Children, youth, and families

Providing training, technical assistance, and program support to promote evidence-based solutions for child and family services.

How we help Talk to an expert

How we help
Client stories
Services
Featured experts

Talk to an expert

Our work helps agencies improve child safety, support family well-being, strengthen permanency outcomes, and deliver evidence-based services for children, youth, and families. ICF brings deep experience working with federal agencies on programs that serve vulnerable populations. For decades, we have supported federal, state, tribal, and local child welfare on nationally significant programs in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau. We also operate in all 50 states and U.S. territories, delivering policy guidance, workforce development, digital modernization, and large‑scale training and technical assistance to strengthen child safety, family well‑being, and system performance nationwide.

Ensuring health and safety

By collaborating with local organizations and stakeholders, we design and implement programs focused on health education, preventive care, child abuse prevention, mental health support, crisis intervention, and more.

Focusing on family stability

To strengthen family bonds and create stable home environments, we offer a range of services including parenting workshops, financial literacy programs, housing assistance, and childcare support.

Bolstering community partnerships

By partnering with local organizations, schools, healthcare providers, and social services, a wide range of resources and programs become accessible. We also offer training and technical assistance that evolves and improves how the child welfare system operates.

Innovative safety-net programs

We offer a variety of evidence-based practices and programs that support vulnerable families across a range of topics ranging from workforce development to disaster response.

Incorporating lived experience

To ensure our solutions are grounded in real-world situations, our staff brings invaluable lived experience to the table. This firsthand understanding allows us to design and implement services that truly meet community needs, are much more effective, and create a deeper connection with those we serve.

A trusted provider of services for migrating children and families

With decades of child welfare experience, ICF helps government agencies and community partners design and operate complex national systems that directly serve unaccompanied children and refugees across the entire migration continuum.

Learn more

Featured client work

Delivering legal services to thousands of Afghan arrivals nationwide 

In partnership with USCRI, one of the country’s largest and most respected nonprofits serving unaccompanied children, ICF established and operated a nationwide legal services infrastructure for eligible Afghan arrivals called Immigration Legal Services for Afghan Arrivals (ILSAA). Services included intake, eligibility determination, legal consultations, case matching, direct representation, language services, provider recruitment, community outreach, legal service provider training, dashboards, case tracking, and reporting. The program also supported Afghan children and families and included outreach to unaccompanied minors. 

ILSAA delivered trauma-informed support through 20+ Afghan Support Centers and completed over 1,600 in-person intakes and urgent filings. In just five years, ICF and USCRI completed over 7,000 case initiations and nearly 7,000 case consultations. 

Building capacity across the Unaccompanied Children Program

ICF developed and operates a national training and technical assistance infrastructure for care providers, federal staff, clinicians, educators, case managers, and contractors supporting the Unaccompanied Children’s Program. Services include learning management systems, onboarding, training needs assessments, curriculum development, technical assistance, behavior management guidance, risk assessment tools, anti-trafficking resources, and maintenance of more than 100 learning resources that support vulnerable children.