Can a county child welfare, probation department, and/or community-based organization use Title IV-E or SBG funding to pay for costs associated with automation prior to CARES implementation?

No. Federal and State funds cannot be used to purchase automation systems for the FFPS program. However, county-level funds can be used for this purpose if an Advance Planning Document (APD) is submitted. An APD can be processed through the State Office of Systems Integration (OSI), as outlined in CFL 20-21-59 (January 12, 2021).