The Imprint Weekly: Recent Episodes
The Imprint
The Imprint Weekly Podcast offers listeners a regular review of news and trends in America's child welfare and juvenile justice systems, along with other critical services for youth and families. Join Imprint Senior Editor John Kelly for a discussion of the week's major headlines, plus interviews with leaders in the field.
For three years, a collaborative effort was made to develop core principles and concepts around how best to support young adults as they prepared to exit the foster care system. That effort culminated in the publishing of Improving Outcomes for Young Adults and the Systems that Serve Them: A Playbook of Best Practices.
On this week’s episode we were joined by Natalie Clark and Sarah Goad, two of the many people who worked on the playbook. We talked about how people with lived experience drove the discussions that produced playbook, what core ideas they settled on, and what comes next.
Natalie Clark is the co-founder and co-executive director of the 1999 Collective. Sarah Goad, is the child welfare manager for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Reading Room
Improving Outcomes for Young Adults and the Systems that Serve Them: A Playbook of Best Practices
https://issuu.com/youthvillages/docs/improving_outcomes_for_young_adults_and_the_system?fr=sNzAzMzg0Njg5NjA
The Playbook for Helping Foster Youth Become Adults
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/a-playbook-of-best-practices/276160
The National Collaborative for Transition-Age Youth
https://youthvillages.org/collaborative
Creating Extended Foster Care That Works for All
https://cdn.intelligencebank.com/us/share/LONz/GLvrW/kMvb1/original/Creating+Extended+Foster+Care+That+Works+for+All
What happens after you “age out” of foster care? InnerViews host Ivory Bennett sits down with Leigh-Anna Faith, a former foster youth, law student, and advocate, for a candid conversation about navigating adulthood without a traditional safety net. From education and housing instability to mental health, advocacy, and finding community, Leigh-Anna reflects on turning lived experience into a commitment to justice. Together, they explore what young people leaving care truly need—not simply to survive, but to build lives where they can thrive.
There are dozens of girls incarcerated in Los Angeles’ juvenile justice facilities, and virtually everyone agrees they don’t need to be there. On this episode, we talk to Jessica Nowlan of Reimagine Freedom and Lisa Small of the Liberty Hill Foundation about the Liberation Fund and other efforts to rethink the way Los Angeles supports system-involved girls.
Jessica Nowlan is the president and CEO of Reimagine Freedom. Lisa Small is Director of Youth and Transformative Justice at the Liberty Hill Foundation.
Reading Room
$4 Billion Dollars in Sexual Abuse Settlement, But Girls Are Still Locked Up in L.A.
https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/4-billion-settlement-does-not-help-incarcerated-girls/260720
Liberation Fund: A Beacon of Hope and Advocacy
https://www.libertyhill.org/news/newsletter/foundations-digest/liberation-fund-a-beacon-of-hope-and-advocacy/
Youth Activists Rally to Support Girls and Young Women Abused in Detention
https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/youth-activists-rally-to-support-girls-and-young-women-abused-in-detention/173343
California’s Santa Clara County Aims to Keep Girls Out of Juvenile Lockups
https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/californias-santa-clara-county-aims-to-keep-girls-out-of-juvenile-lockups/237692
On this month’s Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we start by discussing the latest details on A Home for Every Child, which every state in the nation has officially opted in for.
Among the other headline we cover: the new national model licensing standards for foster care; stricter vetting around unaccompanied immigrant children seeking asylum protection; Mississippi’s new law that exposes kids as young as 13 to the adult justice and incarceration system; and much more.
Reading Room
All 50 States Are In On ‘A Home for Every Child.’ What’s Next?https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/all-50-states-are-in-on-a-home-for-every-child-whats-next/275917
Trump Administration Wants States to Loosen Requirements for Foster Parents
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-administration-withdraws-licensing-standards/275531
Feds Want More Vetting of Unaccompanied Minors and Their Potential Sponsors
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/feds-want-more-vetting-unaccompanied-minors-sponsors/275677
TANF and Work: The Gap Between Perception and Reality
https://acf.gov/system/files/filefield_paths/TANF-WPR-Issue-Brief-FINAL.pdf
Alabama Settles Lawsuit Over Institutionalization of Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/alabama-settles-lawsuit-over-institutionalization-of-foster-youth/275700
LGBTQ+ Advocates Brace for Consequences as National Christian Foster Care Agency Reverses Inclusion Policy
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/lgbtq-advocates-brace-for-consequences-as-national-christian-foster-care-agency-reverses-inclusion-policy/275618
New Law Will Send More Mississippi Children to Adult Courts and Prisons
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-law-will-send-more-mississippi-children-to-adult-courts-and-prisons/275871
Liability Insurance Survey by Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services
https://pccyfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/PCCYFS-Insurance-Packet-2026.pdf
California Backs $150 Million Bond for Youth Housing
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/california-lawmakers-back-150-million-bond-for-youth-housing/275589
In this deeply personal episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett welcomes back Dr. Alison Davis for an honest conversation about single motherhood, parenting children who have experienced trauma, and the village so many families are searching for. Together, they explore matrescence, caregiver well-being, emotional safety, and the realities of raising children while navigating healing of your own. Through vulnerability, reflection, and practical insight, this episode reminds us that supporting children begins with supporting the people raising them—and that rebuilding community is essential to breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma.
On this week’s episode we are joined by Wendy Smith, author of the new book "Before Their Crimes: What We're Misunderstanding About Child Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing."
Smith, who is a veteran psychotherapist and former professor and dean at the University of Southern California School of Social Work, talked about the visit to one of California’s prisons that sparked the idea for this book, which delves into the childhood experiences of dozens of former prisoners who were convicted and sentenced as teens. We also discussed what themes emerged from the experiences of her interview subjects, how she sees the book informing future policy reforms, and more.
Wendy Smith is a retired clinical professor of social work and associate dean of curriculum development and assessment at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She had a private practice in psychotherapy for over 35 years, specializing in the treatment of individuals, couples, and survivors of childhood maltreatment.
Reading Room
Before Their Crimes: What We're Misunderstanding About Child Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing.
https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/before-their-crimes-9798881802035/
California Passes Bill Banning Transfer of Juveniles Under 16
https://imprintnews.org/news-2/california-passes-bill-banning-transfer-of-juveniles-under-16/32081
Senate Bill 672 Frequently Asked Questions
https://sd22.senate.ca.gov/senate-bill-672-frequently-asked-questions
On this month’s Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we start by discussing a new announcement by the First Lady enabling states to start and contribute to Trump Accounts for kids in foster care. We also discuss a new bill that would significantly alter a major federal welfare program, new research on child brain development, and several other headlines.
Reading Room
Melania Trump Urges Governors and Businesses to Donate to ‘Trump Accounts’ for Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/melania-trump-urges-governors-and-businesses-to-donate-to-trump-accounts-for-foster-youth/275296
House Considers Bill Tightening Access to TANF
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/house-considers-bill-tightening-access-to-tanf/275198
Socioeconomic factors are becoming 'biologically embedded' in children's brains
https://www.npr.org/2026/06/11/nx-s1-5849937/child-brain-development-stress-sleep-neighborhood-economics
Kentucky’s only state-funded kinship reunification program to close June 30
https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/04/kentuckys-only-state-funded-kinship-reunification-program-close-june-30/
Officials open Southern Nevada’s First Foster Care Health and Wellness Clinic
https://knpr.org/health/2026-06-01/officials-open-southern-nevadas-first-foster-care-health-and-wellness-clinic
Hamilton County Juvenile Court Adds New Pre-Trial Requirements for Youth This Summer
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/finding-solutions/hamilton-county-juvenile-court-adds-new-pre-trial-requirements-for-youth-this-summer
NYC Poised to Cut Foster Care Prevention Services Amid Budget Tightening
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/nyc-poised-to-cut-foster-care-prevention-services/275087
‘No Real Choice:’ New Report Examines How Foster Youth View Abortion
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-report-examines-how-foster-youth-view-abortion/275101
Report Finds Foster Youth in NY’s Largest Public School Districts More Likely to Be Suspended
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/report-finds-foster-youth-in-nys-largest-public-school-districts-more-likely-to-be-suspended/275150
On this week’s podcast we talk to Anthony Pierro, executive director of Strategies for Youth (SFY), a national policy and training organization dedicated to improving interactions between law enforcement and youth. Pierro took the helm at SFY last year from its founder, Lisa Thurau.
We talked about Pierro’s career as a juvenile prosecutor on the New Jersey shore, and how that informed his approach to training law enforcement. We also talked about a justice commission he served on during President Trump’s first term, whether he thinks there will be any traction for youth policy during this administration, and his hopes for a new app for law enforcement that SFY is building.
Anthony Pierro is the executive director of Strategies for Youth. Pierro served as Chief Juvenile Attorney at the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office in Toms River, New Jersey, from 2003 until his retirement in 2024.
Reading Room
Improving Interactions Between Kids and Cops
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/improving-interactions-between-cops-and-kids
12 Model Law Enforcement Policies for Youth Interaction
https://strategiesforyouth.org/model-policies/
“Kids Are Not a Priority Until They’re A Problem”
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/kids-not-priority-until-problem
Make Training Police on Juvenile Justice, Youth Interaction a National Priority
https://bit.ly/3IFnzbY
On today’s episode we are joined by David Muhammad, founder and executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. We talked to Muhammad about “high risk, hard to reach youth,” which is a term he and fellow justice reformer Vinny Schiraldi have coined to describe the relatively small group of youth they believe should be the focus of the next phase of youth justice reform. This group of youth, he says, have come more into view after decades of declining incarceration rates and greater attention to community alternatives.
David Muhammad is the founder and executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. He was the chief of committed services for Washington, D.C.’s juvenile justice agency, and served as the first executive director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
Reading Room
HR Squared: Effective Services and Supports for Youth Who Are High Risk and Hard to Reach
https://nicjr.org/files/galleries/HR2_Report_V8_2_13_26.pdf
What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/magazine/juvenile-prison-crime-rates.html
In this powerful episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett sits down with author, musician, and creative visionary Qpidluv for a deeply honest conversation about foster care, masculinity, identity, and healing through storytelling. From entering foster care as an infant to creating The Safe Home Chronicles and the Forever Home Project, Qpidluv reflects on survival, imagination, and the search for belonging. Together, Ivory and Qpidluv explore what home really means—and how creativity can become both refuge and reclamation.
On this week’s Headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss the latest on the Trump administration’s A Home for Every Child initiative and some child welfare bills moving in Congress. We also discuss The Imprint’s recent reporting on parental relinquishments, a law in Oklahoma prompted by a child fentanyl death, foster youth and chronic absenteeism, and more.
Thanks to iFoster for sponsoring this episode.
Reading Room
A Home for Every Child Innovation Challenge
https://acf.gov/home-every-child-innovation-challenge
The Imprint’s Who Cares Project
FosterCareCapacity.com
New Focus on Psychotropic Medication Use in Foster Care Declared at RFK ‘Overmedicalization’ Summit
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/top-federal-child-welfare-official-focused-on-psychotropics/274408
Trump’s Planned Spending on Child Welfare and Youth Justice
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trumps-budget-plan-on-child-welfare-and-youth-justice/274224
Federal Bill Aims to Address Sibling Separation in Foster Care
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/federal-bill-aims-to-address-sibling-separation-in-foster-care/274283
House Committee Moves Bills to Support Current, Former Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/house-committee-moves-bills-to-support-current-former-foster-youth/274257
Lawmakers Seek to End Ban on Medicaid Covering Foster Youths’ Residential Care
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/bill-would-end-ban-on-medicaid-covering-foster-youths-residential-care/273791
Foster Care for Mental Health Treatment: Parents Surrender Thousands of Kids Each Year In Search of Help
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-care-for-mental-health-treatment-parents-surrender-thousands-of-kids-each-year-in-search-of-help/273355
Adopted and Locked Away: Kids promised ‘forever homes’ instead confined in for-profit institutions
https://apnews.com/article/adopted-children-boarding-schools-treatment-investigation-e5d8dab2e4db1f2f4c5abbfaf0d97c52
At CT DCF, staff turnover is high. The costs can be devastating.
https://ctmirror.org/2026/05/10/ct-dcf-staff-turnover/
‘This is where they came to die’: Historical marker highlights horrors at segregated reform school
https://marylandmatters.org/2026/05/07/this-is-where-they-came-to-die-historical-marker-highlights-horrors-at-segregated-reform-school/
Leo's Law to protect children from fentanyl approved by the Oklahoma Senate
https://okcfox.com/news/local/leos-law-to-protect-children-from-fentanyl-approved-by-the-oklahoma-senate
When Life ‘Explodes’: New Research Explores Why California Foster Youth Miss School
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/when-life-explodes-new-research-explores-why-california-foster-youth-miss-school/274367
California Lawmakers Try to Avoid Foster Youth Going Hungry Following Federal Food Stamp Cuts
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/california-lawmakers-looking-to-avoid-foster-youth-going-hungry/274537
Indigenous People Honor and Raise Awareness for Relatives Who are Missing or Have Been Killed
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/indigenous-people-raise-awareness-for-missing-murdered-relatives/274252
‘The Little Flowers Are Me, Unbloomed:’ Georgia Foster Teens Find Their Voices Through Art Exhibit
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/the-little-flowers-are-me-unbloomed-georgia-foster-teens-find-their-voices-through-art-exhibit/274098
In 2021, Christopher Baker-Scott joined The Imprint Weekly Podcast to talk about Sun Scholars, a new nonprofit he started to help support Connecticut foster youth on college campuses. Unlike many school-based approaches around the country, Sun Scholars is a centrally located organization serving youth on a number of campuses around the state.
Five years later, Baker-Scott joined us to talk about what’s gone well, what’s changed, and what he hopes to accomplish in the future as Sun Scholars continues to grow in the state.
Christopher Scott is the founder and Executive Director of SUN Scholars Inc. Drawing from his personal experience in the Connecticut foster care system, Scott has led SUN to achieve a graduation rate 10 times the national average for this demographic.
Thanks to iFoster for sponsoring this episode.
Reading Room
Supporting Foster Youth on College Campuses
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/supporting-foster-youth-on-college-campuses
The Imprint’s coverage of Education
https://imprintnews.org/topic/education
On this week’s episode, we were joined by Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, and Sharon McDaniel, founder and CEO of A Second Chance. We talked first about their relatively new joint venture between the two organizations called Fashion Forward Kinspire, which is entering its second year of helping expose youth in kinship or foster care to the world of fashion culminating with a trip to Fashion Week in New York City.
They stuck around to discuss the recent efforts to update the federal Chafee program for transition-age foster youth, the future of kinship care, and more.
Thanks to iFoster for sponsoring this episode.
Reading Room
Application for the Fashion Forward Kinspire Program
https://asecondchance-kinship.com/fashion-forward-kinspire/
InStylePhD: Fashioned to Lead
https://www.youtube.com/@sharonmcdaniel6321
Trump’s Planned Spending on Child Welfare and Youth Justice
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trumps-budget-plan-on-child-welfare-and-youth-justice/274224
A Model Standard for Approving Kinship Caregivers
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/model-standard-approving-kinship-caregivers/245279
Biden Proposes Major Spending Shifts to Prioritize Kin, Foster Care Prevention
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/biden-prioritize-kin-foster-care-prevention/63821
In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett sits down with Nesta N. Johnson to explore what it means to reach an “It Gets Better” era after surviving systems and trauma. Together, they unpack the slow, nonlinear journey toward healing, the power of storytelling as both release and responsibility, and what it means to hold hope for the next generation. This conversation is honest, grounding, and deeply affirming for anyone navigating life after survival.
Guest Bio:
Nesta N. Johnson is a lived expert and storyteller whose work centers on healing, reflection, and the power of narrative. With a deep commitment to honesty and growth, Nesta uses their voice to explore the complexities of surviving systems, processing trauma, and stepping into a new chapter where hope and possibility begin to take root. Their perspective offers both grounding and inspiration for individuals navigating their own journeys toward healing.
Alex Adams, assistant secretary in charge of the Administration for Children and Families, joined the podcast last year to discuss his background and the child welfare goals for President Trump’s second term.
This week he returned to discuss his first six months on the job. We discussed the early going of the A Home for Every Child initiative, his decision to rescind the “designated placement” rule for LGBTQ foster youth, the future of the Chafee program for transition-age foster youth, and more.
Alex Adams is the assistant secretary in charge of the Administration for Children and Families. Before joining the administration he led the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.
Reading Room
Trump’s Top Child Welfare Official: An Interview with Alex Adams
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/trump-top-child-welfare-official-interview-alex-adams
The Latest on A Home for Every Child
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/latest-a-home-for-every-child/271534
Feds Warn States: Family Gender Disputes Should Not Lead to Child Welfare Cases
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/feds-warn-states-family-gender-disputes-should-not-lead-to-child-welfare-cases/271600
What Program Improvement Can Look Like
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/what-program-improvement-can-look-like/273564
ACF is Rescinding Biden-Era Rule on LGBTQ Foster Care Placements
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/acf-rescinding-biden-era-rule-lgbtq-foster-care/271775
Homes Waiting for Children, Not Children Waiting for Homes
https://www.city-journal.org/article/child-welfare-executive-order-foster-care-licensing-placement
On this week’s episode, The Imprint’s Nancy Marie Spears sits down with reporter Suzette Brewer to discuss her recent two-part series on the tragic past and promising future of birth justice for the Native American community. The series examines the use of sterilization on Indigenous women, a practice many believe was intended to facilitate the dying out of tribes, and the more recent efforts to build a birth justice movement in the Native American community.
Spears and Brewer discussed their reporting careers, covering the Indian Child Welfare Act, and how her recent series came together over the course of a decade.
Suzette Brewer is a journalist specializing in federal Indian law and social justice, with a focus on issues affecting Native women and children. She has reported extensively on the Indian Child Welfare Act, the U.S. Supreme Court, Native voting rights, environmental justice in Indian Country, and the opioid crisis.
Brewer is a recipient of the Richard LaCourse–Gannett Foundation Al Neuharth Investigative Journalism Award, a John Jay/Tow Juvenile Justice Reporting Fellow, and a 2024 National Fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. She is a member of the Cherokee Nation and is from Stilwell, Oklahoma.
Episode Timeline
0:00-9:10: Reporting on the Indigenous community
9:11-18:00: Covering the Indian Child Welfare Act
18:01-1:02: Suzette Brewer's two-part series on the history of forced sterilization and the future of birth justice in the Indigenous community
Reading Room
For Centuries, Native Women Have Been Told to ‘Trust the Doctor.’ The Results Have Been Disastrous.
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/for-centuries-native-women-have-been-told-to-trust-the-doctor-the-results-have-been-disastrous/271389
Birth Justice: The Fight for Reproductive Freedom in Indian Country
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/birth-justice-the-fight-for-reproductive-freedom-in-indian-country/271753
Reporting by Nancy Marie Spears
https://imprintnews.org/author/nancy-marie-spears
In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory speaks with Tishon Sudlow and Sarah Robinson about youth voice, credible messengers, and community-led change in Brooklyn. Through artivism and coalition-building, they explore how young people transform lived experience into advocacy, healing, and action. This conversation highlights the power of storytelling as both resistance and restoration.
On this week’s episode we are joined by Marc Schindler of Georgetown’s Center for Youth Justice, to discuss the Forgotten Children’s Initiative, which was born of research that he led about the history of the Maryland House of Reformation & Instruction for Colored Children between 1877-1939. As part of that research, it was discovered that more than 300 children are buried in an unmarked cemetery near where the House of Reformation was located in Cheltenham, Maryland.
We discussed that important and heartbreaking work, and how Schindler sees this research project in the context of current discussions around reforming the juvenile justice system in Maryland and elsewhere.
Marc Schindler is a research professor and senior fellow at the Center for Youth Justice at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and former assistant secretary & chief of staff of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.
Reading Room
The Racist Roots of Youth Justice Are Buried Deep
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/the-racist-roots-of-youth-justice-are-buried-deep/273246
Forgotten Children: Unearthing the Lives Behind the Lost Burial Sites of Incarcerated Youth
https://cyj.georgetown.edu/forgotten-children/
‘Incorrigible’ No More: In Rare Memorial Service, Graveside Tribute Paid to New York’s Formerly Incarcerated Girls
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-memorial-service-incarcerated-girls/250819
Torture of Kids Remembered: A North Florida reform school acknowledges its history of abuse.
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2008/10/26/torture-of-kids-remembered/
Nickel Boys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_Boys
On this week’s episode we start by discussing the new update to Who Cares, which is The Imprint’s project on foster care capacity data around the country, and how it connects to the Trump administration’s central child welfare goal for the president’s second term. We also review some recent Trump administration actions related to LGBTQ youth in foster care, and what some recent research on juvenile detention and congregate care suggests about mental health services for youth.
Reading Room
Who Cares Project
https://fostercarecapacity.com/
The Latest on A Home for Every Child
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/latest-a-home-for-every-child/271534
Mapping A Home for Every Child: Where Do States Stand?
https://bit.ly/4716Gq0
ACF is Rescinding Biden-Era Rule on LGBTQ Foster Care Placements
https://bit.ly/3PcoZCv
Trump Appointee Demands States Roll Back Foster Parenting Rules That Aim to Protect LGBTQ+ Youth
https://bit.ly/47xLA2E
Feds Warn States: Family Gender Disputes Should Not Lead to Child Welfare Cases
https://bit.ly/3PmDfZo
Trump Administration Slashes Number of Regulatory Guidance Docs at ACF
https://bit.ly/3P2KJAT
Bipartisan Report Raises Alarm Over Widespread Incarceration of Children With Mental Health Needs
https://bit.ly/4sKSeLd
In Many States, Federal Funding Restrictions on Foster Care Group Facilities Has Not Reduced Placements
https://bit.ly/4sLerbW
HHS Should Clarify Guidance on State Spending for Congregate Care
https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO-26-107592/index.html
Michigan Lawmakers and Boarding School Survivors Speak Out on Shelved Indian Boarding School Report
https://bit.ly/3NAeFnr
For Centuries, Native Women Have Been Told to ‘Trust the Doctor.’ The Results Have Been Disastrous.
https://bit.ly/40xAJCc
Birth Justice: The Fight for Reproductive Freedom in Indian Country
https://bit.ly/3N7X85Y
NY Judges Greenlight Class-Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Children Denied Foster Placement With Relatives
https://bit.ly/4sQf5VS
Amid Outcry, Foster Youth Advocate Detained by ICE
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/amid-outcry-foster-youth-advocate-detained-by-ice
Youth Sound Off: Foster Youth Speak Out on ICE’s Attacks in Minnesota
https://bit.ly/4uOoPBR
On this week’s episode we talk to Naomi Goldstein, who for nearly two decades led the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). We discussed the way that the federal government decides what to research and how it gets the job done. And why she thinks the Trump administration’s recent decision to decentralize research at ACF is a mistake.
Naomi Goldstein was the deputy assistant secretary for planning, research, and evaluation at the Administration for Children and Families. She is currently a registered nurse in Washington, D.C.
Reading Room
Restructuring on the Horizon for ACF’s Research Branch
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/restructuring-on-the-horizon-for-acfs-research-branch/271096
Happy Birthday OPRE!
https://acf.gov/archive/opre/blog/2024/08/birthday2024
On this week’s episode we talk to Marsha Levick, co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center, who stepped down last year after serving for decades as the organization’s chief legal officer. We discussed the origins of the center and how it survived, how to write a good amicus brief, the Kids for Cash scandal and more.
Marsha Levick is a co-founder and former chief legal officer for the Juvenile Law Center. She is currently the Phyllis W. Beck Visiting Chair in Law at Temple Law School.
InnerViews is trying something new. In this special episode, we bring you the audio from Youth Voices Rising’s powerful webinar, Love Shouldn’t Hurt. Panelists with lived child welfare experience reflect on how trauma, housing instability, and system involvement can shape beliefs about love and safety. This honest conversation explores survival-based relationships, healing, and what it takes to build emotionally safe connections. Listener discretion advised.
On this Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we start with a discussion of three medication-assisted treatments for substance use that the Trump administration has cleared for federal child welfare funding.
Also discussed on this episode: new national data on abuse and neglect investigations, Georgia’s budget woes, and two alarming indicators of the workforce crisis in youth justice.
Reading Room
Top Trump Health Officials Announce New Funding for Opioid Addiction Treatment To Prevent Foster Care Removals
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/top-trump-health-officials-announce-new-funding-for-opioid-addiction-treatment-to-prevent-foster-care-removals/270780
Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for Prevention
https://imprintnews.org/uncategorized/rolling-out-the-welcome-mat-for-prevention/270728
Maltreatment Reports, Victims and Fatalities All Down in 2024
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/maltreatment-reports-victims-and-fatalities-all-down-in-2024/270409
Child Maltreatment 2024
https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2024.pdf
Georgia Child Welfare Cuts Called ‘Unacceptable,’ House Proposes Budget to Relieve Foster Care Deficit
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/georgia-child-welfare-cuts-called-unacceptable-house-proposes-budget-to-relieve-foster-care-deficit/270856
‘Where I Felt Loved:’ Renovated Housing Complex Supports Georgia Foster Youth Transitioning to Independence
https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/where-i-felt-loved-renovated-housing-complex-supports-georgia-foster-youth-transitioning-to-independence/270632
Beshear Wants More Juvenile Detention Centers. KY Can’t Staff Existing Ones
https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article314389699.html
‘Worse Than Rikers’: Lawsuit Claims Abusive Use of Solitary Confinement in New York’s Juvenile Lockups
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/ny-official-responds-to-reports-of-abusive-conditions-in-youth-detention-facilities/270814
On this week’s episode we talk to Don Wells, the Chief Empowerment Officer at Just In Time, which is a San Diego based organization working to support and mentor older foster youth on their path to adulthood.
