Melania Trump signs executive order with the president for foster children

WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump joined her husband for a rare joint executive order signing ceremony Thursday on a directive to expand resources for teenagers in the foster care system.

“Too many people from the foster care community end up homeless, in danger on America’s streets,” the first lady said before the signing ceremony.

“I predict this small spark today will ignite a profound and lasting nationwide movement. Our united resolve will foster a thriving future filled with compassion and innovation.”

The executive order, signed by both Trumps, is intended to boost Melania’s “Fostering the Future,” which aims to elevate youth transitioning out of the foster care system through scholarships and educational opportunities.

“Fostering the Future” is part of the first lady’s “Be Best” initiative, which she launched during the first Trump administration to promote the well-being of children, including by countering bullying and drug addiction.

President Trump’s executive order lays out key goals for his administration, particularly the Department of Health and Human Services, to create more opportunities for teenagers in foster care as they transition to adulthood.

It instructs HHS to streamline the collection of child-welfare data, partner with the private sector to create opportunities for youth in foster care, and coordinate with faith-based institutions to ensure states and local governments aren’t stopping them from participating in federal child welfare programs.

There were an estimated 328,947 children in the foster care system as of September of last year, according to data from HHS’s Administration for Children and Families. That’s a downtick from the first Trump administration, when it stood at 437,000 in 2017.

Only 55% of children in the foster care system graduate high school and just 10% will graduate from college, per Route 21, a youth mentoring program.

Additionally, 1 out of 10 individuals in jail went through foster care, according to Route 21.

The president heaped praise on the first lady’s work, taking note of her ability to speak five languages.

“I couldn’t do that,” he quipped. “Thank you, Melania, and our country is truly blessed to have this magnificent and very caring First Lady.”

“We believe that every American child deserves a safe and loving home, and we’re determined to support the amazing families who helped make that happen,” he later added.

President Trump also invoked the Bible to underscore the importance of tending to society’s most vulnerable.

“The Bible tells us that one of the measures of any society is how it cares for vulnerable children and orphans. So important. And it’s so big in the Bible,” he said.

After the president signed the executive order into effect, the first lady added her signature to it as well in a symbolic gesture.

Jaco Booyens, who runs an anti-trafficking organization, praised the executive order on Thursday as an “unshakable declaration that every child is seen, valued, and deserving of a God-given future.”

“The Foster the Future initiative led by our First Lady and our President is not just policy; it is a prophetic assignment,” he told The Post.