Proclamation

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Across our Nation, hundreds of thousands of American children depend upon the foster care system to shelter them, nurture them, and prepare them for lives of purpose and promise. This National Foster Care Month, the First Lady and I join with countless Americans in celebrating the foster families whose devotion carries our youngest citizens forward by helping them realize the full potential of their unique American Dream.

In communities around the country, ordinary Americans rise to an extraordinary calling by opening their homes to children who have endured immense challenges that no child should ever know. These caregivers, alongside the social workers, clergy, educators, and countless volunteers who stand beside them, offer stability, belonging, and hope where once there was only uncertainty.

My Administration will accept nothing less than excellence for the children in foster care who depend upon us. In November 2025, I signed an Executive Order on Fostering the Future for American Children and Families — a revolutionary commitment championed by First Lady Melania Trump to strengthen foster care, support families, and improve outcomes for children across our Nation. Under my leadership as well as the First Lady’s, we are opening new public and private sector pathways for young people who have experienced foster care, improving data sharing among those who depend on it to increase efficiency, and enacting stronger accountability throughout the foster care system nationwide.

Through the incredible work of our First Lady, the Melania Trump Fostering Youth to Independence Program has expanded its reach, devoting $30 million to supporting housing stability and long-term success for young people transitioning out of foster care — ensuring they are not abandoned at the most critical moment in their lives.

In States across our land, local governments are committing to bold reforms to address the shortage of foster homes. We are investing in families and communities to prevent children from entering foster care unnecessarily, and when children cannot remain safely at home, we are ensuring stable and loving foster families are ready to receive them with the comfort and warmth they deserve. States are rapidly recruiting foster families, strengthening kinship placement policies, and giving foster parents the resources and training they need to succeed.