President Trump signed an executive order on foster care at the end of 2025 which instructed his Department of Health and Human Services on some priorities for federal policy around improved data and evaluation, more support for older foster youth, and more efforts to include faith-based persons and organizations in child welfare services.
The Imprint recently published an op-ed from Wells, who felt that the president’s order misses the mark on what is needed from the federal government to better support foster youth. He joined the podcast to speak further about his views on the Trump order, about what Just in Time does on the community level to help foster youth, and more.
Don Wells is the Chief Empowerment Officer at Just In Time. He is a recent recipient of the Casey Excellence for Children Leadership Award
Reading Room
Don Wells of Just in Time for Foster Youth Honored with Casey Excellence for Children Leadership Award
https://www.thevistapress.com/don-wells-of-just-in-time-for-foster-youth-honored-with-casey-excellence-for-children-leadership-award/
Just in Time for Foster Youth
https://jitfosteryouth.org/
With New Executive Order, Trump Thrusts Foster Care Into National Spotlight
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/with-new-executive-order-trump-thrusts-foster-care-into-national-spotlight/268739
Fostering the Future for American Children and Families
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/11/fostering-the-future-for-american-children-and-families/
In this restorative Season 3 premiere of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett reunites with Dr. Alison Davis for a soulful conversation on renewal, emotional safety, and intentional becoming. Together, they reflect on the lessons of the past season, explore what no longer serves them, and name what deserves to be carried forward. This episode invites listeners to pause, breathe, and consider how healing, boundaries, and self-compassion can shape the life they’re building next.
Last week, the Baltimore Sun’s Jean Marbella reported on a lawsuit filed on behalf of youth in the state’s foster care system who had been left in hospital wards with no plan for a return to the community.
While the lawsuit focuses on events in the past two years, this has been a problem for far longer than that in Maryland. In 2022, we were joined by Erin Dorrien and Carrie Etheridge to discuss this exact issue of kids getting stuck in the hospital well after anyone thinks they need to be there.
Dorrien and Etheridge explained exactly how and why this had become such a challenge in Maryland’s child welfare system, and what they were hoping the legislature could do to improve the situation. Today we are re-releasing that interview.
Erin Dorrien is an associate principal at Health Management Associates. At the time this interview was recorded, she was vice president of policy for the Maryland Hospital Association. Carrie Etheridge is the director of social work at Sheppard Pratt.
Original release date: May 2, 2022
Reading Room
144 Maryland Foster Children Were Stuck in Hospitals, Sometimes for Months, after Doctors Cleared Them
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/15/foster-care-hospitals-children/
Maryland H.B. 406: Children in Out-Of-Home Placements
https://bit.ly/3P1Xp6y
Stranded in the ER: Can California Change its Treatment of Kids in Crisis?
https://bit.ly/3B41pMu
In our first podcast of 2026, we discuss new data on the administration’s goal of A Home for Every Child, a new leader for the U.S. Children’s Bureau, Trump’s freezing of safety net funds in five states, and more.
Reading Room
Why We Are Putting the PIP on a PIP
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/why-we-are-putting-the-pip-on-a-pip/269784
How States Stack Up on Trump’s “A Home for Every Child” Agenda
https://bit.ly/4qmHcLo
Trump Administration Issues Deadline Demands Before Releasing Children’s Aid
https://bit.ly/4sDYV2u
Alex Adams Seeks Names in Hasty Push For Personal Data of Minnesota Social Service and Foster Care Recipients
https://bit.ly/4jIUgbC
Trump Administration Cancels Several DEI-Related Child Welfare Grants
https://bit.ly/3Nt2SH3
Feds Asks 39 States To Stop Taking Foster Kids’ Benefits
https://bit.ly/4qjraC5
President Trump Has Made His Pick for the Federal Children’s Bureau
https://bit.ly/4sDYFjO
Foster Care and Child Maltreatment Mortality Rates in the US
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2843235
SOHO Forum: Should CPS intervene more?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0462gYjkbc
The Other Trump Child Welfare Doctrine Issued This Month
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/the-other-trump-child-welfare-doctrine-issued-this-month/268999
Candice Broce Faces Lawmakers About Georgia’s Child Welfare Budget Crisis
https://bit.ly/4jIs7kW
New York Governor Signs Law to End Anonymous Reporting of Child Maltreatment
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/new-york-governor-signs-law-to-end-anonymous-reporting-of-child-maltreatment/269804
The Number of Children in Los Angeles County Foster Care Has Plunged. The Imprint Set Out To Discover Why
https://bit.ly/456MbqZ
How An Indigenous Mom’s Adoption Journey Inspired Her Nonprofit
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/three-precious-miracles-arizona-nonprofit/269711
Crisis Confidential: Things We Learned So You Don’t Have To
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/crisis-confidentialthings-learned/269818
As always, we were fortunate to have some amazing guests join us this year on The Imprint Weekly Podcast. In this episode we feature clips of 12 great interviews from 2025.
If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and
Fostering Families Today, and the work that our Youth Voices Rising team does,
please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during
Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!
Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online
events.
There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit www.imprintnews.org/donate.
Liz Ryan, former administrator, U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Linda Spears, CEO, Child Welfare League of America
Kelley Fong, assistant professor of sociology, University of California, Irvine
Amy Harfeld, national policy director and senior staff attorney, Children's
Advocacy Institute
Sacha Klein, associate professor, Michigan State University School of Social Work
Alex Briscoe, co-founder, Public Works Alliance
Brandon Nichols, director, Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services
Barissa Ford, director of community outreach and engagement, Youth In Need
Claudia Rowe, editorial writer, Seattle Times, author of Wards of the State
Gretchen Sisson, qualitative sociologist, University of California, San Francisco,
author of Relinquished
Vinny Schiraldi, visiting fellow, Pinkerton Foundation
Alex Adams, assistant secretary for family support, Administration for Children and Families
We will post our annual “Best of The Imprint Weekly Podcast” show next, but this is the last new episode of 2025. Frequent guest Marina Nitze, a child welfare and tech expert, joined to discuss the flurry of federal activity on child welfare since the end of the federal shutdown.
Marina Nitze is a crisis engineer helping organizations solve mission-critical challenges, with a particular focus on improving America’s child welfare system. She’s co-author of Crisis Engineering and Hack Your Bureaucracy, and helps organize the Child Welfare Playbook.
Reading Room
White House Watch
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/white-house-watch
Kinship Licensing, with Marina Nitze
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/headlines-kinship-licensing-marina-nitze
The Child Welfare Playbook, with Marina Nitze
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/child-welfare-playbook-marina-nitze
On this week's episode, Imprint reporter Michael Fitzgerald was in Washington last week to interview Alex Adams, who was confirmed in October to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Family Support at the Administration for Children and Families.
Fitzgerald asked Adams about a wide range of subjects. They discussed the administration’s goal of “A Home for Every Child” and how Adams plans to achieve that; how and why he plans to "barbecue" much of the regulatory language for states when it comes to federal funding and practice; why the administration has made demands that states roll back policies that are meant to protect LGBTQ+ youth; the role of kinship caregivers; and much more.
Thanks to iFoster and Binti for sponsoring this episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast.
Reading Room
It’s Newsmatch season! Please consider donating to support this podcast and the
incredible work that our Imprint reporters do every day. If you donate this
month, your contribution will be DOUBLED!
www.Imprintnews.org/donate
White House Watch: Our Ongoing Coverage
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/white-house-watch
Alex Adams Nominated to Lead Administration for Children and Families
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/alex-adams-nominated-to-lead-administration-for-children-and-families/259907
Trump’s Child Welfare Leader Vows to Protect Benefits Paid to Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/adams-vows-curb-abusive-practice-foster-youth-benefits/268451
Trump Appointee Demands States Roll Back Foster Parenting Rules That Aim to Protect LGBTQ+ Youth
https://bit.ly/453vaxF
Trump’s Child Welfare Leader Vows to Protect Benefits Paid to Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/adams-vows-curb-abusive-practice-foster-youth-benefits/268451
Idaho Child Welfare Leader Pushed Rapid Reforms in Brief Tenure Before Trump Appointment To Federal Office
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/idaho-child-welfare-leader-pushed-rapid-reforms-in-brief-tenure-before-trump-nomination-to-federal-office/267413
Oregon Senator Presses Trump Admin for Action on Foster Care, Head Start and Migrant Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/oregon-senator-presses-trump-admin-for-action-on-foster-care-head-start-and-migrant-youth/268868
Acronyms and initials used in this interview:
TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
CFSR: Child and Family Services Reviews
PIP: Program Improvement Plan
APSR: Annual Progress and Services Report
SSBG: Social Services Block Grant
CSBG: Community Services Block Grant
RGA Republic Governors Association
FYI: Foster Youth to Independence
ETV: Chafee Education and Training Voucher
On this week’s podcast Maddy Day of Maddy Day and Associates joins to talk about what it takes to provide stability on college campuses for youth who have experienced aging out of foster care, homelessness or both. She is helping to coordinate a Congressional briefing planned for 2026 on the subject.
It’s Newsmatch season! Please consider donating to support this podcast and the incredible work that our Imprint reporters do every day. If you donate this month, your contribution will be DOUBLED!
www.Imprintnews.org/donate
Maddy Day is the founder of Maddy Day and Associates. She co-founded the University of Washington Champions Program, in 2010, and directed the Fostering Success Michigan statewide initiative at Western Michigan University until 2018.
Reading Room
Why Isn’t Community College Working for So Many Foster Youth?https://imprintnews.org/podcast/why-community-college-not-working-so-many-foster-youth
Making my Dream of Attending College Possible
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/making-my-dream-of-attending-college-possible/64932
Grieving the Loss of Housing and My Mother While Navigating College as a Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/grieving-the-loss-of-housing-and-my-mother-while-navigating-college-as-a-foster-youth/65080
The Imprint’s Archive of Education
https://imprintnews.org/topic/education
President Trump’s White House event announcing an executive order on foster care got a lot of attention. But it is not the only indicator of what the administration might have in mind for policy making in child welfare during his second term. We dive into the specifics of the executive order and several other interesting announcements from Trump’s team, then step back and try to describe the big picture.
It’s Newsmatch season! Please consider donating to support this podcast and the incredible work that our Imprint reporters do every day. If you donate this month, your contribution will be DOUBLED!
www.Imprintnews.org/donate
Reading Room
2025 Imprint Reporting Highlights Discussion, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 10am PST/1pm EST
https://imprintnews.org/event/2025-imprint-reporting-highlights
With New Executive Order, Trump Thrusts Foster Care Into National Spotlight
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/with-new-executive-order-trump-thrusts-foster-care-into-national-spotlight/268739
The Other Trump Child Welfare Doctrine Issued This Month
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/the-other-trump-child-welfare-doctrine-issued-this-month/268999
Trump Administration Says It’s Aiming to Significantly Increase Foster Home Capacity
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/trump-administration-to-increase-foster-home-capacity/268969
Trump’s Child Welfare Leader Vows to Protect Benefits Paid to Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/adams-vows-curb-abusive-practice-foster-youth-benefits/268451
Trump Administration Grants Waiver Permitting Discrimination by Child Welfare Providers
https://imprintnews.org/featured/trump-grants-waiver-permitting-discrimination-by-child-welfare-providers/33541
Designated Placements In, Conversion Therapy Out: Biden’s Rule for LGBTQ+ Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/new-biden-rule-lgbtq-placements-in-conversion-therapy-out/249274
Tech Alphabet Soup and Child Welfare, with Carole Hussey
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/tech-alphabet-soup-child-welfare
In this powerful season finale, Ivory reflects on a transformative year—motherhood through kinship adoption, buying her first home, navigating love, and preparing for preventive surgeries after testing BRCA2+. Joined by spiritual healer and author Lorna J. Hines, she explores faith, ancestry, and healing beyond appearance. This conversation offers gentle truth: you can struggle and still be sacred. You can ache and still be anointed. And you, too, deserve good things.
Barry Cooper is founder of the BRO Experience, a Brooklyn-based organization that uses cognitive behavioral therapy at the center of its approach to mental health support for young men of color. He is among this year’s winners of the David Prize, which each year goes to five New Yorkers with an extraordinary idea for change.
Cooper joined us to discuss his own adolescence growing up in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and how his first early career as a barber informed his approach with the BRO Experience. We also talked about a new short
documentary about the organization — We All Deserve to Be Well — and what he plans to do with the $200,000 that comes with the David Prize.
Note one: We will discuss President Trump’s executive order on foster care in a
subsequent episode, but a link to reporter Michael Fitzgerald’s coverage of the
order is in our show notes.
Note two: It’s Newsmatch season! Any donation to The Imprint for the rest of the year will be DOUBLED, so please consider supporting this show and everything else we do here at The Imprint. To support our work visit: www.Imprintnews.org/donate
Reading Room
The BRO Experience
https://www.thebroexperience.org/
We All Deserve to Be Well (Trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmY6hyXG5j8&t=10s
The David Prize
https://thedavidprize.org/
With New Executive Order, Trump Thrusts Foster Care Into National Spotlight
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/with-new-executive-order-trump-thrusts-foster-care-into-national-spotlight/268739
On today’s episode we discuss some of the recent Imprint reporting on how the federal shutdown is impacting youth and family programs like food stamps and Head Start, and one state where the shutdown has prompted gatekeeping of child welfare services. We also review the child welfare priorities hinted at in a
Journalist and author Nell Bernstein joins to discuss her new book In Our Future We Are Free: The Dismantling of the Youth Prison. We talked about her goals for the book, what the main drivers of progress have been, and more.
Nell Bernstein is a journalist and author. She is a former Soros Justice Media Fellow, a winner of a White House Champion of Change award.
Reading Room
Families Head to Food Pantries as Congress, Courts and White House Spar Over SNAP Benefits
https://bit.ly/43mH19z
Families Head to Food Pantries as Congress, Courts and White House Spar Over SNAP Benefits
https://bit.ly/4opN7ye
‘Unimaginable Hardship’ Ahead for Children and Families if Shutdown Continues
https://imprintnews.org/law-policy/hardship-ahead-for-children-and-families-if-shutdown-continues/268292
‘Our Children’s Development Can’t Wait For Washington’s Dysfunction’ — Georgia Head Start Programs Among Hardest Hit in the Nation
https://bit.ly/4qWbwgI
Federal Shutdown Prompts Georgia To Gatekeep Vital Child Welfare Services
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/georgia-child-welfare-shutdown/268521
Trump’s Child Welfare Leader Vows to Protect Benefits Paid to Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/adams-vows-curb-abusive-practice-foster-youth-benefits/268451
Trump Appointee Demands States Roll Back Foster Parenting Rules That Aim to Protect LGBTQ+ Youth
https://bit.ly/485ipoj
Imprint articles by Nell Bernstein
https://imprintnews.org/author/nell-bernstein
Nell Bernstein’s Substack
https://nellbernstein.substack.com/
In Our Future We Are Free
https://thenewpress.org/books/in-our-future-we-are-free/?v=eb65bcceaa5f
Latonia Rolbiecki, a Minnesota mother of three, died last month at the age of 48. Several years ago, Rolbiecki was the subject of an Imprint series about her fight to adopt her grandson after he was taken into foster care at birth.
Rolbiecki lost that legal battle, and her grandson was adopted by non-relative foster parents. On this week’s episode we reflect back on the series, “Latonia vs. Chisago County,” and what her experience reflects about the child welfare system.
We also talk to Grace Yung Foster, founder and CEO of The Inclusion Initiative, about her organization’s upcoming leadership summit for people who have experienced foster care or adoption.
Grace Yung Foster founded The Inclusion Initiative in 2023. Before that she served as a fundraising consultant and as senior director of development for Vote.org.
Reading Room
Trump, Kids and Families: Register for Free
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jEyQQz_3R4Giv3J_LkZS5w#/registration
Latonia vs. Chisago County
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/latonia-chisago-county
Fighting for Kin
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/fighting-for-kin
Nana Kept Her Grandkids out of Foster Care. Then the Foreclosure Notice Arrived.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/30/caring-for-kin-grandma-raising-grandkids-kinship-foreclosure-texas-child-welfare/86503749007/
In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory sits down with Realtor Joy Hill and Mortgage Banker David McGowan to discuss her journey to becoming a first-time homeowner—while navigating adversity, foster care advocacy, and single motherhood. Together, they unpack the realities of accessible homeownership, financial literacy, and breaking generational cycles. This episode is both informative and deeply personal, reminding us that building a home isn’t just about property—it’s about planting roots for possibility.
This special episode celebrates a major milestone in Ivory’s story: becoming a first-time homeowner. Joined by her realtor, Joy Hill, and loan officer, David McGowan, Ivory reflects on what it meant to buy a home as a new foster mom overcoming systemic challenges. Together, they discuss the importance of financial readiness, community connections, and redefining stability on your own terms. Ivory also shares how she was introduced to Joy and David through lived expert Donnie Black, who hosted a free first-time homeownership seminar. The trio emphasizes that buying a home doesn’t mean you’re “stuck”—it’s a tool for empowerment and financial freedom.
On this week’s episode we present the second part of our career-spanning interview with Vinny Schiraldi, currently a visiting fellow with the Pinkerton Foundation. In part one we talked with Schiraldi about his formative years in youth justice and his first job leading a government agency.
We start part two with a job Schiraldi actually didn’t get: leading the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the Obama administration. Then we turn to his time leading New York City’s probation, the notorious Rikers Island jail complex, and Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services. And we conclude with a few big picture questions about policy and practice.
Reading Room
Opinion: Trump’s Youth Justice Agenda Will Make Us Less Safe
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/trumps-youth-justice-agenda-will-make-us-less-safe/265375
With Jails Mired in ‘Culture of Violence,’ New York City Taps Juvenile Justice Reformer
https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/jails-culture-violence-new-york-juvenile-justice-reformer/54542
Former Youth Corrections Officials: We Want to Help Close Youth Prisons
https://imprintnews.org/justice/new-york-justice-officials-close-youth-prisons/34514
Opinion: How to End the Era of Mass Supervision
https://imprintnews.org/justice/how-to-end-the-era-of-mass-supervision/37846
Learning from Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice Experiment
https://youthtoday.org/2011/12/learning-from-massachusetts-juvenile-justice-experiment/
Sure They Talk, But Can They Walk?
https://youthtoday.org/2006/10/sure-they-talk-but-can-they-walk/
On this week’s episode we begin a two-part in-depth interview with Vinny Schiraldi, a firebrand for justice reform whose career has included leadership on alternatives to incarceration, advocacy, and government leadership.
In part one we talk to Schiraldi, now a fellow with the Pinkerton Foundation, about his own formative impressions of the justice system as an adolescent growing up in Brooklyn. Then we discuss his first job working at a New York group home for delinquent youth, and the chance meeting with reformer Jerry Miller that challenged his early views on how to help kids.
We then talked about the launch of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice and the Justice Policy Institute, and the city that challenged him to address the
problems with its youth justice system that Schiraldi had relentlessly called
out as an advocate.
Thanks to Sellers Dorsey for sponsoring this episode!
Reading Room
Opinion: Trump’s Youth Justice Agenda Will Make Us Less Safe
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/trumps-youth-justice-agenda-will-make-us-less-safe/265375
With Jails Mired in ‘Culture of Violence,’ New York City Taps Juvenile Justice Reformer
https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/jails-culture-violence-new-york-juvenile-justice-reformer/54542
Former Youth Corrections Officials: We Want to Help Close Youth Prisons
https://imprintnews.org/justice/new-york-justice-officials-close-youth-prisons/34514
Opinion: How to End the Era of Mass Supervision
https://imprintnews.org/justice/how-to-end-the-era-of-mass-supervision/37846
Learning from Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice Experiment
https://youthtoday.org/2011/12/learning-from-massachusetts-juvenile-justice-experiment/
Sure They Talk, But Can They Walk?
https://youthtoday.org/2006/10/sure-they-talk-but-can-they-walk/
On this week’s Headlines edition of Imprint Weekly Podcast, we discuss the implications of the government shutdown, the newest federal data on foster care, and promising research on home visiting programs. We also talk about recent headlines about the rollback of youth justice laws in D.C., chronic absenteeism in Georgia, and a college president looking to make his campus more supportive of foster youth.
Thanks to Sellers Dorsey for sponsoring this episode of the podcast!
Reading Room
Trump, Kids and Families: Register for Free
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jEyQQz_3R4Giv3J_LkZS5w#/registration
What the Federal Shutdown Means for States and Localities
https://www.governing.com/politics/what-the-federal-shutdown-means-for-states-and-localities
2025 Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Grants Announced, But Shutdown Looms
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/justice-child-welfare-grants-announced-shutdown-looms/267390
Federal Report: The Number of Youth in Foster Care Declines Again in 2024
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/number-youth-foster-care-declines-again-2024/267429
AFCARS Data
https://acf.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/afcars
The Long-Term Effects of Home Visiting on Mothers, Families, and Children
https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/opre-beyond-early-years-aug25.pdf
With Youth Crime at Historic Lows, Trump Administration Attempts to Gut DC Juvenile Justice Reforms
http://bit.ly/4mVw71pn
Special Series: A Second Look
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/a-second-look
Michigan Kids Left Behind in Indigent Defense System: ‘It’s Absolutely Critical’
http://bit.ly/4qaTTcC
Detained for Skipping Schoolwork
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/detained-for-skipping-schoolwork
Georgia Students Will No Longer Be Expelled for Missing Class This Year.
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/georgia-law-ends-expulsion-for-absences/265696
New Mexico Will be the First State to Make Child Care Free
https://imprintnews.org/early-childhood/new-mexico-will-be-the-first-state-to-make-child-care-free/265522
State Cuts in Washington Scale Back Once-Ambitious Preschool Options for Low-Income Families
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/state-cuts-in-washington-scale-back-once-ambitious-preschool-options-for-low-income-families/265616
Luke Wood, Former Foster Child-turned University President, Has Made His Sac State Campus a Welcome Place
https://bit.ly/4nFeNyT
In this powerful episode of InnerViews, Destiny Jackson shares her journey of navigating foster care, homelessness, and life with Type 1 diabetes—all while pursuing her dreams at Spelman College. From overcoming systemic barriers to advocating for healthcare equity and child welfare reform, Destiny’s story is one of courage, resilience, and unapologetic hope.
On this week’s episode we talk to Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist studying abortion and adoption. Sisson’s research on mothers who choose to relinquish their rights into private adoptions led to her writing Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. We talked about that research, her book, and what both experiences have led her to believe about the framework and very existence of adoption in America.
Gretchen Sisson is a qualitative sociologist studying abortion and adoption at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at University of California, San Francisco.
Reading Room
Relinquished, by Gretchen Sisson
https://www.relinquishedbook.com/
Since Dobbs, Idaho mothers increasingly accused of child abuse while pregnant
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/since-dobbs-idaho-mothers-increasingly-accused-of-child-abuse-while-pregnant/255965
A Misguided Rush to Judgment on How Abortion Laws Impact Foster Care
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/a-misguided-rush-to-judgment-on-how-abortion-laws-impact-foster-care/256024
What Happens When Foster Youth Want an Abortion — and What Could Soon Change?
https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/foster-youth-abortion-sabino/66760
Roe v. Wade: Unintended Consequences
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/roe-v-wade-unintended-consequences/66554
Overturned Supreme Court Rulings Affect Foster Youth, Too
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/overturned-supreme-court-rulings-affect-foster-youth-too/234958
On this week’s episode we talk with Claudia Rowe, one of the true veteran journalists in the child welfare and youth justice space. We talked about her experiences covering both systems in New York and in Washington State, but focused on her recently published book Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care.
Claudia Rowe is a member of the Seattle Times editorial board, and has reported for decades on youth and family services for the New York Times, Huffington Post and others. She is the author of the recently published Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care.
Reading Room
Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care
https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/wards-of-the-state
From Failed Adoption to Homelessness and Incarceration, by Maryanne Atkins
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/from-failed-adoption-to-homelessness-and-incarceration/242485
On this Headlines edition of the podcast, we start by talking about recent Imprint coverage that examines the on-the-ground impact of recent Trump policies and actions. We also cover new research about foster youth access to both medication and therapy, and Texas’ recent policy update to define what does not count as neglect. We also dive into some more recent Imprint reporting on hidden foster care, aging out, and a class-action lawsuit.
Reading Room
‘Fast, Sudden, Unexplainable and Potentially Catastrophic’
https://bit.ly/42dBWQ6
Justice Department Restores Grants to Volunteer Charity for Foster Kids, After Group Rolls Back DEI Discussions.
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/justice-department-restores-grants-to-casa-after-dei-terms-removed/264975
Washington Foster Youth Lose Key Educational Support Amid State’s Budget Crisis
https://bit.ly/46tcF6U
46 Days Left, Zero 2025 Juvenile Justice Grants Announced
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/46-days-left-zero-2025-juvenile-justice-grants-announced/265002
2025 Federal Justice Grants Likely to Be Made Next Fiscal Year
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/2025-federal-justice-grants-likely-made-next-fiscal-year/265286
Children with Mental Health Needs in Foster Care More Likely to Receive Therapy and Medication, Though Gaps Remain
https://www.childwelfarewonk.com/p/wonk-data-drop-the-other-pediatric
Child Protective Investigations Revisions
http://bit.ly/4n1bh1y
New Senate Committee in Georgia Focuses on Youth Leaving Foster Care
https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/new-senate-committee-in-georgia-focuses-on-youth-leaving-foster-care/265077
Pending New York Legislation Would Increase Scrutiny of ‘Hidden Foster Care’
https://bit.ly/3IcaV8R
A Win for Children’s Mental Health in New York
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/a-win-for-childrens-mental-health-in-new-york/264934
Community Mental Health at The Crossroads
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/community-mental-health-crossroads
Thomas Morton Obituary
http://bit.ly/4mgyT0Y
Tom Morton’s op-eds for The Imprint: https://imprintnews.org/author/tom-morton
In this episode of InnerViews, we sit down with Lakievia to explore her powerful story of resilience, transformation, and advocacy. From navigating the juvenile justice system to becoming a fierce champion for youth, she reveals how cycles can be broken through restorative justice, trauma-informed care, and community support. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on healing, hope, and rewriting the narrative for the next generation.
