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KLTV7: Rep. Nathaniel Moran holds East Texas roundtable on bill to support foster youth

TYLER, Texas, September 2, 2026

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Congressman Nathaniel Moran brought East Texas foster care groups and advocates together in Tyler to discuss the Fostering the Future Act, a bill that would reform the federal John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood, for current and former foster youth, ages 14 to 21.

“The best ideas don’t come from DC. They come from local individuals, the neighbors that are loving on neighbors, the people that are involved in the trench work to help these kids and to love on these kids,” Moran said.

The Chafee program was created in 1999. The Fostering the Future Act would increase education training vouchers under the program from $5,000 annually to $12,000.

“We tackle a couple of the challenges. One is education training vouchers. That’s the part of the bill that I was proud to write. It increases these training vouchers from $5,000 annually to $12,000,” Moran said.

The bill would also expand how those vouchers can be used, including for workforce training and apprenticeships.

Local advocates like Christi Sowell with The Fostering Collective in Tyler, said receiving the funding is only part of the challenge.

“So currently a lot of the funding is not being used. So in Texas, over $1,000,000 went back to the federal government because children just didn’t have access to it and didn’t use it,” Sowell said.

Sowell said mentorship helps young people navigate college applications, housing and transportation.

 

“Books, meals, transportation, all of those obstacles that our kids have to overcome because they don’t have families supporting them,” Christi said.

Moran said the goal is to make sure turning 18 does not mean losing support.

“Every kid needs that. We can’t just drop the bucket when they turn 18,” Moran said.

The bill passed the U.S. House in May and now awaits consideration in the Senate.

 

“So, this bill is going to help become a bridge for kids to get to the other side to adulthood as they’re transitioning and not just a cliff that they’ll fall off of,” Christi said.

Moran said he will take the ideas and concerns he heard at the roundtable back to Washington, D.C., with the goal of exploring potential solutions for the next Congress, which begins Jan. 3, 2027.

To read more about H.R. 7432, Fostering the Future Act, click here.

If you or someone you know is interested in adopting, you can email hello@heartgalleryetx.org or visit Heart Gallery East Texas.

By Brooke Dearing

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