HHS ACF Grants for Nonprofits: Programs, Eligibility, and Compliance

The HHS Administration for Children and Families is the largest federal grantmaker to social-services nonprofits in the United States. If your organization runs a Head Start or Early Head Start program, operates a CCDF child care subsidy, runs a Community Action Agency under CSBG, serves runaway or homeless youth, provides domestic violence services, or resettles refugees, you almost certainly have ACF funding in your federal portfolio. The compliance environment is dense - overlapping program terms, HHS-specific regulatory citations, and program-specific monitoring frameworks like Head Start’s Five-Year Project Period and Designation Renewal System sit on top of the universal Uniform Guidance baseline.

What ACF funds

ACF programs cluster around six major program areas.

Head Start and Early Head Start. The Office of Head Start funds approximately 1,600 grantees nationwide serving more than 750,000 children. Awards are five-year project periods with annual budget periods. Average grant sizes range from less than $1 million for small rural programs to more than $50 million for large urban grantees. Head Start grantees must comply with the Head Start Program Performance Standards at 45 CFR Chapter XIII Part 1302 in addition to general financial assistance rules.

Child care. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the largest federal child care subsidy program, with approximately $8 billion annually flowing to states, territories, and tribes. States subaward to local nonprofits to administer subsidies and improve quality. The Office of Child Care also runs discretionary programs supporting child care provider workforce development and infant-toddler quality.

Family economic assistance. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a $16.5 billion annual block grant to states. Many states subaward TANF funds to nonprofits for workforce development, parenting education, marriage education, and similar work-supports services. The Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood program funds nonprofits directly through competitive grants.

Community services. The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) flows to states, which subgrant to approximately 1,000 Community Action Agencies - predominantly nonprofits. CSBG is one of the most flexible federal funding streams for poverty-reduction work. The Community Economic Development program and the Assets for Independence program are competitive ACF programs supporting nonprofit-led economic development and asset-building work.

Family and youth services. The Family and Youth Services Bureau funds Runaway and Homeless Youth programs (Basic Center, Transitional Living, and Maternity Group Home), domestic violence services under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and trafficking victim services. Most awards are direct competitive grants to nonprofits.

Refugee resettlement. The Office of Refugee Resettlement funds the Reception and Placement program, the Matching Grant program, the Preferred Communities program, and Refugee Social Services through cooperative agreements with Voluntary Agencies and direct grants to local resettlement nonprofits.

Application requirements

ACF discretionary grants are submitted through Grants.gov. Block grant subawards from states follow the state’s procurement and subaward processes. For direct ACF applications:

Prerequisites. Active SAM.gov registration with valid UEI; Grants.gov Workspace account; current indirect cost rate documentation (NICRA or 10% de minimis election); and any program-specific eligibility documentation (for example, Head Start applicants must respond to the specific service area in the announced funding opportunity).

Application package. Standard forms include SF-424, SF-424A budget, SF-424B assurances, SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, project narrative (page-limit varies by program), budget narrative, and program-specific attachments. Head Start applications additionally require a Community Assessment, Program Design and Management plan, Selection Criteria responses, and an Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance plan.

Post-award setup. Awards are issued in GrantSolutions. Drawdowns flow through the Payment Management System (PMS) operated by HHS Program Support Center. Set up your PMS account and verify the bank account immediately upon award - first-time PMS setup commonly takes 7-14 business days.

Compliance specifics

ACF awards are governed by 45 CFR Part 75 (HHS’s adoption of the Uniform Guidance) plus program-specific regulations.

Cost principles. The five Uniform Guidance criteria apply - necessary, reasonable, allocable, conformant, consistent, documented. ACF compliance officers are particularly attentive to cost allocation across multiple ACF programs operated by the same grantee, because cost shifting between programs is one of the highest-frequency findings.

Time-and-effort documentation. Personnel costs charged to ACF awards must be supported by records that accurately reflect the work performed. For employees working on a single federal award, periodic certifications are sufficient (typically semi-annual). For employees splitting time across multiple awards or across federal and non-federal funding, after-the-fact personnel activity reports must document actual time by award. Time-and-effort failures are the single most common ACF audit finding.

Procurement. 2 CFR 200 Subpart D (incorporated at 45 CFR 75) applies. Sole-source justifications are scrutinized. Conflict-of-interest policies must be documented and applied to procurement decisions.

