Foster Care - Title IV-E & Local Expenditures

Foster Care - Title IV-E & State & Local Expenditures

How this program helps people

All children in foster care are eligible to receive room, board and supervision. Children who meet federal Title IV-E eligibility requirements can receive federal maintenance payments to cover such costs as food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to the child, reasonable travel to the child's home for visitation, and reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement.

Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) administrative and training costs are eligible for limited federal Title IV-E reimbursement for foster and adoptive parents and for public and private child welfare workers.

VDSS costs for non-Title IV-E eligible children are covered under the state- and locally-funded Comprehensive Services Act (CSA). CSA is a 1993 state law that provides for pooling eight specific funding streams to purchase cost-effective, community-based or out-of-home services for high-risk, troubled youth. State and local agencies, parents, and private service providers collaborate to plan and deliver services. Both funding and services are designed to be child-centered and family-focused, and address the strengths and needs of at-risk youth and their families.

Data Notes

• Totals may not sum due to rounding.
• For SFY 2002, the annual expenditures per child cannot be calculated since the total number of children served is unavailable.
• Children in foster care may receive both maintenance payments (room and board) and payments for specialized services.  The annual expenditures per child include children who receive maintenance payments only and children who also receive specialized services such as residential care.  Other specialized services (e.g., counseling, mentoring) are not included.
• Beginning with SFY 2009, CSA total excludes "Residential Parental Agreements/DSS Non-Custodial Foster Care" since less than one-third of the total is a Foster Care expense.
• Starting in SFY 2023, the total CSA expenditure was calculated based on specific foster care mandate types reported by localities for reimbursement of expenditures. This approach better reflects expenses designated solely for the foster care population, per the recommendation of the Office of Children's Services (OCS).

Data Sources

• Division of Family Services - Foster Care Program staff
• Division of Finance staff (LASER)
• Office of Children’s Services Financial Reporting (LEDRS)