vocabulary: name: ACF Human Services Vocabulary description: >- Domain vocabulary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), covering key programs, data systems, policy concepts, and human services terminology used across ACF's portfolio. version: '1.0' created: '2026-05-03' modified: '2026-05-03' terms: - term: TANF definition: >- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. A federal block grant program established by the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Provides states with funds to assist low-income families with children through cash assistance, work programs, and supportive services. Federal lifetime limit of 60 months. domain: Programs tags: - Cash Assistance - Programs - Welfare - term: CCDF definition: >- Child Care and Development Fund. A federal grant program that provides subsidies to help low-income families afford child care while parents work or attend school/training. States administer CCDF through vouchers or direct payments to child care providers. domain: Programs tags: - Child Care - Programs - Early Childhood - term: Head Start definition: >- A federal program providing comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children from birth to age 5 and their families. Operated by local nonprofit and public organizations with ACF oversight. domain: Programs tags: - Early Childhood - Education - Programs - term: LIHEAP definition: >- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. A federal program helping low-income households meet their home energy needs, including heating and cooling costs and weatherization assistance. domain: Programs tags: - Energy Assistance - Programs - term: AFCARS definition: >- Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. A mandatory federal data collection system under 45 CFR 1355.40 that collects case-level information on children in foster care and those adopted with Title IV-E agency involvement. States report data semi-annually. domain: Data Systems tags: - Child Welfare - Data Systems - Foster Care - term: NCANDS definition: >- National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. A voluntary federal data collection system gathering case-level information from all 50 states and territories on child maltreatment reports, investigations, dispositions, and services provided. domain: Data Systems tags: - Child Abuse - Data Systems - Neglect - term: NYTD definition: >- National Youth in Transition Database. Collects data on youth in foster care and those who have aged out of the system, tracking outcomes in education, employment, housing, and well-being through annual surveys. domain: Data Systems tags: - Data Systems - Foster Care - Youth - term: NDNH definition: >- National Directory of New Hires. A national database maintained by ACF's Office of Child Support Services containing employment and unemployment insurance data. Used for child support enforcement, welfare oversight, and fraud detection. domain: Data Systems tags: - Child Support - Data Systems - Employment - term: Title IV-E definition: >- Section IV-E of the Social Security Act authorizing federal financial participation in state foster care, adoption assistance, and kinship guardianship assistance programs for eligible children. domain: Policy tags: - Child Welfare - Federal Funding - Policy - term: ICWA definition: >- Indian Child Welfare Act. A 1978 federal law establishing minimum federal standards for removal of Native American children from their families and placing them in foster care or adoptive homes, with preference for tribal families. domain: Policy tags: - Child Welfare - Policy - Tribal - term: Work Participation Rate definition: >- A TANF performance measure tracking the percentage of families receiving TANF who are engaged in federally-defined work activities. The federal standard is 50% for all families and 90% for two-parent families. States failing to meet rates face financial penalties. domain: Performance Measures tags: - Performance - TANF - Work - term: Kinship Care definition: >- Placement of a child in out-of-home care with a relative or close family friend rather than an unrelated foster family. ACF promotes kinship care as a preferred placement option that maintains family connections for children in foster care. domain: Child Welfare tags: - Child Welfare - Foster Care - Placement - term: Permanency definition: >- The goal in child welfare to provide children with safe, stable, and nurturing permanent homes. AFCARS tracks permanency goals including reunification, adoption, legal guardianship, placement with relatives, and planned permanent living arrangement (PPLA). domain: Child Welfare tags: - Child Welfare - Outcomes - Policy - term: FHIR definition: >- Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. A HL7 standard for health and human services data exchange. ACF is pursuing FHIR-based standards through its interoperability initiative to enable data sharing between social services and health care systems. domain: Technology Standards tags: - Interoperability - Standards - Technology - term: USCDI Plus definition: >- United States Core Data for Interoperability Plus (USCDI+). An ONC program allowing federal agencies to establish additional data elements beyond the core USCDI standard. ACF is using USCDI+ to standardize human services data elements for interoperability. domain: Technology Standards tags: - Data Standards - Interoperability - Technology - term: Mandatory Reporter definition: >- A professional (teacher, healthcare provider, social worker, etc.) required by state law to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities. Mandatory reporters are a major source category in NCANDS data. domain: Child Protection tags: - Child Abuse - Legal - Reporting