"Fostering The Future" Would Allow Foster Care Children to Open Trump Accounts with State Support

State Treasurer Larry Pack applauded First Lady Melania Trump’s “Fostering the Future.” The initiative, announced on Friday, looks to expand access to financial education and further expand Trump Accounts to eligible foster youth. The effort is a collaboration between the U.S. Treasury and states. 

“West Virginia should 100 precent work with the Trump Administration on the Fostering the Future initiative with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the First Lady,” Treasurer Pack said. “My family has been strong advocates of groups such as the Children’s Home Society for many years now. Those who support our foster children are doing the Lord’s work, so the more we can set them up with the resources they need to be successful, the better off our state will be.”

“As the Trump Administration highlights the importance of supporting foster children, we need to ensure our state does not head in the opposite direction. This past session, we saw several foster care pieces of legislation that were either vetoed or didn’t make it through the process. There are also a lot of talks about the future funding regarding the TANF program. Any effort to take resources away from the foster care system is ill sighted.”

"Fostering The Future": 

·      Under this initiative, a child welfare agency of a state, territorial, or tribal government that is the legal guardian of an eligible child who has a Social Security Number and does not already have an account may elect to open an initial Trump Account for that child. 

·      The initiative also provides flexibility for states to deposit federal survivor benefits into Trump Accounts. These contributions count toward the annual contribution limit of $5,000 per account and are intended to help preserve financial resources for the child’s future needs, including education, housing, and career development.