Evaluations of Practices for Program Integrity and Fraud Prevention

The Evaluations of Practices for Program Integrity and Fraud Prevention program, administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Early Childhood Development, provides cooperative agreements to support partnerships between CCDF Lead Agencies and research organizations. The primary objective is to identify, evaluate, and share promising strategies to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse within child care subsidy programs, thereby improving program integrity and data systems. The program is structured as a four-year project consisting of four one-year budget periods. Phase one focuses on identifying promising practices and conducting preliminary analyses, while phase two involves the implementation and completion of evaluation studies. Total expected funding is 5.1 million dollars, with approximately 12 awards planned and a minimum award floor of 125,000 dollars for the first budget period. Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov by September 8, 2026. Eligible applicants must possess a Unique Entity Identifier through SAM.gov and provide specific documentation based on their organizational status, such as tax-exempt listings for nonprofits or articles of incorporation for for-profit entities. Evaluation is based on a 110-point scale considering merit review results, alignment with ACF priorities, past performance, and geographic distribution. All research must adhere to the HHS Gold Standard Science and ACF Evaluation Policy, emphasizing reproducibility, transparency, and rigor. Awardees are required to implement strict data confidentiality and privacy plans to protect personally identifiable information and ensure the protection of human subjects.