President Trump recently announced new steps the administration will be taking on opioid policy, including a focus on reducing the supply of illicit drugs and improved prevention and treatment efforts. Millions of Americans are estimated to have substance abuse disorders, with over 100 people dying each day from opioid overdoses. From 2016-2017, emergency visits for opioid overdoses increased 30 percent across America, despite decreasing prescription rates. The Midwest experienced the largest increase in overdoses at 70 percent. In Wisconsin, overdoses increased by 109 percent.

We may not always think of children when we think of this, but they are a voiceless population that bears some of the worst repercussions of the opioid epidemic. The number of kids in foster care has grown 10 percent nationwide since 2012, but in some states foster care has grown by 50 to 100 percent. In 2016, there were 440,000 kids in care, with about 120,000 waiting to be adopted.