Journey to Success Statement on State of the Union Address
Feb. 25, 2026, Washington, D.C. – Journey to Success released a statement on the State of the Union address delivered Tuesday, which included lived expert and foster youth advocate Sierra A. Burns as an invited guest of First Lady Melania Trump.
“The Journey to Success campaign was delighted to see the President and First Lady continue to put a bright spotlight on youth with experience in foster care during the State of the Union address. Through initiatives like the Fostering the Future for American Children and Families Executive Order and the Melania Trump Foster Youth to Independence Program, this administration has taken important steps to bolster the great potential of all foster youth.
“Our campaign looks forward to continuing to work alongside the First Lady’s office on her ongoing agenda to uplift foster youth, including by supporting implementation of the Executive Order. We also welcome further congressional action on the bipartisan foster youth agenda — a series of bipartisan bills introduced to strengthen educational success, workforce readiness, job opportunities, and housing stability for young people who have experienced foster care. These bipartisan reforms, alongside improvements to the Education and Training Voucher (ETV) and Chafee programs, will go a long way to helping foster youth everywhere thrive on their journey to adulthood.”
Additional background on Sierra A. Burns of Greenville, S.C., from the White House press release:
Sierra is a participant in the Melania Trump Foster Youth to Independence Program. She is a dedicated advocate for children in foster care after having experienced the foster-care system firsthand. A graduate of Winthrop University, she is currently pursuing her Master’s in Advocacy and Social Policy at Furman University while also working as a Referral Specialist at Prisma Health. Sierra testified in support of extending foster care in South Carolina and later became a Jim Casey Fellow, where she helped develop training resources for caseworkers statewide.