The Trump administration has officially removed federal protections that were meant to support LGBTQ+ children in foster care and keep them safe. LGBTQ+ children in the foster care system are an extremely vulnerable group. The Trevor Project has found LGBTQ+ youth who have been in the foster care system are at a higher risk for attempting suicide. The organization also found that LGBTQ+ children in foster care were more likely to be kicked out of their homes or abandoned. The risk was the highest for nonbinary and transgender children.
A Biden-era protection was an attempt to protect children from harmful foster care placements, but the Trump administration has decided that those protections don’t need to exist.
The Department of Health and Human Services, led by RFK Jr., officially announced the change this week.
A document published on July 14 cited a Texas federal court ruling that “concluded that the rule exceeded HHS’s statutory authority.” Therefore, “The court’s decision vacated the final rule in its entirety, meaning that the rule is no longer in effect and has no legal force.”
Speaking to People, an HHS spokesperson said, “The Trump Administration is delivering real results for children in foster care instead of defending unlawful policies, which is why we removed the Biden administration’s rule after it was invalidated by a federal court.”
However, critics of the decision see it as part of a broader issue.
The Trump administration has been rolling back LGBTQ+ protections, and critics see this change as another example of that. Adrian Shanker, a former deputy assistant secretary for health policy at HHS, told The Advocate that the rescinding of the rule that tried to protect LGBTQ+ youth in foster care is “just one more tragic anti-LGBTQI+ action that this administration has taken to harm those in our community who are most vulnerable.”
“In the Biden administration, we at HHS were very proud to finalize a rule that provided groundbreaking support for LGBTQI+ youth in the foster care system,” he said.
The Biden-era rule tried to place children in supportive homes and protect them from abuse.
Four years ago today, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched to ensure that anyone facing a mental health crisis had someone to call. Since then, it’s been a crucial outlet to more than 23 million people.
— Dan Koh (@dank) July 17, 2026
When the Trump administration eliminated specialized 988 services for… pic.twitter.com/Q6OX27ajqp
Under these protections, LGBTQ+ youth had a formal process through which they could report harmful behavior. It was also meant to place LGBTQ+ children in homes with safe and supportive families.
The Congressional Equality Caucus has spoken out against the Trump administration’s decision, accusing officials of putting children at risk.
“Every child in foster care—including LGBTQI+ children—deserves a safe home, which is exactly what the Biden Administration sought to accomplish with this rule,” Rep. Mark Takano, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said. “Rescinding this rule without putting forward an alternative to protect LGBTQI+ foster children puts children at risk, plain and simple.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Angie Craig, Co-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, called the move “disgraceful,” saying, “The ‘party of family values’ strikes again and their relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ youth continue.”
Both Takano and Craig highlighted the fact that the Trump administration chose to remove these protections without offering a clear alternative that would protect these vulnerable children who are in need of care and support.
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