National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention | HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0052

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0052

The National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention funding opportunity (HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0052) is a discretionary cooperative agreement from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Children s Bureau, designed to create a single national technical assistance and training hub focused on strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect. Through this award, ACF intends to establish a National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention that will serve as the primary provider of training and technical assistance to Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) recipients, including states, tribes, tribal organizations, and migrant programs, along with the partners they rely on to deliver prevention services in communities. The overall aim is to improve how CBCAP-funded entities plan, implement, and sustain prevention strategies that reduce child maltreatment risk while building protective factors for children and families.

A central theme of the opportunity is capacity building tied directly to CBCAP program requirements and to the broader expectation that prevention efforts should be grounded in evidence. The Center is expected to help CBCAP recipients strengthen their ability to implement the program effectively and to expand the use of evidence-informed and evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs and activities. In practice, this means the Center will likely provide structured support such as guidance on selecting and adapting interventions, training on implementation quality, help with performance measurement and continuous quality improvement, and technical assistance on building the partnerships needed to deliver prevention supports at scale. The emphasis is not simply on offering services, but on helping jurisdictions and communities implement them well, measure outcomes, and make improvements based on data and learning.

Another major focus is building and supporting interdisciplinary, community-based networks that offer a continuum of prevention-oriented services and resources. The Center will help CBCAP recipients plan for and develop networks of programs that can meet families where they are, recognizing that preventing abuse and neglect often requires multiple, coordinated supports rather than a single service. This includes strengthening linkages across community organizations and systems so families can access tailored supports that fit their unique needs. The NOFO specifically highlights the importance of stronger connections between CBCAP recipients and child welfare, as well as other child- and family-serving systems, to make it easier for families to navigate resources and receive assistance before crises escalate.

The opportunity also places strong value on incorporating lived expertise into decision-making. The Center will promote CBCAP recipient efforts to engage individuals with lived experience in critical decisions related to planning, implementing, and evaluating CBCAP programs. This signals an expectation that the Center will help grantees develop meaningful engagement practices, not just advisory roles in name only, and will support approaches that ensure prevention strategies reflect real-world family experiences, community contexts, and culturally responsive practices.

From a funding and structure standpoint, this is a cooperative agreement, which generally means ACF will have substantial involvement in guiding the work, aligning deliverables with federal priorities, and collaborating on implementation over time. The project period is 60 months, organized into five 12-month budget periods, giving the awardee a multi-year runway to build national infrastructure, deliver ongoing technical assistance, and refine tools and supports based on what CBCAP recipients need. The award ceiling is $2,000,000, and ACF expects to make one award, meaning a single entity (or a single lead applicant representing a collaboration) will operate the Center nationally.

Eligibility is broad across public and private sectors. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), independent school districts, public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in those categories), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and other unrestricted applicants as listed in the notice. Collaborative and interdisciplinary applications are allowed, but if multiple organizations apply together they must name a primary applicant responsible for administering the cooperative agreement. Individuals, including sole proprietorships, are not eligible, and foreign entities are not eligible; such applications will be disqualified from merit review. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible on the same basis as other organizations, and the notice underscores federal nondiscrimination protections related to religious character and affiliation consistent with 45 CFR Part 87 and applicable statutes.

Key administrative details include a closing date of July 1, 2024, a CFDA (Assistance Listing) number of 93.590, and an activity category aligned with income security and social services. Taken together, the opportunity is essentially a national infrastructure investment: ACF is seeking one highly capable organization (or led partnership) to function as the field s central training and technical assistance engine for CBCAP, with the expectation that stronger implementation support, evidence-based prevention expansion, cross-system coordination, and authentic lived-experience engagement will improve prevention outcomes and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect across communities.

• The Administration for Children and Families - ACYF/CB in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.590.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others, Unrestricted.

Apply for HHS 2024 ACF ACYF CZ 0052

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