Fostering the – After child welfare advocates warned that foster kids could be shut out of Trump Accounts because the program’s “authorized individual” requirement was unclear, the first lady’s office coordinated with states and the Treasury Department. On Thursday, Melania T
By the time Sixto Cancel realized foster youth might not be able to access President Donald Trump’s signature Trump Accounts, the concern had already started to feel urgent—quietly, but with weight.
Cancel, founder and CEO of the child welfare advocacy group Think of Us, said the accounts’ structure posed a basic problem for children in foster care: they may have a rotating cast of legal guardians, and it wasn’t clear who would count as the “authorized individual” needed to open an account.
“Foster youth would have been left out. What would it have meant if you come into care? Who’s your custodian? Who signs up? Who is going to open the account for you? What does it look like if you go back home?” Cancel said.
Cancel raised the issue with the office of first lady Melania Trump. who in her second term has used her platform to spotlight children in the foster care system and support legislative and other efforts for a long-marginalized group. Cancel said her office “jumped into action” and “responded with ‘how can they help?’ and pulling people together.”.
On Thursday. after months of coordination between her office. state governments and the Treasury Department. the first lady formally unveiled “Fostering the Future Accounts.” The updated guidance allows state child welfare agencies and foster youth representatives to set up the accounts for children in foster care.
Trump, who typically keeps a low public profile, appeared at the Treasury Department for the announcement alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The stakes are real for a population that can be easy to miss in eligibility details. Approximately 400,000 American youth live in foster care, according to the US Department of Education. Bessent said on Thursday that one in five of those children could experience homelessness as they age out of the system. and only half “obtain gainful employment by the time they turn 24.”.
The accounts officially launch July 4. They are open to any child who is a US citizen with a valid Social Security number. For the regular Trump Accounts, children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, may receive a one-time, $1,000 pilot contribution from the federal government.
But for children in foster care, the program works differently. Child welfare agencies cannot receive that $1,000 pilot contribution for children in foster care. Instead. a parent or foster parent can elect to have the child’s account receive that contribution if they anticipate the child will be their “qualifying child. ” according to the Internal Revenue Service. States can also deposit federal survivor benefits into these accounts, along with unobligated Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds.
In her remarks on Thursday, the first lady said that when children turn 18, they will be able to access the money in the account. She described it as a “first step toward personal independence.”
So far. 23 states—each with Republican governors—have opted into the program. with advocacy groups and the office of the first lady working to get the remaining states on board. according to Melania Trump’s office. Bessent said the Treasury Department is providing extra guidance and support to state welfare agencies on how to maximize the benefit.
For Cancel, who said he was once part of the foster care system himself, the announcement lands on something more than policy mechanics. “To have that as a high schooler — to think, ‘I can use that to get an apartment’ — brings you a peace of mind that is unexplainable,” he said.
In the end, the change may look like a tweak to an eligibility pathway. But in a system where legal custody can shift, Cancel’s central question—who can open the account, and who signs up—has now been met with an answer meant to keep foster youth from falling through the cracks.
Melania Trump Trump Accounts foster youth child welfare Sixto Cancel Think of Us Treasury Department Scott Bessent Fostering the Future Accounts IRS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
So the foster kids just couldn’t get the accounts?? That sounds wild.
I don’t even get what “authorized individual” means. Like is it the guardian or the state or Trump’s assistant or what. Glad they “fixed” it but they waited until it was urgent??
Wait, why would foster youth be shut out though? Foster kids have custodians already. Feels like paperwork BS. Also doesn’t the Treasury usually deal with stuff way bigger than this? But hey at least they’re updating the guidance.
I read “Trump Accounts” and assumed it was like bank accounts tied to him, like donations or something, so I was like oh great another way to funnel money. But now it’s foster youth accounts? Still confusing. Melania showing up at Treasury just feels like politics, but if it actually helps kids I guess that’s fine. Wish they would’ve clarified it from the start instead of “rotating guardians” becoming a problem.