The Trump Accounts, a new savings program, initially didn’t account for foster kids. However, after child welfare advocates raised the issue, the first lady’s office intervened, and the Treasury Department has now updated its guidance to allow state child welfare agencies and foster youth representatives to set up the accounts for children in foster care.

Fostering the Future Accounts

The first lady formally unveiled the “Fostering the Future Accounts” on Thursday, which will provide updated guidance for the accounts. Approximately 400,000 American youth live in foster care, according to the US Department of Education. 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, which officially launch on 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.

When they turn 18 years old, the first lady said, 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 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: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.