Trump Admin Opens New Lifeline For Expectant Parents

The Department of Health and Human Services has decided that unborn children can be treated as candidates for foster care, a designation that lets expectant parents tap federal money for help before a baby is born. The change extends the Family First Prevention Services Act, which already directs federal dollars toward families whose children are at risk of entering the system, according to Daily Wire.

Alex J. Adams, who leads the Administration for Children and Families at HHS, told Daily Wire the policy serves the president's aim of remaking foster care. He said the aim is to steady families and keep children safe so removal never becomes necessary. Adams said roughly 100 services are eligible under the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse, ranging from opioid-use medication to home visits. Parents-to-be could receive counseling, addiction treatment and parenting classes.

Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos of the Office of the Surgeon General said in a statement that stable routines and predictable surroundings matter for children's long-term health, and called the program a way to prepare families before birth. States receive federal reimbursement for these preventive services, which payers such as Medicaid typically do not cover, and HHS says eligibility does not depend on income. Adams added that 29 states from both parties have repeatedly asked Washington to specify which expectant mothers should count as having children at risk, noting that about one in five children entering foster care is younger than one.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Wire’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Wire →