New rules aim to make foster care with family easier, provide protection for LGBTQ+ children

The Biden administration is moving to make it easier for caregivers to take in family members in the foster care system, requiring states to provide them with the same financial support that any other foster home would receive.

It also proposed a new regulation aimed at ensuring that LGBTQ+ children are protected in their foster homes from mistreatment due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

More than 391,000 children were in foster care in 2021, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Many were removed from their homes and placed in foster care due to neglect, physical abuse or parental drug abuse. The average age of a child in foster care was 8.

The report said about 35% were placed in the home of a relative.