The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"[4] ACF's direct predecessor, the Family Support Administration, was created in 1986 by bringing together six existing major programs within HHS.

[5] ACF was created in its present form on April 15, 1991, by merging the Office of Human Development Services, the Family Support Administration, and the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program.

[6] ACF is responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals and communities.

In October 2006, revised guidelines by ACF specified that states seeking grants are "to identify groups ... most likely to bear children out-of-wedlock, targeting adolescents and/or adults within the 12- through 29-year-old age range".