The Trump administration has formally rescinded a Biden-era regulation intended to help LGBTQ+ children in foster care access safe, supportive and affirming placements.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families removed the rule from federal regulations on 14 July 2026. The rescission took effect immediately.
Introduced in April 2024, the Designated Placement Rule required state and tribal child welfare agencies receiving certain federal funding to ensure specialised placements were available for LGBTQ+ children who requested or could benefit from them.
Those placements were expected to provide an environment free from harassment, mistreatment and abuse relating to a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The regulation also established training and monitoring requirements for agencies, alongside measures designed to ensure LGBTQ+ children could access age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate services and support.
However, the requirements were never implemented.
A federal judge placed the rule under a nationwide stay in March 2025 before vacating it entirely on 13 June 2025. The court found that HHS had exceeded its statutory authority and that the regulation conflicted with federal foster-care law.
The administration has now formally removed the provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations, saying the change will provide clarity for child welfare agencies and the public.
Administration says change could attract more foster families
The Administration for Children and Families argued that removing the regulation would help make more prospective caregivers feel welcome and increase the number of foster homes available across the United States.
Speaking to conservative media outlet The Daily Wire, ACF Assistant Secretary Alex Adams said the country had too few foster families.
“The message that we think it sends is that all families are welcome,” Adams said.
“We have too few foster families nationally. We must roll out the red carpet, and we must ensure that there’s homes waiting on kids, not kids waiting on homes.”
Equality Caucus warns children could be placed at risk
Members of the Congressional Equality Caucus condemned the administration’s decision, arguing that removing the rule without introducing an alternative left LGBTQ+ children with fewer specific protections.
Caucus chair Representative Mark Takano said every child in foster care deserved a safe home.
“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,” Takano said.
“Rescinding this rule without putting forward an alternative to protect LGBTQI+ foster children puts children at risk, plain and simple.”
Takano said members of the caucus would continue working to protect LGBTQ+ children in foster care from harassment and abuse.
Equality Caucus co-chair Representative Angie Craig, who is an adoptive mother, described the decision as another attack on LGBTQ+ foster youth.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to rescind this rule with no clear alternative is yet another disgraceful attack on LGBTQ+ foster youth and on families across this country,” Craig said.
“As an adoptive mother myself, I won’t stop fighting to ensure that foster youth have the chance to land in a safe and supportive home.”
Research cited by HHS when the original regulation was introduced found that LGBTQ+ children were overrepresented in foster care and often experienced poorer outcomes, including multiple placements, mistreatment and reduced access to supportive adults.
The 2024 rule cited studies showing that supportive caregivers and environments were associated with improved wellbeing, while rejection and discrimination were linked with increased risks of depression, homelessness and suicidal behaviour.
The Trump administration has not announced a replacement federal policy specifically addressing safe and affirming placements for LGBTQ+ children in foster care.
