The Daily Signal - Trump Made Foster Children a Priority. That Shouldn't Change Under Biden.

Episode Date: January 19, 2021

“Every child deserves a family,” begins President Donald Trump’s executive order last June on “Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America’s Children.”  The Trump administration made foster children a priority, working with state and local groups to place children in loving homes more quickly and to ensure that fewer children are entering the system to begin with.  Lynn Johnson, assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, joins the show to discuss how that executive order last summer has improved the foster care system and why it’s so important for the incoming Biden administration to continue to make vulnerable children a priority.  We also read your letters to the editor and share a "good news story" about a young woman who found a way to use horses to inspire a love of reading in students.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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On today's show, I talk with Assistant Secretary Lynn Johnson of the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. We discuss President Trump's June executive order on strengthening the child welfare system. for America's children and how effective it has been at connecting children with loving families and allowing faith-based adoption agencies to continue serving the needs of children and families. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a young woman who has found a way to use horses to inspire a love of reading and students. Before we get to today's show, Rob and I want to tell you about an easy and entertaining way to keep up with the news right now. The Daily Signal and Harry

Foundation YouTube channels offer interviews with policy experts on the most critical issues and debates America is facing today, as well as short explainer videos that break down complex issues and documentaries that dive deep into the way's policy actually impact people. So go ahead and subscribe to both the Daily Signal and Heritage Foundation YouTube channels today. You can search for either on your YouTube app or visit YouTube.com slash heritage foundation and YouTube.com slash daily signal. Now stay tuned for today's show coming up next. I am so pleased to be joined by Lynn Johnson,

the Assistant Secretary at the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Assistant Secretary Johnson, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. It's quite an honor. Child welfare is an issue that's very close to my heart. So I'm very excited for our conversation today. Let's go back to June when President Trump signed the exact. executive order on strengthening the child welfare system for America's children. The first line of that order reads, every child deserves a family, and that is certainly the truth. Could you just

explain the purpose of that order broadly? Absolutely. And it is such an honor to be able to work for an administration that sees the faces of children and the problems that have resulted from some of our systems so that when you hear the first line of that order that says every child deserves a family, that is so heartfelt and it is so critical that we remember that whether it's a family that is adopting, whether it's a family that is guardianship or some type of permanency, it matters to those young adults. And we know that because we asked them. The kids, the young adults themselves, have talked to us about their experiences in the system. So President Trump's executive order was a culmination of months and months of collaborative work that was sparked by the all-in foster adoption

campaign, which we started. And that was an initiative to mobilize community partners, states, and the federal government to reduce the numbers of kids waiting to be adopted in our child welfare system from 125,000 to zero. What we found was talking to the young adults, some kids were in the system for 20 years, some for 15. Some had 80 movements. Some had two. And there was no consistency in the way that we were moving children to success to be thriving adults. And so we put together the all-in adoption campaign to help move the country because these children don't want to have their opportunities for

permanency to change every time there's a new governor or a new president. And so we put together a campaign that was driven by both Democratic and Republican governors by child welfare systems, by nonprofits, and especially by our faith-based groups, and they have helped kids waiting for adoption to be adopted. The executive order added to that by increasing partnerships, which said we need to increase resources for our foster parents and children. We need to increase transparency and accountability for our child welfare agencies. These priorities, illustrate this administration's commitment to vulnerable children as we continue to use all the resources available to make sure that all children benefit from having a forever family. And by adding

the increasing of partnerships, we know that there are now, today, since the executive order, we went from 125,000 children in youth to 122,000 children in youth who are waiting. And we know that there are 10 times that number of churches and nonprofits throughout this country. And if just one family from each of those faith-based groups steps up and says, I want to give somebody a forever home, and those churches and nonprofits wrap around that family, we could be to zero in six months. So that was the intent. This is the president that's all about action, and that was his intent, was that the sooner these kids have forever home, the better off they're going to be. Well, and that I think is so the truth that there is such a critical foundation for any child

