President Trump Signs Executive Order: "Fostering the Future for American Children and Families"
- Elisa Ballard
- Nov 15, 2025
- 4 min read
On November 13, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order entitled "Fostering the Future for American Children and Families." This order aims to reform and modernize the U.S. foster care system, emphasizing family preservation, technological innovation, support for aging-out youth, and partnerships with faith-based organizations. Led by the First Lady, it directs federal agencies—primarily the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—to implement changes within 180 days, leveraging technology, data, and private-sector collaborations to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families. The order addresses longstanding issues like prolonged foster care stays, overburdened caseworkers, outdated systems, and barriers to faith-based participation, without creating new enforceable rights or overriding existing laws.
Conservative comedian and entrepreneur Terrence K. Williams, who has an internet following of over five million fans, was invited to attend the signing ceremony and posted on his Facebook page that "As someone who grew up in foster care, this moment hit me deep. I remembered the uncertainty, the instability, the questions, the pain. And then I looked around the room and realized how far God has brought me. I didn't become a victim. I became a victor. I want to thank President Trump for this incredible invitation and thank First Lady Melania Trump for being a true champion for foster kids. She has never forgotten about children like me, and her dedication is real."
Section 1: Purpose and Policy
The order underscores the administration's commitment to enabling parents to raise children in safe homes, with foster care as a necessary backup during crises. It highlights systemic flaws: children often remain in foster care for years, and those aging out (typically at 18) lack support for education, careers, and relationships. Caseworkers are overwhelmed, information systems are antiquated, and some policies exclude qualified foster or adoptive parents based on religious beliefs or "basic biological truths" (e.g., views on gender or family structure). The policy seeks to equip foster youth with tools for adult success through federal resources, technology, and partnerships, prioritizing child well-being, safety, and permanency.
Section 2: Modernizing the Child Welfare System
HHS must act within 180 days to overhaul data and technology infrastructure:
Data Improvement: Update regulations to enhance collection, publication, and transparency of state-level child welfare data. This includes metrics on child well-being and safety, while eliminating redundant, costly reporting. Data publication will be expedited for better accountability.
System Modernization: Promote upgrades to state information systems, integrating effective foster care management and outcome-tracking tools into federal technical assistance and exchanges with states.
Technological Solutions: Encourage adoption of predictive analytics and AI-driven tools to boost caregiver recruitment/retention, match children with suitable caregivers, and optimize federal funding allocation for maximum impact.
Annual Scorecard: Publish a yearly evaluation tool measuring state performance on key metrics such as reducing foster care entries, speeding up maltreatment investigations, minimizing child injuries/fatalities from neglect/abuse, enhancing caregiver matching/recruitment, lowering placement disruptions, shortening foster care duration, accelerating permanency, and fostering collaborations with non-profits, including faith-based groups.
These reforms aim to create a more efficient, data-driven system that prevents unnecessary separations and ensures timely interventions.
Section 3: Fostering the Future Initiative
Coordinated by HHS, the First Lady's Office, and other agencies, this section launches targeted programs for current and former foster youth, also due within 180 days:
Partnerships for Opportunities: Establish the "Fostering the Future" initiative to collaborate with federal agencies, private companies, universities, and non-profits. Focus: Create tailored educational and job pathways to promote self-sufficiency.
Online Platform: Partner with the National Design Studio to build a digital hub assessing users' needs and connecting them to eligible federal, state, and local services (e.g., housing, education, employment, healthcare, mentoring). It will feature a searchable resource database and generate personalized success plans.
Fund Reallocation: Develop a strategy to redirect unspent federal funds from transition programs (intended for aging-out youth) toward education, career advancement, financial literacy, and independence-building efforts.
Voucher Flexibility: Expand Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) to cover short-term, career-oriented, credential-granting programs, broadening access beyond traditional college paths.
Scholarship Access: Work with the Departments of Treasury and Education to enable states to use tax-credited donations to scholarship organizations for foster children's education.
This initiative emphasizes proactive support to prevent homelessness, unemployment, and other risks faced by the estimated 20,000 youth aging out annually.
Section 4: Maximizing Partnerships with Americans of Faith
To counter discriminatory policies, HHS, the White House Faith Office, and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs must:
Address Barriers: Eliminate state/local rules that bar qualified individuals or organizations from federally funded child welfare programs due to religious or moral convictions (e.g., faith-based adoption agencies).
Boost Collaborations: Increase ties between federal agencies and faith-based groups/houses of worship to support at-risk families and those with children in foster care, leveraging their community expertise for prevention and reunification.
This section reflects the administration's emphasis on religious liberty in social services, aiming to expand the pool of available caregivers.
Section 5: General Provisions
Standard clauses affirm that the order does not alter agency authorities, must comply with laws and appropriations, creates no private rights, and assigns publication costs to HHS. Implementation is immediate but flexible.
Critics may question enforcement mechanisms or potential faith exemptions' impacts on LGBTQ+ youth, but proponents hail it as a pro-family, innovation-driven reform. For the full text, see the White House site:
