Our ongoing coverage of the Trump administration’s actions affecting child welfare and youth justice. Donate here to support this work.

10/30/2025

Tribes’ Ability to Feed Families, Provide Child Welfare Services Threatened Under Second-Longest Government Shutdown in History

Indigenous tribes face food and heating challenges as the U.S. government shutdown continues into its second month.

‘Unimaginable Hardship’ Ahead for Children and Families if Shutdown Continues

10/27/2025

‘Unimaginable Hardship’ Ahead for Children and Families if Shutdown Continues

With the federal government shutdown barrelling toward a Nov. 1 “fiscal cliff,” state, local and tribal leaders are issuing urgent warnings that millions of families will soon be unable to meet basic needs.

Two conference tables are covered in sheets, one printed with "Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center," and the other one printed with "Black Child Legacy Campaign." Behind it is a blue mural depicting a Black girl in a yellow shirt with the words "Dare to Dream" painted across the top.

10/27/2025

Federal Funding Uncertain for a Program That Keeps Black Kids Out of Foster Care

In Sacramento, cultural brokers mediate between child welfare officials and the families they have the power to separate. The goal is to keep families together and prevent Black children from entering foster care.

10/24/2025

Trump Appointee Demands States Roll Back Foster Parenting Rules That Aim to Protect LGBTQ+ Youth 

The Trump administration has told at least five states to “review and, where necessary, amend” policies that require foster parents to affirm the gender identity of foster youth, documents obtained by The Imprint confirm. 

10/23/2025

Children’s Advocates Speak Out After Trump Refuses to Engage in UN Human Rights Review

In response to a recent refusal by the U.S. government to participate in a global review of its human rights record, youth and their advocates gathered at the United Nations on Wednesday to call for better protection of children and families in government custody.

10/17/2025

California Governor Signs Bills Protecting Children and Families Facing Federal Immigration Crackdown

California lawmakers passed a package of bills to protect residents from the Trump Administration’s aggressive use of deportation and detention.

10/7/2025

Idaho Child Welfare Leader Pushed Rapid Reforms in Brief Tenure Before Trump Appointment To Federal Office

Alex Adams, confirmed today as Trump’s top official on children and families, slashed “rocks-in-shoes” regulations and boosted spending on foster care prevention.

9/17/2025

With Youth Crime at Historic Lows, Trump Administration Attempts to Gut DC Juvenile Justice Reforms

Crime is at a 30-year low in Washington, DC. Yet echoing the past, the fear-inducing rhetoric has heated up.

9/2/2025

‘Fast, Sudden, Unexplainable and Potentially Catastrophic’

Advocates for incarcerated youth decry Trump-driven reductions in prison rape protections as facility psychologist pleads guilty to sexual assault of teens in her care.

8/19/2025

Justice Department Restores Grants to Volunteer Charity for Foster Kids, After Group Rolls Back DEI Discussions

The charity overseeing a national network of volunteer advocates for foster children had tens of millions in federal grants reinstated — after removing DEI references.

Youth Services Insider
OJJDP

8/15/2025

46 Days Left, Zero 2025 Juvenile Justice Grants Announced 

The Trump administration has yet to issue any funding availability notices from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 

8/8/2025

LGBTQ+ Youth, Many in Foster Care, Report Discrimination, Harassment in Treatment Facilities 

In a national survey released last week by Senate Democrats, LGBTQ+ youth in institutional settings reported bullying and isolation.

A young boy facing deportation proceedings without legal representation, as shown in the film "Unaccompanied: Alone in America."

7/17/2025

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s About-Face on Protecting Abused and Neglected Immigrant Youth from Deportation

By Jeremy Loudenback and Michael Fitzgerald

A young boy facing deportation proceedings without legal representation, as shown in the film “Unaccompanied: Alone in America.” Photo credit: Linda Freedman
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the Trump administration for abruptly ending a policy protecting immigrant children and youth who fled their home countries due to parental neglect, abuse and other maltreatment.

Youth Services Insider
HHS

7/17/2025

HHS Limits Immigrant Access to Several Child Welfare Programs

By John Kelly The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that it would expand the list of federal funding streams that exclude most undocumented immigrants, including several programs related to child welfare.

Youth Services Insider

7/15/2025

Is the Trump Administration Slow-killing Certain Grants?

Dozens of child welfare and youth justice grant opportunities are still stuck a the starting line with few days left in the fiscal year

7/11/2025

Members of Congress Call on Justice Officials to Restore the ‘Not Invisible Act’ Findings, an Accounting of Missing and Murdered Native People 

Thirteen members of Congress are calling on the Justice Department to return the visibility of its own report on missing and murdered Indigenous people. 

Trump Signs Megabill Slashing Taxes, and Health Care and Nutrition Benefits Foster Youth and Their Families Rely On

7/8/2025

Trump Signs Megabill Slashing Taxes, and Health Care and Nutrition Benefits Foster Youth and Their Families Rely On

President Donald Trump held a ceremonial bill signing July 4 for his legislative package cutting taxes, and health care and nutrition benefits.

Youth Services Insider

7/7/2025

Trump Relaunches TANF Pilot

This spring, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) temporarily halted a pilot project to test new approaches to measure the effectiveness of the federal welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.

7/2/2025

Congress Slaps Work Requirements on Food Aid For Youth Exiting Foster Care

Advocates and foster youth leaders pleaded with lawmakers to reinstate a hard-earned exemption for their impoverished peers, who can experience major adversity in early adulthood.

Congress Advances Bill That Would Gut the Medicaid Rolls, A Blow to Low-income Parents and Relative Caregivers

7/1/2025

Congress Advances Bill That Would Gut the Medicaid Rolls, A Blow to Low-income Parents and Relative Caregivers

The Senate today advanced President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" which is expected to cost millions of Americans access to Medicaid.

6/12/2025

With States and Tribes Left Unattended, Fired Federal Child Welfare Workers Remain on Paid Leave

After mass layoffs, state and tribal programs serving kids and families are left without support they need to perform mandated work.

Youth Services Insider

6/4/2025

Trump 2026 Budget Consolidates or Eliminates Several Youth Programs

A look at what's in the Trump 2026 budget request for youth and families

5/29/2025

Researchers Vow to Continue Preserving Indian Boarding School History Despite Federal Funding Cuts

Indigenous archivists are grappling with a federal funding cut that targeted groups preserving the history of Indian boarding schools.

5/19/2025

Advocates Say 14 Million Children Could Lose Food Stamps and Health Benefits Under Proposed Federal Budget 

By Sara Tiano While Republicans point to ‘historic’ savings for taxpayers, a new report by nonprofit advocacy groups titled its analysis of the spending plan ‘Children Under Attack.’

Illustration by Christine Ongjoco
Millions of U.S.

5/14/2025

Warning of Threats to Health and Well-being in Indian Country, Native Leaders and Lawmakers Oppose Proposed Cuts to Tribes

At a Senate hearing, Native American leaders issued scathing rebukes of the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to tribal services.

Youth Services Insider
A Federal Bill Could Boost Funds for Home Visiting Program for Parents

5/13/2025

House Begins Markup of Reconciliation Bill Today

A look at what's in the first drafts of Republican efforts to carry President Trump's domestic agenda through a reconciliation bill

5/12/2025

‘The Children Are Being Used as Bait’

Nationwide, thousands of children sit in Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities, unable to reunite with parents or relatives because of new Trump administration policies limiting who can sponsor them.

5/8/2025

Federal Child Welfare Staff Reveal Months of Turmoil, Hasty Terminations

In late March, department heads in the Administration for Children and Families received a warning: Within days, ACF will look nothing like it does today.

Panicked Parents Push Back On Trump's Dismantling of Head Start

5/5/2025

‘A Blinding Light at the End of the Tunnel’: Panicked Parents Push Back On Trump Administration’s Dismantling of Head Start

Among the Health and Human Services programs under threat from the Trump Administration's cuts is the family safety net program, Head Start.