to have that family base, to have the love of a family. So I think that's so strategic to think in terms of how can we partner with those across the country who are already doing this work and how can we mobilize individuals who want to be involved to really help these kids. If you would, just give us a little bit of a background on. you know, who these kids are who are, you know, in the foster care system, who are waiting to be adopted, kind of that, the makeup of their ages, ethnicity, and then why so many of them have found themselves in the system? So one of the best data that I have now, obviously, is 2019,

will have the 2020 data in about a couple months. But there were 423,000 children. in the foster care system, of which 122,000 of those kids are waiting to be adopted. Now, of the 122,000, each year approximately 20,000 young adults age out of our system, meaning they leave the system without any family, without any home to go to, and have to make it on their own. Depending on the state, they could be 18-year-olds and some can be 21-year-olds, and since the pandemic, governors have extended their care because so many kids were ending up homeless to 24, 25, and 26 years old. The ages that we have in foster care range from babies. Median age is about eight years old, and the vast majority of children in foster care are

actually placed with a foster family. About 32% are placed with a relative, 46% with a non-relative. The vast majority of children and youth in foster care are Caucasian at 44%, African American at 23%, and Hispanic at 21%. And so that gives you a little bit about the demographics. But there are many, many reasons why children and youth enter foster care. One of the biggest pieces that I find is based on the definition of neglect, the consequences of poverty, that children, about 63% are removed from their home because their parents may be poor, maybe the consequences of poverty, where the parents can no longer take care of the children, but it's not abuse. There could be substance abuse, there could be mental health, there could be homelessness,

there could be unemployment. I knew one young man who he was put into our system because his family could not afford a mattress. And I kept thinking about the cost of the foster care system versus the cost of buying a mattress and just wondered what the rules and the laws are that push to move a child because he didn't have a mattress to sleep on. And he ended up in the foster care system for a long time. just because once you get in, it's really hard, I think, to get out. And so those are the kind of things that bring children in.

What we've been doing under the Trump administration is working hard to strengthen the family on the front end, having communities help their communities, getting government out of the way, bringing in those faith-based supports so that they can wrap around a family before we get a call about abuse or neglect, before the family ends up homeless. If there's a problem where dad, and right now this is an issue around the country, dad lost job or mom lost their job, and they shouldn't lose their children too. So could we wrap around that home to help them get a new job, to help them not lose their home, to help them with the mental health of depression based on the fear of unemployment or substance abuse?

As we know, all of that has gone up during this pandemic. So we think if communities step up, faith-based group step up and wrap around those families, we could really significantly reduce the number of children that come into our care. And the children will be better off because they won't be traumatized by frequent moves. So that was our number one thing that we did in this administration was strengthening families on the front end prior to coming into the system. Based on that, for the first time I've been doing this for over 30-some years, we have actually seen the numbers go in the right direction. Less kids safely staying in their homes with community supports.

And that is huge. It is such a positive response to taking care of children. The other thing that happened was as we were taking care of families on the front end, someone asked me the question about why are you only taking care of the kids on the front end, which we weren't, but that was the question. what about those kids that are already in the system? And that's that 125,000 number that is now 122,000 of waiting kids. And that's when we decided to do the all-in challenge.

While strengthening the families, reunifying families because we're strengthening them, and then making sure those that are waiting that no matter what, the parental rights are already terminated and they have an adoption plan, they are waiting for a forever home. We put the focus on those kids. and I'm a firm believer that that what you focus on and that what you measure gets done. So I talk to all governors around the country and governor's offices and ask them if they would be all in for these kids. And nobody has said no, which is a wonderful thing to know that the entire country,

I talked to hundreds and hundreds of churches, hundreds and hundreds of nonprofits, and they all are all in to take care of these kids. We get our data, it's called AFCAR. First time I've ever seen, more kids have been adopted, less kids are waiting, and less kids have been put into the system because we strengthen their families. So that gives you a little bit about the demographics and the reason that these kids are coming into care.

We always know there will be a need for foster care because there are just some people who cannot parent. But we shouldn't take children from parents to punish them because of challenges in their lives. So I hope that helps. No, that does. Thank you. That is so helpful and just really encouraging to hear about the work that you all are doing and how strategically you're doing it.

