Federal Child Welfare Policy

The Trump administration has begun formally rescinding a 2022 Biden‑era rule that conditioned certain federal foster‑care funds on states ensuring designated placements affirm a child’s LGBTQI+ status or gender transition, publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Friday in the Federal Register. The rule, titled “Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV‑E and IV‑B for LGBTQI+ Children,” had already been vacated by a Texas court in June, but Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Alex Adams says taking it off the books is needed so 'nobody tries to breathe life into it.' Adams argues the policy has helped drive a national shortage of foster homes, particularly among religious families, citing data that there are only 57 licensed homes for every 100 children entering the system and saying the administration wants to 'roll out the red carpet for everybody' willing to foster. The move follows earlier ACF warning letters to 13 states over alleged discrimination against faith‑based foster parents, pressure that officials say helped prompt at least one policy change in Massachusetts, as well as a November 2025 Trump executive order directing HHS to 'modernize' foster care and deepen partnerships with 'Americans of faith.' LGBTQ+ advocates and many child‑welfare experts — not quoted in this piece — have previously defended the Biden rule as necessary to protect vulnerable queer and transgender youth from hostility or rejection in foster placements, a clash that is already fueling sharp online debate over whether this rollback prioritizes parental religious rights at the expense of at‑risk children.