Overview
- The executive order directs HHS to modernize state child‑welfare data systems, expand use of predictive analytics and AI, and publish an annual state scorecard tracking key outcomes.
- Within 180 days, HHS must plan a Fostering the Future online platform to assess needs, connect eligible foster youth to housing, education, employment, healthcare and mentoring resources, and generate customized transition plans.
- The order increases flexibility in Education and Training Vouchers, seeks to reallocate underused federal funds toward education and career advancement, and facilitates state use of tax‑credited scholarships for foster children.
- Early federal commitments include an ACF initiative to keep children safely with families and a pilot to donate decommissioned federal laptops, OPM Pathways hiring and internships with a dedicated applicant portal, and Treasury/HUD roundtables with findings expected in Spring 2026.
- The directive calls for expanded partnerships with faith‑based organizations and action on state or local policies that restrict participation based on religious beliefs, with all actions subject to applicable law and available appropriations.