Sponsors (2)
The bill creates a small federal grant program to fund trauma-informed, cross-agency responses for children exposed to adverse experiences—expanding targeted services and local capacity—but its limited funding and administration through a justice-focused office may restrict reach and shape services away from pure public-health models while costing taxpayers modestly.
Children and youth exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) would gain access to coordinated, trauma-informed response teams funded by a federal grant program ($10M/year), increasing availability of specialized services for affected kids.
Local social service agencies and social workers would receive grant funding to build capacity for screening, intervention, and referrals, strengthening local ability to identify and serve at-risk families.
State and local governments would be able to use grants to coordinate justice, health, and child welfare responses, improving cross-agency collaboration for at-risk children and potentially reducing service fragmentation.
Many communities and affected children may not receive help because the program is limited to $10M/year, which is likely insufficient to meet nationwide needs for trauma-informed services.
Administering grants through the Office of Justice Programs could steer program design toward criminal-justice approaches rather than public-health models, affecting how services are delivered and by whom.
Taxpayers face a modest increase in federal spending (about $40M total over four years) to fund the new grant program.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds a new Adverse Childhood Experiences response team grant program to Title I and authorizes $10M per year for FY2026–2029.
Introduced May 22, 2025 by Jeanne Shaheen · Last progress May 22, 2025
Creates a new federal grant program called the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Response Team Grant Program by adding a new part to Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. It authorizes $10,000,000 per year in federal funding for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to carry out the new program. The text adds the program and a specific, multi-year authorization of appropriations but does not itself appropriate funds or specify program details such as eligible grantees or allowable uses.