Under mounting pressure to bail out future “independent adults,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner, together with First Lady Melania Trump, quietly steered $25 million of direct federal funding into the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative.
The donation is part of the President’s FY 2026 budget proposal and is already being lauded in conservative circles as one of the few effective public‑private partnerships to help youth aging out of foster care.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the National Foster Youth Institute, roughly 20,000 young Americans age out of the foster care system each year, and one in four of them will become homeless within four years.
For boys and girls walking out of government care at 18 (or 21, in some states), independence too often means “couch-hopping,” sleeping in cars, or dropping out prematurely.
Foster Youth to Independence (FYI), launched in 2019, streams Housing Choice Vouchers to PHAs when a Public Child Welfare Agency certifies that a young adult is at risk or already homeless.
The vouchers last up to 36 months, with optional extensions for young people in approved career or educational tracks. But uptake has been slow, and underfunded.
“I am proud to have successfully secured $25 million to provide housing for individuals aging out of foster care. This is another essential measure that ensures the safety, welfare, and autonomy of those in the foster community,” said First Lady Melania Trump.
The First Lady continued, “Secretary Scott Turner’s commitment will provide thousands of youth transitioning out of the foster care system with dedicated rental assistance and other supportive services to promote stability and self-sufficiency.”
Scott Turner:
“The First Lady and I, her team, and our team here at HUD have partnered to provide $25 million to the Foster Youth Independence Initiative, and we’re very excited about this.About 20,000 youth age out of foster care every year in our country, and about a quarter of those are at risk or already homeless. So, we want to make sure that with this investment from HUD, and in partnership with the First Lady, our youth aging out of the foster care system have a secure and safe landing place.
We’re working with our local PHAs to provide them a place to stay, so they can concentrate on their education, their careers, and the workforce. You know, having a safe place — a home — to live is the start.
But we’re looking at this from a holistic standpoint — to help, really, the next generation of leaders as they land on their feet after aging out of foster care.”
WATCH:
1 in 4 foster youth transitioning to adulthood are at risk of — or already experience — homelessness.@FLOTUS and I, through the FYI initiative, are working to provide the foster youth community with stable housing and a path to chart a new direction for their lives. pic.twitter.com/lfWalH4669
— Scott Turner (@SecretaryTurner) August 2, 2025
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