On November 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Administration for Children and Families, launched the “A Home For Every Child” pilot program (see ACF Unveils New Initiative to Strengthen American Families–A Home For Every Child). The move is a federal response to a growing system imbalance: too many children entering foster care without enough foster homes.

Recently, five new states joined the federal pilot (see Five New States Join Federal ‘A Home For Every Child’ Pilot)—Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Mississippi. This brings the total number of participating states to nine states as of April 8, 2026. 

The program will accomplish this with a multi-prong approach that includes updating state child welfare IT systems and reducing unnecessary…