Why It Matters

H.Res.390, a bipartisan House resolution recognizing National Foster Care Month, has been introduced and referred to the Ways and Means Committee — landing at a moment when the federal child welfare apparatus is under more strain than it has been in years.

The resolution, introduced May 6, 2025, by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), calls on Congress to raise awareness about the roughly 369,000 children living in the U.S. foster care system and to pursue policies that improve their outcomes. It highlights a cascade of systemic failures: more than 20,000 youth "age out" of the system annually without a permanent family, with 20 percent becoming immediately homeless.

Foster children experience an average of three placement changes and seven school transfers. Children of color remain in care longer and are less likely to reunify with biological families. The resolution doesn’t create new law or spend a dollar — but it arrives as the scaffolding beneath these children is reportedly being weakened by federal workforce cuts, declining adoption numbers, and uneven implementation of existing reform legislation.

This foster care resolution didn’t emerge in a vacuum. Several converging forces gave it urgency.

The Trump administration’s DOGE-driven restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services has reportedly resulted in staff reductions at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) — the primary federal agency overseeing child welfare. According to The Imprint, those cuts have raised alarms about the government’s capacity to support foster care programs and enforce child welfare standards. A First Focus fact sheet warned that cuts to ACF would "negatively impact child welfare efforts to keep children safe and with their families."

Meanwhile, the data is moving in the wrong direction. According to the National Council for Adoption, only 46,935 children were adopted from foster care in FY 2024 — the lowest level since 1999 and a 26 percent decrease since 2019. Total exits from foster care were also reported to be the fewest since AFCARS reporting began.

The resolution explicitly references the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, a landmark law that shifted federal policy toward prevention. But research published in Children and Youth Services Review found that "states are not maximizing spending for prevention services because the infrastructure for a true prevention-oriented child welfare service delivery system does not exist."

Yes, but: This is a non-binding resolution. It doesn’t appropriate money, create programs, or compel action. Its power is symbolic — a congressional signal that foster care remains a bipartisan priority, even as substantive legislation stalls and budget reconciliation dominates the floor calendar.

Partisan Perspectives

H.Res.390 is one of those rare measures that drew cosponsors from both parties without apparent friction. Three Republicans — Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-2), Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA-3), and Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN-9) — signed on alongside Democrats Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5).

Rep. Nunn’s office noted that the resolution follows "President Trump’s designation of May as Foster Care Month" and encourages Congress to pursue policies improving outcomes for children in care.

Rep. Kamlager-Dove’s office framed the resolution as a call to action, stressing it "encourages Congress to implement policies to improve the child welfare system" and "honors foster families, social workers, and advocates."

No opposition statements were found in the public record. That tracks — resolutions recognizing National Foster Care Month have been introduced annually by the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, and they tend to pass without controversy.

The broader tension, however, isn’t over the resolution itself. It’s over what comes next. Advocacy groups like NICWA have urged Congress to "resist cuts to federal programs that serve children and families" during budget reconciliation — a fight that carries far more consequence than any symbolic vote among scheduled votes in Congress.

Political Stakes

The winners here are the members who get to attach their names to a feel-good, bipartisan measure during a month dedicated to foster care awareness — and the advocacy organizations that use the resolution as a lobbying tool. The National Foster Youth Institute reported that 100 former foster youth visited Capitol Hill to advocate for reform, lending grassroots weight to the resolution’s goals.

The losers, potentially, are the children themselves — if the resolution’s aspirational language isn’t followed by substantive legislation and funding. The House Ways and Means Committee has held at least two hearings directly addressing foster care in 2025: "Aging out Is Not a Plan: Reimagining Futures for Foster Youth" in June and "Leaving the Sticky Notes behind: Harnessing Innovation and New Technology to Help America’s Foster Youth Succeed" in November. Whether those hearings produce legislative action remains an open question.

The administration’s position is mixed: President Trump reportedly designated May as Foster Care Month, but the DOGE-driven cuts to HHS and ACF run counter to the resolution’s call for improved federal support. That dissonance hasn’t surfaced as a partisan flashpoint — yet.

The Bottom Line

H.Res.390 is a symbolic measure doing real work at the margins: keeping foster care on the congressional radar during a session dominated by budget fights and executive branch restructuring. Its bipartisan cosponsor list — three Republicans, two Democrats, plus a Democratic sponsor — suggests that child welfare remains one of the few policy areas where members can still find common ground.

The obstacles to turning this resolution’s aspirations into policy are substantial. Budget reconciliation could squeeze Title IV-B and IV-E funding. DOGE-driven staff reductions at ACF may undermine federal oversight capacity. And the Family First Prevention Services Act, the most significant foster care reform in recent years, is reportedly not being fully utilized by states.

The resolution fits a familiar pattern: Congress recognizes a problem, holds hearings, passes a non-binding resolution — and the harder legislative work gets deferred. With adoption numbers at a quarter-century low and more than 20,000 youth aging out of care each year without a permanent family, the gap between rhetoric and action is measured in children’s lives.

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