White House Watch: Our Ongoing Coverage

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

By Jeremy Loudenback and Michael Fitzgerald

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.’

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

By Michael Fitzgerald

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

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

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

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