The Federal Funding Streams for Children and Youth Services database contains information about more than 390 federal funding sources that support programs or services for infants, toddlers, children, youth, and their families. The database provides fiscal year allocations from 2019 to 2023 and will include additional years as complete fiscal year data becomes available from the federal government.

Searchable Categories

Users can filter the funding streams in the database within six categories.

1. Funding Stream Name

This is the federally designated name of the funding stream (also referred to as federal grant, budget line item, or special fund name). Note: This is the official funding stream name in federal government data, but a given funding stream may be known by a different or more common name. For example, the Medical Assistance Program is more commonly known as Medicaid. If you have trouble locating a specific program in the database or are unsure about the official name for a funding source, try searching for the fund’s common name using the keyword search bar at the bottom of the database.

2. Outcome Category

This refers to the general child and youth outcome the funding broadly supports. We have organized the federal funding streams into the following outcome categories:

• Educated: Funding to support the education of children and youth, both in and out of school.
• Employable: Funding directed at workforce development and career readiness activities.
• Healthy: Funding to support the physical and emotional health and well-being of children and families.
• Safe: Funding directed at supporting the safety and well-being of children and families.
• Supported and Connected: Funding directed at providing financial, emotional, and social support to children and families and funds that help children and youth connect to their communities.

3. Specific Eligible Programs and Services

Users can sort the federal funding streams by 68 specific services and programs for which funds may be used. These include commonly known services and programs across educational, social, and community-based services like apprenticeships, arts and cultural programs, behavioral health services, foster care, health care, prenatal health services, and recreational activities. 

4. Age Range

This will filter for all funding streams that serve a given age or that span multiple age groups. Users may also select “no age group target” to include funds that are universally applied to all groups. The database groups funding streams into the following age ranges:

• Birth – 2 years old
• 3 – 4 years old
• 5 – 12 years old
• 13 – 17 years old
• 18 – 24 years old

5. Typical Local Recipients

These are the entities that are eligible to receive funding at the local level. This is usually the direct beneficiary of the funding or a direct service provider. These entities may include businesses, nonprofits, local government, individual families, and other program or service providers. 

6. Designated COVID Relief Funding

This filter lets users search for those programs that were funded by one of the three major COVID-19 pandemic relief funds passed between 2020 and 2021. 

Additional Categories and Data

By scrolling to the right in the database, users can see columns for additional characteristics used to categorize and organize the funding data. 

Program Description

This is the official program description for each funding stream. For some funding streams we have provided additional detail or funding notes. 

FY 19 – FY 23 Federal Funding (Obligations)

These columns show how much funding was obligated for a given program in a given fiscal year; in other words, how much money the federal government transferred to funding recipients. Note: Each federal fiscal year begins on October 1 of the preceding year and ends on September 30 of the indicated year. That means, for example, federal fiscal year 2023 began on October 1, 2022, and ended on September 30, 2023. 

Additionally, the obligations included in the database account for any funding returned to the federal government. If the obligated total in a given fiscal year was negative (meaning more funding was returned than allocated), the funding amount will show as $0 in the database. Annual obligations have not been adjusted for inflation. 

Obligations are not always the same as congressionally appropriated funding. Funding may be appropriated by Congress but not released by an agency for a number of reasons. Some programs do not release funding until recipients complete applications. Natural disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) also can affect the demand for funds or the ability of providers to deliver services and, consequently, use funds. Finally, programmatic rules may dictate that an agency must disperse funding over multiple years.

Service and Program Category

This column describes a broad set of services or programs to which the funding can be applied. 

 Eligibility Criteria

This column highlights the specific child and youth populations for which funds are designated, targeted, or otherwise restricted.

Level of Intervention

This column identifies the type of intervention provided by the program—basic services, positive youth development, prevention services, or intervention services. 

Original Granting Agency

This refers to the federal agency that administers the funding and usually sets the program rules.

Terminal Grantee

This is the entity (or entities) that initially receives the funding from the federal government. The terminal grantee then distributes funds to the typical local recipients. 

Service Setting

This describes the general environment or location where beneficiaries receive services. 

Financial Assistance Type

This is the federal designation for the type of funding.

Funding Cycle 

This refers to the length of time that funding recipients have to spend the full amount of funding or until they can reapply for additional funds.

Federal Budget Item (Assistance Listing) Number

This number, also known as a program’s CFDA number, is an identifier that recipients or potential recipients can use to search for more information about a funding stream on USASpending.gov or SAM.gov. 

Funding Website Link

The link to the SAM.gov page for the funding stream.

Depending on a community’s needs, this database can provide a starting point for documenting the federal resources a community currently leverages; help communities identify additional funding streams for which their states, Native nations, or localities might be eligible (with details that help leaders decide whether to pursue those other opportunities); or aid leaders in starting their own localized or tribally focused fiscal maps.

For more information about how to use the search features of the database and how to download a customized spreadsheet based on your search, view the how-to guide within the database. For information about other funding-related terms you may find, check out our glossary of terms.

Fiscal information in the database comes from USAspending.gov, a website maintained by the U.S. Department of Treasury that serves as the official source for spending data for the U.S. government. Categorical and programmatic information in the database comes from SAM.gov, a website maintained by the federal General Services Administration, that serves as the official source of information for all federal assistance listings.