Policy & Practice | Winter 2025

The approach I tried to take when leading those agencies is called 4DX— the Four Disciplines of Execution. The basic premise is if you try to do every thing, you will accomplish very little. But if you really sharpen your focus, pick a couple of big things, measure them, track them, and hold yourself accountable—you’ll be surprised at what mountains you can move. I’ve brought that mindset to my previous agencies and ACF is no different. But almost everything ACF does— with a few exceptions—pushes through state and local government. And when I say state, that includes state-super vised, county-administered systems by extension… They are the service pro viders. They are the front lines. It forces me to think differently about my role. When you’re the direct service provider versus when you’re the financier and overseer, it’s a com pletely different mindset. In general, my defaults are: I trust states. States make decisions that are nuanced for their local conditions on the ground. And second: I trust parents. Parents generally make the right deci

Rapid Fire Questions with Asst. Secretary Adams

Reggie went rapid fire to learn more about Assistant Secretary Adams.

ROCK AND ROLL OR COUNTRY?

FOOTBALL OR SOCCER? Football

I’m going to go rock and roll, which might surprise you for an Idahoan.

JOGGING OR WEIGHTLIFTING? I prefer biking.

COMEDY OR THRILLER? Comedy. If you’re talking raw

comedy—Jerry Seinfeld, or Seinfeld the show, or Larry David and Curb Your Enthusiasm . Situational humor.

BREAKFAST OR DINNER? Dinner

the tools they need to strengthen pre vention, expand foster home capacity, and improve pathways to permanency. ALEX ADAMS: Too many states have shortages of foster homes, which leads to children sleeping in offices, hotels, Airbnbs, or being placed in congregate care when not appro priate. Kids do better with families. One of the initiatives I used at the state level was tracking the ratio of foster homes to foster children, and I’m bringing that to the national level. Looking at the ratio is important because it gives states a menu of options: increase the numerator through recruitment and retention; expand kin placements; or decrease the denominator by safely reducing the number of children entering care. Safely reducing entries can mean prevention, legal advocacy for children, timely permanency, reunification where safe, or adoption when needed. We also require states to submit over 200 data elements, many of which are never used. Researchers even told me some elements have no research purpose . What that tells me is we are

drowning states in bureaucracy. I want to restore balance—and focus on the best interest of the child. You’ll see action soon, driven by the President and especially the First Lady, Melania Trump. She played a major role in the recent executive order, Fostering the Future for American Children and Families, calling on ACF to remove high-cost, low-value burdens so states can focus on children. We hope to move as fast as possible. REGGIE BICHA: That’s exciting—it’s not often a President issues an executive order focused solely on foster care. Of course, the details matter, and you’ve said things will move quickly. Are there areas states should be thinking about that may change in the next six months? ALEX ADAMS: The leadership from the President and the First Lady is driving momentum, so details will come quickly. The most immediate pressure-release valve I’m focused on is reducing administrative burdens on states so they can focus on kids. There’s also a strong emphasis on

sions for their families and kids. Hopefully your members can

take heart in knowing I start from a position of trust—and that my job is to empower them.

A Home for Every Child Central to Adams’s ACF agenda is a bold initiative: A Home for Every Child. His goal is to ensure that there are most foster homes than children in foster care, so that every child can grow up in a safe, loving home. The goal includes making sure that states have

Reggie Bicha is the President & CEO of APHSA.

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Policy & Practice Winter 2025