The Children’s Bureau (CB) is a division of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services. CB has responsibility for the administration of the Children’s Justice Act (CJA) authorized by the Child Abuse Prevention and TreatmentAct (CAPTA), as amended by Public Law (P.L.) P.L. 111-320 enacted December 20, 2010.
The CJA program is located in Section 107, 42 U.S.C. 5106c under Grants to States for Programs Relating to the Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases. The CJA is designed to assist states in improving the systems handling child abuse and neglect cases. CB staff execute all the tasks involved in administering and monitoring the CJA program.
The legislation notes a requirement for States to submit information to the CB on an annual basis:
42 U.S.C. 5106c Sec. 107 (b) (4) of CAPTA requires States to “submit annually an application to the Secretary….”
42 U.S.C. 5106c Sec. 107 (B) (5) of CAPTA requires States to “submit annually to the Secretary a report on the manner in which assistance received under this program was expended throughout the State,…”
While the statutory requirements for reporting have not changed, the related Program Instruction has been revised to focus solely on providing instructions for respondents, remove requests for information not required by statute, reduce duplicative information, and simplify language. Additional information is provided in section A15.
In accordance with the current administration’s priority related to burden reduction for states, the length of the CJA Program Instruction has been reduced by approximately 67 percent. Edits have been made to focus solely on providing instructions for respondents, remove requests for information not required by statute, reduce duplicative information, and simplify language. The Program Instruction does include minimal language to clarify what level of information is needed from respondents to comply with statutory reporting requirements. The inclusion of such language ensures that grant recipient responses provide sufficient documentation and data on the use of grant funds in compliance with requirements of the CJA statute. While the Program Instruction still includes time to respond, it is the experience of ACF that without such guidance states either over-respond to be sure they are perceived as being responsive or require significant technical assistance to respond in a manner that meets statutory requirements. The proposed changes attempt to balance the overall burden in the CJA Program Instruction with the states’ need for support.
$10,452
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Molly Buck 202 205-4724 mary.buck@acf.hhs.gov
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
03/04/2026
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Children's Justice Act Program Instruction