On this Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we start with news of out Washington, D.C., including the confirmation hearing for Trump’s child welfare nominee; the lack of grants available on juvenile justice; and several actions related to immigration policy and youth. We also discuss several recent stories from The Imprint on adoption assistance and out-of-state placement, a survey of Indigenous foster youth, and an increase in homeless families in Georgia.
Reading Room
“Straightening Out” Foster Youth with Leslie Lacy
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/foster-youth-braces-mental-health
Senators Press For Commitments From Trump’s Top Children and Families Nominee, As He Pledges to Prioritize Foster Care
https://bit.ly/4mFdNK0
Feds Want Input on ICWA, Family First Clearinghouse
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/feds-want-input-icwa-family-first-clearinghouse/264544
Is the Trump Administration Slow-killing Certain Grants?
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/is-the-trump-administration-slow-killing-certain-grants/262613
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s About-Face on Protecting Abused and Neglected Immigrant Youth from Deportation
https://bit.ly/4owIhj1
HHS Limits Immigrant Access to Several Child Welfare Programs
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/hhs-limits-child-welfare-funds-immigrants/262658
Trump Administration Moves to Rapidly Deport Migrant Children, Asking Teens if They Want to Leave
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/23/politics/migrant-kids-self-deport
‘State-sponsored Abandonment’ No More: California Stops Paying for Adoptees Sent to Out-of-State Treatment Centers
https://bit.ly/47qDlGj
Native Foster Youth Survey Reveals Lessons for Child Welfare Professionals, Advocates
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/native-foster-youth-survey-reveals-lessons-for-child-welfare-professionals-advocates/264647
The Face of Atlanta’s Growing Homeless Population: A Parent with Children
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/the-face-of-atlantas-growing-homeless-population-a-parent-with-children/264636
Karl Dennis, the ‘Father of Wraparound,’ Has Passed Away
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/karl-dennis-the-father-of-wraparound-has-passed-away/264752
Paul Vincent, Who Led Alabama Reform, Has Passed Away
https://bit.ly/45duI0u
Karl Dennis, the ‘Father of Wraparound,’ Has Passed Away
https://bit.ly/3Jxh3J2
On this week’s episode, Michael Tanana of Lyssn, joins us to talk about artificial intelligence, or AI, in the child welfare system. Tanana helped found Lyssn, which uses AI to help assess the quality of various services in a way that used to require painstaking transcription and notetaking. We talked about starting an AI company in this space and also about his views around the ethical application of it in a system where the integrity of families is often on the line.
Michael Tanana is a data scientist, machine learning researcher and software engineer. He co-founded Lyssn in 2017.
Reading Room
Tech Alphabet Soup and Child Welfare
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/tech-alphabet-soup-child-welfare
White House Issues Plan for Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/white-house-issues-plan-for-artificial-intelligence-bill-of-rights/234146
In a New Study, Georgia Professor Explores the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Child Welfare Field
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/in-a-new-study-georgia-professor-explores-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-the-child-welfare-field/256116
Using Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence in Child Welfare
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/using-algorithms-artificial-intelligence-in-child-welfare/33429
Opinion: Child Welfare Should Go Slow on AI
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/child-welfare-should-go-slow-ai/242819
Calculating the Souls of Black Folk
https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/cjrl/article/view/8741
In this deliciously deep episode, we sit down with Nancy Konjo—author of From Jollof to Sweet Potato Pie and a faith-rooted justice advocate. We talk food as healing, faith as resistance, and what it means to build bridges across the African diaspora. Nancy shares how her Cameroonian roots, her spiritual journey, and her cultural creativity have shaped her commitment to community and justice.
Resources Mentioned:
- Digital Cookbook – From Jollof to Sweet Potato Pie
- Book a 1:1 Cooking Class
- Website: nancygoesdigital.com
- Instagram: @nancy.konjo
On July 9, the Department of Health and Human Services started the funding competition for organizations that work on the frontlines of helping youth who are homeless, have run away, and are either involved in or at risk of being trafficked.
That notice came very late in the year, and many are worried the administration might run out of time to actually make grants. And, this year’s competition will not include unique grants for street outreach, a major part of the federal program since the 1990s.
Darla Bardine, executive director of the National Network for Youth, joins to provide detail and context around this year’s long-delayed federal funding. And Barissa Ford, who is the director of community outreach and engagement for Youth In Need in St. Louis, discusses what street outreach means and what it takes to do that work well.
Reading Room
Is the Trump Administration Slow-killing Certain Grants?
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/is-the-trump-administration-slow-killing-certain-grants/262613
White House Watch
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/white-house-watch
On this week’s Headlines edition of the podcast, we start by summing up the most relevant details from the massive budget bill recently passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. We also discuss The Imprint’s recent reporting on youth who enter foster care due to their behavioral health needs, and not because of abuse or neglect, and describe the new policies in New Mexico around removal of newborns who test positive for certain drugs.
Reading Room
White House Watch
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/white-house-watch
The Trump Admin is Withholding over $6 Billion in Education Grants for Schools
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/01/nx-s1-5453457/trump-school-funding-grants
Trump Freezes Grant Funding, Upending School Budgets
https://edsource.org/2025/california-education-federal-funding-cuts-teachers-english-learners/735665
When Minnesota Parents
Give Up Their Kids to Foster Care: An Imprint Look at a Nationwide Predicament
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/when-minnesota-parents-give-up-their-kids-to-foster-care-an-imprint-look-at-a-nationwide-predicament/261820
Michigan Justice Seeks ‘No-fault’ Pathway to State Aid for Parents Who Can’t Manage Kids’ Mental Health Needs
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/michigan-justice-seeks-no-fault-pathway-to-state-aid-for-parents-who-cant-manage-kids-mental-health-needs/262500
Texas Lawmakers Take On Little-Known Pathway Into Foster Care: Parents Seeking Mental Health Treatment for Their Children
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/texas-lawmakers-take-on-little-known-pathway-into-foster-care-parents-seeking-mental-health-treatment-for-their-children/259701
New Mexico Governor Plans to Crack Down on Families with Babies Born Addicted
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/legislature/governor-plans-to-crack-down-on-families-with-babies-born-addicted/article_755e8552-554c-49ed-864f-df14dd1abaf4.html
In this deeply personal and profoundly moving episode, host Ivory Bennett is joined by mental health professional Dr. Alison Davis for a candid conversation about the emotional toll and transformative lessons of caregiving. From the complexities of single motherhood and fostering to the importance of emotional regulation, healing, and support systems—this conversation will resonate with anyone navigating life, loss, and love in the margins of care.
Guest Bio:
Dr. Alison Davis is a licensed mental health professional with plenty of experience supporting families, children, and youth impacted by trauma. With a deep understanding of grief, attachment, and systemic inequities, she brings a trauma-informed and heart-centered lens to everything she does. Dr. Davis is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and community leader passionate about breaking generational cycles through accessible, holistic mental health care.
On this week’s episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast we are joined by Brandon Nichols, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, and Victor Dominguez, CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. They recently partnered to guarantee a YMCA membership to every older youth in foster care, as well as former foster youth up to age 26.
We talked about how the partnership came together, what youth can get out of a Y membership, and talked a bit about how the frenetic things in Washington, D.C. are impacting their respective organizations.
Brandon Nichols is the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. In addition to his child welfare career, Nichols served as the executive director of the county’s Jail Closure Implementation Team.
Victor Dominguez is the CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. Appointed to the role in 2022, Dominguez has been an executive with the organization for two decades and helped launch the Cradle to Career initiative as well as the Achieve LA program.
Thanks to SpeakWrite for sponsoring this episode!
Reading Room
Free YMCA LA Memberships for Youth in Foster Care
https://dcfs.lacounty.gov/free-ymca-la-memberships-for-youth-in-foster-care/
Longtime County Official Tapped to Lead Los Angeles Child Welfare Agency
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/longtime-county-official-tapped-to-lead-los-angeles-child-welfare-agency/65799
On this week’s episode, Congressman Greg Landsman joins to talk about the Campus Housing Affordability Act, his new bipartisan bill to make dorm life attainable for current and former foster youth. We discuss the college dorm model in his home state that inspired the bill, how the legislation would work, and since he’s on the committee that oversees Medicaid spending, we chatted a little at the end of the Big Beautiful Bill and how its cuts to Medicaid might impact families.
U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman (D) represents the 1st District of Ohio. Prior to his election, Landsman served as a member of the Cincinnati City Council from 2018 to 2022.
Thanks to SpeakWrite for sponsoring this episode!
Landsman Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Provide College Housing Assistance to our Most Vulnerable Students Including Foster, Former Foster, and Emancipated Youth
https://landsman.house.gov/posts/landsman-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-to-help-low-income-students-pay-for-college-campus-housing
Campus Housing Affordability Act
https://d12t4t5x3vyizu.cloudfront.net/landsman.house.gov/uploads/2024/07/FILE_0295.pdf
On this week’s “Headlines” edition of the Imprint Weekly Podcast, we talk about the new federal dashboard for child welfare data from through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. We discuss the dashboard itself and what we hope it evolves to include, and then break down some of the trendlines in this year’s numbers.
We also discuss the latest on President Trump’s spending request for 2026, what made it into the “Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill that now sits with the Senate, and more happening in Washington, D.C. We close with a review of some state headlines around liability insurance in California, a lawsuit in Tennessee, adoptee rights in Georgia, luggage for New York foster youth, and a new report on foster care in Minnesota.
Thanks to Lyssn for sponsoring this episode!
Reading Room
A Deep Dive on New Federal Foster Care Data
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/deep-dive-new-federal-foster-care-data/261418
White House Watch
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/white-house-watch
House Reconciliation Bill Proposes Deepest SNAP Cut in History, Would Take Food Assistance Away From Millions of Low-Income Families
https://bit.ly/3HNktXf
House Begins Markup of Reconciliation Bill Today
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/house-begins-markup-reconciliation-bill-today/261108
Trump 2026 Budget Consolidates or Eliminates Several Youth Programs
https://bit.ly/4e5qNWj
AmeriCorps Must Restore Grant Funding and Members to States that Sued over Cuts, Federal Judge Rules
https://bit.ly/45PJZFj
Foster Care Agencies in California’s Central Valley are Facing an Insurance Crisis, and Possibly Closure
https://bit.ly/4mUvhTz
The Insurance Cliff Coming for California Foster Care
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/insurance-cliff-coming-california-foster-care/251572
Tennessee Sued Over Foster Care Conditions Again
https://bit.ly/3ZqMMkx
Georgia Opens Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates
https://bit.ly/43TSlsS
New York to Provide Luggage for Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/ny-lawmakers-agree-to-bill-for-foster-youth-luggage/261536
Minnesota Foster Youth Publish Groundbreaking Report
https://bit.ly/4kzjEA3
In this powerful episode of innerViews, changemakers Isabel Stasa, Erica Hickey, and Lily Colby share how they transformed personal pain into public purpose through advocacy. They discuss the founding of the National Network for Fostering Sibling Connections and their fight to preserve sibling bonds in foster care. This is a masterclass in lived expertise, policy change, and healing.
Guest Bios:
Isabel N. Stasa is the Head of Community Engagement & Public Affairs at Foster Greatness. A former foster youth, Isabel channels her seven years in the system into bold advocacy. She’s served on the National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council, contributed to federal legislation, and leads digital initiatives to elevate lived experience.
Erica Hickey is a seasoned policy strategist with over a decade of impact across research, legislation, and community organizing. Her lived foster care experience fuels her mission to create family-first policies—especially around preserving sibling bonds in adoption and beyond.
Lily Colby, Esq. is the founder of the National Network for Foster Sibling Connections. A Yale and Berkeley Law grad, Lily blends legal expertise with lived experience to drive national reform around sibling rights. She co-founded advocacy orgs like With Lived Experience and is a force for justice, empathy, and change.
Over the course of his career leading youth and family services, Alex Briscoe has become an expert in Medicaid policy, one of the most complex but substantial corners of government funding. He recently led a multi-year initiative called the California Children's Trust, which set out to reimagine the state’s approach to screening and meeting the mental health needs of children.
He joined The Imprint Weekly Podcast to talk about how it should work, why he thinks we rely too much on a medical model of care in America, and what the stakes are for kids when it comes to the battle over Medicaid spending going on in Washington, D.C.
Alex Briscoe is a principal Public Works Alliance and served as executive director of the California Children's Trust. He previously served as the director
of children’s services, and then as health care director, for Alameda County.
Reading Room
In California, Cautious Optimism About Better Collaboration on Kids Under Newsom
https://imprintnews.org/childrens-mental-health/in-california-cautious-optimism-about-better-collaboration-on-kids-under-newsom/39501
Why We Need a New System of Care for California’s Youngest Children and Their Families
https://imprintnews.org/childrens-mental-health/why-we-need-a-new-system-of-care-for-californias-youngest-children-and-their-families/37843
Millions Unclaimed: Behind California’s Troubled Mental Health Care Funding System
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/millions-unclaimed-behind-californias-troubled-mental-health-care-funding-system/38158
A budget bill is moving through Congress that includes significant cuts to the Medicaid program, one the largest federal programs and the provider of health insurance for one in five people in America. And it has an outsized impact on the child welfare system, both in the prevention of families becoming involved with it and for children in foster care.
Zach Laris, founder of Bolder Horizon and author of the Child Welfare Wonk blog, joins us to review the nexus of Medicaid and child welfare, and what the impact of cuts to the system might mean for system-involved children and families.
Thanks to SpeakWrite for sponsoring this episode!
Reading Room
House Begins Markup of Reconciliation Bill Today
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/house-begins-markup-reconciliation-bill-today/261108
Foster Care Prevention & Group Care Limits: The Family First Act Takes Effect
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/foster-care-prevention-group-care-limits-family-first-act-takes-effect
Child Welfare Wonk
https://www.childwelfarewonk.com/
On this week’s “Headlines” edition of the Imprint Weekly Podcast, we dive into Trump administration’s reduction of the federal workforce focused on children and families, and hundreds of millions of dollars in grants terminated at the Department of Justice. Then we turn to what early indications are in regard to the future of federal spending, including Republican plans for a reconciliation bill and Trump’s proposed budget for 2026,
We also talk about new federal data on youth in foster care, which shows the total continues to decline.
Thanks to Lyssn for sponsoring this episode!
Reading Room
Months of Turmoil, Hasty Terminations
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/months-of-turmoil-hasty-terminations/260982
Trump Delivers Massive Blow to Youth Justice Programs
https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/trump-delivers-massive-blow-to-youth-justice-programs/260778
National CASA Loses Federal Funding Amid Trump Administration’s Cuts to Hundreds of Nonprofits
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/national-casa-loses-federal-funding-amid-trump-administrations-cuts-to-hundreds-of-nonprofits/260680
Trump Administration Guts Funding For Children’s Advocacy Centers in Western U.S.
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/trump-administration-guts-funding-for-childrens-advocacy-centers-in-western-u-s/260872
DOJ Funding Update, Council on Criminal Justice
https://counciloncj.org/doj-funding-update-a-deeper-look-at-the-cuts/
Dem Senators Want Answers on Justice Grant Terminations
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/dem-senators-want-answers-justice-grant-terminations/260884
Panicked Parents Push Back On Trump Administration’s Dismantling of Head Start
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/parents-push-back-on-trump-head-start/260917
Trump Calls for Massive Cuts in Discretionary Spending
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-calls-massive-cuts-discretionary-spending/260895
Head Start is a federally funded early learning operation that serves about 750,000 children every year at approximately 1,600 programs across the country. In the past month, the Trump administration has laid off several Head Start staff, and a leaked draft of an early budget request had the program slated for elimination. (A public budget document last week did not mention cuts or increases to Head Start).
Sacha Klein, a professor and researcher at Michigan State University’s School of Social Work, joined the podcast to talk about the nexus between Head Start and the social safety net, including her research on its connection to child welfare.
We also chat with the hosts of Young and Autonomous, the newest podcast on SafeCamp Audio. This is a four-episode podcast by young parents with lived experience in foster care where hosts engage in meaningful conversations with peers, sex educators, and researchers about sexual and reproductive health information, rights, services, and resources.
Sacha Klein is an associate professor at the Michigan State University School of Social Work. She is an expert on child welfare, child maltreatment prevention, and the effects of early care and education on parenting.
Reading Room
Trump Plan to Dismantle Head Start Is Illegal, Lawsuit Argues
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/us/politics/trump-head-start-lawsuit-aclu.html
I was a low-income student who attended Head Start. I'm now an educator with a master's degree and owe all my success to the federal program.
https://www.businessinsider.com/head-start-low-income-student-owe-success-program-2025-4
Imprint Weekly Podcast: The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Child Maltreatment
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/impact-paid-family-leave-child-maltreatment
Young & Autonomous Podcast
https://safecampaudio.org/show/young-and-autonomous/
In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett and special guest Theron Ogedengbe, a licensed therapist and powerhouse lived expert, unpack the delicate balance between healing, advocacy, and humanity. Together, they spill the tea on national advocacy, accountability, and why healing must come before hustle. Tune in for real talk, restorative wisdom, and a celebration of Black excellence in action.
For decades, child welfare systems have been receiving disability and survivor benefits owed to youth in foster care. Often these dollars are not saved for those children, or used for their unique needs.
Amy Harfeld, national policy director for the Children’s Advocacy Institute, has been among the staunchest advocates working to stop this practice. She joined the podcast to talk about the history of this issue, what states are doing to reform, and why she is optimistic about federal action in the near future.
Harfeld has served as the national policy director for the Children's Advocacy Institute since 2010. During this time, she has also spent time leading the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths, the Children’s Leadership Council, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Youth at Risk, and served as pro-bono government affairs liaison for the National Association of Council for Children.
Thanks to Lyssn for sponsoring this week’s episode.
Reading Room
Foster Care Agencies Take Millions of Dollars Owed to Kids. Most Children Have No Idea.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/04/22/foster-care-agencies-take-thousands-of-dollars-owed-to-kids-most-children-have-no-idea
America First Policy Institute: Protecting Federal Benefits for Foster Children
https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/protecting-federal-benefits-for-foster-children
Washington Must Step Up to Protect Foster Youths’ Benefits
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/washington-protect-foster-youth-benefits/67187
Minnesota Child Welfare Officials Advise State to Protect Foster Youths’ SSI Benefits
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/minnesota-child-welfare-report-foster-youth-ssi-benefits/258765
California Counties Siphon Social Security Benefits from Some Foster Kids
https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/california-counties-siphon-social-security-benefits/66688
Are Disabled Kids in NYC Foster Care Receiving the Social Security Benefits They Deserve?
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/are-disabled-kids-in-nyc-foster-care-receiving-the-social-security-benefits-they-deserve/248959
It is the 200th episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast! On this week’s episode we go through some fun facts about the first 199 episodes of the show, and then talk to Cheyanne Deopersaud about the virtual mayoral forum on youth issues she organized and will host this week (free registration info in the show notes).
We discuss the many things going on in Washington, D.C., including a nominee to lead child welfare policy for the Trump administration; layoffs and reorganization of the agency he will likely lead; and new data on how much states rely on welfare funds to pay for child welfare services. We also discuss the end of the criminal case against a foster youth advocate arrested on Capitol Hill in December, and a few recent great reads from The Imprint.
Thanks to SpeakWrite for sponsoring this week’s episode.
Reading Room
Youth in Focus: NYC Mayoral Candidate Forum
Thursday, April 17 5pm EST // Register: https://bit.ly/4ifDgqW
Foster Youth Deserve Better Than Unsafe, Scary Housing
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/foster-youth-deserve-better-than-unsafe-scary-housing/255986
Alex Adams Nominated to Lead Administration for Children and Families
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/alex-adams-nominated-to-lead-administration-for-children-and-families/259907
Zero-Based Regulation A Step-by-Step Guide for States
https://manhattan.institute/article/zero-based-regulation-a-step-by-step-guide-for-states
HHS Reorganization Brings Cuts, Changes to Child Welfare Division
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/hhs-reorganization-brings-cuts-changes-to-child-welfare-division/260150
States Use Billions in Welfare Funds to Pay for Child Welfare Systems, Report Finds
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/states-use-billions-in-welfare-funds-to-pay-for-child-welfare-systems-report-finds/260389
Trump Halts, then Reinstates, Then Again Halts Legal Counsel for Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-halts-legal-counsel-for-unaccompanied-minors-seeking-asylum/259021
Prosecutors Withdraw Rep. Nancy Mace Assault Charge Against Prominent Foster Youth Advocate
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/prosecutors-withdraw-assault-charge-against-prominent-foster-youth-advocate/260157
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is No Longer on Foster Youth Caucus
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/u-s-rep-nancy-mace-is-no-longer-on-foster-youth-caucus/260292
Medicated in Foster Care: Who’s Looking Out?
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/medicated-in-foster-care-whos-looking-out
Texas Lawmakers Take On Little-Known Pathway Into Foster Care:
Kelley Fong, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, joins to discuss her work studying the impact of state child welfare systems and their policies on families. Fong, who has written several op-eds for The Imprint, is the author of Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Service, an examination of the front end of child welfare focused on Fong’s deep research in several New England States.
Thanks to Lyssn for sponsoring this week's episode!
Reading Room
Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Service
https://shorturl.at/dsb52
We Shouldn’t Rely on Child Protective Services To Address Family Adversity
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/we-shouldnt-rely-on-child-protective-services-to-address-family-adversity/47496
ASFA Is A Dangerous Tool in An Arbitrary System
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/asfa-is-a-dangerous-tool-in-an-arbitrary-system/237576
Reports Without Surveillance: Connecticut’s New Child Welfare Experiment
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/reports-without-surveillance-connecticuts-new-child-welfare-experiment/64329
The transition from foster care to adulthood still happens for thousands of young people each year. It’s not easy anywhere, but perhaps nowhere tougher financially than places like New York City where the market rent is astronomically high and there is almost no vacancy.
Daniel Heimpel, managing director of Good River partners, and Tony Turner. director of the Fair Futures Youth Advisory Board, join to discuss a new venture they are involved in to try and leverage different kinds of philanthropic support, and new approaches to affordable housing, to ensure that youth who exit foster care dont do so into treacherous living conditions and predicaments.
Thanks to Lyssn for sponsoring this week's episode!
Reading Room
Youth Launch Bold Strategy to End NYC's Foster Care to Homelessness Pipeline
https://shorturl.at/usoOJ
Foster Youth Deserve Better Than Unsafe, Scary Housing
https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/foster-youth-deserve-better-than-unsafe-scary-housing/255986
Foster Youth Often Struggle to Find Stable Housing. One New York City Nonprofit is Helping Meet the Need.
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-youth-housing-new-york-city-nonprofit/251802
In this powerful episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett sits down with Chaplain Dr. Kay Kizer — a trailblazing advocate and author — to discuss the realities of growing up in foster care, overcoming childhood trauma, and embracing the healing journey. Dr. Kizer shares her personal experiences navigating multiple foster homes and how those experiences led her to establish K's Carry On, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring foster youth receive essential items and emotional support during transitions. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of resilience, faith, and the transformative power of purpose.
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids is a program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption that for decades has focused on finding permanency for older youth in foster care, as well as children with special needs. The program, which received a $200 million commitment to expand in 2017, recently recorded its 15,000th adoption.
Dave Thomas CEO Rita Soronen joins to discuss the experience of scaling up Wendy’s Wonderful Kids and the lessons she learned along the way about how to get initial buy-in on an idea, and then keep support for it going.
Rita Soronen has been the president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption since 2001. Prior to joining the foundation, Ms. Soronen served as the executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Franklin County.
Thanks to SpeakWrite for serving as lead sponsor of this episode!
Reading Room
10,000 Adoptions Later: Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/10000-adoptions-later
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids: The Biggest Game in Adoption Today
https://imprintnews.org/adoption/wendys-wonderful-kids-biggest-game-adoption-today/30696
Nonprofits Are Simultaneously Contemplating Strategy on Two Fronts
https://imprintnews.org/adoption/nonprofits-are-simultaneously-contemplating-impact-on-two-fronts/41366
On this week’s episode, we review some of the recent action out of Washington, including what’s going on with federal funds, the impact of Trump’s executive orders on some youth with lived experience, and who is temporarily leading child welfare and youth justice policy.
We also break down the findings from a report on health care for youth who have aged out of foster care, and a new bill that would fund post-adoption support.
Reading Room
Register for Empowered Youth Voices: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Building Confidence in Storytelling.
https://bit.ly/3EZiz4t
The Acting Leaders on Child Welfare, Youth Justice
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/the-acting-leaders-on-child-welfare-youth-justice/259082
Early Trump Actions Leave Lived Experience Jobs in Flux
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/early-trump-actions-leave-lived-experience-jobs-flux/258758
Trump Halts, then Reinstates, Legal Counsel for Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-halts-legal-counsel-for-unaccompanied-minors-seeking-asylum/259021
Report Notes Trends, Barriers in Medicaid Enrollment for Former Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/gao-notes-trends-barriers-in-medicaid-enrollment-for-former-foster-youth/258781
Bills Introduced on Adoption Support, Rehoming
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/bills-introduced-adoption-support-rehoming/258945
In this episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett sits down with Montina Myers-Galloway, a licensed clinical mental health counselor, TEDx speaker, and advocate for Black women healing from parentification. Together, they explore the impact of adultification and emotional burdens placed on Black youth in foster care and juvenile justice. Montina shares how professionals can create trauma-informed spaces, support mental well-being, and empower youth to reclaim their narratives. This conversation is a must-listen for those committed to breaking cycles and fostering emotional healing in child welfare.
