A New Day for Families: The White House Executive Order

Last Thursday, I had the extraordinary privilege of attending the "Fostering the Future" Executive Order signing at the White House—a moment that, for many of us working at the intersection of child welfare, community transformation, and justice reform, felt both historic and deeply personal. As I stood among leaders from across the nation, I felt profound gratitude and excitement.

The Administration’s Executive Order marks one of the most comprehensive federal commitments in recent memory to modernizing our foster-care system, strengthening families, and changing life trajectories for vulnerable children and youth.

But more than anything, the event affirmed what we have long believed: the solutions to our most entrenched challenges are already emerging—and the state of Arkansas is leading the way.

What the Executive Order Means for Families, Youth, and Communities

The President’s Executive Order sets into motion a sweeping set of reforms aimed at improving outcomes for children at risk of entering foster care, those currently in care, and young adults transitioning out of the system. Key provisions of the order include:

1. Modernizing Child Welfare Technology and Data

States are directed to adopt modern digital tools, streamline data collection, eliminate duplicative reporting, and use advanced analytics to improve recruitment, matching, and retention of foster families.

2. Strengthening Opportunities for Youth Exiting Foster Care

The order calls for a new Fostering the Future initiative—connecting young people to housing, education, job training, mentoring and a streamlined access platform for federal, state, and local supports.

3. Expanding Flexibility in Funding

States will have new options to use Education and Training Vouchers, tax-credited scholarships, and reallocated federal funds to support career certificates, short-term training, and financial-literacy programs for young adults.

4. Maximizing Faith and Community Partnerships

The EO reinforces the importance of allowing qualified faith-based organizations to participate fully in child welfare service delivery—recognizing the historic role churches and nonprofits play in strengthening families.

5. A Call for Multi-Agency Alignment

From HHS to HUD to the Department of Commerce, the order encourages federal and state agencies to work together to prevent unnecessary removals, accelerate reunification, and support long-term stability.

This is not simply a policy directive. It is an invitation—to innovate, collaborate, and reimagine what is possible for America’s children.

Why This Matters So Much for Arkansas

For years, we have worked in Arkansas to build the kind of cross-sector systems this Executive Order envisions. To put it plainly: we are ready.
We have the partnerships, the technology, the data infrastructure, and the community coalitions to begin implementing the Order’s directives immediately.

Arkansas has already achieved what many believed impossible:

• Dramatically reducing the number of children in foster care

• Cutting the number of waiting children from over 300 to fewer than 200—the lowest in state history

• Building a full ecosystem where DHS, workforce agencies, nonprofits, churches, and foundations work together through shared platforms like HopeHub

• Recruiting and supporting foster families through Every Child Arkansas and Project Zero’s powerful multimedia work

• When the President spoke last week about modernizing systems and strengthening families before a crisis hits, I thought immediately of Arkansas’ model. It is the embodiment of what the Executive Order demands.

Governor Sanders’ 10:33 Initiative: Empowering Neighbors, Reforming Services

In Arkansas, the landscape of human services is being transformed by the newly launched 10:33 Initiative, which brings the church alongside the government work so that communities are empowered to solve complicated problems and be who they were created to be. As Governor Sanders explained:

“The 10:33 Initiative isn’t another government welfare program; it’s a groundbreaking project carefully curated to give Arkansans a hand up, not a handout.” 

The Initiative deploys technology (HopeHub), faith-based networks, local navigators, and community advocates to meet urgent needs and map a path from crisis to career. It is precisely the relational and community-led work the Executive Order underscores—and Arkansas is proving how effective it can be when church, community and government move together.

As I listened to leaders from the Administration articulate their vision—technology modernization, better data, improved family matching, stronger prevention strategies, increased reunification, and expanded opportunities for youth exiting care—it became clear that our work is no longer operating in a silo.

The Executive Order isn’t just compatible with Arkansas’ strategy—it validates it.

Leaving the White House last Thursday, I felt encouraged, energized, and deeply hopeful. This Executive Order gives states the tools, flexibility, and direction they need to build more humane, effective, and modern child welfare systems.

But more importantly, it affirms what families and advocates have known for years:

• Children thrive when communities are engaged.

• Families stabilize when they receive relational, local, and coordinated support.

• Youth succeed when they have clear pathways to education, employment, housing, and mentorship.

• Cross-agency collaboration is not optional—it is essential.

Arkansas is positioned to demonstrate this at scale—and I am grateful for the opportunity to help lead this work alongside extraordinary partners across the state.

Last week’s signing ceremony marked more than the issuance of an Executive Order—it marked the beginning of the next chapter in child-welfare transformation across America.

And we are ready.