New Rules for Foster Care and Additional Protection for LGBTQ+ Children! Here's Everything To Know

The Biden administration aims to make it easier for caregivers to consult the foster care system for their family members. Through this move, the administration is set to offer caregivers the same financial support that would be received by any other foster home.

A new regulation is also proposed to ensure that LGBTQ+ children get protection in their foster homes against mistreatment because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

A total of 391,000 children and even more were actually in foster care in the year 2021, as per a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Many of these children were removed from their homes and kept in foster care because of physical abuse, parental drug abuse, or situations of neglect. The average age of a kid kept in foster care was reported to be 8.

The report also stated that approximately 35 percent of children were actually kept in the homes of relatives.

Recently on Wednesday, the HHS issued a final regulation. The regulation allows the states to make the process of family members becoming caregivers easier than ever,

Xavier Becerra, HHS Secretary expressed “We’re going to start to give family a chance to really be family for these kids, especially for grandparents who oftentimes carry so much of a load and never get recognized for what they do.”

A proposed rule was also presented by the HHS that talks about the need for training for foster care providers based on the ways the needs of LGBTQ+ children can be met. The States would require the designing of such training programs.

Prior to getting finalized, the proposed rule will be kept open for public comment for a period of 60 days.

Yet another proposed rule makes it possible for Native American tribes to get reimbursements for the legal costs of intervening in a court case of state foster care surrounding the parental rights of a child.

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