On this week’s episode, Imprint Indigenous Children and Families Reporter Nancy Marie Spears hosts a special roundtable discussion on the future of Indigenous child welfare. Our panel of guests break down how they will engage with a new 25-year plan to reform and improve Indigenous child welfare policy and practice through improved implementation of, and compliance with, the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA..
ICWA 2050 was launched November 7 by the Protect ICWA Campaign to Honor ICWA’s 46th Anniversary and it’s called Protect, Preserve, Progress: Realizing the Spirit of the Indian Child Welfare Act. There are four key goals of this long-term plan, and the panelists talk about how their respective communities intend on engaging with each area of proposed change.
Guest panel:
Sarah Kastelic, (Alutiiq), is the executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association.
Te’Ata Loper, (Chickasaw), is the executive director of the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association.
Kimberly Cluff is legal director of the California Tribal Families Coalition.
Linda S. Spears is president and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America.
Reading Room
Protecting Children and Healing Families, One Native Auntie at a Time
https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/protecting-children-and-healing-families-one-native-auntie-at-a-time/241572
The Way Forward: Report of the Alyce Spotted Bear & Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children
https://udallcenter.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2024-07/TheWayForward.pdf
Indian Child Welfare Act Think Tank to Strategize Legal Protections for Tribal Sovereignty
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/indian-child-welfare-act-think-tank-to-strategize-legal-protections-for-tribal-sovereignty/239084
New Online Resources Available to Assist With Indian Child Welfare Cases
https://imprintnews.org/indigenous-youth-and-families/new-online-resources-available-to-assist-with-indian-child-welfare-cases/255684
On this week’s episode, Abecedarian Group President Celia Sims joins us to discuss child welfare and education policy, and the intersection of the two. Sims, who spent most of her career on Capitol Hill, reflects on a recent op-ed she wrote for The Imprint and shares thoughts on the practicability of President Trump’s proposal to shutter the Department of Education.
Celia Sims is the founder of the Abecedarian Group, and serves as a volunteer court appointed special advocate. Sims has served as an advisor on education and child welfare policy for former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and was vice president of government relations for KinderCare Education.
Reading Room
Common Ground Is The Only
Political Path for Child Welfare
https://imprintnews.org/opinion/common-ground-only-political-path-child-welfare/256030
The Imprint’s extensive
coverage on educational stability for youth in foster care
https://imprintnews.org/tag/essa
New Report Highlights
Ongoing Challenges for NYC Students in Foster Care
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-report-highlights-ongoing-challenges-for-nyc-students-in-foster-care/237967
On this week’s podcast, we go over some of the actions taken by the Trump administration in their first full week since the inauguration. We also discuss a report that finds some states are sending back federal money to help older foster youth, and a Texas bill that would bring sweeping change to the way the child welfare system works in that state.
Rena Johnson of the Aviv Foundation and Mary Bissell of Child Focus join to talk about the Aviv Foundation’s Springboard Prize, an award that will invest $400,000 in several game-change oriented proposals.
Reading Room
Trump’s Day-one Actions Reverse Biden Decisions
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-day-one-actions-reverse-biden-decisions/258340
Trump Administration Cancels Child Welfare Contract, Pulls Juvenile Justice Grants
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-administration-cancels-child-welfare-contract-pulls-juvenile-justice-grants/258439
Child Welfare Leaders Stunned by Trump’s Call to Freeze Social Services Spending; Legal Action Quickly Threatened
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/child-welfare-leaders-stunned-by-trumps-call-to-freeze-social-services-spending-legal-action-quickly-threatened/258488
Report: Millions for Helping Older Foster Youth Goes Unspent
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/report-millions-helping-older-foster-youth-goes-unspent/258528
HHS Should Help States Address Barriers to Using Federal Funds for Programs Serving Youth Transitioning to Adulthood
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107154.pdf
Texas Lawmakers Consider ‘ICWA for All’ Bill That Would Set New, Higher Standards for Removing Children
From Home
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/texas-lawmakers-consider-icwa-for-all-bill-that-would-set-new-higher-standards-for-removing-children-from-home/258553
In this episode of InnerViews, Sensei Dave shares his journey from foster care and juvenile detention to becoming a mentor, author, and advocate for at-risk youth. Discover how his transformative "Inspire to Aspire" program equips young people with hope, skills, and resilience while empowering caring adults to create lasting change. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about breaking cycles, fostering equity, and building brighter futures for youth impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
In November, the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) held its first national conference in more than a decade, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the landmark Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
Right after the conference ended, OJJDP Administrator and longtime youth justice reformer Liz Ryan joined us to discuss the conference, in particular the large presence of young people who have experienced the justice system. Ryan also reflected on the future of justice reform, and what she feels the Biden administration accomplished during her tenure.
Reading Room
Episode 100! Biden’s Juvenile Justice Agenda with Liz Ryan
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/episode-100-biden-juvenile-justice-agenda-liz-ryan
Decarceration Advocate Liz Ryan to Lead Juvenile Justice for Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/37hzj6A
Nation’s Top Juvenile Justice Official Disputes ‘Youth Crime Wave’ Narrative
https://bit.ly/3xR7k7X
On this Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we stick with Capitol Hill where a lot went down around the holidays. We discuss the arrest of a former foster youth and advocate arrested after a celebration of the Chafee Act, along with some child welfare legislation that made it into law (and one bill that did not).
We also break down some long-sought data about what happens when youth are charged as adults in the United States, and the lastest federal report on child abuse and neglect. Thanks to live podcast attendee, new rescue dog Dracula, for being a good boy while we recorded!
Reading Room
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace Calls Police on Prominent Foster Youth Advocate; Eyewitnesses Dispute Her Assault Allegations
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/nancy-mace-calls-police-prominent-foster-youth-advocate/256826
Foster Youth Advocate Pleads Not Guilty to Alleged Handshake Assault on Member of Congress
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-youth-advocate-pleads-not-guilty-to-alleged-handshake-assault-on-member-of-congress/256858
Flurry of Bills Move to President, but Not Workforce Reauthorization
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/flurry-bills-move-president-not-workforce-reauthorization/257117
Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act Poised to Become Law
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/stop-institutional-child-abuse-act-poised-to-become-law/257027
A Long-Delayed Look at Youth Charged as Adults
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/a-long-delayed-look-at-youth-charged-as-adults/258083
Juveniles Charged in Adult Criminal Courts, 2014
https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/jcacc14.pdf
Federal Study on Transfers of Juveniles Delayed, Again
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/federal-study-transfers-juveniles-delayed/25194
Biden Commutes Sentence of one of the ‘Kids for Cash’ Judges
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/biden-commutes-kids-cash-judges/256977
Closing the Book on “Kids for Cash”
https://safecampaudio.org/episode/closing-the-book-on-kids-for-cash/
Child Maltreatment Reports on the Rise, Confirmed Victim Numbers Decline, Federal Report Shows
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/child-maltreatment-reports-on-the-rise-confirmed-victim-numbers-decline-federal-report-shows/258032
As always, we were fortunate to have some amazing guests join us this year on The Imprint Weekly Podcast. In this episode we feature clips of 10 great interviews from 2023.
If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and Fostering Families Today, and the work that our Youth Voices Rising team does, please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!
Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online events.
There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit www.imprintnews.org/donate.
Guests include:
Shelly Jackson, law enforcement policies attorney for Strategies for Youth.
LaShawnda Pittman, associate professor of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Rob Geen, founder of CWPolicy, LLC and leads the Child Welfare Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Carolyn Travis, community advocacy coordinator for California Youth Connection.
Alex Piquero, professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminology at the University of Miami and previously served as the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Serita Cox, co-founder of iFoster.
Gwen Moore, Member of Congress
Dawn Post, founder of Themis Youth Law & Advocacy.
Jerry Milner, co-founder of the Family Justice Group, and former associate commissioner of the U.S. Children’s Bureau.
Will Schneider, associate professor at the University of Illinois School of Social Work and the faculty director for the Children and Family Research Center.
On today’s episode, Dr. Jenny Tanis of the Hope College School of Social Work and Dr. Sacha Klein of the Michigan State University School of Social Work join to talk about their research into the impact of State paid family leave policies on infant maltreatment.
The United States is among the few developed countries without paid family leave as a national policy. But four states have long had local leave policies in place: California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Tanis and Klein wanted to see what, if any, impact this had on infant maltreatment in those states compared to trends in other states.
Reading Room
State Paid Family Leave Policies and Infant Maltreatment
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38574603/
Paid family leave's effect on hospital admissions for pediatric abusive head trauma
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26869666/
Impact of Direct Cash Benefits to Low-Income Families Can Be Far-Reaching
https://imprintnews.org/family/impact-direct-cash-benefits-low-income-families-child/237760
On this week’s episode we discuss the Trump transition process, the last months of the Biden administration, and recommend some interesting reads from The Imprint and elsewhere this month, including Sara Tiano’s two-part series on the intersection of addiction treatment and child welfare actions such as investigation, removal and reunification.
Marina Nitze of the Child Welfare Playbook joins us to talk about the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC), a longstanding process aimed at ensuring that foster youth who are moved to a new state are protected. We talked to Nitze about the Playbook’s discussions on ICPC, what gaps exist in the system and what states are doing to improve it.
Reading Room
ICWA Added to Federal Data Collection. Will It Last?
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/icwa-added-federal-data-collection-will-it-last/256693
Profiles in Youth Work: Lateefah Simon
https://youthtoday.org/2004/06/profiles-in-youth-work_2/
Congressional Candidate Wants to Create a Place for Young Women ‘To Dream, To Fight and To Just Be’
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/congressional-candidate-wants-to-create-a-place-for-young-women-to-dream-to-fight-and-to-just-be/248299
Penalized for Their Prescriptions: Parents Using Legal Addiction Medications Face Ongoing Discrimination in the Child Welfare System
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/parents-using-legal-addiction-medications-face-ongoing-discrimination/256350
When Prescribed Medications End in a Call to CPS: One Upstate New York Mom is Fighting Back in Court
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/when-prescribed-medications-end-in-a-call-to-cps-one-upstate-new-york-mom-is-fighting-back-in-court/256352
Treatment Foster Care for Kids with High Needs Offers Hope, but There's a Shortage of Willing Homes in Wisconsin
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/life/family/2024/11/29/childrens-wisconsin-needs-foster-families-who-can-provide-treatment-care/75887078007/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
The Survivors of Child Sex Abuse Who Don’t Want Their Abusers Punished
https://newrepublic.com/article/188362/child-sex-abuse-survivors-abusers-justice
Foster Youth Are at Great Risk for Suicide As They Prepare to Leave the System, California Study Finds
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-youth-are-at-great-risk-for-suicide-as-they-prepare-to-leave-the-system-california-study-finds/256210
In this special "Best of Season 1" episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett revisits powerful moments from this year’s episodes. From healing generational trauma to empowering resilience in the face of adversity, Ivory highlights transformative insights from each guest. Join us for a reflection on themes of healing, self-discovery, and empowerment, celebrating the voices that made Season 1 unforgettable. Tune in for an inspiring recap and a glimpse of the exciting 2025 season ahead!
On this week’s episode, Brightpoint CEO Mike Shaver and University of Illinois School of Social Work researcher Will Schneider join to discuss Empower Parenting with Resource, a test of the impact of guaranteed income as a component of how child welfare systems engage parents. Empower will provide hundreds of system-involved parents with cash assistance as part of a randomized control trial.
Reading RoomNew Research Funded on Mental Health, Child Welfare
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/new-research-funded-mental-health-child-welfare/54184
Support Grows For No-Strings-Attached Cash For Families To Prevent Foster Care Removals
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/support-grows-for-no-strings-attached-cash-for-families-to-prevent-foster-care-removals/243395
The Bay Area’s Latest Guaranteed Income Program Offers Low-Income Families $500 a Month
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/bay-areas-latest-guaranteed-income-program/60793
Former Foster Youth Included in L.A. County Guaranteed Income Project
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/former-foster-youth-included-in-l-a-county-guaranteed-income-project/240181
On this week’s episode, we review some recent research on child opioid overdoses, youth with disabilities in foster care, and the Biden administration’s historic apology to the Indigenous community.
Jerry Milner, co-founder of the Family Justice Group, joins us to discuss his time leading the U.S. Children’s Bureau during the previous Trump administration, and what his experience during the first term suggests to him about what might be coming in the next four years.
Reading Room
Federal Roundtables with Foster Youth Find Them Feeling Supported, But Uncertain
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/federal-roundtables-foster-youth-find-supported-uncertain/49643
While Trump Separated Families, One of His Appointees Fought To Keep Them Together. Will Biden Keep Him Around?
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/trump-separated-families-milner-biden-foste/50944
Staying The Course for Families
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/staying-course-families-what-got-right_/51632
Most States Now Access Federal Funds for Family Court Lawyers
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/states-access-federal-funds-for-family-court-lawyers/247752
This year, Jamaican child welfare officials abruptly removed eight teenage boys from a residential facility known as Atlantis Leadership Academy. All eight were American youth and three were adoptees.
Dawn Post, a veteran attorney for youth in foster care, represented the teens pro bono, working with the Jamaican government to ensure their safe return to the United States. She joined us to tell the story, discuss the broader connections to child welfare present in this incident, and announce a new legal office she has launched called Themis Youth Law and Advocacy.
Reading Room
Jamaica pulls U.S. boys
from troubled teen school after allegations they were abused
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jamaica-troubled-teen-abuse-allegations-atlantis-leadership-academy-rcna144426
Adopted. Abandoned. But not forgotten.
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/09/03/adopted-abandoned-but-not-forgotten/
‘I’d rather die than go back’: Jamaica’s school for troubled US boys
https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/american-teenagers-jamaica-atlantis-academy-j25rgm0p5
Themis Youth Law & Advocacy
https://www.themisyouthlawadvocacy.org/
On InnerViews, Ivory Bennett speaks with Jose A. Perez, winner of the 2024 Youth Voices Rising New York Op-Ed competition, for his poignant essay, When Help Hurts: Foster Care vs. My Mom. In a powerful conversation, Perez shares his journey from New York’s foster care and prison systems to becoming an acclaimed poet, actor, and advocate. Listen as Jose reflects on a system that separated his family, the art that saved him, and his current role advocating for justice and opportunities for system-involved youth. Don't miss this impactful dialogue on resilience, transformation, and the power of family.
Rep. Gwen Moore, who represents the 4th District of Wisconsin, was in the state legislature when her state commenced a welfare-to-work program that would become the template for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
Moore now sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees TANF. She joined the podcast to discuss her problems with TANF, how it could be improved, and we discussed her most recent bill on the intersection of poverty and child welfare systems.
Reading Room
Full Committee Hearing on Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
https://bit.ly/3Ybqv8
Rep. Gwen Moore’s comments from the hearing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JVCneYbvLQ
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, with Ashley Burnside
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/temporary-assistance-needy-families-ashley-burnside
Strengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net and Work Program
https://bit.ly/3zRBdJa
Public Comment in response to “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work”
https://bit.ly/4f61weR
TANF Cash Assistance to Families Plummets, But Program Remains Consistent Funder of Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3W9Zce9
Bipartisan Effort in Congress Aims to Steer Impoverished Families Away From Foster Care Systems
https://bit.ly/3YgrZ1L
Amid Pandemic, Congress Considers Giving Parents More Time to Reunify with Kids in Foster Care
https://tinyurl.com/3tazannm
On this week’s episode, we are joined by Administration on Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston, the most senior Senate-confirmed child welfare official in the Biden administration. We discussed the past year of federal child welfare policymaking, what the priorities will be for the final few months before Inauguration Day, implementation of the Family First Act, and the right way to incorporate lived experience.
Reading Room
Oregon Chooses Former Foster Youth to Lead Its Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3YnAUQ0
During Confirmation Hearing for Top Biden Child Welfare Officials, Senators Voice Their Own Priorities
https://bit.ly/3gKAWe4
Senators Press Biden Administration Over Lack of Progress on Foster Care Prevention Law https://bit.ly/3YltuN3
Message From Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston
https://acfmain-stage.acf.hhs.gov/acyf/news/message-commissioner-rebecca-jones-gaston
On this week’s episode, we review some recent headlines in child welfare and youth justice.
On this week’s episode, we review some recent headlines in child welfare and youth justice, including some big picture takeaways from recent stories about spiraling juvenile facilities and universal drug screening for soon-to-be parents.
We also talk to Marina Nitze about what states and child welfare systems have been doing in terms of licensing kinship caregivers since the Biden administration took action to make that process easier and more financially fair for relatives and other people close to families.
Reading Room
Conditions Dire at Washington State’s Largest Lockup for Young Adults
https://bit.ly/4dJn1jO
One in Eight Incarcerated Juveniles Experiences Sexual Victimization
https://bit.ly/3TU6DFZ
Liz Ryan Considers 50 Years of a Landmark Law That Keeps Kids Out of Adult Jails
https://bit.ly/480if02
State Challenges Universal Drug Testing on New Moms
https://bit.ly/4eSgl3B
Kids of Color in Minnesota Foster Care Are Most Likely to Live With White Foster Parents — And Why There are Concerns
https://bit.ly/3TTU9yc
Minnesota Joins Growing Number of States Allowing Adoptees New Access to Birth Records
https://bit.ly/4eTdbg1
Texas Tallies Use of Trash Bags for Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/4eW00Lr
Becky Shipp, Veteran Child Welfare Policy Advisor, Has Passed Away
https://bit.ly/4eT9uH7
In this compelling episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett talks with Christina Abraham about her journey as she aged out of the foster care system at 21. Christina shares her struggles navigating life in a group home and the challenges of finding stable housing in New York City. Through her story, Christina sheds light on the harsh realities faced by youth aging out of care and the urgent need for systemic change. Tune in for an eye-opening conversation about resilience, hope, and the fight for security in adulthood.
On today’s episode we spoke with Aditi Shrivastava, deputy director of income security at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, known widely as TANF. We talked about the proposed new rule for regulating how states use this program, a new test of how to measure success, and we also discuss the many guaranteed income projects that have popped up around the country.
Reading Room
Rule-a-Palooza! Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, with Ashley Burnside
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/temporary-assistance-needy-families-ashley-burnside
Support Grows For No-Strings-Attached Cash For Families To Prevent Foster Care Removals
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/support-grows-for-no-strings-attached-cash-for-families-to-prevent-foster-care-removals/243395
Feds Begin Test of Welfare Work Requirements
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/feds-begin-test-welfare-work-requirements/250920
Here’s What Happens When You Give People Free Money
https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altmans-big-basic-income-study-is-finally-out/
On this week’s episode we talk to Kamilah Bunn, CEO of the National Adoption Association, and Toni Oliver, former president of the National Association of Black Social Workers, about the recently published “Black Paper,” an early look at the effect of NAA’s Ujima Black Family Connection Program. The goal of the program is to convene Black leaders to work on addressing long-standing disparities in child welfare and push back against the stereotype that Black families do not adopt.
Reading Room
Ujima Black Family Program gets $500K Grant from Walmart
https://shorturl.at/7LKfn
Black Paper: Urgent Need for Black Family Connections and Support for Black Leaders Advancing Change Efforts in Systems
https://www.adoptnaa.org/page/blackpaper
On this week’s episode we recap a hodgepodge of headlines from late summer, starting with the effort to reauthorize a major federal child welfare program called Title IV-B. Among the other stories we discussed: California’s novel new approach to fund enrichment activities for foster youth, and the state’s looming insurance cliff for nonprofits; New York could become the first state to track adoption subsidies; and shocking data on youth transferred into adult court in Florida.
Reading Room
House Ways and Means Introduces IV-B Reauthorization Package
https://bit.ly/3MCqllp
Feds Clarify Rules on Family First Act, Background Checks, Tribal Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/4ehf464
Maine Hasn’t Yet Inspected Out-of-State Youth Mental Health Programs After Reports of Rampant Abuse
https://bit.ly/3ZjJ1hs
Eyed By the Nation, California Plan Will Nearly Triple State Spending on Foster Youth and Their Caregivers
https://bit.ly/3Tktkmc
The Insurance Cliff Coming for California Foster Care
https://bit.ly/4cZikSt
When Adoptions ‘Break’: New York Legislation Aims to Ensure Adoption Subsidies Follow the Child
https://bit.ly/4cYxzLi
New York Family Courts Must Weigh in on Residential Care for Foster Youth, Appeals Court Rules
https://bit.ly/4d0uSc4
Florida Teens Get Longer Prison Sentences Than Adults
https://bit.ly/4cXe8T9
After Juvenile Justice Reforms, Two States Return to Prosecuting More Teens as Adults
https://bit.ly/3AUfpwZ
A Second Chance Offered to Minnesota Moms Who’ve Previously Lost Kids to CPS
https://bit.ly/4ezyJyj
Harris’ VP Pick Has Kept Vulnerable Children and Families Front and Center Like Few Other Governors
https://bit.ly/4gfig3N
California Lawmakers Approve Stricter Protections for Youth in Residential Programs
https://shorturl.at/qt1a7
‘Incorrigible’ No More: In Rare Memorial Service, Graveside Tribute Paid to New York’s Formerly Incarcerated Girls
https://shorturl.at/6ipSk
The Imprint Weekly Podcast has been re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. On this final installment of Summer Rewind, we feature our conversation with Patty Duh and Leslie Gross about the SOUL Family Concept, a new permanency option that was conceived of by youth with lived experience in foster care.
Since our interview, Kansas became the first state to incorporate SOUL Family into its options for permanency.
During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week, we feature our conversation with juvenile justice reform expert David Roush about how a construction project inside Chicago’s juvenile detention center accidentally led to one of the most influential experiments in how to effectively engage incarcerated youth.
In this powerful episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett sits down with Brittney Lee, who endured 17 foster homes over 17 years. Brittney shares her inspiring journey of resilience, community engagement, and her mission to fight racial inequality within the child welfare system. With a passion for giving back, Brittney is committed to being a role model and creating positive change for youth in foster care, drawing from her own experiences and deep compassion. Don’t miss this episode on empowerment, healing, and breaking down systemic barriers.
During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week we feature on of our most frequently downloaded episodes, our 2021 conversation with author and law professor Dorothy Roberts.
At the time of our interview, Roberts was still working on her since-published book Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families. We talked about the abolition movement in child welfare, and how Roberts distinguishes between major and incremental reform within the existing child welfare system.
During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around.
This week we feature two different interviews about the same issue: how to ensure that foster youth succeed once they get to college. In 2022, we talked to Amy Dworsky of Chapin Hall and Judy Havlicek of the University of Illinois about dismal research around community college completion among youth who aged out of foster care. Community college student and former foster youth Matt Schaad joined us to talk about his own path towards a degree.
We also included our 2020 interview with Christopher Scott and Lino Peña-Martinez of Connecticut’s Sun Scholars, a program that supports current and former foster youth on college campuses around the state.
During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around.
This week we feature our 2020 interview with California Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who joined the podcast to discuss the Racial Justice Act, a bill he championed that enables a defendant and their legal counsel to present evidence of racial bias as a means of pushing back against specific sentences for offenses after conviction.
In this episode of "InnerViews," join host Ivory Bennett in a real, raw conversation about reclaiming one’s narrative with New Yorker, Nathali Feliz. The two discuss the impact of storytelling and narratives in the development of child welfare engaged youth. Nathali discusses her life before, during, and after her time in the NY child welfare system. Together, we affirm the importance of empowering youth through positive narratives of healing and triumph.
Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.
On this week’s episode, Ashley Burnside of the Center for Law and Social Policy joins us to discuss a plan to update the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federal cash assistance program designed to help low-income families fill the gap. Burnside discussed the changing nature of TANF programs since its inception in 1996, and explains what Biden’s proposed rules for it would change about how states could use the money to support families.
Ashley Burnside is a senior policy analyst with the public benefits justice team at the Center for Law and Social Policy. She specializes in refundable tax credits, and also focuses on disability policy issues and increasing access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for college students with low incomes who face barriers to accessing higher education.
Reading Room
Strengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net and Work Program
https://bit.ly/3zRBdJa
Public Comment in response to “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work”
https://bit.ly/4f61weR
TANF Cash Assistance to Families Plummets, But Program Remains Consistent Funder of Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3W9Zce9
Reports: States Hoard Billions in Welfare Funds Despite Growing Nee https://shorturl.at/K8URJ
Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.
On this week’s episode, Currey Cook of Lambda Legal joins to discuss a new rule aimed at ensuring all child welfare systems have enough foster homes that are supportive and safe for youth who identify as LGBTQ+. We discussed some of the existing laws and policies in this area, what the Biden rule actually requires of states, and what Cook hopes for in terms of further legislating to protect and support LGBTQ youth.
Currey Cook is the Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project and Counsel in the National Headquarters Office of Lambda Legal. Before joining Lambda Legal in 2013, Cook was the Co-Director of the Bronx office of The Children’s Law Center New York a non-profit law firm representing children in New York City Family Court.
Reading Room
Federal Register: Designated Placement Requirements Under Titles IV-E and IV-B for LGBTQI+ Children
https://bit.ly/3W3PMRd
Designated Placements In, Conversation Therapy Out: Biden’s Rule for LGBTQ+ Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3W0XXhf
LGBTQ Youth Make Up One Third of Foster Care, But Are Often Poorly Served
https://bit.ly/3qQVXYV
What We Know About LGBTQ+ Children & Youth in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3zJUVXd
Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.
