Fostering the Future for American Children and Families

The order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, within 180 days, to update regulations and practices for collecting and publishing state-level child-welfare data, promote modernization of state information systems, expand use of AI and predictive analytics for caregiver recruitment and child matching, and publish an annual scorecard measuring key child-welfare outcomes by state. It also directs HHS to establish a "Fostering the Future" initiative in coordination with the Office of the First Lady, to build partnerships with private-sector, academic, and nonprofit entities creating opportunities for current and former foster youth, and to develop an online platform helping those individuals access federal, state, and local services.

Additional directives require HHS to develop a strategy for reallocating unused federal transition-assistance funds toward education and financial literacy, increase flexibility in Education and Training Vouchers for credential programs, and — in coordination with the Secretaries of Treasury and Education — facilitate state use of tax-credited scholarship donations for children in foster care. HHS is also directed to address state and local policies that bar faith-based organizations from federally funded child-welfare programs and to expand partnerships with houses of worship serving at-risk families.

Children in foster care, youth transitioning out of the foster care system, foster and adoptive parents and prospective caregivers, faith-based organizations seeking to participate in child-welfare programs, state child-welfare agencies receiving federal funding, and nonprofit and academic institutions eligible to partner in the initiative.

Former foster youth gain a new online platform to navigate housing, education, and employment resources, and states face annual public scorecards on their child-welfare performance. Faith-based organizations excluded from federally funded programs could regain access, potentially increasing the number of qualified foster families.

HHS is the primary implementing agency, acting within a 180-day window for most directives, and must coordinate with the Office of the First Lady, the White House Faith Office, the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Secretaries of Treasury and Education on specific tracks. The annual state scorecard creates an ongoing accountability mechanism. The online platform is to be developed in conjunction with the National Design Studio. Implementation is expressly conditioned on applicable law and the availability of appropriations, and the order creates no individually enforceable rights.