The Trump administration on Friday withdrew a Biden-era rule that requires potential foster parents to prove they will support a gender transition, or the LGBTQ identity, of their prospective foster children.
The Federal Register published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to officially annul the 2022 rule “Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children.”
In a warning letter to all 50 states, the federal government told states they cannot remove children from foster homes without “objective evidence of harm or imminent risk” if they received federal child welfare funding.
The proposed rule states that the purpose is to “ensure clarity for the public and regulated entities” by rescinding the requirements, as it will “eliminate any uncertainty.”
Alex Adams, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), addressed the change in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“There’s 57 homes for every 100 kids that come into the system,” Adams said. “We can do better, and we must do better, and we must do more to send a welcoming message that the red carpet will be rolled out to every family willing to step forward and welcome a child into their home and open their heart and open their home to these kids.”
The notice states that the former rule “exceeded the Department of Health and Human Services’ statutory authority and conflicted with the text of title IV-E.”
Adams stated that the number of foster families in the U.S. has rapidly dwindled, a year-over-year record decrease, and the rule has excluded many religious parents from the system.
“Your most likely families to raise their hand and volunteer as a foster family are those who have sincerely held religious convictions,” Adams said. “So the message that you send is so important. The message we’re trying to send is we’re going to roll out the red carpet for everybody. We need more foster homes.”
The change follows Trump’s November executive order that said Health and Human Services within 180 days must modernize the foster care system and enhance partnerships with religious citizens.
In an earlier statement, Adams and the ACF informed the states that they would stop any state actions that consider foster parent decisions to address and treat a child according to their biological sex as abuse or neglect.
“We’re basically putting states on notice that if they violate our interpretation of abuse or neglect, we would take appropriate action, which could include pulling back CAPTA funds,” Adams explained.