On this week’s episode, Allison Green of the National Association of Counsel for Children joins us to break down the new rule on federal funding to support legal counsel for parents and children involved with the child welfare system. We talk about how this new rule goes beyond some changes made during the Trump administration on this issue, and what Green sees as the potential impact on child welfare outcomes.
Reading Room
Foster Care Legal Representation
https://bit.ly/45XoosF
White House Announces Slate of Actions on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3ZFa7hl
Most States Now Access Federal Funds for Family Court Lawyers
https://bit.ly/3VV2rWL
Trump Administration Rule Change Could Unleash Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds to Defend Rights of Parents, Children in Child Protection Cases
https://bit.ly/3LGHMRT
On this week’s episode we go deep on one headline: a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing in which Chairman Ron Wyden called the residential care business an inherently flawed model that intentionally puts children in unsafe situations. The hearing followed the release of a scathing report on the committee’s findings from a multi-year investigation into four of the biggest providers in that space.
In this episode, we break down nine different clips from the nearly two hour hearing that speak to some of the major themes and topics covered.
Reading Room
Senate Investigation Slams Residential Treatment Centers for Children as ‘Warehouses of Neglect’
https://bit.ly/3zsMAHq
Warehouses of Neglect: How Taxpayers Are Funding Systemic Abuse in Youth Residential Treatment Facilities
https://bit.ly/4bsUY6K
The Forgotten Children of Texas
https://bit.ly/3ouvOh2
New Study Suggests Ending Group Care for Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3rsVqMU
Imprint Coverage Tagged “Congregate Care”https://imprintnews.org/tag/congregate-care
In this impactful episode of "InnerViews," join host Ivory Bennett in a candid conversation with Mike Ostien as they delve into the vital realm of men's mental and emotional health. Explore the intersections of identity, societal expectations, and holistic well-being, as Mike shares his insights and lived experiences. From confronting trauma and grief to fostering self-care and resilience, discover empowering strategies for navigating life's challenges. Together, let's break barriers and pave the way for a healthier, more supportive society for boys and men to thrive.
Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.
This week, Ana Beltran of Generations United joins us to talk about the new federal rules around approving (and financially supporting) relatives and other loved ones to care for youth in the foster care system. We discuss the barriers that prompted the new action, what has changed, what happens next and how we’ll know if the new rule is having an impact.
Reading Room
White House Announces Slate of Actions on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3ZFa7hl
Biden Administration Proposes Easing Foster Care Licensing Barriers for Relatives
https://bit.ly/3m7l3EF
Transforming Foster Care: What the September 2023 Rule Means
https://bit.ly/45tOUJP
A Model Standard for Approving Kinship Caregivers
https://bit.ly/3Feh2Ey
Kentucky Case Could Mean More Support for Kin Caregivers
https://bit.ly/3pQeqUI
After nearly 20 years, The Pew Charitable Trust’s Public Safety Performance Project sunsetted at the end of 2023. Ruth Rosenthal, Pew’s director for courts & communities, joins to talk about the history and lessons learned from the project and its expansion to include youth justice as a focal point.
Reading Room
Public Safety Performance Project
https://shorturl.at/9J55K
Ways to Make the Juvenile Legal System Better Serve Young People and Communities
https://shorturl.at/PYYRx
States Commit to Comprehensive Juvenile Legal System Reforms https://shorturl.at/AM09o
On this week’s Headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss a precedent-setting law passed and signed in Minnesota called the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, and break down the basics of new child welfare policies finalized by the Biden administration.
We also discuss a recent Imprint analysis of kinship care in New York, some legislation
that was inspired by our reporting in California, and…doggies in the courtroom?
Reading Room
Minnesota Governor Signs Bill Raising Bar for Taking ‘African American or Disproportionately Represented’ Children Into Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3yIrSme
Senators Press Biden Administration Over Lack of Progress on Foster Care Prevention Law
https://bit.ly/4aQo93F
Florida Child Welfare Agency Wages Legal Battle, Seeks Felony Charge for Ex-Watchdog
https://bit.ly/4aNEUw3
Oregon Settles Child Welfare Civil Lawsuit; Expert Will Be Appointed to Oversee the Troubled System
https://bit.ly/3Xc0PKw
Where Kin Come First: The Imprint’s analysis of New York child welfare agencies’ reliance on family and friends reveals where children end up depends a lot on geography.
Part one. Part two.
Civil Rights Panel Highlights Widespread Discrimination Against Black Families in New York’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3XgPKaK
Paris Hilton Joins California Lawmakers to Push for Better Protections in Youth Residential Care
https://bit.ly/4c3Htva
‘Welcome to our Family Courthouse,’ Facility Dogs Declare
https://bit.ly/4bC6Ggp
Embark on a transformative journey with Jas Snell on "InnerViews," as we delve into the empowering realm of healthy emotionality amidst trauma. Explore how Jas, a Black woman with lived child welfare experiences, navigates the intricacies of mental and emotional health, cultivating resilience and empowerment. Uncover the transformative power of embracing emotions, fostering well-being, and advocating for holistic healing in oneself and the community.
Content Warning: Sensitive topics will be discussed.
Perspectives on the Future of Foster Care with Serita Cox
For the past three years, iFoster has been conducting the Voice of the Foster Care Community survey to gather perspective on the system from current and former foster youth, caregivers and the child welfare workforce.
iFoster CEO Serita Cox joins the podcast to discuss this year’s findings, which focused on gauging attitudes about solutions to some of the challenges surfaced in earlier surveys. She also discussed iFoster’s argument for moving towards a “child-first” system and what that would take, plus what her organization is working on with AmeriCorps around reaching more opportunity youth.
Reading Room
Free online discussion: Culturally-Competent Carehttps://bit.ly/3JKgj0i
Voice of the Foster Care Communityhttps://voiceoffostercare.org/
Voice of the Foster Care Community Survey, 2024https://bit.ly/4aeDpqx
Opportunity Pathways: AmeriCorps’ Role in Addressing America’s Opportunity Youth Crisishttps://bit.ly/OYpathway
On this month’s headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss an upcoming appeal in Michigan around the constitutionality of some terminations of parental rights, as well as a trial starting in Oregon and a new lawsuit filed against Louisiana.
We also cover the very steep decline in foster care entries in Texas since the passage of a law that sharpened the definition of neglect in the state, a music studio helping incarcerated youth, and a fourth path to permanency begins in Kansas.
Reading Room
Free online discussion: Culturally-Competent Care
https://bit.ly/3JKgj0i
McCormack’s Dissent
https://bit.ly/3THF8fC
To see oral arguments in the case In Re Bates, Minors
https://www.courts.michigan.gov/court-livestream/
Louisiana the Latest State to Be Sued over Foster Care Issues
https://bit.ly/4bpKXYx
Federal Rule: Designated Placement Requirements for LGBTQI+ Children
https://bit.ly/3JOazCF
Family Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act is Reintroduced
https://bit.ly/3y1CKeK
Head of Children’s Bureau Departing Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/49ZYOUd
Buffalo Recording Studio Offers Young Rappers in State Custody a Place to Express Freely
https://bit.ly/3JKhpJv
US Senate Investigation Finds ‘Systemic Failures’ to Keep Georgia Foster Kids Safe
https://bit.ly/4bmIVZe
For Kansas Foster Youth, a Fourth Path to Permanency
https://bit.ly/44BdxnK
Join host Ivory Bennett in an insightful conversation with Saunya Jones as they explore the complexities of healing from trauma, neglect, and abuse within the foster care system. From mental, emotional, and sexual health to the well-being of Black women, they delve into topics such as generational trauma, the intersection of past trauma and foster care, and societal stigmas hindering sexual assault survivors' paths to joy and agency. Discover empowering anecdotes and practical steps towards fostering healing, empowerment, and resilience for people with lived child welfare experiences. Find Saunya Jones at www.fullylovingyourself.co.
We're sharing a bonus episode from InnerViews! Join host Ivory Bennett on InnerViews as she delves into the complex intersections of trauma, health, and empowerment with special guest Dalyce Wilson. From the societal protection of predators to the health of Black women, Ivory and Dalyce explore topics such as sexual assault, trauma's impact on diseases like T1D, mental and emotional well-being, and the healing journey. Discover the power of forgiveness, the resilience of the human spirit, and actionable steps toward reclaiming self after trauma.
Criminologist Alex Piquero, who led the Bureau of Justice Statistics early in the Biden administration, joined us to discuss what the best available data shows about trends in youth crime before, during and after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also discussed the media’s coverage of youth crime, and what Piquero’s research shows are the most effective ways to prevent and deter youth from committing crimes.
Reading Room
Gov. Moore, Veto Maryland’s Juvenile Justice Reform Bill
https://rb.gy/ea8kcg
America; You want decent public safety? Then pay for it.
https://rb.gy/1n2w4b
‘Raise the Age’ repeal takes effect, meaning 17-year-olds will be charged as adults
https://shorturl.at/qwGRW
National Incident-Based Reporting System
https://bjs.ojp.gov/national-incident-based-reporting-system-nibrs
National Crime Victimization Survey
https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvs
In February, Carolyn Travis of California Youth Connection wrote an op-ed for The Imprint calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to keep his commitment to fair market support for youth who receive subsidized independent living placement (SILP) funds in extended foster care.
Travis joined us on the podcast to talk about her own experience transitioning into extended foster care and then into adulthood, and how important her ability to save some money through SILP was as she entered the workforce during COVID-19.
Carolyn Travis is the community advocacy coordinator for California Youth Connection, one of the nation’s oldest advocacy groups led for and by current and former foster youth. Travis is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles.
Reading Room
Governors on Both Coasts Face Budget Shortfalls for Serving Children and Families Next Year
https://rb.gy/wapi7x
Carolyn Travis: California Governor’s Budget Breaks His Promise to Older Foster Youth
https://rb.gy/mp78ym
2023 Implementation Fact Sheet: Higher Monthly Payments for Foster Youth in SILPs Based on Local Housing Costs
https://jbay.org/resources/2023-fact-sheet-silp/
On this month’s headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss new federal data on foster care, the first state and tribe to get approved for kinship licensing, and what happened this year in the government spending deal. We also talk about a controversial law in Tennessee over foster parents’ views on sexual orientation, Minnesota’s African American Family Preservation Act, and more.
Reading RoomWhat’s In the 2024 Spending Deal for Youth and Families
https://bit.ly/43SWuNF
Michigan, Salt River Pima Tribe Approved for Federal Kinship Support
https://bit.ly/3U9gkkc
Federal Report: Foster Care Total Dropped Again in 2022
https://bit.ly/3TsQ3Mh
50-State Comparison of Mandatory Reporting Laws
https://coloradocpo.org/mandatory-reporting-resource/
Senate Approves Bill Establishing a Right to Foster, Adopt by Anti-LGBTQ Parents in Tennessee
https://bit.ly/4asVq5i
Idaho Legislature requests Office of Performance Evaluations investigation of Youth Treatment Homes
https://bit.ly/3VRHjlD
Short-Staffed New York Juvenile Facilities Place Detained Youth at Risk, State Investigation Finds
https://bit.ly/3VMdPWo
A Bill Once Again Before Minnesota Lawmakers Set Out to Preserve Black Families. This Year’s Version Would Apply to Almost Everyone in the Child Welfare System.
https://bit.ly/3xt8Obb
NAACP and Children’s Advocates Request Federal Civil Rights Investigation of Minnesota’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3vBuscP
Congressional Candidate Wants to Create a Place for Young Women ‘To Dream, To Fight and To Just Be’
https://bit.ly/43PBlDQ
Profiles in Youth Work: Lateefah Simon
https://bit.ly/3xqbVRg
Barry Krisberg, Lifelong Crusader for Youth Behind Bars, is Mourned Nationwide
https://bit.ly/43R0ga2
A new multimedia package produced by The Imprint and Voices of Monterey Bay takes readers, viewers and listeners deep inside rural Oregon’s Indian Country, where elders are Indigenizing social work through equine therapy for young people who have experienced foster care and youth justice systems.
“Horses take us all the way back to our history before our land was taken away,” explains John Doug Spence, who leads equine therapy sessions across Oregon. “It’s a way of taking back our power.”
The project, Healing the Children of Horse Nations, is a collaboration between The Imprint’s Indigenous Children and Families Reporter Nancy Marie Spears, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma; podcast producers Julie and Mara Reynolds; and visual storyteller Josué Rivas, who is Mexica and Otomi.
To read Nancy Marie Spears' reporting for "Healing the Children of Horse Nations," visit: https://bit.ly/3J41mpr
For a collection of photography for this project by Josué Rivas, visit: https://bit.ly/3U1xFeX
Healing the Children of Horse Nations, a new multimedia package produced by The Imprint and Voices of Monterey Bay, takes readers, viewers and listeners deep inside rural Oregon’s Indian Country, where elders are Indigenizing social work through equine therapy for young people who have experienced foster care and youth justice systems.
“Horses take us all the way back to our history before our land was taken away,” explains John Doug Spence, who leads equine therapy sessions across Oregon. “It’s a way of taking back our power.”
Check out this episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast for an interview with the people behind Healing the Children of Horse Nations, and check back on Wednesday April 3 for the official release of the project.
Join us in an illuminating episode of InnerViews as we delve into the profound topic of healing trauma through the lens of re-parenting, guided by the wisdom of Deborah D. Denzel. Drawing from her lived expertise and career in improving the child welfare system, Deborah shares transformative insights into her personal journey of resilience. Explore the pillars of re-parenting and discover empowering strategies for self-nurturing and growth. Through candid reflections and empowering moments, Deborah reveals how embracing the concept of re-parenting has paved the way for healing, joy, and personal empowerment.
Dr. LaShawnDa Pittman spent years studying the lives of dozens of grandmothers in the Chicago area for her book, Grandmothering While Black.
“Despite managing the simultaneity of love and coercion,” she writes, “the Black grandmothers in this study demonstrated their love for their grandchildren in their willingness to provide care, as an extension of parenting and sometimes in place of it.”
Dr. Pittman explored that balance of love and coercion and many other takeaways from her work.
Reading Room
Grandmothering While Black: A Twenty-First Century Story of Love, Coercion, and Survival
https://www.drlashawndapittman.com/
Family Ties: Analysis From a State-By-State Survey of Kinship Care Policies
https://www.aecf.org/resources/family-ties
White House Announces Slate of Actions on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3ZFa7h
On this week’s episode we talk to Rob Geen, who is leading the new Child Welfare Initiative started by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Some of the initiative’s early activities have included:
-A national survey on public attitudes and views about the child welfare system and how it should operate
-A landscape assessment based on interviews with those working for, involved with, and directly affected by child welfare policy.
-A review of state child welfare legislative activity in recent years.
Geen talked to us about the origins of the initiative, findings from its early activities, and his view on what “bipartisanship” means in the context of child welfare policy.
Reading Room
The American Public Weighs in on Our Nation’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/49KD8ML
Bipartisanship Across the Nation: A Review of State Child Welfare Legislation
https://bit.ly/48JEQfT
Key Findings from BPC Child Welfare Landscape Assessment
https://bit.ly/48PjEoG
On this week’s podcast, we discuss some new legislation aimed at drawing more interest in extended foster care, long-sought data on compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the use of federal funds for family justice. We also break down yet another child welfare-related lawsuit in New York, and concerns over the precedent set by the conviction of Jennifer Crumbley.
Reading Room
Bipartisan Bill Would Expand Federal Extended Foster Care Program
https://bit.ly/3Uum8FC
Fostering Adults: The State of Care
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/fostering-adults-state-extended-care
Biden Proposes New Federal Data on ICWA Compliance
https://bit.ly/3OUriXL
Keeping The Kids: Native American overrepresentation in foster care in Montana.
https://montanafreepress.org/keeping-the-kids/
Most States Now Access Federal Funds for Family Court Lawyers
https://bit.ly/3uN543q
New York City Class-Action Lawsuit Defends Parents’ Rights in CPS Home Visits — A Rare Constitutional Challenge
https://bit.ly/48HyRrO
The Trouble With Convicting Parents for Their Children’s Violent Crimes
https://bit.ly/3Injhan
Bill Tracker: Protecting Benefits for Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3uqHgCe
Healing Generations: Nurturing the Inner Child Through Reparenting - A Journey with Dr. Alison Davis
Welcome to InnerViews, a new monthly podcast from the Youth Voices Rising program at Fostering Media Connections!
InnerViews is not just a podcast; it's an intimate exploration led by Ivory Bennett, a seasoned professional with 17 years of lived foster care experience. Each episode is a deep dive into topics surrounding trauma, mental and emotional health, well-being, and the unique challenges faced by Black women in the realm of healing.
Join Ivory Bennett on "InnerViews" for powerful conversations, lived expertise, and a journey towards holistic well-being. Subscribe now and become part of a community committed to understanding, healing, and thriving. Your story matters, and Ivory is here to guide you on the path to inner transformation.
In the inaugural episode of "InnerViews," join host Ivory Bennett in a profound exploration of trauma, healing, and the well-being of Black women with esteemed guest Dr. Alison Davis. Delve into crucial topics such as generational trauma, misogynoire, and the significance of culture in mental and emotional health. Discover empowering insights on parenting, re-parenting, and the transformative journey towards intentional living. Together, let's embark on a path of healing and understanding, where courageous storytelling paves the way to a softer, more empowered life.
About the host:
Ivory Bennett, a national interdisciplinary equity advocate, brings over 8 years of experience in classroom instruction, curriculum design, and department leadership. With a focus on trauma-informed pedagogy, Ivory is committed to achieving education and child welfare equity, especially for youth with marginalized identities.
As the Program Manager for Youth Voices Rising, Ivory develops comprehensive training programs that prepare and empower youth to tell their stories. Ivory also advocates for policy improvements within the child welfare sector. Ivory's vast experience includes roles as Manager, Community Impact Coach for Teach for America in Dallas, Project Manager for Fostering Families Today, and serving as Special Program Board Chair for The Leaders Readers Network.
On this week’s episode we first talked to Kat McCloud about the new season of “Self-Taught,” a podcast from foster youth, for foster youth that just joined our SafeCamp Audio Network. McCloud talks about the first season of the show, what to expect in the second (which is now out) and how she decides what she is comfortable sharing publicly.
Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus on Children, joins us to discuss a new tax reform bill that includes a big proposal to provide more financial support for low-income parents and children, as well as federal budget deliberations and what states are doing related to child spending.
Bruce Lesley is president of First Focus on Children. Prior to his work at First Focus on Children, he served as Senior Health Policy Advisor on the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman.
Reading Room
Self-Taught: Former Foster Youth on Sex, Health, and Life
https://safecampaudio.org/show/self-taught/
Money and Maltreatment
https://bit.ly/3hcelIU
New Research Links Increased Minimum Wage to Reduced Child Maltreatment
https://bit.ly/2RvAqr7
Support Grows For No-Strings-Attached Cash For Families To Prevent Foster Care Removals
https://bit.ly/3DD1NUY
Let the Child Tax Credit Work
https://bit.ly/3aALZHh
On our monthly headlines episode, we discuss recent Imprint coverage on a child welfare litigation group’s first big legal challenge, the impact of fentanyl on legislation and policy in child welfare, and the Biden administration’s incremental steps on fines and fees in the juvenile justice system. We also discuss the child welfare case of a transgender teen in Montana, and the state of federal data on child welfare.
Reading Room
New York Appeals Court Case Focuses on Non-abusive Parent Being Subjected to Home Supervisions
https://bit.ly/3w4Ybum
New Civil Rights Organization Dedicated to Families’ Rights Launches in New York City
https://bit.ly/356ToLZ
Western States Wrestle With a Child Welfare Response to Addictive Drugs
https://bit.ly/489qlSe
‘We failed her.’ Santa Clara County social workers publicly rebuke boss, agency over handling of high-risk kids like baby Phoenix
https://bit.ly/49pui6C
DOJ Calls on States To Eliminate Juvenile System Fines and Fees
https://bit.ly/3SMGg4w
A Minnesota Host Home Program Helps Vulnerable LGBTQ+ Youth Avoid Homelessness
https://bit.ly/49ejXu2
Gianforte rebuts far-right accusations about child protection case
https://bit.ly/42uTCFJ
Child Welfare Outcomes 2020
https://bit.ly/493LGh9
On January 1, two of Washington State’s largest human services providers combined to form a new organization called Akin. The merger of two healthy nonprofits perhaps reflects the alignment of business and outcomes to a new vision for how youth and families are served by governments and their partners.
Dave Newell, the first CEO of Akin, returns to The Imprint Weekly podcast to discuss how the merger came together, what to expect (and not) from the new organization, and his perspective on parts of the child welfare process that are not reformable.
Reading Room
“A Tsunami Is Headed Your Way.” The Pandemic, One Year Later
https://bit.ly/2OC4Erc
Sharon Osborne on Three Decades of Nonprofit Leadership and System Dismantling
https://bit.ly/3SBUrJQ
Keyon’s Case Heads to Washington Supreme Court
https://bit.ly/3sAirg1
Washington Supreme Court: ‘Meaningful Preference’ for Kin Is Required
https://bit.ly/3IcVdp1
Kinship Care Prioritized Under New Washington State Law
https://bit.ly/3uepodx
Breaking The Scarcity Mindset In The Nonprofit Sector
https://bit.ly/3SKyQy
Akin
www.akinfamily.org
Strategies for Youth (SFY) is one of the few organizations in the country focused on the true front door of the juvenile justice system: interactions between youth and law enforcement officers. Recently, SFY published a collection of model policies for departments to use in making those interactions safer and more productive.
SFY’s Shelley Jackson, who spent decades working on guidance and policy for the federal government, joins us to describe these model policies and how they came together.
Reading Room
12 Model Law Enforcement Policies for Youth Interaction
https://strategiesforyouth.org/model-policies/
“Kids Are Not a Priority Until They’re A Problem” https://imprintnews.org/podcast/kids-not-priority-until-problem
Make Training Police on Juvenile Justice, Youth Interaction a National Priority
https://bit.ly/3IFnzbY
Hope Springs Infernal for Better Policing
https://bit.ly/3DIleJG
As always, we were fortunate to have some amazing guests join us this year on The Imprint Weekly Podcast. In this episode we feature clips of 20 great interviews from 2023.
If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and Fostering Families Today, and the work that our Youth Voices Rising team does, please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!
Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online events.
There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit www.imprintnews.org/donate.
On this week’s podcast, we break down the new data featured in The Imprint’s “Who Cares” project, which seeks to provide an up-to-date answer on two key questions in child welfare:
How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living?
Every year we obtain answers directly from states on this subject, and surround that with data drawn from the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. You can access all of our national tables and state-by-state profiles at FosterCareCapacity.com.
Reading Room
Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes and Families
www.fostercarecapacity.com
Number of Youth in Formal Foster Care Continues to Decline, Imprint Survey Finds
https://shorturl.at/pIVY2
Measuring Family Separation
https://bit.ly/47SSeP8
On this week’s podcast, we discuss some headlines that seem to emanate in part from workforce woes, a lawsuit over anonymous reporting, one state’s effort to adjust child welfare policy after marijuana legalization, and missing school while locked up.
Lisa Dickson of ACTION Ohio joins us to talk about the annual series of Thanksgiving dinners she helped state for youth in Ohio foster care, the right way to incorporate lived experience, the death of Ma’khia Bryant, and more.
Reading Room
Imperial County Social Services Report Draws Vocal Criticism
https://tinyurl.com/bdfzr7tf
Watchdog Finds ‘Errors on Top of Errors’ at DHHS Before Child Death
https://tinyurl.com/mznm99j7
Financial Crisis for Central Florida Foster Care Nonprofit
https://tinyurl.com/2zb592vd
Brooklyn Mother and Son Sue New York City Children’s Services over ‘Traumatic’ CPS Investigations Following False Reports
https://tinyurl.com/4zwatuvm
With Cannabis Newly Legalized, Minnesota is Latest State to Adjust its Child Welfare Approach
https://tinyurl.com/2yee8bch
Problem Newly Revealed in Juvenile Hall Schools: A Failure to Get Kids to Class
https://tinyurl.com/2jyf62yt
Education Inside and Out
https://tinyurl.com/y68aaf6k
Fifty Years of Transforming Youth Justice
https://shorturl.at/ePW23
Thanksgiving Together Ohio
https://tinyurl.com/3edd3w2d
On this week’s podcast, we discuss some news out of Tennessee that makes a congressional inquiry look bad, and two stories that highlight the intrinsic problem with investigations of abuse within foster care.
We also talk about new research on abortion laws and foster care entries, supportive housing’s impact on reunification, and two cool mapping resources on federal and state spending.
Reading Room
The Human Rights of Foster Children
https://tinyurl.com/bddjpy4m
DCS whistleblowers claim ‘cover-up’ of ‘dangerous’ conditions in state-run homes
https://tinyurl.com/mveyh9ma
Louisville foster kids say they were harmed in residential care. Few were believed.
https://tinyurl.com/p4v9js62
The Forgotten Children of Texas
https://tinyurl.com/4uydfh7c
Tug of war over $125 million in temporary assistance to needy families surplus brewing
https://tinyurl.com/2t46vy34
Association Between Restricted Abortion Access and Child Entries Into the Foster Care System
https://tinyurl.com/bddbm3j7
How Supportive Housing Can Keep Families Together
https://tinyurl.com/yp7t2ctb
Find Federal Funding in Your Community
https://tinyurl.com/4byj78f5
National Trends in State Funding for Children and Youth
https://tinyurl.com/yp9t4cnc
Last month, the Biden administration proposed a new rule that would permit the use of federal funding to support attorneys for tribal governments, relatives and other kin, and parents and children at risk of experiencing a family separation.
