Standards (Performance Standards), last revised in 2024. The proposed Performance Standards would significantly reduce Federal bureaucratic burden on programs; defer to State policies wherever possible; return substantial local control to Head Start agencies delivering the services and to parents as the primary caregivers and decision-makers for their children; reduce unnecessary duplication of Head Start regulations with Federal statute and other regulations; and emphasize the critical role of health, nutrition, and physical exercise for young children.
Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2026-13128, Certain Photovoltaic Trunk Bus Cable Assemblies and Components Thereof; Notice of Final Determination Finding a Violation of Section 337; Issuance of a Limited Exclusion Order; Termination of Investigation
The U.S. International Trade Commission found that Voltage, LLC and its Chinese partner broke patent rules by selling certain solar panel cable parts in the U.S. To stop this, the Commission issued a limited ban on these products and requires a 100% cash bond on imports during review. This means Voltage’s infringing products can’t enter the U.S. market, protecting Shoals Technologies and encouraging fair competition.
Next: 2026-13135, Notice of Public Meeting
The Department of State is hosting a public meeting on July 29 to talk about international mail and delivery services. If you want to join or speak, you need to email by July 17 to get the location and sign up. This meeting will update everyone on recent global postal events and plan for future international postal policies—no money changes, just important info and your chance to be heard!