First Lady Melania Trump and Treasury Secretary Announce Savings Accounts for Foster Youth
The tax-deferred accounts will include a one-time $1,000 Treasury deposit for eligible children born between 2025 and 2028. Twenty-three governors have pledged to participate.
CnbcFirst Lady Melania Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Fostering the Future Accounts on June 11, 2026, at the Treasury Department in Washington. The tax-deferred investment accounts are available to children under age 18 in foster care. The accounts will include a one-time $1,000 deposit from the Treasury for children born between 2025 and 2028.
States will be allowed to invest benefits they receive on behalf of foster children in their care into the accounts. "For the first time, children in foster care will have access to a dedicated investment and savings vehicle," First Lady Melania Trump said. " Trump Accounts are scheduled to launch on July 4.
The new program is the latest update to the Fostering the Future initiative started by the Trump administration in the fall. , according to federal data. More than 23,000 youth age out of the foster system each year without a permanent family, according to the National Foster Youth Initiative.
Those young adults are largely on their own and likely to lack access to financial resources, according to a 2024 white paper by The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. "They don't have parents to call when the rent is overdue, the tuition bill arrives, or they need help getting to a job interview," the researchers wrote.
"We are embedding foster youth into the fabric of this program from the outset," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
A child welfare agency of a state, territorial, or tribal government that is the legal guardian of an eligible child who does not already have an account may elect to open an initial Trump Account for that child, according to Treasury guidance. If a qualifying child receives either Supplemental Security Income due to a disability or federal survivor benefits, the state will be able to direct the money to a Trump Account, according to Bessent's remarks.
Twenty-three governors have pledged to set up the accounts for foster children within their states, according to a White House release.
