President Trump issues ‘Fostering the Future’ executive order to support children in foster care

Children in foster care are getting more help in securing a stable future thanks to a new executive order signed by President Trump on Thursday.
 

What we know:

The "Fostering the Future" executive order establishes a program to secure government, private-industry, nonprofit, and academic partners’ commitments for new educational and employment pathways for youth transitioning out of foster care.

The "Fostering the Future" resource is part of First Lady Melania Trump’s "Be Best" initiative which focuses on the importance of social, emotional, and physical health of children. 

What they're saying:

"A special thank you to my husband for his enduring commitment to fostering the future. The President has prioritized America's foster care children, and shortly he will fostering the future executive order," said First Lady Melania Trump. "Too many people from the foster care community end up homeless and in danger on America's streets. It was in 2021 when I developed the idea to establish an impactful platform with an important mission to provide individuals from the foster care committee the ability to secure an entry-level job position and in turn financial independence." 

The White House says many children in foster care lack the support and stability to finish their education and gain meaningful employment. 

"I'm delighted to sign a historic executive order building on the Fostering the Future initiative to make America's foster care system better, fairer, and more effective than ever before," said President Trump. "And it has been effective, but it's moving in a very strong direction. All of this has been made possible by Melania's incredible devotion to America's youth." 

Dig deeper:

Fostering the Future will provide scholarships to children in the foster care community, giving them the opportunity to learn in a supportive environment, allowing them to gain knowledge critical to realizing job security within the technology sector. 

The program establishes an online platform for both current and former foster youth to develop customized plans for their self-sufficiency and success by connecting them with critical resources and provides them with access to computer science education, preparing them to enter the workforce and ultimately reach financial independence.

By the numbers:

According to the U.S Department of Education, there are approximately 400,000 children and youth in foster care at any given time in the U.S. and each year about 20,000 age out of foster care.

The National Foster Youth Institute says only 50 percent of foster children finish high school,  only three percent of former foster children obtain a college degree, and 20 percent will become homeless after aging out of the system, and only half will have gainful employment by the age of 24.