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White House calls for reform of child welfare system with new executive order

For more than 400,000 children in America’s foster care system, the executive order calling for reform of the child welfare system issued by the White House on June 25 is a step in the right direction. The order seeks to strengthen child welfare programs nationwide through increased permanency for children and strengthened supports to families and caregivers.  

Buckner Foster Care and Adoption continues to seek safe and loving homes for vulnerable children who need them and advocating for this reform was a mission for Buckner staff.

“We had the opportunity to participate in a Congressional Briefing in 2018 to advocate for critical pointed improvements in post permanency outcomes for children. To see reflections of the recommendations we made in an executive order from the White House is remarkable,” shared Samela Macon, interim vice president of Buckner Children and Family Services. “These reforms have the potential to bring long-term stability to the lives of vulnerable children and provide vital support to caregivers.”

The June 25 order from the White House intends to: 

  • Create robust partnership between state agencies, private faith-based and community organizations with the goal of developing community-based abuse prevention and family support services.
  • Improve resources provided to caregivers and those in care by increasing the availability of trauma-informed training and supporting guardianship through funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Improve federal oversight over key statutory child welfare requirements. This includes such things as ensuring federal funds to support high-quality legal representation for parents and children.

The executive order places emphasis on the importance of removing barriers to permanency for children as well as increasing accessibility to critical support and resources for caregivers. As the upward trend of adoption through foster care and permanency through kinship care continues, the demand for improved permanency support for families is essential to ensure the well-being and sustained permanency for children. 

As child welfare continues to evolve, Buckner is proud to continue advocating for the vulnerable and serve those in need. Buckner is intent on bringing heightened emphasis of best practices for child placement, increased access to trauma education for caregivers and extended resources for families throughout the adoption journey and post-adoption experience.

Learn more about the recent executive order or Buckner’s best practices.

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