Jey Rajaraman, associate director of litigation, children and the law for the American Bar Association, spent 16 years leading parent counsel in New Jersey, helping to develop one of the nation’s first “pre-petition” programs. She joined the podcast to discuss what the new proposed rule means and the potential of earlier provision of legal counsel for families.
Reading Room
White House Announces Slate of Actions on Child Welfare
https://shorturl.at/iuFN1
Trump Administration Rule Change Could Unleash Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds to Defend Rights of Parents, Children in Child Protection Cases
https://shorturl.at/pHKV4
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Foster Care Legal Representation
https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-20932.pdf
American Bar Association Summer of Proposed Rule
https://shorturl.at/bktMU
Joint Public Comment of American Bar Association, National Association of Counsel for Children and Youth Law Center
https://shorturl.at/sCFLY
On this week’s podcast, we discuss some upcoming online conversations on self-sufficiency and navigating the holidays, The Imprint’s “Born of History” series, and more information on the Biden administration’s interest in updating a key piece of the Family First Prevention Services Act.
Kerrie Lonard, Child Advocate for the State of Kansas, joins us to talk about an interesting survey her office did over the summer to learn more about the nature of why foster parents stop fostering.
Reading Room
Free Online Event!
Getting to Self Sufficiency: Helping Foster Youth Thrive as Young Adults
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Sponsored by Binti
Free Online Event!
Redefining Holidays: How to Navigate Triggering Times
https://tinyurl.com/3n4ukmzs
Born of History: A Tulalip Youth’s Journey to Indigenize Child Welfare
https://tinyurl.com/2ypmt7r9
Biden Team Seeks More Input on Family First Act Process
https://tinyurl.com/2pz3uvd4
Listening Session on the proposed revisions to the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbook
https://tinyurl.com/4pcpbvsm
Foster Parenting in Kansas: The voices behind foster home closures and lessons to be learned
https://tinyurl.com/ue7n8xyb
On this week’s episode we discuss action on Capitol Hill around the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, a Congressional investigation that so far includes only one state’s child welfare system, and how programs are reviewed for the Family First Act.
Natalece Washington, policy counsel for the National Association of Counsel for Children, to talk about her organization’s campaign to get all 50 states to guarantee legal counsel to all children in foster care.
Reading Room
The Impact of Family Support on Child Safety: Right-Sizing CAPTA Funding to Better Protect Children
https://www.childrensrights.org/our-advocacy#watch
Senate Considers Legal Counsel Requirements in CAPTA Reauthorization Bill
https://rb.gy/qhmpy
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to Investigate Georgia Child Welfare
https://rb.gy/nmee1
The Human Rights of Foster Children
https://rb.gy/v4osg
Foster Children in the Courts
https://rb.gy/twqoj
Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Draft Version 2.0
https://tinyurl.com/y634dken
More than a Dozen States Fail to Guarantee Lawyers for Children in CPS Cases, New Report Finds
https://rb.gy/g9gkh
NACC Counsel for Kids Campaign Website
https://counselforkids.org
Seen, Heard, and Represented
https://tinyurl.com/bdvamubc
Trump Administration Rule Change Could Unleash Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds to Defend Rights of Parents, Children in Child Protection Cases
https://shorturl.at/rxDIT
Episode 150! We discuss foster parents seeking adoption before a termination of parental rights, the nexus of foster care and psychiatric facilities and charging parents for child welfare services.
Dawn Post joins to discuss her career in child welfare, which includes starting the Broken Adoptions Project in New York City, working on class action litigation around the country and much more.
Reading Room
When Foster Parents Don’t Want to Give Back the Baby
https://tinyurl.com/2s462r7r
Family Fights 3 Years for Custody of Their Own Child
https://tinyurl.com/2aw4wbwe
Inside the Psychiatric Hospitals Where Foster Kids Are a “Gold Mine”https://shorturl.at/fgoy4
Child Welfare Financing Survey 2020
https://shorturl.at/bfzGJ
Los Angeles County Tackles Long-Standing Problem of Parents Unable to Afford Court-Ordered Programs
https://shorturl.at/cguGO
The True Face of Big Residential’s Failures
https://shorturl.at/dijZ8
On an all-headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, Imprint reporter Sara Tiano joins us to discuss her new series on a child welfare worker, also a licensed foster parent, who is losing a fight to adopt her two nephews.
We also discuss some mixed reviews from new research on unconditional cash support, the impact of enduring relationships for older youth in foster care, the future of mandated reporting, and more.
Reading Room
Fighting for Kin
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/fighting-for-kin
Latonia vs. Chisago County
https://imprintnews.org/minnesota-series-v8
Effects of Universal and Unconditional Cash Transfers on Child Abuse and Neglect
https://bit.ly/46vWLXe
Unconditional Cash Transfers and Maternal Assessments of Children's Health, Nutrition, and Sleep
https://bit.ly/46wYs6P
Social Work Research Explores the Effects of ‘Enduring Relationships’ for Older Youth in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3M3mkqa
Gonzales Poll – Part 1: Maryland Statewide
https://bit.ly/3M1Yefy
Federal Judge Upholds State's Right to Work with Faith-Based Adoption Agencies
https://bit.ly/3rRqrz0
Supreme Court Says Philadelphia Violated Catholic Child Welfare Group’s First Amendment Rights
https://shorturl.at/loAL5
New York Lawmakers Weigh Calls To Overhaul Mandated Reporting of Child Maltreatment
https://shorturl.at/glwI4
Landmark Study Marks Progress — and Critical Gaps — in Reproductive Health for California Foster Youth
https://shorturl.at/htP17
Supporters Vow To Continue the Work of David Inocencio, Founder of The Beat Within Magazine Written by Incarcerated Youth
https://shorturl.at/bcyM9
On this week’s podcast we break down some major new actions on child welfare taken by the Biden administration around kinship care, legal counsel for parents and children, and LGBTQI+ youth in foster care.
Matt Anderson, host of the new podcast The Proximity Process, joins to discuss his own journey in the world of child welfare and what his plans are for this new show.
Reading Room
White House Announces Slate of Actions on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3ZFa7hl
Biden Administration Proposes Easing Foster Care Licensing Barriers for Relatives
https://bit.ly/3m7l3EF
Trump Administration Rule Change Could Unleash Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds to Defend Rights of Parents, Children in Child Protection Cases
https://bit.ly/3LGHMRT
The Proximity Process
https://safecampaudio.org/show/proximity-process/
On this week’s episode we discuss the rebounding of child poverty rates as COVID-19 era fiscal support went away; truth and reconciliation in South Korea; and a potential Supreme Court case over gender-affirming care
Jody Kent Lavy, co-executive director of the Campaign for The Fair Sentencing of Youth, joins to discuss the history of the campaign, the push to end juvenile life without parole sentences and what comes next as more states provide a meaningful chance at freedom.
Reading Room
Thursday, October 12 1pm PST/4pm EST: Education, Inside and Out
Join us for an online conversation about what we know, and what we’re trying when it comes to educating youth who experience incarceration. Register for free: www.imprintnews.org/webinars
Child Poverty Spiked After Pandemic Aid Ended Last Year, Census Shows
https://shorturl.at/ceDX3
Appeals court takes up transgender health coverage case likely headed to Supreme Court
https://shorturl.at/kuzJ3
World’s Largest ‘Baby Exporter’ Confronts Its Painful Past
https://shorturl.at/hG457
Juvenile Life Without Parole Sentences Are a Failed Policy That Needs to End
https://shorturl.at/gBHT2
On this week’s episode we discuss another “Family Miranda” bill becoming law, this time in Arizona; a case against caseworkers headed to verdict; and a damning statement on “Shaken Baby Syndrome.”
Christine Norbut Beyer, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, joins to discuss her state’s exit from court oversight after many years, how the system has changed since her early career as a social worker, and her thoughts on Miranda-style warnings for parents at the point of investigation.
Reading Room
Hobbs Announces 15-Year Low of Arizona Children in Foster Care, Signs New Bill
https://shorturl.at/bqsB8
Prosecuting Caseworkers for Child Fatalities, Take Two
https://bit.ly/3LmCaMA
Leaders Fear Dangerous Precedent As Homicide Case against Caseworkers Continues
https://bit.ly/3Pj7Xix
DCFS workers on trial over AJ Freund’s death won’t testify; defense rests without calling witnesses
https://bit.ly/460KERS
Appeals court agrees shaken baby syndrome is ‘junk science’ in some cases
https://bit.ly/3Ro8qT6
He’s Facing Execution For His Daughter’s Death. Now, Science Suggests It Was An Accident.
https://bit.ly/45SyZUN
Discredited Shaken Baby Science Sent This Father to Jail for 15 Years. His Ordeal Could End This Week
https://bit.ly/48wrftJ
After 15 years in Prison, Freedom for California Man After Judge Overturns Shaken Baby Conviction
https://bit.ly/3PpjJYR
Report Documents the Critical Elements of Protecting Alaska Native Children — Connections to Culture and the Environment
https://bit.ly/3PGs9v5
Rebuilding Family After Foster Care
https://shorturl.at/HQ048
Three Brothers, Three Paths Out of Foster Care
https://shorturl.at/gprA0
Florida’s Baker Act Has Seized Kids & Adults for Forced Mental Health Holds Almost 2 Million Times in Past Decade. Are Advocates Finally Forcing Change?https://shorturl.at/hvPU9
Child Welfare Challenges in The Sunshine State
https://shorturl.at/ijtI9
On this week’s episode we are joined by Kathy Icenhower, co-founder and CEO of Shields for Families. Three decades ago, against the backdrop of the crack epidemic, Icenhower started Shields out of a run-down trailer provided by the Los Angeles county government with Norma Ntume and Dr. Xylina Bean. It quickly became a pioneering organization in the fight to keep families together while parents pursued drug treatment.
Icenhower talked with us about the evolution of Shields, when child removals are necessary in substance abuse cases, her concerns about the trends in treating addiction, and much more.
Reading Room
“Good News Radio Magazine” interview with Kathryn Icenhower and Norma Mtume.https://bit.ly/3PeAy8t
Supporters, Not Reporters: Preventing Foster Care in Californiahttps://bit.ly/3sPI9TH
L.A. County Hopes to Expand Family-Finding Serviceshttps://bit.ly/3ZdElaT
On this week’s episode we discuss another class action lawsuit, this one targeting the extended foster care system in America’s largest local child welfare system. Also: a potentially problematic hiccup in Arizona with one of the first modern state case management systems, and the After Life podcast wins a major award.
Michael D. Davis-Thomas, aka MDDT Speaks, joins to discuss the first two seasons of his podcast Resilient Voices and Beyond, as well as the current state of child welfare from the perspective of a man who experienced it and worked within it.
Reading Room
Los Angeles County Sued Over ‘Foster Care to Homelessness Pipeline’
https://bit.ly/3PeDkfn
Discovered Documents Prompt Calls for Halt to Some Child Welfare Cases in Arizona
https://bit.ly/3KRcCXI
Gray Area Season Two: After Life
https://safecampaudio.org/show/gray-area/
Interview with Julie Reynolds, Host/Producer of After Life
https://bit.ly/44qlr1y
On this week’s episode, we discuss another class action lawsuit filed against Indiana’s child welfare agency; housing barriers to reunification; one of America’s most famous adoption stories unravels; and new leaders in child welfare.
Kee Tobar, host of Community Legal Services (CLS) of Philadelphia’s podcast “How is That Legal?”, joins to discuss the origins of the show and some of the most impactful moments from its first two seasons.
Reading Room
Another Lawsuit Filed Against Indiana
https://bit.ly/3E3btIM
Barriers to Reunification: City Lacks System to Help Reunifying Families Access Appropriate Housing
https://bit.ly/3P3iVto
Turnover at Private New York Child Welfare Agencies Reaches ‘Jarring’ Levels, Directors Say
https://bit.ly/3s5KrNW
Former NFL Star and ‘Blind Side’ Film Hero Accuses a Prominent Memphis Family of Lying About His Adoption
https://bit.ly/3YDtLcX
Linda Spears Leaving Massachusetts DCF to Lead Child Welfare League of America
https://bit.ly/3Ky0Eli
Center for Families, Children and the Courts Gets New Executive Director
https://bit.ly/47t8dUs
Child Welfare Veteran Tapped to Lead Unaccompanied Migrant Children Program
https://bit.ly/3seTlsK
On this week’s episode we talk about some cases over the right to foster and adopt, Washington’s new policy on newborns exposed to drugs, and some recent award-nominated work by The Imprint.
Ivory Bennett, host of Ivory Bennett: The Podcast and new program manager for the Youth Voices Rising program, joins to discuss her plan to take on tough conversations on the show.
Reading Room
Adults Being Treated for Substance Use Disorder Can Be Foster Parents, Feds Confirm
https://bit.ly/45Ka0Tx
Massachusetts Bans Catholic Couple from Fostering Children Due to Beliefs on Gender, Sexuality, Lawsuit Claims
https://bit.ly/3s9g899
Lawsuit Against Oregon’s Anti-Discrimination Policy Re-Ups Movement to Shield Religious Child Welfare Providers
https://bit.ly/457myUP
Drug-Exposed Babies Put 'In a Very Dangerous Position' by State's New Policy, Critics Worry
https://bit.ly/446DOZ8
Novel Implementation of State Reporting Policy for Substance-Exposed Infants
https://bit.ly/3ZmJ5JA
The Darkest Part of the Tunnel
Nell Bernstein reports on how California’s youth prisons got shut down, and what comes next as county juvenile justice systems take over.
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/the-darkest-part-of-the-tunnel
High Stakes, Silent Systems
An investigation on sexual and reproductive health in foster care.
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/high-stakes-silent-systems
On this week’s episode we discuss new data on the use of detention since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a whistleblower in Texas, and the passing of Charles Ogletree.
Corey Best, founder of Mining for Gold and host of the Audio Nuggets podcast, joins to discuss how he built his show in the mold of a hip-hop cypher.
Reading Room
Changing Course in Youth Detention: Reversing Widening Gaps by Race and Place
https://bit.ly/47n8VT1
Youth Detention and the Pandemic
https://bit.ly/47fyyoV
Texas Whistleblower Says Vulnerable Teens Are Being Failed by State Child Welfare Agency When They Turn 18
https://bit.ly/3DEi4Je
Prominent New York Court Official Fired on Eve of Testimony About Child Welfare Issues
https://bit.ly/3DG29du
Support Grows For No-Strings-Attached Cash For Families To Prevent Foster Care Removals
https://bit.ly/3DD1NUY
On this week’s episode we discuss new data on drug use among youth who experience incarceration; federal legislation to define poverty out of neglect; testing cash assistance in child welfare; and how foster care is being discussed in the context of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Angela Orkin, co-host of The Children’s Law Podcast, joins to discuss one of the longest running podcasts on child welfare.
Reading Room
New Bill Would Require States To Distinguish Poverty From Child Neglect
https://bit.ly/3YfiSxz
Can Giving Cash to Youth Prevent Homelessness? A New Program Developed in Washington Looks Promising
https://bit.ly/3KosLDx
Washington, D.C., Pilot Gives $500 Per Month to Black Mothers with CPS Cases
https://bit.ly/478nrhr
New York Tests Cash Assistance for Families Involved with CPS
https://bit.ly/3Ob9vKV
Radically Reforming Reunification with Dee Wilson
https://bit.ly/3Pxc2i7
How Abortion Bans Will Strain an Already Failing Foster System
https://bit.ly/3Klh1ln
On this week’s episode we discuss the ever-decreasing amount of kids in adult jails and prisons; an ominous audit on the use of psychotropics and opioids in foster care; and several interesting stories published by The Imprint this month.
Adrian McLemore, a founding member of the Unbelievably Resilient podcast, joins to discuss the origin of the show and his views on the state of child welfare.
Number of Youth in Adult Lockups Continues to Fall
https://bit.ly/3O2C6lA
Florida Did Not Comply with Requirements for Documenting Psychotropic and Opioid Medications Prescribed for Children in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3O3ETuH
Multisystemic Therapy Gives New York Family a Second Chance
https://bit.ly/3Q9ulwW
Reunifications are Rare Under Minnesota Law to Restore Parental Rights
https://bit.ly/43A19lO
Inside Mandated Reporting Reform in Los Angeles County
https://bit.ly/3Q824a0
On this week’s episode we discuss new supports for older foster youth in California, psychiatric facilities in North Carolina, an angry Texas judge and an interesting new leader in New Hampshire.
Michael Ramey, host of the EPPiC Broadcast, joins us to discuss the show’s origin, the state of parental rights in America, and more.
Reading Room
California Budget Boosts Higher Education and Housing for Foster Youth
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/california-budget-boosts-higher-education-and-housing-for-foster-youth/242770
Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities for Child Behavioral Health Services in North Carolina Medicaid
https://bit.ly/3OgiGei
A ‘Flabbergasted’ Federal Judge Tells Texas ‘There Are Children Dying and Being Injured On Your Watch’
https://bit.ly/3JCevql
Jeff Fleischer, Retired Nonprofit Director, Tapped to Lead New Hampshire DCYF
https://bit.ly/3O0l4V4
EPPiC Broadcast
https://safecampaudio.org/show/the-eppic-broadcast/
On this week’s episode we discuss a slate of recent court decisions over gender-affirming care for minors; Arizona moves to protect Social Security benefits for foster youth; big data breaches involving youth in the system; and California closes state-run juvenile prisons for good.
We begin our summer series SafeCamp Spotlights, where we’ll talk to hosts from all of the great shows featured on the SafeCamp Audio podcast network. Up first: April Dinwoodie, host of Born in June, Raised in April.
Reading Room
Federal Judges in Kentucky and Tennessee Block Portions of Transgender Youth Care Bans
https://bit.ly/46D5bfR
Federal Judge Strikes Down Arkansas’ Ban on Gender-Affirming Treatment for Trans Youth
https://bit.ly/46J0MYX
Arizona Becomes First State to Stop Agencies From Taking Foster Children’s Federal Benefits
https://bit.ly/3NMInlh
Foster Advocates Critical of MN Department of Education’s Handling of Data Breach
https://bit.ly/3NL4Kr
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Announces Data Breach Affecting Over 150k Individuals
https://bit.ly/3JR7134
The Darkest Part of the Tunnel: Nell Bernstein reports on how California’s youth prisons got shut down, and what comes next as county juvenile justice systems take over.
https://bit.ly/3pFVTz2
California Invests in Education for Incarcerated Youth
https://bit.ly/3NMuqD
Top Child Welfare Official Contreras Leaving Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/3r7LgFB
Bill to Protect Disabled Parents Involved with Child Welfare System Introduced
https://bit.ly/46lCWSA
Darrell Missey’s path to leading the Missouri Children’s Division was an interesting one. He joined us to talk about his own life growing up in a family that experienced a mental health crisis; the group of grandmas that helped him run for judge; and the frank conversation that landed him in charge of a state with one of America’s highest foster care rates.
Reading Room
Missouri Child Welfare Leader’s Goal Personal: Keep Families United
https://bit.ly/46oSPrr
Where the Judiciary Prosecutes in Front of Itself: Missouri's Unconstitutional Juvenile Court Structure
https://bit.ly/437OMgE
Missouri Foster Care State Profile
https://www.fostercarecapacity.com/states/missouri
Last week, in a surprising 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court fully upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act in Brackeen v. Haaland. We break down the full opinion of the court and their various reasons for siding in support of the 1978 law that was passed at a time when nearly a third of indigenous children were separated from their family.
We are joined for reaction to the Brackeen ruling by three women close to the case:
-Kate Fort of Michigan State University, one of the foremost experts on ICWA in this country, who assisted with the tribes’ preparation for the Supreme Court oral arguments
-Chrissi Ross Nimmo, deputy attorney general for Cherokee Nation, one of the the tribes that officially was party to the case
-Rebecca Nagle, journalist and architect of the podcast This Land, whose second season focused on the Brackeen case.
Reading Room
Indian Child Welfare Act Stands, Native Families Empowered
https://bit.ly/3PjEV3L
The Imprint’s continuing coverage of Brackeen v. Haaland, 2018-2023
https://bit.ly/3ttyzTy
Opinion in Brackeen v. Haaland
https://bit.ly/3PhDGCa
Imprint Reporting by Nancy Marie Spears
https://imprintnews.org/author/nancy-marie-spears
What can the ChatGPT and Bards of the world do to improve the child welfare and juvenile justice systems? On this week’s podcast, Carole Hussey of Evolv Strategy Group joins to talk about that and why states are hesitant to make big changes to case management systems.
Reading Room
Feds Chart Future for Antique Data Management Systems
https://bit.ly/3CtgObb
How Tech Ties into Family First
https://bit.ly/3CkSfx4
Open AI/ChatGPT
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt
Google Bard
https://bard.google.com/
On this week’s podcast we discuss some of the figures in the biennial report on state-by-state child welfare spending from Child Trends. Also: looming deadlines on “Family Miranda” laws in two states and a Supreme Court case on ICWA, and more.
Imprint reporter Michael Fitzgerald joins to talk about his investigative reporting looking into sexual and reproductive health policies for youth in foster care, an issue brought into sharp focus last year when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Reading Room
Child Welfare Financing Survey SFY 2020
https://bit.ly/43EVtHE
San Bernardino Foster Youth File Class-Action Lawsuit
https://bit.ly/42rUp8O
Texas Bill To Increase Rights for Parents Under Investigation Passes State House and Senate
https://bit.ly/3qk9nR5
Another Try for Legislation In New York Giving Parents ‘Miranda’ Rights During CPS Investigations
https://bit.ly/3oQZc5V
California’s Santa Clara County Aims to Keep Girls Out of Juvenile Lockups
https://bit.ly/3Hh2lm3
Four California Counties Join Effort to End the Incarceration of Girls
https://bit.ly/43hWB42
High Stakes, Silent Systems
A three-part investigation on sexual and reproductive health in foster care.
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/high-stakes-silent-systems
This week we discuss the race between Texas and New York to pass the first “Family Miranda” bill for child welfare investigations, clergy as mandated reporters, and the 28th state to ban juvenile life without parole sentences.
Serita Cox of iFoster joins to discuss some of the most interesting results from the organization’s second annual foster care survey, including some notable responses from current and former foster youth about reunification or adoption
Reading Room
Texas Should Tell Parents Their Rights When It Investigates Child Abuse Claims, Lawmaker Proposes
https://bit.ly/3ooLNSy
‘Miranda Warning’-style Bill for Parents Fails in New York City Council
https://bit.ly/3GYmtGz
States Weigh Child Abuse Reporting vs. Clergy’s Duty of Confidentiality
https://bit.ly/3IsyNCk
Minnesota Abolishes Juvenile Life-Without-Parole Sentences
https://eji.org/news/minnesota-abolishes-juvenile-life-without-parole-sentences/
Gov. Walz Signs Bill to End Use of Juvenile Solitary Confinement
https://bit.ly/43eBtLE
Voice of The Foster Care Community
https://voiceoffostercare.org
This week we review some new research on older youth in foster care, and the impact of mother bonding in the treatment of withdrawal symptoms for opioid-exposed newborns.
We also discuss several recent stories published in The Imprint, including the first installment of a series looking at the haphazard rules around sexual and reproductive health for youth in foster care; how a small group of parent activists eventually effected the closure of California’s state-run youth prisons; and more.
Coming Soon: SafeCamp Audio, the forthcoming podcast network from Fostering Media Connections, which will feature terrific audio projects on child welfare, youth justice and more. Click here to join the SafeCamp newsletter!
Reading Room
Less Older Youth in Foster Care, But Path to Permanency Remains an Issue
https://bit.ly/3pctSOS
A Fourth Path to Permanency: The SOUL Family
https://bit.ly/3QbSiB8
“Eat, Sleep, Console” reduces hospital stay and need for medication among opioid-exposed infants
https://bit.ly/41DtNBg
A Cheaper Preservation Approach to Keep Babies Exposed to Opioids with Mom
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/cheaper-preservation-approach-keep-babies-exposed-opioids-mom/31417
High Stakes, Silent Systems: Foster Care’s Missing Policies For Sexual and Reproductive Health
https://bit.ly/45cMXkP
The Untold Story of How a Stubborn Group of Parents Helped Shutter the Nation’s Largest Youth Prison System
https://bit.ly/3nSUlB3
Washington State Plans to Move Foster Youth Out of Hotels and Offices
https://bit.ly/44Z7Y24
States Nationwide ‘Professionalize’ Foster Parenting to Better Support Youth
https://bit.ly/3pH5Xrd
Minnesota Aims to Better Equip Parents Facing Termination of Parental Rights
https://bit.ly/3Icxffn
As Youth Supporters Rally, Minnesota Lawmakers Pass ‘Trans Refuge’ Bill
https://bit.ly/41zHzpp
These States Have Banned Youth Gender-Affirming Care
https://bit.ly/3O4zJ3j
A recent law journal article lays out three arguments against the rate at which many child welfare systems terminate parental rights. “The Ties That Bind” lays out data, outcomes and legal reasoning to support that idea.
We are joined this week by the co-authors of this paper: Christopher Church, a pro-bono attorney for the CHAMPS Clinic at the University of South Carolina School of Law and a co-director for the Appeal for Youth Clinic at Emory Law in Atlanta, and Vivek Sankaran, who directs the Child Advocacy Law Clinic and Child Welfare Appellate Clinics at the University of Michigan.
Reading Room
Coming Soon: SafeCamp Audio, the forthcoming podcast network from Fostering Media Connections, which will feature terrific audio projects on child welfare, youth justice and more. Click here to join the SafeCamp newsletter!