Match documentation. Head Start’s 20% non-federal share must be documented contemporaneously. Volunteer time uses independentsector.org rates; donated facilities require fair-market-value documentation. The Office of Head Start tracks non-federal share quarterly through GrantSolutions and follows up on shortfalls before the budget period ends.

Reporting cadence. SF-425 Federal Financial Reports are semi-annual for most ACF discretionary awards, due 30 days after the end of each semi-annual period and 120 days after budget period end for the final. Programmatic reports follow the same cadence unless the Notice of Award specifies otherwise. Head Start grantees additionally submit the Program Information Report (PIR) annually, the Annual Report to the Public, and quarterly enrollment reporting.

Single Audit. Nonprofits expending $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year must obtain a Single Audit under 2 CFR 200 Subpart F (45 CFR 75 Subpart F). Head Start grantees with awards above $1,000,000 are universally subject. The Single Audit reporting package goes to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse; ACF receives findings affecting its programs through the FAC.

Subrecipient monitoring. ACF grantees that subaward portions of their awards become passthrough entities under 2 CFR 200.332. The risk assessment, subaward agreement content, and ongoing monitoring requirements apply.

Head Start-specific monitoring. The Office of Head Start operates a Five-Year Project Period structure with mid-period and end-of-period monitoring reviews. Aberrant Indicators (significant underenrollment, fiscal deficiencies, governance failures, or material safety incidents) can trigger Designation Renewal System recompetition for the next project period. Head Start fiscal monitoring is more intensive than most other federal programs.

Deadlines and NOFO cadence

ACF NOFO cadence varies by office:

• Head Start - Designation Renewal System recompetes specific service areas as they cycle; non-recompete grantees submit Continuation Applications annually. New service area announcements occur on a rolling basis.
• Runaway and Homeless Youth - annual NOFOs in winter or spring with summer deadlines.
• Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - discretionary grants on multi-year cycles; formula grants flow continuously to states.
• Community Economic Development - annual NOFO typically in spring.
• Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood - five-year project period grants on quintennial recompetes.
• Refugee Social Services discretionary - annual NOFOs in winter.

Block grants (CCDF, CSBG, TANF) flow continuously from federal to state to local. The state’s subaward calendar - not ACF’s - determines when local nonprofits can apply.

Common mistakes

Recurring compliance failures for ACF recipients:

1. Cost allocation between ACF programs. Charging shared costs disproportionately to the easier-to-justify program, instead of allocating based on documented benefit, surfaces in audits.
2. Time-and-effort documentation gaps. Especially for staff working across Head Start, CCDF, and CSBG simultaneously.
3. Non-federal share underdocumentation. Head Start grantees frequently struggle to document the full 20% non-federal share, particularly for in-kind contributions like donated facility space.
4. Late SF-425 submissions. Two consecutive missed federal financial reports trigger ACF holds on PMS draws.
5. Subrecipient classification errors. Treating a subrecipient as a contractor (or vice versa) creates monitoring failures.

Where to go next

Read the practical guide to 2 CFR Part 200 for the cost principles framework that governs every ACF award. Review federal grant reporting requirements before your first SF-425 cycle. The allowable costs guide walks through the cost-by-cost analysis that ACF compliance reviews focus on. If your award includes subawards, the subrecipient monitoring guide covers your 2 CFR 200.332 obligations. The free grant compliance checklist walks through the ACF documentation set from award to closeout.

DEFINITION

ACF

The Administration for Children and Families, an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administers more than 60 programs through offices including Head Start, Child Care, Family Assistance, Community Services, Family and Youth Services Bureau, and Refugee Resettlement.

DEFINITION

Non-Federal Share

Head Start terminology for the 20% match requirement. The dollar value of cash or in-kind contributions from sources other than the federal government that grantees must contribute toward total approved project costs. Donated services, volunteer time, donated facilities, and donated goods count if documented and valued at fair market rates.

DEFINITION

GrantSolutions

The federal grants management system used by ACF and several other HHS agencies for post-award management. After Grants.gov delivers an application to ACF and an award is made, all post-award activity - drawdowns through PMS, Federal Financial Reports, programmatic reports, amendments, and closeout - is conducted in GrantSolutions.gov.