Trump signs foster care executive order

President Donald Trump wants to strengthen the ties between the federal government and religious organizations that place foster children. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, the president aims to protect the 430,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, strengthen adoption programs, and support at-risk families. The order states that religious groups are eligible for government partnerships “on an equal basis, consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

What else does the order do? The director of Health and Human Services must develop better resources for families and foster youth, including trauma-based training. The order lays out steps to increase support for guardians, kinship care programs, and youth who age out of the system without finding a permanent home. The federal government also is supposed to strengthen its oversight of state agencies to make sure they are following child welfare requirements and help improve methods to recruit more diverse foster families.

Dig deeper: Read Bonnie Pritchett’s report from January 2019 about why the Trump administration had to step in to protect a Christian child-placing agency in South Carolina.