The Trump Accounts, a savings program for children, initially didn’t account for foster kids. However, after child welfare advocates raised the issue, the first lady’s office stepped in to help. Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, a child welfare advocacy group, brought the issue to the first lady’s attention.

Fostering the Future Accounts

The first lady’s office worked with state governments and the Treasury Department to update the guidance, allowing state child welfare agencies and foster youth representatives to set up accounts for children in foster care. Approximately 400,000 American youth live in foster care, according to the US Department of Education. The accounts, which officially launch July 4, 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. However, 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.

When they turn 18 years old, the first lady said in her Thursday remarks, those children will be able to access the money in the account. She called it a “first step toward personal independence.” So far, 23 states — all with Republican governors — have opted in to the program, with efforts from advocacy groups and the office of the first lady underway to get the remaining states on board.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.