MAY 2026 | Bipartisan Leaders and Young Adults with Lived Experience Uniteat the U.S. Capitol to End the Foster Care to Homelessness Pipeline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kevin Clark, Good River Partners
818-389-0731
Washington, D.C., May 13, 2026 — Every year, nearly 18,000 young people age out of foster care in the United States — many without stable housing, family support or a clear path forward. On May 20 th , foster youth advocates, local government officials, child welfare leaders, housing professionals and – most importantly -- young adults with lived experience in foster care will gather in Washington to advance a coordinated national strategy to end the foster care-to-homelessness pipeline.
Nationally, research has found that between 31 and 46 percent of current and former foster youth had experienced homelessness at least once before they turned 26. That means that approximately one in three will be homeless at some point as they transition into adulthood – making it extremely challenging for them to advance in other areas of their lives: education, employment, relationships, general health and well-being.
This national summit, Housing as the Cornerstone of Foster Youth Independence, comes at a pivotal moment, as unprecedented bipartisan momentum builds around improving outcomes for young people transitioning out of foster care. A recent surge in federal action from the White House and Congress has created a unique opportunity to align housing, child welfare, and public policy leaders around scalable solutions.
In November 2025, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump signed the Fostering the Future for American Children and Families Executive Order, which directed the Departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to develop strategies to provide foster youth with the tools they need to become successful adults. On May 12 th , the Office of the First Lady highlighted 10 achievements over the past 180 days since the Executive Order was issued.
Similarly the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families announced its actions to implement the Executive Order, which include holding a series of roundtables alongside the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where leaders heard directly from youth to find “practical solutions to housing-related barriers encountered by foster youth and families.”
Concurrently the House Committee on Ways and Means unanimously passed six bills aimed at improving federal programs that support older foster youth on their journey to adulthood. If passed into law these bi-partisan measures would improve access to higher education, vocational training, life skills and housing supports and give states more flexibility in how they spend federal dollars to support transition-age youth.
The pending bills to modernize the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program and the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood would continue a legacy of bipartisan legislation supporting youth in foster care, including the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act enacted in 2020, as well as federal investments in kinship and family-based placements, educational stability, and health care coverage.
Over the course of the Summit, attendees will co-create policy solutions designed to leverage and expand the already robust system stream of services and rental subsidies. The goal: catalyze concrete commitments across sectors to ensure that every young person in foster care across the country has access to high quality housing as they transition into adulthood.
The importance of stable housing is deeply personal and life changing for many young people transitioning out of foster care.
“Once I got the voucher, it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” said 24-year-old Domenica Taylor. “I didn’t realize how much stress came from worrying about where my son and I were going to live. Once we had stable housing, I was able to make significant progress in other areas of my life. I’m now working, enrolled in college and was able to accomplish my goal of purchasing my first car!”
Domenica’s experience reflects what advocates and research have long made clear: safe and stable housing is a cornerstone of foster youth’s economic mobility and wellbeing.
The Summit is being convened by Good River Partners, a mission-driven organization focused on ending the foster care to homelessness pipeline. Co-Hosts include the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Foster America, Journey to Success, the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare, Table Sense and Think of Us. The Summit has been generously supported by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Fostering Promise is hosting the Summit lunch.
Summit co-hosts and sponsors are all led by experts in the field of foster care, child welfare and/or and systems change. Their quotes, below, reflect both their expertise and their passion:
“Elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C. have long understood - and acted upon - their responsibility to the thousands of young people who ‘age out’ of the foster care system every year,” said Daniel Heimpel, Managing Director of Good River Partners. “And as someone who has devoted his career to making foster youth’s often difficult transitions into adulthood easier, I have been awed by the earnest steps taken over the past year by this Administration and Members of Congress from both parties. This all portends something I have dreamed of since I first entered the field: a future where no young person leaving care ever experiences homelessness.”
“The Foster Youth Internship Program® demonstrates what is possible when those with lived experience are given meaningful opportunities to lead, advocate, and shape policy,” said Kate McLean, Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. “The leaders championing these conversations understand better than anyone the risks facing youth who age out of foster care. Their voices are essential to building solutions that ensure no young person leaves care without support, stability, and pathways to long-term success.”
“Young people have been telling us for years what it takes to find stable housing after care and too often, those barriers remain unchanged,” said Sixto Cancel, CEO of Think of Us. “You can’t heal, you can’t work, and you can’t thrive in life if you don’t have a safe place to call home. This spring, we went directly to young people navigating the FYI voucher process to listen and to learn. What they shared with us makes clear that the tools exist, the momentum is there, and now is the moment to make sure it reaches every young person it was built to serve”
“With unwavering federal funding serving as a financial backbone, extended foster care and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative creates the perfect conditions for mission driven investors and youth serving organizations to come together and help thousands of former foster youth gain independence every year,” said Mark Davis, CEO of Table Sense. “It’s a true ‘double bottom-line’ opportunity.”
“The National Center for Housing and Child Welfare is honored to join this celebration of the President and First Lady’s emphasis on economic and housing security for all older foster youth,” said Ruth White, Executive Director of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare. “The momentum created by the Executive Order is being carried forward by HUD and HHS leaders as they travel across the country to ensure that child welfare agencies use the full complement of resources that Congress provides, including the youth-written Melania Trump Foster Youth to Independence Initiative (FYI) in partnership with public housing authorities, to offer permanent housing subsidies as a universal, synchronized, and predictable platform for youth to achieve self-sufficiency.”
“Secure and consistent housing serves as a fundamental prerequisite for youth success,” said Marie Zemler Wu, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Foster America. “By participating in Foster America’s Fiscal Leadership Circle, jurisdictions and local stakeholders are discovering how to maximize modern policy and funding streams to prioritize residential stability and holistic health for families and young adults.”
“At a time when bipartisan momentum is building around policies that support teens and young adults transitioning from foster care to adulthood, this Summit reflects the kind of cross-sector collaboration needed to create lasting change,” said Hope Cooper, campaign manager for Journey to Success. “Stable housing is foundational to success in education, employment, health, and well-being, and we are honored to join leaders from around the country in recognizing the bipartisan champions working to expand opportunity and support for young people.”
“We firmly believe that every child deserves the safety, stability and lifelong connection of a permanent family,” said Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “This must always be the benchmark of our child welfare system. Through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®, an evidence-based model that drives legal permanency for youth at risk of aging out of care, we have changed the trajectories of more than 16,000 children. Yet, the reality remains that too many young people still transition into adulthood alone. This demands urgent collaboration across child welfare, housing, education, health, workforce and community partners to ensure these youth have safe, supportive housing and the opportunity to thrive as young adults. We are proud to support this Summit and the collective commitment to building stronger pathways to stability, dignity and belonging for every young person.”
“The stories and voices of foster youth are driving the urgency to act. By pairing their lived experiences with effective regional implementation, we can ensure federal resources create real, lasting solutions,” said André Chapman, Founder and CEO of Fostering Promise. “The Fostering Promise #NotEvenOne™ movement is grounded in a simple belief: not even one young person should age out of foster care into homelessness.”
Note to reporters: all of the above experts are available for interviews and photos can be provided upon request.