Youth Services Insider

5/2/2025

Trump Calls for Massive Cuts in Discretionary Spending

Early details of President Trump's budget request include deep cuts to discretionary spending on children and families

5/2/2025

Dem Senators Want Answers on Justice Grant Terminations

Two dozen senators have asked the Justice Department for answers about the decision to cut hundreds of grants already funded by Congress

5/2/2025

Trump Administration Guts Funding For Children’s Advocacy Centers in Western U.S.

Millions of dollars in federal funds will no longer be used to train professionals who conduct sensitive child abuse interviews, confounding proponents. By Sara Tiano

Under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice has hastily cancelled hundreds of grants, including $150 million in funding that specifically serves children, teens and young adults.

4/29/2025

Trump Delivers Massive Blow to Youth Justice Programs

Trump administration cuts to federal grants threatens organizations with programs to prevent gun violence, protect runaways and more.

CASA Frozen Funds

4/24/2025

National CASA Loses Federal Funding Amid Trump Administration’s Cuts to Hundreds of Nonprofits

By Michael Fitzgerald

Illustration by Christine Ongjoco.
The Trump Administration’s latest cost-cutting blitz has eliminated millions of dollars in funding for the nonprofit overseeing popular volunteer programs that match Court-Appointed Special Advocates and guardians ad litem with abused and neglected kids.

Youth Services Insider

4/23/2025

Justice Department Is Terminating Grants

The DOJ has halted juvenile justice grants that don't support current "priorities,” says a staff email obtained by Youth Services Insider.

Youth Services Insider

4/18/2025

Leaked HHS Budget Hacks at Safety Net, Leaves Child Welfare Alone

A leaked copy of Trump's plans for some HHS finds big cuts to early childhood programs and level funding for child welfare

Youth Services Insider

4/2/2025

Trump Halts, then Reinstates, Then Again Halts Legal Counsel for Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum (UPDATED)

The Trump administration has put a halt on free legal help to unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the United States, prompting pleas to reinstate that assistance. 

Another Casualty of the Federal Government’s Purge of Publicly Available Data: Efforts to Find Missing Native Moms and Kids

3/18/2025

Another Casualty of the Federal Government’s Purge of Publicly Available Data: Efforts to Find Missing Native Parents and Kids

Advocates for missing Indigenous people, including kids, fear the Trump administration won't follow-up on systemic reforms in the works.

Youth Services Insider
Washington, D.C., Pilot Gives $500 Per Month to Black Mothers with CPS Cases

3/12/2025

Feds Nix Biden’s TANF Test

The Trump administration has scrapped a Biden-era test of new approaches to TANF, and will issue a new pilot project of its own

3/11/2025

‘Will I be safe’? Transgender California youth feel threatened by Trump’s executive orders

Trump policy decisions targeting transgender youth have led to an escalating mental health crisis, experts and advocates say. 

Minnesota Braces to Protect its Trans Youth Amid Trump Attacks

2/19/2025

Minnesota Braces to Protect its Trans Youth Amid Trump Attacks

A White House executive order released on Jan. 28 has parents and supporters of trans youth in Minnesota unnerved.

2/17/2025

Top NYC Child Welfare Official Joins Wave of Resignations, As Trump’s DOJ Seeks To Toss Criminal Charges Against Mayor

Anne Williams-Isom is among the latest defections since the Justice Department moved to dismiss federal corruption charges against the embattled mayor.

Youth Services Insider

2/10/2025

Early Trump Actions Leave Lived Experience Jobs in Flux

The first Trump Administration prioritized opportunities for those with lived experience to shape child welfare policy. Those jobs are now in flux.

1/28/2025

Child Welfare Leaders Stunned by Trump’s Call to Freeze Social Services Spending; Legal Action Quickly Threatened

The Trump administration ordered a halt to most federal spending on social services, prompting quick lawsuits.

Youth Services Insider

1/27/2025

Trump Administration Cancels Child Welfare Contract, Pulls Juvenile Justice Grants

The Trump administration has cancelled a recent five-year project to help states better serve LGBTQ+ youth in the child welfare system, and has halted the submission process for almost all new funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 

Youth Services Insider

1/21/2025

Trump’s Day-one Actions Reverse Biden Decisions

A look at the potential child welfare and youth justice impact of Trump's day-one orders to roll back Biden-era actions