Trump admin squashes controversial Biden rule forcing foster homes to affirm children's LGBTQ+ status
A rule implemented during the Biden administration, requiring prospective foster homes to prove they will support a child's gender transition, or lesbian, gay or bisexual status, in order to retain federal funding, has been formally rescinded by the Trump administration Friday.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) was published in the federal register Friday morning to formally rescind the 2022 rule titled, "Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children," which a court in Texas already vacated in June.
The move follows a warning letter sent to all 50 states, telling them that as long as they receive federal child welfare funding, they are obligated to ensure the removal of any kid from their home must be grounded in "objective evidence of harm or imminent risk," citing reports of states removing children from their parent's homes because the parents disagreed with their children's gender transition.
Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families Alex Adams told Fox News Digital that there has been a record year-over-year decrease in the number of foster families nationally. He said that the Biden-era rule is a main issue for religious-oriented families, boxing them out of the foster care system.
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"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. "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."
By rescinding the move in the federal register, that "officially" takes it off the books, "so that nobody tries to breathe life into it," according to Adams.
The final move to squash the 2022 rule, follows pressure the Trump administration had already been placing on states. At the end of last year, ACF sent a letter to 13 states, expressing concern about families being turned away from fostering because they refuse to give up their sincerely held religious beliefs. At least one of those states, Massachusetts, amended their policy amid the scrutiny.
It also follows a November 2025 executive order telling the Health and Human Services Department to "modernize" the foster care system within 180 days, maximize partnerships with Americans of faith, and a litany of other measures. Trump also issued early executive orders during his presidency challenging left-wing gender ideology and pushing a return to "biological truth."
Public reports, including one as recently as this year, illustrate examples of kids being taken from their homes in states like California and Ohio, because their parents have been accused of abuse, or of denying appropriate medical care to their kids. These claims have also been brought up in divorce and family custody hearings as well, sometimes resulting in the parents losing custody.
Meanwhile, Trump highlighted the issue during his State of the Union address last month, when he told the story of the parents to Sage Blair, who a judge ripped from their custody over alleged abuse after the family did not immediately recognize their daughter as a boy.
Earlier in the week, Adams and ACF told states that while they have a duty to protect children from abuse and neglect, they are cracking down on any states conflating that with a parent's choice about how they parent their child who expresses a desire to transition genders, or a desire to be romantically involved with the same sex. While related to Fridays NPR, it is a separate action.
"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 told Fox News Digital.