The Ties that Bind Us: An Empirical, Clinical, and Constitutional Argument Against Terminating Parental Rights
https://bit.ly/3nB2BVV
Family Court Review
Special Issue: Race, Racism and Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/42vXXY3
This week we discuss SafeCamp Audio, the forthcoming podcast network from Fostering Media Connections, which will feature terrific audio projects on child welfare, youth justice and more. Click here to join the SafeCamp newsletter!
We also review some recent headlines, including new research on racial disparities in the child welfare process, renewed Congressional interest in congregate care, family separation in Ukraine, and more.
Reading Room
Bipartisan Bill Introduced To Tighten Oversight of Residential Centers for Youth
https://bit.ly/41WfAjU
Mississippi Governor Touts ‘Culture of Life’ with New Laws
https://bit.ly/3HSgTsr
Abortion Ruling Means More and Riskier Births in Mississippi
https://bit.ly/3oUbbiR
State-Level Variation in the Cumulative Prevalence of Child Welfare System Contact
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36874408/
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Child Protective Services Reporting, Substantiation and Placement, With Comparison to Non-CPS Risks and Outcomes
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36990447/
State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the United States
https://bit.ly/3LL0Oa4
Think of Us Receives $47.5 Million from TED’s Audacious Project
https://bit.ly/3Nots26
Last week we talked to Keri Richmond, manager of child welfare policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), about a 50-state look at the new federal rules prompted by the Family First Prevention Services act around the use of group homes, residential programs and other forms of congregate care.
On this week’s podcast we talk to Jim Czarniak about a deep dive on the same topic that focused on New York. Czarniak’s work surfaced very similar findings to the national review done by AAP.
Reading Room
Eighteen Months Later: New York Family First Implementation Shows Little
Change for Foster Care Youth Placed in Group Care
https://bit.ly/3H1oDb1
Family First Implementation: A One Year Review of State Progress in Reforming Congregate Care
https://bit.ly/3L5m3Do
Implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act
https://bit.ly/3A4L9vQ
The Imprint’s Complete Guide to the Family First Act
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/complete-guide-the-family-first-act
On this week’s podcast we discuss a new California law that grants more time for reunifying families in some child welfare cases; the ever-worsening situation in Los Angeles juvenile facilities; and Congress takes an interest in kids that run away from foster care.
Keri Richmond, manager of child welfare policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics, joins to discuss AAP’s recent assessment of the new limits on federal funding for group homes, residential care and institutions for foster youth. And we chat about the excellent podcast Keri helps produce, Unbelievably Resilient.
Reading Room
Eighteen Months Before Losing Your Kid? California Challenges Some Child Welfare Timelines
https://bit.ly/41yelH0
‘Intolerable’ and ‘Appalling’ — Los Angeles County Juvenile Halls Face New Round of Scrutiny
https://bit.ly/3UHhLoJ
Audit Finds Child Welfare Agencies Often Don’t Report Missing Kids to National Office
https://bit.ly/41dIRpR
Grassley, Cornyn, Colleagues Introduce Bill To Help Missing Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3mAt4T2
Arizona Kinship Support Services
https://bit.ly/43OKHzx
Family First Implementation: A One Year Review of State Progress in Reforming Congregate Care
https://bit.ly/3L5m3Do
Implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act
https://bit.ly/3A4L9vQ
The Imprint’s Complete Guide to the Family First Act
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/complete-guide-the-family-first-act
On this week’s podcast we discuss the lawsuit filed by an Oregon woman who wants to adopt and says the state is infringing on her religious freedom; higher education for incarcerated youth; and a new benefits tracker for people leaving Los Angeles foster care.
Jessica Pac of the University of Wisconsin’s Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work and Sophie Collyer of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University join to discuss their simulation of what different anti-poverty measures would do to child protection services activity in America.
Reading Room
Family First Clearinghouse Approves New Programs
http://bit.ly/3MxHJZN
Woman Hoping to Adopt Foster Children Sues Oregon Over LGBTQ Expectations
http://bit.ly/3zIsghR
California Expands College Education for Youth in Juvenile Detention Centers
http://bit.ly/3zNwQLX
Los Angeles County Looks to Digital Tools to Assist Young Adults Leaving Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3KeI5TE
2 Men Enter Pleas in Death of Lakeside Academy Student
http://bit.ly/3KKW6c1
The Effects of Child Poverty Reductions on Child Protective Services Involvement
http://bit.ly/3ZYUqjo
The Antipoverty Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit across States: Where Were the Historic Reductions Felt?
https://bit.ly/3ZSYjpV
On this week’s podcast, we feature an online conversation hosted by Fostering Media Connection about community mental health services for youth in New York State. Sandy Santana, executive director of Children’s Rights, talks about the lawsuit his organization has filed against New York for failing to meet its commitments under Medicaid law when it comes to community mental health services.
Jose Perez and Amal Kharoufi, both of whom work on the YouthNPower project for the Children’s Defense Fund-New York, spoke to the broader idea of what community mental health should include and how the limitations around mental health services impacts youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
Reading Room
Lawsuit: C.K. v. Bassett
http://bit.ly/3zl3Ivp
It is Time to Prioritize Young People’s Mental Health
http://bit.ly/3zlDRDl
On this week’s podcast, we break down some recent research about toxicology testing of parents and newborns and how it connects to child welfare, legislative efforts to protect benefits for foster youth, and the troubling state of youth justice in Los Angeles.
Jeff Fleischer, the recently retired CEO of Youth Advocate Programs and recent founder of Neighborhood Safety Advocates, joins to discuss YAP’s rich history and why he thinks America hasn’t developed more programs dedicated to serving youth who have committed serious crimes in the community.
Reading Room
Disparities in Maternal-Infant Drug Testing, Social Work Assessment, and Custody at 5 Hospitals
https://bit.ly/3Kbvj8c
Incidence of Newborn Drug Testing and Variations by Birthing Parent Race and Ethnicity Before and After Recreational Cannabis Legalization
http://bit.ly/42LzMpM
Novel Implementation of State Reporting Policy for Substance-Exposed Infants
https://bit.ly/3ZmJ5JA
A Growing Number of States Vow to Stop Seizing Benefits Owed to Foster Youth http://bit.ly/3LTOt3V
Numerous Reforms, Little Time for Los Angeles County to Improve its Juvenile Detention Facilities
http://bit.ly/3MaGq31
Northern California Tribe Alleges California Unfairly Denied Extended Foster Care Benefits to its Youth
http://bit.ly/3LPUrmr
YAP’s New President an Old Hand at Pushing Against Incarceration
http://bit.ly/40x4IIa
Youth Advocate Programs Gets Federal Stamp of Approval
http://bit.ly/40zCP2c
Youth Advocate Programs, Major Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Provider, Gets $20 Million Investment from Ballmer Group
http://bit.ly/42Lzz5F
On this week’s podcast we discuss trends in the use of the Family First Act, the pursuit of more federal child welfare data, and a state seeks to lower the age of juvenile justice.
Terri Sorensen, longtime CEO of Friends of the Children, joins to talk about professional mentoring of youth, how her organization’s approach has developed over the years, and the insane run of major gifts that Friends has seen of late.
Reading Room
Dear Colleague Letter on Family First Act
https://bit.ly/3TrW8Im
Federal Register Notice, AFCARS Data
https://bit.ly/3TAdMK7
Bill Would Lower Tennessee’s Age of Criminal Responsibility To 17
http://bit.ly/3LBs1fU
Friends of the Children Awarded $33 Million Grant to Bolster Mentoring Program
https://bit.ly/3R0lgVH
Michael Jordan Helps Get a Big Win for Mentoring Program that Works with At-Risk Youth
http://bit.ly/3yS9S5G
Donors Bet Big on Paid Mentoring. Does It Work?
http://bit.ly/3n60clB
National Youth Mentoring Model Faces Rigorous Final Test
http://bit.ly/3mSMxOz
Paid Mentors, Big Plans: Terri Sorensen on Friends of the Children’s Growth Strategy
http://bit.ly/3FBW8A1
On this week’s podcast we discuss some updates on the Indian Child Welfare Act front, Minnesota becomes a trans youth refuge, and the blind spot in America’s knowledge of youth justice.
Imprint alum Roxanna Asgarian joins to discuss her new book, “We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America,” which traces the lives and families of six children killed by their adoptive parents in March of 2018.
Reading Room
Indian Child Welfare Act Think Tank to Strategize Legal Protections for Tribal Sovereignty
http://bit.ly/3YHTpeT
With Supporters from Indian Country Looking on, Minnesota Lawmakers Vote to Protect Indigenous Families
http://bit.ly/40jn7Z9
Governor Signs Law that Codifies Indian Child Welfare Act Provisions into State Statute
http://bit.ly/3YWsP21
Calling for ‘Love’ not ‘Hate,’ Minnesota Governor Declares His State a Refuge for Trans Youth
https://bit.ly/3L82c6M
On Point, March 9: Journalist Hannah Barnes on The Inside Story of The Collapse of Tavistock's Gender Identity Clinic
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510053/on-point
We’re Building a New Path to Prioritize Kin
https://bit.ly/3mriEER
New Mexico Has Lost Track of Juveniles Locked Up for Life. We Found Nearly Two Dozen.
http://bit.ly/3yuTurI
Federal Study on Transfers of Juveniles Delayed, Again
http://bit.ly/3FhI91W
We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America
http://bit.ly/3FkaUuV
Read Roxanna Asgarian’s coverage of child welfare for The Imprint
https://imprintnews.org/author/roxanna-asgarian
On this week’s podcast we discuss some great recent coverage in The Imprint about extended foster care, “second look” laws for youth convicted in adult court, and efforts to improve educational stability for youth in foster care.
Heather Baker of Public Consulting Group joins us on the fifth anniversary of the Family First Prevention Services Act to discuss the law’s finer points, what conversations states are having about this law today, and more.
Reading Room
Register for Mental Health at the Crossroads
http://bit.ly/39LZWPU
Register for Under Construction: Policies that Shape -Policies that Shape the NY Child Welfare System
http://bit.ly/3EAIo80
Hurdles Keep Texas Youth Out of Extended Foster Care Designed to Help Them
https://bit.ly/3lOd533
A Second Look: Cordell Miller and The Criminal Justice System
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/a-second-look
Eight Years After Federal Law to Improve School Stability for Foster Youth, States Still Scrambling
http://bit.ly/3EZiAm6
ICWA Author Sen. James Abourezk Dies at 92
http://bit.ly/3EWvXDE
A Complete Guide to The Family First Act
http://bit.ly/2IoWNue
Implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act
http://bit.ly/3mtZo9G
On this week’s podcast, we talk about the Biden administration’s plan to expand federal funds to support kinship caregivers; promising data on one state’s Raise the Age reform; how COVID-era child tax credits impacted child abuse and neglect; and more.
Ian Forber-Pratt, deputy executive director of Children’s Emergency Relief International, joins us on the one-year anniversary of the War in Ukraine, a nation that before the invasion of Russia already had one of the world’s highest orphan populations.
Reading Room
Register for Mental Health at the Crossroads
http://bit.ly/39LZWPU
Register for Under Construction: Policies that Shape -Policies that Shape the NY Child Welfare System
http://bit.ly/3EAIo80
Biden Administration Proposes Easing Foster Care Licensing Barriers for Relatives
http://bit.ly/3m7l3EF
Biden’s Top Child Welfare Official Discusses Her 2023 Priorities with The Imprint
http://bit.ly/3Z6xVJU
Feds Cancel Plan for $10 Million to Prevent Confusion of Poverty with Neglect
http://bit.ly/3kUzfA4
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to Investigate Georgia Child Welfare
http://bit.ly/41qAKXJ
Did “Raise the Age” Lead to More Juvenile Violent Crime?
http://bit.ly/41vIGqL
Impact of Direct Cash Benefits to Low-Income Families Can Be Far-Reaching
http://bit.ly/3kuzaTK
Child Tax Credits Led to Decreased Abuse and Neglect, New Study Shows
http://bit.ly/3xV7ZF6
New York Child Welfare Advocates Call on Lawmakers to Prevent Foster Care Through Community Investment
https://bit.ly/3HKaU7Z
Maryland Eyes Law to Protect Domestic Violence Survivors from “Failure to Protect” Charges
https://bit.ly/3IpGfy9
Impact of War on Ukraine’s Children
https://bit.ly/3IVd0ne
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Data Portal on Ukraine
https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine
Ukraine situation: Regional protection profiling and monitoring factsheet
https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/97720
Part Two: A song for orphans
On last week’s podcast, Imprint reporter Nancy Marie Spears talked to Sandy White Hawk about her early adoption story, and the implications of Indigenous adoptions on cultural and spiritual childhood wellbeing. In this episode they finish that journey by detailing the ways Sandy navigated through being a mother while finding her selfhood and sense of purpose, and her recovery from substance and alcohol abuse.
In this conversation, you will also hear from Sandy's daughter, Dyani, about her mom’s healing journey and the trickle-down effects of cultural reclamation. So here it is, part two of The Imprint Weekly Podcast’s interview with Sandy White Hawk.
Reading Room
An Indigenous Adoptee Reclaims Her Culture
http://bit.ly/3YI0oF9
First-of-its-kind Survey Examines Trauma and Healing Among Indigenous Survivors of Family Separation
http://bit.ly/3e3XHfd
How a Chippewa Grandmother’s Adoption Fight Ended Up in the U.S. Supreme Court
http://bit.ly/3VLeS6k
The Imprint’s Coverage of Brackeen v. Haaland
http://bit.ly/3ttyzTy
Part One: “Here’s Your Mother…She’s Been Waiting for You”
On this week’s podcast, we begin a two-part interview between Imprint reporter Nancy Marie Spears and Sandy White Hawk, author of the recently released memoir A Child of the Indian Race: A Story of Return. White Hawk’s recounts her own adoption story, which began in 1955, decades before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed to protect Indigenous families from being separated.
This conversation comes just months after the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case called Brackeen v. Haaland, in which several non-Indigenous families and the State of Texas have claimed that ICWA is unconstitutional. A decision in the case is expected to be delivered this summer. Reading Room
An Indigenous Adoptee Reclaims Her Culture
http://bit.ly/3YI0oF9
First-of-its-kind Survey Examines Trauma and Healing Among Indigenous Survivors of Family Separation
http://bit.ly/3e3XHfd
How a Chippewa Grandmother’s Adoption Fight Ended Up in the U.S. Supreme Court
http://bit.ly/3VLeS6k
The Imprint’s Coverage of Brackeen v. Haaland
http://bit.ly/3ttyzTy
On this week’s episode, we discuss a potentially landmark law on legal counsel in Washington, another state with an ICWA bill, and the Justice Department allegedly takes interest in a controversial child welfare algorithm.
Nearly 40 years ago, federal child support laws were rewritten and included new instructions for states when it comes to parents with children in foster care. NPR investigative reporter Joe Shapiro joins to talk about his coverage of the nationwide practice of charging parents for the cost of foster care.
Reading Room
Washington Tackles ‘Hidden Foster Care’
http://bit.ly/3WZOfKs
Utah Indian Child Welfare Act Bill held up in committee
http://bit.ly/3l5c9a5
'We are going to have more children in care' says senator pushing reforms to make adoption easier
http://bit.ly/3lciaSv
White House Issues Plan for Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights
http://bit.ly/3TaDp2J
Child welfare algorithm faces Justice Department scrutiny
http://bit.ly/3jvAYvp
In some states, an unpaid foster care bill could mean parents lose their kids forever
http://bit.ly/40w8ORx
Laws allow kids to be taken away from their parents if they fail to pay debts
http://bit.ly/3YpnEaJ
The federal government will allow states to stop charging families for foster care
http://bit.ly/3JDgf3z
States send kids to foster care and their parents the bill — often one too big to pay
http://bit.ly/3JH7Yvm
On this week’s episode we catch up on some headlines from the last few months in child welfare and youth justice, including: a flood of mental health litigation; adoption reckoning in South Korea; a federal effort to help states differentiate poverty and neglect; the nexus between money and maltreatment; the Finish the 5 campaign in Texas; and more.
Reading Room
South Korea Sets Up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to Investigate Adoptions
http://bit.ly/3Joq5Gc
Feds Plan $10 Million to Prevent Confusion of Poverty with Neglect
http://bit.ly/3kUzfA4
Nevada Eyes State Bill to Codify ICWA
http://bit.ly/3WRSIie
Wyoming Considers Codifying Indian Child Welfare Act Protections in State Law
http://bit.ly/3YbdOJH
With ICWA Under Threat, More States Shore Up Laws to Protect Native Families from Foster Care Separation
http://bit.ly/3WJ7SGt
Maryland and Iowa Are the Latest to be Sued Over Youth Mental Health Services
https://bit.ly/3wipDBP
Justice Department Slams Alaska for Over-Institutionalizing Youth with Disabilities
http://bit.ly/3RjcNwY
Disabled Foster Youth Sue North Carolina for ‘Segregating’ Them in Institutions
http://bit.ly/3XLS6w1
New York Let Residences for Kids With Serious Mental Health Problems Vanish. Desperate Families Call the Cops Instead.
http://bit.ly/3XXReEa
‘We’re at a Crisis Point’: NY Attorney General Hearing Spotlights Child Mental Health Care Failures
http://bit.ly/3XOg21y
Sabrina’s Parents Love Her. But the Meltdowns Are Too Much.
http://bit.ly/3kSH35B
The Imprint Weekly Podcast: Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran
http://bit.ly/2ObtLAV
Impact of Direct Cash Benefits to Low-Income Families Can Be Far-Reaching
https://bit.ly/3kuzaTK
Texas Teens Embark on An Idealistic Quest to Shut Down the State’s Last Five Youth Prisons
http://bit.ly/3HDjGpA
Youth and the Juvenile Justice System 2022 National Report
https://bit.ly/3RhIWov
How Youth Incarceration Undermines Public Safety: Reviewing the Evidence
https://bit.ly/40eSk00
On this week’s episode Bridget Mary McCormack, the recently retired chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, joins us to discuss appellate work and child welfare, and a scathing assessment of the system she was once responsible for overseeing.
Reading Room
McCormack’s Dissent
http://bit.ly/3THF8fC
In re G.M. Dixson Dissent
https://bit.ly/3XS3y8R
On this week’s episode, Melissa Sickmund, director of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, joins us to dive into the decades-long plummeting of youth arrests and incarceration, juvenile justice in the age of Covid-19, data blind spots and more. Reading Room
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp/
Juvenile Residential Facility Census Databook
https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/jrfcdb/
Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice & Statistics
https://www.jjgps.org/
On this week’s episode we discuss some notable changes in Congress’ 2023 spending deal, a new study on equity in services, and the release of The Imprint’s 2022 foster care capacity data.
Marina Nitze, author of Hack Your Bureaucracy and a co-founder of the Child Welfare Playbook, joins to discuss strategies for improving child welfare, why she’s optimistic about the future of kinship care, and more.
Reading Room
2023 Spending Deal: What’s In It for Youth and Families
https://bit.ly/3X7IgUa
House Rules for the 118th Congress
https://bit.ly/3Iy7RSl
ACF Equity Study to Examine Six Child Welfare Systems
https://bit.ly/3vy1eaO
Child Welfare Official Confirmed by Senate
https://bit.ly/3VjB9Hf
Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes and Families
https://www.fostercarecapacity.com/
Number of Foster Youth, and Foster Homes, Declined Again in 2022
https://bit.ly/3I1NkFH
Child Welfare Playbook
https://www.childwelfareplaybook.com/
Hack Your Bureaucracy, by Marina Nitze and Nick Sinai
https://www.hackyourbureaucracy.com/
We will get back to our regular podcast format next week, but today we are featuring the work of Julie Reynolds, who is The Imprint’s new Associate Editor.
Reynolds has produced and released the second season of her Podcast Grey Area. This new season, called After Life, explores one man’s journey into and then out of the California penal system, the latter part of which might not have happened but for changes over time in the state’s view about a second chance for young offenders.
First you will hear a brief interview with Julie about the new season, and then we will present Episode 1 of After Life.
Reading Room
After Life: A 10-part audio documentary on life after a life sentence
https://voicesofmontereybay.org/afterlife
Imprint coverage by Julie Reynolds
https://imprintnews.org/author/julie-reynolds-martinez
We had some amazing guests join us on The Imprint Weekly Podcast this year, and we reviewed the entire 2022 archive to bring you clips from some of the very best! This episode includes clips of 20 interviews from this year.
If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and Fostering Families Today, and the work that our Youth Voices Rising team does, please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!
Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online events.
There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit www.imprintnews.org/donate.
Guests include:
Les Gara, former gubernatorial candidate in Alaska
Ruth White, executive director, National Association for Housing and Child Welfare
Andrea Elliott, author, Invisible Child
Chief Cadmus Delorma, Cowessess First Nation
Jess Dannhauser, commissioner, New York City Administration for Children’s Services
Karl Wyatt, digital artist
Jason Smith, executive director, Michigan Center for Youth Justice
Carrie Etheridge, director of social work, Sheppard Pratt
Len Edwards, author and former judge, Santa Clara County, California
Colleen Henry, associate professor and researcher, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
Patty Duh, associate, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Lemn Sissay, author and former chancellor of the University of Manchester
Diane Redleaf, lawyer and founder, United Family Advocates
Sixto Cancel, founder, Think of Us
Dee Wilson, author, The Sounding Board
Kristen Ethier, research fellow, University of Chicago
Marsha Levick, chief legal officer, Juvenile Law Center
Liz Ryan, administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Tara Reynon, child welfare director, National Indian Child Welfare Association
Leslie Lacy, founder, Fostering Hope Louisiana
On this week’s podcast we talk about a racial equity audit New York City never made public; welfare payments and foster care; and the emergence of lifebooks.
Robin Rosenberg, deputy director of Florida’s Children First, joins us to discuss Florida’s implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act. In particular, we focus on a sex trafficking exception to federal limits on congregate care funding that Florida is using to place hundreds of youth in group settings.
Reading Room
Strategies for Youth’s Youth Voices Contest
Details: http://bit.ly/3Xhh5HB
Entry form: http://bit.ly/3TSNxwU
NYC Children's Agency Buries Report That Details Racial Bias in Its Ranks
https://bit.ly/3Y8ddJv
Is N.Y.’s Child Welfare System Racist? Some of Its Own Workers Say Yes
https://bit.ly/3W5w06g
New York City Administration for Children’s Services Racial Equity Participatory Action Research & System Audit: Findings and Opportunities https://bit.ly/3VSyxRM
‘Miranda Warning’-style Bill for Parents Fails in New York City Council
https://bit.ly/3GYmtGz
Some State Welfare Policies Linked to More Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3VPNmo4
Associations Between State TANF Policies, Child Protective Services Involvement, And Foster Care Placement
https://bit.ly/3FnpHEe
California Announces Guaranteed Income Pilot Projects for Former Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3FKiu2s
Court Denies Lawmakers Request for Maine DHHS Child Death Records https://bit.ly/3UNwyN9
In Minnesota, ‘Lifebooks’ Create Personal Archives for Young People in Out-of-Home Care
https://bit.ly/3iyOSfw
‘I Was Dehumanised’: Lemn Sissay on Hearing His Harrowing Abuse Report Live on Stage
https://bit.ly/3iYykOo
An Identity Erased
https://bit.ly/3y5qG9Q
Innocence Sold: Foster System a Pipeline for Child Sex Traffickers
https://bit.ly/3FI6jDq
Foster Care Prevention & Group Care Limits: The Family First Act Takes Effect
https://bit.ly/3BlYz5i
On this week’s podcast we talk about some interesting stories in The Imprint last week, an interesting filing in a faith-based discrimination case, juvenile diversion and fathers.
Mira Zimet, founder of The Storyboard Project, joins to discuss her three seasons of profiling youth and young adults who have experienced the foster care system in America.
Reading Room
Break Free Education’s Holiday Card Project
https://www.breakfree-ed.org/care-mail
Foster Care Failed to Protect Two Texas Teens from Sexual Assault
https://bit.ly/3VQcri6
Philadelphia Starts Ombuds Office for Youth in Residential Facilities
https://bit.ly/3OVkoR7
Research Shows Tribal Universities Twice As Likely To Provide Child Care on Campus
https://bit.ly/3EM6M5Y
Gov. Henry McMaster Fights Attempt to Shutter South Carolina's Faith-Based Foster Agencies
https://bit.ly/3F3mN7P
Motion for Summary Judgment, Rogers v. HHS
https://bit.ly/3EZvWhE
Increase Successful Diversion for Youth of Color
https://bit.ly/3B6SoUI
Fathers and Continuous Learning in Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3uo0N2q
The Storyboard Project
https://thestoryboardproject.com/
On this week’s podcast, we discuss a big state court opinion on juvenile life sentences, some more workforce crisis stories, and one state supreme court chief justice’s scathing dissent in perhaps her last child welfare case.
Leslie Lacy of Fostering Hope Louisiana, who used to represent parents and children in child welfare cases as an attorney, joins us to discuss her organization’s effort to get braces for youth in foster care as part of a broader mental health and life skills strategy.
Reading Room
Strategies for Youth’s Youth Voices Contest
Details: http://bit.ly/3Xhh5HB
Entry form: http://bit.ly/3TSNxwU
State of Tennessee vs. Tyshon Booker
http://bit.ly/3gfq4IN
Louisiana Should Remove Incarcerated Youth from Angola Immediately, Federal Official Says
http://bit.ly/3ErGAgy
Head of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice resigns amid crisis in state's youth jails
http://bit.ly/3gfMdGY
‘Child Without Placement’ Rotations Stretch Texas CPS Workforce
https://bit.ly/3UYWO7J
Funding, Staffing Shortages Beleaguer Youth Psychiatric Facilities
http://bit.ly/3XeuZKD
Child Welfare Caseloads Grow in Omaha Area After Troubled Private Contract Ends
http://bit.ly/3Xf2nAN
McCormack’s Dissent
https://bit.ly/3THF8fC
Fostering Hope Louisiana
https://www.fhlouisiana.org/
Youth-related funding and policy was on the ballot in several states last week, and Olivia Allen of the Children’s Funding Project joins to help us break down what happened with those measures.
