PILLARS
SettingsProfile
Presidential Actions

National Foster Care Month, 2026

SignedApril 30, 2026
Proclamation·Donald Trump·Foster Care
Why This Matters

May 2026 is officially designated as National Foster Care Month to honor and support foster families and children in the system.

This recognition encourages communities to focus on improving the foster care system and supporting families who take in foster children.
Foster families, children in foster care, social workers, and community volunteers are directly impacted by this proclamation.
What You Need to Know

May 2026 is now officially recognized as National Foster Care Month, a time to celebrate and support the foster care system in the United States. This proclamation highlights the importance of foster families and the dedication of social workers, educators, and volunteers who help children in need. It also emphasizes the ongoing efforts of the Trump Administration to improve outcomes for children in foster care through various programs and initiatives, including the Melania Trump Fostering Youth to Independence Program, which allocates $30 million to support housing stability for young people transitioning out of foster care.

The proclamation aims to raise awareness about the challenges faced by children in foster care and the critical role that foster families play in providing stability and love. It calls on all Americans to honor those who contribute to the foster care system and to recommit to improving the lives of these children. By recognizing National Foster Care Month, the administration seeks to inspire communities to take action and support reforms that will enhance the foster care experience for children and families across the nation.

Who is affected?

Foster families, children in foster care, social workers, and community volunteers are directly impacted by this proclamation.

Read on Federal Registerfederalregister.gov
Read Full Text
Presidential Actions

NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH, 2026

Proclamations

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.

Foster families embody the very best of the American spirit through their boundless love, their quiet devotion, and their resolute faith in the potential of future generations.  During National Foster Care Month, we honor every caregiver, social worker, judge, and advocate whose labor uplifts our foster children, and I pledge that my Administration will never stop fighting to give them the opportunity to succeed.  When we invest in these young lives today, we invest in the strength, the character, and the boundless future of America tomorrow.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2026 as National Foster Care Month.  I call upon all Americans to honor the efforts of those who contribute to our Nation’s foster care system and recommit to improving the lives of those children who depend upon their service.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.

                            DONALD J. TRUMP

National Foster Care Month, 2026 — PILLARS