Executive Order on Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America’s Children
Those of us who are intimately familiar with foster care and human trafficking know the direct connection between the two.
For several years, Dr. Sandie Morgan and I have written, and Foster Focus Magazine has published, this column called “Connecting The Dots Between Foster Care And Trafficking.” Our goal has not only been to make people aware of the risks and realities of teens that age out of the foster care system without healthy family support, but to encourage and empower people and organizations to assist foster teens to transition out into a supportive network. We know that teens that have a that are less likely to find themselves living the nightmare of trafficking.
I [Rhonda Sciortino] am passionate about this because I emancipated from the child welfare system when I was 16 years old. I had a few friends, a job with a boss who encouraged me to learn and achieve, and a teacher who cared about my well being. Still, despite those good people, I was very wounded and extremely vulnerable. Consequently, I made some stupid decisions because I believed some sweet talk that accompanied nice smiles and lingering eye contact—things that I hadn’t gotten much of when I was growing up.
Thank God that my vulnerability didn’t lead to trafficking, but I can easily see how it could have. That’s why I feel so strongly in favor about the primary purpose of the Executive Order.
I support the objective of the order to encourage partnerships with faith-based organizations because data I gathered over 25 years suggests that foster children who are cared for in Christ-centered child caring organizations fare better than those in other settings. (Apologies to my friends who have dedicated their lives to the care of children in secular settings. Of course, there are amazing people doing much good in quality secular child welfare organizations.) I’m simply sharing data—please don’t shoot the data gatherer!
I worked for months in 2019 with many Christian child welfare professionals on recommendations for a Presidential Executive Order on foster care. Many good people carved out time from their demanding schedules to participate in a survey, to provide suggestions, and to wordsmith language for a proposed PEO.
We were delighted that on June 24, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order designed to strengthen America’s child welfare system.
The primary purpose of the EO is stated as, “Every child deserves a family. Our States and communities have both a legal obligation, and the privilege, to care for our Nation’s most vulnerable children.”
The EO begins by emphasizing family preservation. Where that isn’t possible, the secondary goal is to facilitate permanent families for children in foster care to reduce the number of young people who age out of the foster care system without a supportive family. Healthy relationships with good people is key to the prevention of trafficking.
Some of the strategies named for achieving the stated purpose of the order include:
- Encouraging partnerships between government and private, faith-based and community organizations;
- Increasing access to resources for foster and adoptive parents;
- Improving federal oversight of state compliance.
My wildest dream would be that people in communities throughout the US would launch the Love Is Action Community Initiative, a public/private collaboration, which is all about giving neighbors an opportunity to help children and families to avoid the societal ills that harm us all, including homelessness, suicide, and yes, human trafficking. If you’re interested in liaci, go to www.loveisactioncommunityinitiative.org.
Read the actual EO here. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-strengthening-child-welfare-system-americas-children/
Owner/Editor - Chris Chmielewski