Chafee Foster Care Transition Program Funding and Eligibility

The John H. Chafee Foster Care Program receives $143 million in annual funding, with an additional $43 million for the Educational and Training Vouchers (ETV) program. The program supports youth transitioning from foster care in areas like education, employment, and housing, with eligibility extending to age 23 in 33 states and territories. Data is collected through the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) to track services and outcomes.

Use Cases

• Analyze the distribution of $143 million in annual formula grants across States, Tribes, and participating territories.
• Compare eligibility criteria and service offerings for youth up to age 23 across the 33 listed states and territories.
• Study the impact of the $5,000 annual ETV voucher limit on post-secondary education outcomes for eligible young adults up to age 26.
• Map the relationship between state-level foster care policies and the specific services funded under the Chafee program.

Strengths

• Program funding is quantified with specific annual amounts: $143 million for core services and $43 million for the ETV program.
• Eligibility rules are concretely specified, including the list of 33 states and territories opting to serve youth up to age 23.
• Data collection is mandated through the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), providing a structured reporting mechanism.

Limitations

• The dataset's specific structure, column names, row count, and sample data are unavailable for review.
• Information is presented in HTML format, which may require significant parsing and cleaning for analytical use.
• The description focuses on program rules and funding, not on the actual outcome data collected via NYTD.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Collection Method

Program description and policy documentation.

Freshness

Information was last updated in September 2025.

Geography

United States, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and participating Tribes.