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President Trump to Sign Executive Order Strengthening Foster Care

On Thursday, President Donald J. Trump will sign a crucial “Fostering the Future” executive order to strengthen the foster care system.

Before signing the order, the president will deliver remarks at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House starting at 2 PM ET. First lady Melania Trump, child welfare organizations, foster and adoptive families, and youth with experience in the foster care system will also be in attendance.

“[The order] will be focused on supporting foster youth transitioning out of the system to adulthood by expanding and enhancing access to education, workforce and career development, digital resources, and other supports [which] will be accomplished by leveraging federal and private sector commitments,” The Daily Signal reports.

The order “will also launch the first lady’s ‘Fostering the Future’ initiative and develop new resources for supporting kids in the foster care system,” the outlet details. The first lady’s Fostering the Future program, part of the Be Best initiative, secures education opportunities and scholarships for children in foster care.

Earlier this year, President Trump signed a proclamation declaring May “National Foster Care Month.”

To celebrate, the first lady welcomed multiple foster and adoptive families to the White House for a series of specially arranged tours and experiences, including tours of the White House and East Wing; conversations with White House staff; and watching President Trump depart on Marine One from the White House’s South Lawn.

Focus on the Family cares deeply about children and adolescents in the foster care system. Our foster care and adoption ministry, Wait No More, helps to raise adoption awareness and recruit parents for children and youth in the U.S. foster care system.

Our Wait No More team also provides suitcases to children in the foster care system through our Suitcase Bundle Program by collaborating with numerous organizations and ministries. Every suitcase comes with three things inside: a Bible, a teddy bear, and a handwritten letter to remind each child how much he or she is loved.

There are an estimated 343,000 kids in foster care in the United States. The average age of a child in foster care is just eight years old.

We thank the White House for focusing on ways to strengthen the foster care system. Every child, especially those in the foster care system, deserves to be loved, cared for and reminded of their inestimable value and worth.

To learn more about adopting, serving as a foster family or serving through respite care, please check out our available articles and resources below.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Through Wait No More’s Suitcase Bundle ministry, children in foster care are provided their own suitcase – for their belongings – as well as a teddy bear, handwritten letter and age-appropriate Bible. Please consider sponsoring a suitcase bundle as a simple way to offer dignity, comfort and hope to children in scary, lonely situations.

Related articles and resources:

Wait No More

Wait No More Suitcase Bundle

Transforming Lives Through Foster Care

What You Can Do to Help Kids in Foster Care

Changing the World Through Adoption

Foster Care: A Step of Faith

One Way to Support Foster Families

Transitioning: The Final Phase of Foster Care

It Takes a Village to Succeed at Foster and Adoptive Parenting

Hope for the Future for Foster and Adoptive Parents

When Government is Hostile to Christian Foster Parents

First Lady Welcomes Foster and Adoptive Families to the White House

Photo from Getty Images.

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