ACF History
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) was created on April 15, 1991, under the authority of section 6 of the Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953. The plan allowed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to merge the Office of Human Development Services with the Family Support Administration, along with the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program. The newly-formed organization was called the Administration for Children and Families. ACF is the United States’ largest human services administration. The reorganization placed greater emphasis and greater focus on the needs of America's children and families. View the April 15, 1991 press release for the HHS reorganization.
The Administration for Children and Families promotes the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals and communities through a range of educational and supportive programs in partnership with states, tribes, and community organizations. ACF also advises Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues pertaining to children, youth and families. These issues include child support enforcement, community services, family assistance, Native American assistance, refugee resettlement and legalized residents.
Today, ACF is one of 11 operating divisions in HHS. The agency has the second largest budget within HHS — $53 billion in FY2016. To put that in perspective, ACF’s budget is larger than whole cabinet agencies like the Department of Justice, Department of Interior, and the Treasury Department.
The agency employs approximately 1,800 staff, including 1,300 federal employees and 500 contractors. Sixty percent of ACF staff work at central office in the Mary E. Switzer Building in Washington, D.C. The remaining 40 percent are based in regional offices located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Mo., New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. There is also a satellite office in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Several of the programs ACF administers existed before the agency was created. The most senior program, the Children’s Bureau, was established in 1912. The bureau was the first agency in the world dedicated to child welfare. This new government office also made history when President William Howard Taft appointed its first leader, Julia Clifford Lathrop. Miss Lathrop became the first woman to ever lead a government agency. She was an American social reformer in the area of education, social policy, and children's welfare. She served as the agency’s director from 1912 to 1922.
Throughout the 20th Century, more anti-poverty programs were created, which eventually found a home at ACF. Today, ACF is home to the following programs:
- Administration for Native Americans (1974, Native Americans Programs Act of 1974)
- Administration on Children, Youth and Families (1977, Reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare)
- Children’s Bureau (1912, Act 37 Stat. 79).
- Early Childhood Development (2010, Federal Register 2010-24587)
- Family and Youth Services Bureau (1962, Department of Health, Education and Welfare Reorganization)
- Office of Child Care (1990, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990)
- Office of Child Support Enforcement (1975, Child Support Enforcement and Paternity Establishment Program)
- Office of Community Services (1964, Economic Opportunity Act of 1964)
- Office of Head Start (1964, Economic Opportunity Act)
- Office of Family Assistance (1934, formerly Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Social Security Act)
- Office of Human Services and Emergency Preparedness and Response (2006, Federal Register E6-21010)
- Office of Refugee Resettlement (1980, The Refugee Act of 1980)
- Office on Trafficking in Persons (2015, Federal Register 2015-14313)
Since its inception, the following individuals have served as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families (* indicates Acting):
- Jo Anne B. Barnhart (1991-1992)
- Laurence J. Love* (1993)
- Mary Jo Bane (1993-1996)
- Olivia Golden (1997-2000)
- Diann Dawson* (2001)
- Wade Horn (2001-2006)
- Daniel Schneider* (2006-2008)
- Curtis Coy* (2009)
- David Hansell* (2009)
- Carmen Nazario (2009-2010)
- David Hansell* (2010-2011)
- George Sheldon* (2011-2013)
- Mark Greenberg* (2014-Present)
Over the last 25 years, the United States has experienced tremendous change. Our population has grown by 70 million to an estimated 323 million people. There are 73.7 million children in the United States, an increase of 8.4 million children since 1991. Homeownership has risen from 61 million to 74.4 million. Today, the unemployment rate has gone down to 4.9 percent, compared to 6.4 percent in 1991. More people have health insurance (9.1 percent uninsured in 2015 vs. 14.1 percent in 1991).
But poverty remains stubbornly high: 15.6 percent of citizens live below the poverty level, up from 14.2 percent in 1991. Fighting multigenerational poverty in every community is why ACF programs remain crucial in today’s society. ACF programs help individuals and families struggling to get into the middle class a path forward.
Celebrating 25 Years
In April 2016, the Administration for Children and Families celebrated its silver anniversary. The theme for the celebration – Impacting People, Affecting Change, Empowering Families – simultaneously embodies ACF’s mission while paving the way for the future. ACF has done a considerable amount of work for families in the United States over the last 25 years, and it looking forward to addressing tomorrow’s challenges.