We are talking with Assistant Secretary Lynn Johnson of the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Just discussing another aspect of this order, Assistant Secretary, the order specifically references faith-based adopt. and foster agencies and making sure that those groups have the resources that they need to serve the children in need in their communities. For years, we have seen that faith-based agencies have come under attack for not being willing to compromise on their view of marriage. Catholic Charities of Boston, for example, no longer offers adoption services because they

weren't willing to compromise on their beliefs about marriage. So how does this order seek to strengthen and has strengthened faith-based agencies to ensure that they're going to be able to keep serving children in need while also living by the convictions that they do hold. So as you may be aware, this administration has been very strong on promoting the rights of religious institutions, specifically through the religious liberty, through legal avenues, and also by enforcing laws that were already on the books, 10, 20 years. ago but weren't being enforced. What we've said in this administration and under the administration for children and families is that all children deserve a family. All children need someone. And that

means I need all churches, synagogues, nonprofits, secular groups, everybody to be available so that a match between a child and a family is a good fit. And to cut out, as I said, earlier today, the number of churches that are available to find families who want to love a child would just be, it just doesn't make sense. And so we have said, we need everybody to be helping get kids into forever homes in a positive, safe way. And so that's what we've been doing. We have been trying to help all of the nonprofits and churches step up and get the resources from their states. Some states obviously are more willing to move forward with work with nonprofits that are

faith-based or faith-based groups, and some are not. But what we are seeing is that those that are working with churches, those that are working with faith-based groups, their numbers are better. They are getting more children into forever homes. They are protecting those kids in a much bigger way. And the churches are stepping up to wrap around. those families. Everybody is not able to adopt or willing to adopt or capable of adopting a challenged child, a sibling set, an older teen. And we found that if the churches

wrap around the families that are willing to do that, you have a much more successful transition. And so that's my firm belief as we ran the administration for children and families that everybody in this country has a role for taking care of these children. These are everybody's responsibility, not just governments. In fact, can't be just governments, and that nonprofits and faith groups are absolutely critical to making this happen. That's encouraging. Since the executive order on strengthening the child welfare system for America's children was first signed in the summer of 2020, what have some of those outcomes been that you have been really encouraged to see?

That is such a great question. And as you know, it was just signed six months. ago in the middle of COVID, but I will tell you some anecdotal information because we don't have the data collected yet. As I traveled around the country talking to governors, I saw in some states as courts would close down and hearings weren't happening, that we were able to use the executive order to say we can't stop doing adoption hearings because of COVID, and they went to virtual. And in Arizona, for example, they did, starting from COVID March, over the next several months, 3,000 adoptions, which is almost unheard of, and 1,800 reunifications

with families and the families are strong and are being supported. That 4,800, those 4,800 kids, amazing that during COVID, during the time when everybody was in a panic, they were getting their forever homes. They were getting their mom and dad. And we found that of these numbers that we talk about, about 30% of those kids are sitting in the home that wants to adopt them, but for their court hearing. And so if we could just get those court hearings, finish the paperwork, handle appeals, take care of the legal issues, we'd have 30% less kids waiting. You have 30% less kids in government. You are talking a reduction in the bureaucracy, a reduction in paperwork, and an ability for caseworkers to have more time to spend with the kids that are

in foster care. And so I think that's... one of the biggest things we need to remember is this executive order, as emotional as it might be, because it's the right thing for thriving kids, also impacts the economic ability of a state. It makes sure that the state can fund what they need to fund. So if we look at reducing the number of kids coming in, helping the waiting kids get forever homes, in six to 12 months, if we really focus on this, we could have a child welfare system maybe half its size or even three-quarter its size would be good. That money is a block grant that can be reinvested to protect and care for those really, really vulnerable kids who have seriously been abused. And that would be a huge,

huge wind to the system is reducing the need for the government intervention and move forward with communities doing the right thing for these kids. Well, I think it's so encouraging that you all have been able to move forward amid the pandemic, that this has been a priority for this administration to continue to say, you know, just because there's a global pandemic, you know, that doesn't mean that there are kids that don't still need families that don't still need that support, if anything is even more important in this season. Now, one of the aims of the executive order is, of course, to try to keep siblings together who enter the system. Do you have any information on how successful that objective has been over the past several months?

