Opinion: ACF chief touts foster care reforms; a nonprofit leader urges lasting support for youth
Two opinion pieces on US foster care: the head of the Administration for Children and Families describes a year of Trump administration reforms, while a nonprofit leader argues young people aging out need lasting relationships.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 1In a Washington Examiner op-ed, Alex Adams, Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), reviewed his first year in the job and said the agency has made "real progress" by focusing on outcomes and cutting red tape. Washington ExaminerR “Alex Adams is Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families.”“I’m proud to say we have made real progress.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗ Right · 1Adams said ACF launched "A Home for Every Child" in November as its organizing goal for child welfare, under the Trump administration's Fostering the Future for American Children and Families executive order, and that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have joined. Washington ExaminerR “All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have now joined A Home for Every Child.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗ Right · 1He said 30 jurisdictions have completed streamlined Program Improvement Plans and that a public dashboard tracking each state's ratio of available homes to children needing care is about to launch. Washington ExaminerR “Thirty jurisdictions have completed streamlined Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) built around measurable outcomes.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗
Right · 1Adams said the agency is ending what he calls the "orphan tax", the practice in which some states use a foster child's Social Security survivor benefits to reimburse themselves for care costs; he said 37 states have ended or substantially reformed it, up from 11, with 13 remaining, and that 26 states have committed to creating Fostering the Future Accounts for foster youth. Washington ExaminerR “Today, 37 have ended or substantially reformed the orphan tax. Only thirteen remain.”“To date, 26 states have committed to creating these accounts” Read at Washington Examiner ↗ Right · 1On administrative burden, Adams said ACF has shrunk its regulatory footprint by roughly 30%, eliminated 74% of accumulated subregulatory guidance documents, and cut the Annual Progress and Services Report from about 256 pages to five; these figures are his own and are not independently verified in the coverage. Washington ExaminerR “We shrunk ACF’s regulatory footprint by roughly 30% and counting. We identified 74% of accumulated subregulatory guidance documents for elimination and promptly cut them.”“These reports historically averaged about 256 pages. We got it down to five.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗ Right · 1He credited President Trump, Melania Trump, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., governors and legislators from both parties, and ACF career staff, and said the next phase is to turn activity into outcomes and press the remaining 13 states to end the orphan tax. Washington ExaminerR “We will keep pressing the remaining 13 states to end the orphan tax.” Read at Washington Examiner ↗
Centre · 1In a separate Newsweek opinion piece, Don Wells, co-chief empowerment officer of the San Diego nonprofit Just in Time for Foster Youth, wrote that about 15,000 young people age out of foster care each year, citing the National Council for Adoption. NewsweekN “Every year, roughly 15,000 young people "age out" of the foster care system, according to the National Council for Adoption.”“Don Wells is co-chief empowerment officer of Just in Time for Foster Youth, a San Diego nonprofit supporting young adults transitioning from foster care.” Read at Newsweek ↗ Centre · 1Wells argued that eligibility for resources such as housing vouchers or tuition aid is not a real safety net without people to help youth use them, and called for community-based "fishing villages" of lasting relationships, technology that connects young people to human support, and services designed with input from people who have been in foster care. NewsweekN “For decades, the child welfare system has operated under a flawed premise: that eligibility for resources is the same thing as a safety net.”“We need to build "fishing villages."” Read at Newsweek ↗ Centre · 1Wells's piece does not mention the Trump administration or ACF's initiatives, so the two articles address foster care from different angles: federal policy results versus support for young adults after leaving care. NewsweekN “Young people leaving foster care need more than vouchers and referrals. Lasting relationships should be part of a safety net, too.” Read at Newsweek ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- A practitioner's opinion that youth leaving foster care need lasting relationships and community, not just vouchers and referrals.
- Emphasis
- Relationships over transactional services, 'lived experts', technology that connects people, nonprofit collaboration.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not address federal policy or the Trump administration's foster care initiatives.
- Charged language
- “resource runaround”“fishing villages”
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A first-anniversary account by the administration's own official, presenting the Trump ACF as cutting bureaucracy and delivering measurable foster care results.
- Emphasis
- State participation counts, the end of the 'orphan tax', paperwork and regulation cuts, credit to the Trump administration, football metaphors for progress.
- Leaves out or plays down
- No outside evaluation or critics of the reforms; the figures are self-reported.
- Charged language
- “orphan tax”“robbing foster youth”“permissionless innovation”
- For example
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“Less red tape, no ‘orphan tax’: How Trump’s ACF stopped bureaucrats from robbing foster youth” — Washington Examiner
“we are in the red zone, but we are not spiking the football — yet.” — Washington Examiner
What every side reports
- Both articles are opinion pieces by people working in the foster care field.
- Both treat improving outcomes for current and former foster youth as the goal.
Administration for Children and Families organisation
Through Assistant Secretary Alex Adams, ACF presents its first year as progress on outcomes, reduced paperwork and state participation in A Home for Every Child, with more work ahead.
“One year is in the books, but we have a great deal left to do.” — Washington Examiner
Foster care topic
Foster care is framed by Adams as a system to be made lighter on process and better on outcomes, and by Wells as one that leaves aged-out youth without durable relationships.
“we have consistently failed to provide the durable social infrastructure required to thrive.” — Newsweek
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
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NewsweekN · · Opinion
Aging Out of Foster Care Shouldn’t Mean Facing Adulthood Alone | Opinion
Sympathetic Op-ed by a nonprofit leader urging community and relationship-based support for youth aging out of care.
Right1 article
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Washington ExaminerR · · Opinion
Less red tape, no ‘orphan tax’: How Trump’s ACF stopped bureaucrats from robbing foster youth
Celebratory Op-ed by the ACF head celebrating a year of reforms and crediting the Trump administration.
- 13 Oct 16:00 First Washington ExaminerR Less red tape, no ‘orphan tax’: How Trump’s ACF stopped bureaucrats from robbing foster youth Opinion
- 16 Oct 09:51 +65h 52m NewsweekN Aging Out of Foster Care Shouldn’t Mean Facing Adulthood Alone | Opinion Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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