It’s not every day that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump hold a joint press conference to launch new policy initiatives. But last week they appeared together to announce a new executive order on foster care. Some parts of the order simply represent a consensus of bipartisan pablum that will change nothing. But others hint at the possibility of real innovation in our child welfare system and a sense that the president is clearly rejecting some of the bad ideas that have infected this sector.

The part of the executive order that has gotten the most attention has been a focus on foster youth “aging out” of the system. So much of the public worries about these young people because they are the most visible. They are struggling with substance use, homelessness, unemployment

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