The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement to support the development of a National Electronic Interstate Records Exchange System (NEICE). This initiative aims to expand and implement a secure, multi-tenant electronic records exchange system that facilitates timely foster care, adoption, and residential placement services across state lines, thereby improving administrative efficiency and reducing barriers to access for children in need of placements. The funding opportunity, with an estimated total program funding of $1,600,000 for one award, has a project period of five years, and applications are due by March 16, 2026. Interested applicants can contact Kara Allen-Eckard at cb@grantreview.org for further information.

hhs-2026-acf-acyf-co-0079.pdf

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-CO-0079 from the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children’s Bureau, seeks applications for a cooperative agreement to support the National Electronic Interstate Records Exchange System (NEICE). The purpose is to expand and implement a secure, multi-tenant electronic records exchange system for states to facilitate timely foster care, adoption, and residential placement services across state lines. The project aims to onboard remaining jurisdictions to NEICE, maintain and refine the system, improve administrative efficiency, reduce barriers to access, improve timely permanency for children, and support interoperability with other human service systems. Eligibility is open to public or private agencies or organizations, with an application deadline of March 16, 2026. The expected total program funding is $1,600,000 for one award, with a 5-year project period. Applicants must adhere to specific formatting, content, and submission requirements, including detailed project narratives, budgets, and supporting documentation. The review process will evaluate proposals based on approach, evaluation plan, organizational capacity, and budget. Cost-sharing is not required.

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) governs foster care and adoption placements across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The ICPC establishes uniform legal and administrative procedures governing the interstate placement of children for the purposes of foster care, adoption, and residential placement. It is estimated that states explore ICPC placements across jurisdictions for nearly 100,000 children each year.The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2017 requires all states to be connected to an electronic interstate case processing system by October 1, 2027. To facilitate that process, the purpose of this funding opportunity is to support the expansion and implementation of a secure, multi-tenant electronic system that meets the diverse demands of data sharing and privacy needed by states to achieve the orderly and timely interstate placement of children.The national electronic records exchange system will:Successfully onboard ICPC jurisdictions required to or interested in participating in the system;Maintain and refine as needed the electronic exchange for the safe and secure exchange of information between all jurisdictions;Improve administrative efficiency for ICPC jurisdictions by streamlining the ICPC administrative process;Reduce access barriers for children awaiting placements in interstate placements and improve the likelihood of children achieving permanency in a timely manner who would benefit from an interstate placement in ICPC jurisdictions;Allow for interoperability with other human service functions and systems;Provide alignment with ACF&quot;s promotion of system interoperability as modeled by efforts such as the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and the National Human Services Interoperability Architecture (NHSIA) and implements electronic exchanges utilizing such data exchange standards when interacting with state child welfare information systems;Comply with security standards of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Kara Allen-Eckard&lt;br/&gt;cb@grantreview.org

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