Pennsylvania’s Children’s Trust Fund: Request for Applications
Applications are due by February 5, 2026
Children’s Trust Fund Background
Since 1988, Pennsylvania’s Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) has awarded grants to local communities striving to prevent child abuse and neglect. The CTF is administered by a 15-member Board. The Board is supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning. The CTF Board recognizes that children, families, and communities have unique needs. There are times when families and communities require cultivating or deepening investment in an evidence-based program, or another innovative approach that they have developed locally. Through its funding awards, the CTF Board emphasizes the importance of communities collaborating and working to engage with and support children and families prior to any contact with a county children and youth service agency.
2025 CTF Funding Priorities
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is pleased to announce the Request for Application (RFA) for the CTF grants. The Board has identified the following funding priorities to be explored by communities as they seek to create or grow community-based primary and secondary child abuse and neglect prevention programs and projects:
- Fostering innovation;
- Well-rooted evidence-based services; and
- Emerging evidence-based services.
Eligible Entities
Any community-based organization located and operating in Pennsylvania that provides direct services for children or direct provision of services for child abuse and neglect prevention that meets the criteria set forth in the RFA is eligible to apply for a CTF grant. The CTF Board is committed to funding grantees that are a part of a collaborative community driven approach directly engaging youth, parents, and families. As required by state law, eligible entities will have to demonstrate consultation with the county child welfare agency.
Maximum Award and Match Requirements
Through this RFA, CTF funds will be awarded for a three-year grant cycle that will begin on July 1, 2026 and end June 30, 2029.
The maximum CTF grant award is $50,000 per year for up to three years, for a total of $150,000. The state law governing CTF funding awards requires that selected grantees must provide a minimum local government or private funding match of 25 percent of the requested CTF grant award for the first year and a minimum local match of 50 percent of the requested CTF grant award for the second and third grant years. The continuation of the CTF grants each year of the three-year cycle is contingent upon the availability of funds and successful program evaluation of the project.
Questions
If an applicant has any questions regarding this RFA, the applicant must submit those questions via email, with the subject line “25-RFA-13772 Question” to the RFA Issuing Officer named in Part 1, Section I-2 of this RFA. Applicants may submit questions as they arise, but no later than the date specified in the calendar of events. Applicants shall not attempt to contact the RFA Issuing Officer or a member of the CTF Board by any other means. From the issue date of this RFA until the CTF board reviews and selects the successful applicants who will be awarded funding, the RFA Issuing Officer shall be the sole point of contact concerning this RFA.
The Issuing Officer shall post all written answers to the questions submitted on the Department of General Services (DGS) website at eMarketplace as an addendum to this RFA.
You may view the Request for Application online at eMarketplace or by clicking here.
Applications are due by 12:00:00 PM, February 5, 2026.