Again, this would be anecdotal because we haven't collected the data yet. But I just last week was in Tennessee, actually just a couple days ago, and met with a family who had adopted six siblings. And then they had a couple of their own kids. They had a child in every age, starting from third grade. And the kids came and met with me, and they were sharing how they never expected. one, to be allowed to stay together, and two, to get adopted. They thought they'd have foster care, but they didn't think they'd be adopted.

We are hearing that this effort to take kids into the home and keep those siblings together is becoming more and more priority for the states and a bigger effort to try to make that happen. And again, what these foster parents, now adopted parents said to us was, once you have three kids, six makes no more difference other than you need a bigger car. bigger kitchen table. And that really made sense to me, but they were so candid as far as we said, no, at first, six was overwhelming. And then they came into the home and we realized this is so doable. And I think that's the word that we need to get out to people is we can keep siblings together, and we absolutely should. I hired a young man who spent two decades in the foster care system.

He was the baby of many children. And he's the only one that didn't get. adopted, which is unusual because usually people want the babies. But all of his siblings were adopted out separately. And he said to this day, he will never forget that. He will never forget that he doesn't have connections with some of his siblings. He will never have that understanding of his biological family and that it was really hard for him. In fact, he just got adopted at age 23 as an adult. And he said, you know, I was five years old in the system and no one was focusing on getting me a forever home. I was 10. I was 15. I was 18. And then they said, oh, well, you're going to age out. Do you want us to find you a forever home? He said,

if nobody wanted me all those years, why would I want one now? And then he ends up getting adopted at age 23. But keeping those siblings together, I think of the moves he had, the assaults he went through, the troubles that he had, and then think if we had focused on siblings, if we had had faith groups wrapping around families, would his entire journey have been different? I think the answer is yes. I think he would say yes. I mean, he says he's blessed now. He has great mom and dad, and he's 23, and good things are happening. But what his journey was, the trauma of that could have been prevented. And that's where pushing to keep siblings together is absolutely a priority, and it is a priority for this administration. And the good news is we have talked to both parties

about this work that we're doing. And we are really encouraging people to keep this going. We don't want this to be something that, well, that was that administration, so now let's stop. Because we have true momentum. We have momentum with churches. We have momentum with nonprofits. And we have momentum with people and communities.

And this is not a political thing. This is about America's kids. And we need to keep this going. So how does it continue? What are the next steps looking? at 20.21, what needs to continue to happen this year in order to ensure that more and more children are being placed in forever homes and even fewer children are entering the system to begin with? We have talked to the governors about keeping it going in their states. I have talked to the

President-elect's transition team about the successes of this and the fact that it is nonpartisan and that these children need us to step above partisanship in taking care of these children. So I'm hoping that will happen, no guarantees, because every transition is different. But we know that America's children have been given a voice. These kids, we have kids in every single state that are talking to governors, and we have young adults who have been at the federal level. I hope their voice continues to be heard. I hope every one of them finds that forever home, and I hope this continues forever.

until we don't have waiting kids because there is no reason to have waiting kids. And we can do this, but we do have to keep focusing on it and we do have to measure it. And there's no excuse. We can get to zero. I know it. The country knows it. And these kids absolutely know it. So we need to do this.

Yeah. For anyone who's listening and thinking, you know, maybe I should consider being a foster parent or maybe even consider adopting, how could they start that process? It's a great question. It's one that I have to laugh because I'm thinking about it myself and saying so, and I return back to Colorado, what do I do and how do I open up my home so that I can have these kids have a place to lay their heads? And my husband and I have been talking about it. So my first thing is I would encourage them to visit the Administration for Children and Families

webpage on childwelfare.gov. There are links to more information on the web page, and you can Google the assistant secretaries all in foster adoption campaign. The other thing that individuals can do, depending on which state they are in, is contact the Child Welfare Adoption Department in their own state. If they can't find it, they can contact their governor's offices.

