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 stepped in to help. Melania Trump’s office worked with state governments and the Treasury Department to create updated guidance, allowing state child welfare agencies and foster youth representatives to set up accounts for children in foster care.

Fostering the Future Accounts

The new guidance, dubbed ‘Fostering the Future Accounts,’ aims to provide a safety net for the approximately 400,000 American youth living in foster care. According to the US Department of Education, one in five of these children may experience homelessness as they age out of the system, and only half obtain gainful employment by the time they turn 24.

The Trump Accounts are open to any child who is a US citizen with a valid Social Security number. 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 this contribution for children in foster care. Instead, a parent or foster parent can elect to have the child’s account receive the 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, 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: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.