The Trump administration is taking formal steps to erase a Biden-era policy tied to foster care placements and gender identity requirements.
According to Fox News, on Friday, officials published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the federal register to rescind a 2022 rule titled “Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children.”Â
The regulation had required prospective foster homes to demonstrate support for a child’s gender transition or lesbian, gay, or bisexual status for states to maintain certain federal funding.
The rule had already been struck down by a court in Texas in June, but the administration said the latest action is meant to ensure the policy is fully removed from federal regulations.
The move comes after the Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning letter to all 50 states about how children are removed from their homes.
The letter said that any state receiving federal child welfare funding must ensure that removing a child is based on “objective evidence of harm or imminent risk.”
Officials said the warning followed reports that some children were taken from their parents because those parents disagreed with their child’s gender transition.
Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families Alex Adams said the issue is tied to a broader shortage of foster families nationwide.
According to Adams, the number of foster homes has declined sharply in recent years. He argued that the Biden administration’s policy discouraged certain families from participating in the system.
“There’s 57 homes for every 100 kids that come into the system. 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,” Adams said.
He added that many potential foster parents come from religious backgrounds and may have felt excluded by the previous policy.
“Your most likely families to raise their hand and volunteer as a foster family are those who have sincerely held religious convictions. 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,” Adams said.
Adams also said formally rescinding the rule is intended to prevent it from resurfacing in the future.
President Donald Trump also issued earlier executive orders challenging gender ideology policies and promoting what the administration called a return to “biological truth.”