Every governor's office has a policy person that works on these issues and just start the process. Or get a hold of a church that's working on adoption, get a hold of a nonprofit, and just start the process. It is so hard to ask the kids to wait when we as adults could take the risk to open up the love in our own hearts. And every adopted parent that I have talked to said this didn't change the child's life nearly as much as it changed theirs. And so I do encourage people to check it out.

And if you can't adopt, if you can't foster, then help somebody who is. help them mow their lawn, bring meals over, help kids go to sports, help with homework, whatever that family needs, because it will make a difference and it will make our country stronger because we are keeping our kids healthy. I hope this helps. Oh, thank you so much. Assistant Secretary Johnson, it is a pleasure talking with you today. We truly, truly appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you so much. I am hoping your listeners are as excited as me to go see what we can do to find these kids because they are fantastic and they're super fun. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Do you have an interest in public policy? Do you want to hear some of the biggest names in American politics speak? The Heritage Foundation host webinars called Heritage Events Live. These webinars are free and open to the public. To find the latest webinars and register,

visit heritage.org slash events. Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Virginia. who's up first. In response to my discussion with Heritage's Clon Kitchen, what you need to know about big tech crackdown on Trump parlor, Harold Harmon writes, Dear Daily Signal, a very interesting podcast. Freedom of speech is one of our most important rights, but most people think they have an unlimited right to say anything but that right and all of our rights carry with it an equal responsibility to not trample on others' rights. And Barbara from Cincinnati, left us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts writing, one of my favorite podcasts always gives me something new to think about.

Well, thank you, Barbara. Your letter could be featured on next week's show, so send us an email at Letters at DailySignal.com. Are you looking for quick conservative policy solutions to current issues? Sign up for Heritage's weekly newsletter, The Agenda. In the agenda, you will learn what issues Heritage Scholars on Capitol Hill are working on, what position conservatives are taking, and links to our in-depth research.

The agenda also provides information on important events happening here at Heritage that you can watch online as well as media interviews from our experts. Sign up for the agenda on heritage.org today. Virginia, you have a good news story to share with us today. Over to you. Thanks so much, Rob. Caitlin Gooch grew up with a deep love of reading and horses on her family's North Carolina farm. In 2017, she noticed that literacy rates in her heart, home state and across the country were far too low. A study conducted by the National Assessment

of Education Progress in 2017 found that only 35% of fourth graders were reading at or above the proficient level. Caitlin wanted to do something to help students find the joy that she's found in reading and hoped to improve the literacy rates. So she teamed up with local libraries to offer incentives for kids who committed to read. Children who checked out three or more books from the local library would have the opportunity to visit Caitlin's family farm and interact with the horses. The initiative was so successful that, as she told CBS this morning in a recent interview, she launched a nonprofit called Saddle Up and Read. I'm very blessed to have all of these amazing horses, this amazing barn, and I just want to share it with children. And why not use

that energy that they have when they see the horses to get them excited about reading. After launching the Saddle Up and Read nonprofit in 2019, Caitlin has become even more involved with schools, libraries, childcare centers, and churches, teaming up with them to collect and distribute books to kids and offering incentives of a horse experience for reaching certain reading goals. Kids are also able to come to the farm and practice reading to a horse, which, as Caitlin says, is a safe place for students to grow in their reading skills. Horses bring this magic that's like, they can't talk for one. So if a child does mess up while they're reading or while they're learning something new,

horses isn't going to say anything. They're really non-judgmental. Horses in reading, definitely not two things that you would usually think to put together, but I just love the creativity that Caitlin has and how she's encouraging students to find, a passion for reading. To learn more, you can check out the nonprofit by visiting their website, saddle up and read.org. Virginia, that's such a cool initiative. Thanks so much for bringing us that story today and all the stories of good news that you share with us on this podcast. Oh, it's a joy, Rob. Thanks so much. Well, we're going to leave it there for today. You can find the

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