Then, we break down five different exchanges that capture the essence of the Supreme Court’s three hour oral arguments over the Indian Child Welfare Act last Wednesday, and share some thoughts on what seemed to be on the mind of the likely “swing votes” in the case.
Reading Room
What’s On The Ballot for Youth and Families
https://bit.ly/3DJpLxi
Supreme Court Probes Constitutionality of Indian Child Welfare Act
https://bit.ly/3NQ50F3
In Prayer and Protest, People of Indian Country Gather Outside the Supreme Court to Defend the Indian Child Welfare Act
https://bit.ly/3hvL0Lz
Brackeen v. Haaland: The Imprint’s Coverage from 2018-Present
http://bit.ly/3ttyzTy
The number of youth in foster care is below 400,000 for the first time in nearly a decade. On this week’s podcast, we break down the new data released by the Department of Health and Human Services, Florida’s ban on trans medicine for minors, and the worsening news out of Louisiana’s juvenile justice system.
Kate Fort, director of clinics at the Michigan State University College of Law, joins us to break down the constitutional questions and potential outcomes of Brackeen v. Haaland, which could decide the fate of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Reading Room
Number of Youth in Foster Care Dropped Again in 2021
https://bit.ly/3zB8YLL
Florida to Ban Transgender Health Care Treatments for Minors
https://bit.ly/3E747Vu
Dying Inside: Chaos and Cruelty in Louisiana Juvenile Detention Center
https://nyti.ms/3TbkYuv
Louisiana Governor Calls for Inquiry Into Abuses at Juvenile Detention Center
https://nyti.ms/3hgacWw
Listen to Oral Arguments in Brackeen v. Haaland
https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/oral_arguments.aspx
The Fate of Indian Child Welfare Before the Supreme Court: Race, Commerce and Commandeering
https://bit.ly/3sQN1Vj
The Imprint’s Coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act
https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa
On this week’s podcast we discuss a landmark case out of New York over the rights of biological parents, connecting homeless children to early childhood programs, a federal end-around on monitoring unaccompanied minors, and an AI Bill of Rights.
Chrissi Ross Nimmo, deputy attorney general of Cherokee Nation, joins us to discuss the placement preferences required by the Indian Child Welfare Act when a child is going to be adopted or placed in foster care.
Reading Room
New York High Court Favors Out-of-State Parents Seeking Custody of Foster Children
https://bit.ly/3W9JVJu
Michigan Children Without Homes Rarely Enrolled in Early Learning Programs
https://bit.ly/3UcbxMk
Infant and Toddler Homelessness: Report Coming Soon
https://schoolhouseconnection.org/infant-and-toddler-homelessness/
Biden Administration Wants to Take Over Monitoring of Unaccompanied Minors in Florida, Texas
https://bit.ly/3Dh9HCM
White House Issues Plan for Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights
https://bit.ly/3TaDp2J
The Imprint’s Archive of coverage on the Indian Child Welfare Act
https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa
Imprint Weekly Podcast, April 2021: Is the Indian Child Welfare Act Headed Back to the Supreme Court? Featuring Chrissi Ross Nimmo
https://bit.ly/3d9p1FP
On this week’s podcast we discuss Maine’s legislature suing its child welfare agency over fatality records, the Angola transfer begins in Louisiana, and what low-income families used the enhanced child tax credit for.
Tara Reynon, a member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and child welfare director for the National Indian Child Welfare Association, joins to discuss the role of qualified expert witnesses when Native children face family separation or termination of parental rights.
Reading Room
How a Chippewa Grandmother’s Adoption Fight Ended Up in the U.S. Supreme Court
https://bit.ly/3VLeS6k
Maine Lawmakers Vote to Sue DHHS in Bid to See Child Protective Records
https://bit.ly/3CZWKgL
L.A. County Reaches $32 Million Settlement in Anthony Avalos Case
https://bit.ly/3MGk8nT
New York Officials, Advocates Debate Youth Justice Reform Amid Crime Fears
https://bit.ly/3TK8UkH
Louisiana Begins Moving Child Inmates to Notorious Angola Prison’s Former Death Row Unit
https://yhoo.it/3CYR1I2
Freedom to Dream: A World Without Family Policing
https://upendmovement.org/event/virtual-convening2022/
Evidence from the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit
https://bit.ly/3z6opvi
On this week’s podcast we discuss a scandal that sparked new mandated reporting laws, the Biden administration’s kinship care ideas, and a new adoption information system in Ireland.
Shannon Smith of Minnesota’s ICWA Law Center joins us to talk about the active efforts provision of the Indian Child Welfare Act something she sees in play everyday in one of America’s only ICWA courts.
Reading Room
Mandatory Reporting Was Supposed to Stop Severe Child Abuse. It Punishes Poor Families Instead.
https://nbcnews.to/3yLi08p
CPS Workers Search Millions of Homes a Year. A Mom Who Resisted Paid a Price.
https://nbcnews.to/3TJcyeD
Can ‘Kinship Care’ Help the Child Welfare System? The White House Wants to Try
https://nyti.ms/3yKDJNV
Biden Proposes Major Spending Shifts to Prioritize Kin, Foster Care Prevention
https://bit.ly/3iL0U26
Prioritizing Kinship Care with Kim Clifton
https://bit.ly/3EvWFSb
Irish Leader Apologizes for Adoptions That ‘Robbed Children’ of Their Identity
https://nyti.ms/3VBAhij
Ireland Opens Decades of Secret Records to Adoptees
https://nyti.ms/3Vyrtdi
A Seattle Agency Digs Deep into Unanswered Questions About Past Adoption Practices, and its Obligations to Families
https://bit.ly/30I2KLO
Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on ‘Gold Standard’ Law to Keep Native American Families Together
https://bit.ly/2QwINme
Supreme Court Set to Consider Fate Of Indian Child Welfare Act in November
https://bit.ly/3BIVPlC
On this week’s podcast we introduce listeners to Nancy Marie Spears, who will be covering Indigenous children and families for The Imprint and talk a bit about the upcoming Supreme Court case that could determine the future of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Lawanda Ravoira of the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center joins to talk about how juvenile justice systems continue to miss on designing effective interventions and solutions for girls, and to discuss her organization’s new See the Girl manifesto aimed at improving things on that score.
Reading Room
The Imprint Launches National Indigenous Family Reporting Beat
https://bit.ly/3UnSCih
See the Girl Summit: The Power of Voice
https://www.seethegirl.org/
Advocates Call for Federal Investment in Girl-Focused Juvenile Justice Programs
https://bit.ly/3MpQhjl
Lawanda Ravoira, Advocate for Girls in the System, Going Local to Help Nationally
https://bit.ly/3CEtvjt
On this week’s episode we discuss new child mental health legislation, an investigation into abuse at Head Start programs, and child poverty in America continuing to plummet.
A recent study found that the use of antipsychotic medications on California foster youth has dropped by more than 50%. The Imprint’s executive editor, Karen de Sá, joins to discuss her investigative series Drugging Our Kids, which nearly a decade ago helped to prompt a number of policy changes in the state when it came to powerful psychiatric meds and youth in foster care.
Reading Room
Statement of Administrative Policy on the Mental Health Matters Act of 2022
https://bit.ly/3SuHaAh
ACF Should Improve Oversight of Head Start To Better Protect Children’s Safety
https://bit.ly/3rlyvUP
Expansions to Child Tax Credit Contributed to 46% Decline in Child Poverty Since 2020
https://bit.ly/3roMfOI
After Prison, He Became a Poodle Professional
https://bit.ly/3RqmN5L
As His Influence Peaks in Child Welfare Field, A ‘Family Defenders’ Leader Retires
https://bit.ly/3BUpdDZ
Drugging Our Kids
Series: https://extras.mercurynews.com/druggedkids/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7lHeosq-FY
Prescribing Antipsychotic Drugs to California Foster Youth Declines Dramatically
https://bit.ly/3BcmTaW
On our 100th episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we discuss a raft of new youth-related legislation introduced by Congress, moving teens to one of America’s largest adult prisons, and a new investment in adoption training.
Liz Ryan, administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, joins us to discuss the Biden administration’s priorities for juvenile justice.
Reading Room
A Federal Bill Could Boost Funds for Home Visiting Program for Parents
https://bit.ly/3ByFPBc
Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022, Section-by-Section
https://bit.ly/3DTaRWY
Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 2022
https://bit.ly/3DRnvFY
Federal Judge Allows Louisiana to Move Incarcerated Teens to Angola
https://bit.ly/3C9BFBa
Decarceration Advocate Liz Ryan to Lead Juvenile Justice for Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/37hzj6A
Nation’s Top Juvenile Justice Official Disputes ‘Youth Crime Wave’ Narrative
https://bit.ly/3xR7k7X
On this week’s podcast we discuss a major drop in the use of powerful psych meds on California foster youth, and discuss how child welfare metrics behaved during the prolonged decline in child poverty that was recently analyzed by Child Trends.
Jenny Harper joins to talk about the looming federal cliff facing a program aimed at supporting new and expectant mothers, and what advocates are hoping will happen in the near future.
Reading Room
Prescribing Antipsychotic Drugs to California Foster Youth Declines Dramatically
https://bit.ly/3BcmTaW
Psych Meds in Jail
https://bit.ly/3DDsKci
Philly Took $5 Million in Foster Children’s Social Security Payments Without Telling Them
https://bit.ly/3BtH843
Lessons From a Historic Decline in Child Poverty
https://bit.ly/3Bo3ZOx
Expanded Safety Net Drives Sharp Drop in Child Poverty
https://nyti.ms/3f0Srcs
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program
https://bit.ly/3eXjDsH
Home Visiting: MIECHV Delay Already Hurting State, Local Programs
https://bit.ly/3qN2tkd
On this week’s podcast we discuss developments in the legal battles over access to gender-affirming care for youth, the U.N.’s critique of American child welfare laws, and problems with the planned closure of California’s state-run youth prisons.
Last month, a U.S. district court ordered two former judges to pay damages totaling $206 million to families that were caught up in what came to be known as the Kids for Cash Scandal in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center, who helped expose the scandal, joins to reflect on the lessons of this insanely dark moment in juvenile justice history.
Reading Room
Court: Arkansas Can’t Ban Treatment of Transgender Kids
https://bit.ly/3RPZYJe
A Proposed Law Would Give Trans Youth Refuge in California
https://bit.ly/3L3cdQN
UN Committee Suggests the US Change or Repeal Major Child Welfare Policies
https://bit.ly/3RZNLlz
Washington Will Stop Using Child Support to Fund Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3RQ08jO
California’s Historic Shuttering of State-run Youth Prisons is Moving Forward, But Remains Far From its Progressive Vision
https://bit.ly/3BsePTZ
Child Welfare Ideas from The Experts
https://bit.ly/3AVgYae
Judges in “Kids for Cash” Scandal Must Compensate Families
https://bit.ly/3U3VsbY
Zero Tolerance Breeds Zero Justice
https://bit.ly/3RzuSG1
No interview this week! We’ll be back with more great guests after Labor Day. On this episode, we catch up on a whole slew of headlines in child welfare and juvenile justice from the summer. Then, we highlight five things to keep an eye on this fall in terms of federal law and policy.
Reading Room
Pennsylvania Parents Sue State Over “Unconstitutional” Child Abuse Registry
https://bit.ly/3QGIfDD
California Bill Would Bar Police from Lying to Kids During Interrogations
https://bit.ly/3SPIGxn
Fewer Hennepin County Children in Foster Care are Reunified with Family
https://bit.ly/3c0Ign7
Foster Care Numbers Up for Fifth Straight Year, Federal Data Released Today Shows
https://bit.ly/3JXSBNd
American Bar Association Resolution 606
https://bit.ly/3doqPgB
Arrests of Youth Declined Through 2020
https://bit.ly/3QHUOyv
Patterns of Juvenile Court Referrals of Youth Born in 2000
https://bit.ly/3w3s2Ra
Supreme Court Set to Consider Fate Of Indian Child Welfare Act in November
https://bit.ly/3BIVPlC
Briefs Filed in Brackeen v. Haaland
https://bit.ly/3Pp3Ord
The Imprint’s coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act
https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa
Federal Bill Aims to Better Measure, Retain States’ Foster Homes
https://bit.ly/3Qk2MOu
On this week’s podcast, we feature an online event hosted by Fostering Media Connections called “Stability Now: Getting Proactive About The Child Welfare Workforce.” This conversation features several child welfare experts who in different ways have worked on putting either their organization, or the system in general, in a better position to retain and support good workers.
Featured in this conversation are:
Andry Sweet, CEO, Children’s Home Society of Florida
Leslie Calloway, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare, Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services
Barry Chaffkin, CEO, Fostering Change for Children
Dr. Jay Miller, Dean, University of Kentucky School of Social Work
Reading Room
Pack to the Future: Youth Voice 2022 Summer Fundraiser
https://bit.ly/2022BackpackDrive
Jackie Walorski, Congressional Leader on Child Welfare Issues, Dead at 58
https://bit.ly/3zCPFB4
Little Rock, in a Child Welfare Crisis, Becomes First Test for Family Integrity & Justice Works
https://bit.ly/3cE7B30
A Need for Fresh Ideas on Training the Child Welfare Workforce
https://bit.ly/3bD7kAC
Social Work Supervisors Are Key to Stable Workforce
https://bit.ly/3A4bZVw
On this week’s episode we discuss a new bill to protect the rights of disabled adults involved in child welfare cases, and the resurgence of a lawsuit in West Virginia.
Researchers and social workers Justin Harty and Kristen Ethier join us to talk about what they found when they tried to unearth anything about fathers and fathering while in foster care.
Reading Room
House Bill Would Establish Protections for Disabled Parents
https://bit.ly/3OOWoNA
The Office of Family Assistance Gets New Director, Ann Flagg
https://bit.ly/3OHy0O9
Foster Youth Interning in Congress Envision Laws Improving Health Care, Greater Access to Benefits
https://bit.ly/3OJquSJ
Letter to Colleagues from Administration for Children and Families
https://bit.ly/3cWBPBS
West Virginia Child Welfare System Hit with Class-Action Lawsuit
https://bit.ly/3Bru4hv
Judges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia
https://bit.ly/3ii6lpS
A Federal Appeals Court Just Breathed New Life into a Lawsuit that Aims to Force W.V. to Reform its Foster Care System
https://bit.ly/3PPJhNs
July Decision in Jonathan R. v. Justice
https://bit.ly/3bjrUFX
Dee Wilson is a former leader in Washington’s child welfare system who writes the monthly child welfare commentary Sounding Board. Wilson joined us to discuss a range of topics, including his view on the abolition movement, his ideas around boosting reunification efforts, the Family First Prevention Services Act, and professional foster parenting.
Reading Room
Sounding Board Commentary
https://bit.ly/3RXR919
Washington Settles Lawsuit Involving Foster Youth Left Sleeping in Offices and Hotels
https://bit.ly/3O5TjsO
The Imprint’s Complete Guide to The Family First Prevention Services Act
https://bit.ly/2IoWNue
On this week’s episode, we discuss new findings that connect anti-poverty measures to reducing child maltreatment, the Democrats’ plan for unaccompanied minors at the border, and the Road to Healing Tour.
Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, joins to discuss his organization’s new Center for Lived Experience, kinship care, and authentic vs. performative gestures in the child welfare arena.
Reading Room
Association Between State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Policies, Child Protective Services Involvement, and Foster Care in the US, 2004-2016
https://bit.ly/3zduTJa
Money and Maltreatment
https://bit.ly/3hcelIU
Children’s Safe Welcome Act
https://bit.ly/3PuOPMS
About The Children’s Safe Welcome Act
https://bit.ly/3PApMYR
Children and Family Services Workers Allege Rape, Unsafe Conditions for Youth and Staff at The County Office
https://bit.ly/3PzOPeF
Historic ‘Healing Tour’ Launched in Oklahoma Honors Survivors of Indian Boarding Schools
https://bit.ly/3ylwKtO
The Indian Child Welfare Act: What’s At Stake with Brackeen v. Haaland
https://bit.ly/3talYW3
On this week’s episode, we discuss the federal about-face on child support payment policies for youth in foster care; how the workforce crisis is impacting Texas juvenile justice; and the latest on localizing juvenile justice in California.
Debbie Riley, CEO and co-founder of the Center for Adoption Support and Education, joins us to talk about what we’ve learned about post-adoption support in America and the recent data on adopted youth returning to foster care unearthed by USA Today this year.
Reading Room
The Federal Government Will Allow States to Stop Charging Families for Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3uC2rOz
Coming Soon to Congress: Discussion on Child Support Clawback
https://bit.ly/3oJjvgH
Understaffed, and Under Federal Investigation, Texas Juvenile Detention System Halts Intake
https://bit.ly/3uED1Q9
How Hidden Foster Care Harms Children and Parents of Color
https://bit.ly/3OSneW1
The Imprint’s Hidden Foster Care Series
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-care
California Budget Plan Supports Shifting Youth from State Prisons to Juvenile Halls, Amid Opposition
https://bit.ly/3OxSPfx
Los Angeles County Launches New Youth Development Department to Deter Crime
https://bit.ly/3oaI0ol
Connections Matter: Relationships with Birth Families are Important for Foster, Adopted Children
https://bit.ly/3NXdp7O
Free Online Training Platform Launched for Adoption and Guardianship Workers
https://bit.ly/3RkE4yu
The Imprint Weekly Podcast will return with a new episode next week! For this week, we are turning the space over to feature a new podcast created by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia and Rowhome Productions: How Is That Legal? Breaking Down Systemic Racism One Law At A Time
On each episode of How Is That Legal?, host Key Tobar and guests discussing specific ways that systemic racism is present in law and policy. On the episode we feature here today, Key’s guest is April Lee, director of client voice at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. April shares the obstacles parents must overcome to avoid losing their children forever and why she believes child welfare cannot meet its own standard of safety for children.
You can find How Is That Legal in all the usual places, on Spotify. Apple, etc., and you can visit the show page at https://howisthatlegal.buzzsprout.com.
On this week’s episode, we discuss some alarming high school graduation data for foster youth in one of America’s largest cities; Oregon’s move away from an algorithm; and how the bipartisan gun bill could bring accountability to Medicaid services for children.
Longtime child welfare legal expert (and poet!) Diane Redleaf joins to discuss her career, recent legislation to change neglect statutes in state law, and how they tie into her recent work on children’s rights.
Reading Room
New York City Foster Youth Graduation Rates Found Far Lower Than Previously Known
https://bit.ly/3HQu77L
Oregon Is Dropping An Artificial Intelligence Tool Used in Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3HSFhZr
An Algorithm That Screens for Child Neglect Raises Concerns
https://bit.ly/3xU4BJZ
Findings from a Qualitative Analysis of Racial Disproportionality and Disparity for African American Children and Families in Michigan’s Child Welfare System
https://on.ny.gov/3HQKAZy
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment
https://bit.ly/3btZ3yt
Youth Advocates Eye 2020 for Revolution on Children’s Mental Health in California
https://bit.ly/39TWBkc
When the Backlash Came for TItle IX, She Fought Back
https://nyti.ms/3bxS1ZH
Former Rep. Patsy Mink’s comments on the Adoption and Safe Families Act
https://bit.ly/3u2pvps
The Challenge of Changing America’s Amorphous, Limitless Neglect Laws
https://bit.ly/3PhFQ2t
Building Resilience: Group Pushes for Looser Neglect Laws, More Child Autonomy
https://bit.ly/3xSuNot
On this week’s episode we discuss the Biden administration’s possible crackdown on the use conversion therapy, Los Angeles’ new child welfare director, and a promising new legal clinic for mothers of newborns.
Lemn Sissay, chancellor of the University of Manchester, was stolen from his mother by the U.K. care system, renamed Norman, and placed with a family he was told was his forever but who callously discarded him as an adolescent. The award-winning poet and writer joins us to talk about growing up in care, the social worker who made a difference in his childhood, and much more.
Reading Room
Stability Now! Getting Proactive About the Child Welfare Workforce
Register for Free!
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals
https://bit.ly/3OtkbDj
Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth
https://bit.ly/3bbXhlp
HHS Leader Rafael López: It’s Time to Flip the Script on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3QvTC1N
Child Welfare Leaders Sign on to Letter Urging States to Ban Conversion Therapy
https://bit.ly/3bavMst
Decision Backing Conversion Therapy Inches Controversy Closer to U.S. Supreme Court
https://bit.ly/3zNRMnc
Longtime County Official Tapped to Lead Los Angeles Child Welfare Agency
https://bit.ly/3tC9YMA
Keeping Moms With Their Newborns: A Team of Washington Lawyers and Advocates Works to Avoid Foster Care Separation at Birth
https://bit.ly/3MWZApE
My Name Is Why, by Lemn Sissay
https://bit.ly/3OkSVXt
On this week’s episode we discuss the worsening capacity crisis when it comes to older youth in foster care, calls for better juvenile judge training, and an update on the legal battle over investigating gender affirming care as abuse in Texas.
After a youth enters foster care, there have traditionally been three paths to a more permanent setting: reunification, adoption and guardianship. Patty Duh of Epic ‘Ohana and Leslie Gross of the Annie E. Casey Foundation join to talk about a proposed fourth version of permanency: the “SOUL Family,” an approach one state has already agreed to try out.
Reading Room
Stability Now! Getting Proactive About the Child Welfare Workforce
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Illinois is Routinely Housing Wards of The State in Chicago’s Jail for Kids
https://bit.ly/3MJaKhF
Illinois DCFS Director Marc Smith Held in Contempt of Court for Ninth Time for Improperly Placing Teen
https://cbsn.ws/3xLbajr
The Chicago Judge Who Held Child Welfare Directors In Contempt Dozens of Times
https://bit.ly/3tuMXuU
Washington Settles Lawsuit Involving Foster Youth Left Sleeping in Offices and Hotels https://bit.ly/3O5TjsO
Juvenile Courts Need National Training Standards, Webinar Told
https://bit.ly/3xqR6kO
More Families of Trans Teens Sue to Stop Texas Child Abuse Investigations
https://bit.ly/3MI5Pxp
Judge Temporarily Blocks Some Texas Investigations into Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Kids
https://bit.ly/3NNCEdN
SOUL Family Permanency Option for Older Youth in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3Qhl43y
SOUL Family Relationship Wheel
https://bit.ly/3xJ3LAX
SOUL Family Comparison to Existing Legal Permanency Pathways
https://bit.ly/3mImoi4
On this week’s episode, we discuss a scary error in California’s abuse registry process, more on state efforts to end gender-affirming care for youth, Louisiana’s “Lower the Age” bill and a new ombuds office in Ohio.
Serita Cox of iFoster joins to talk about how an email her organization sent to partners about what the Biden administration should prioritize in child welfare may have planted the seed for an annual nationwide survey about foster care.
Reading Room
California’s Child Abuse Registry is Missing Upwards of 22,000 Abuse Suspects, Audit Finds
https://bit.ly/3NRv4hR
Texas Resumes Investigations into Parents of Trans Children, Families’ Lawyers Confirm
https://bit.ly/3lLCS8R
DeSantis Moves to Ban Transition Care for Transgender Youths, Medicaid Recipients
https://nbcnews.to/3GSTpkZ
In New Orleans, City Officials Are No Longer Holding Juveniles in the Adult Jail. A Proposed State Law May Force Them To
https://bit.ly/3Q3YYRZ
Honoring the Life of Ma’Khia Bryant: An Ombudsperson for Foster Youth in Ohio
https://bit.ly/3v153pP
Ohio Youth and Family Ombudsmen Office Opens
https://bit.ly/3NBIS0l
Governor Appoints Two Ombudsmen to Lead New Office
https://bit.ly/396YKsw
Survey Shows Frustration with Foster Care from Within The System
https://bit.ly/3MkmSp2
Voice of the Foster Care Community
https://voiceoffostercare.org/
Year 2 Survey for Voice of the Foster Care Community
https://bit.ly/3NPtBbI
On this week’s episode, we go straight to the interview! Colleen Henry, of the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, joins us to talk about the origin story of abuse and neglect registries and how they have changed in size and impact over the decades since they were first introduced. We close with some thoughts from Henry about some common-sense changes that systems should be considering in regard to these things.
Reading Room
Marginalizing Mothers: Child Maltreatment Registries, Statutory Schemes, and Reduced Opportunities for Employment
https://bit.ly/3M5AJjb
“It’s Like A Leech On Me”: Child Abuse Registries Punish Unsuspecting Parents Of Color
https://bit.ly/3G5YmGQ
Biden Needs to Consider Child Abuse Registry Reforms as an Agenda Item
https://bit.ly/3sZj8mc
Georgia Dissolves Child Abuse and Neglect Registry
https://bit.ly/3wOG0Gc
New York Limits Access to Parents’ Names on Child Abuse And Neglect Registry
https://bit.ly/3wQjnB2
Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts #9: Standardized Registry of Maltreatment Reports
https://bit.ly/3adMGWv
On this week’s podcast we discuss the recent series and data reporting by USA Today on youth who are adopted from foster care and return to the system, the recent federal investigation on America’s use of Indian boarding schools; and news on lawsuits in Alaska and Indiana.
Buzzfeed reporter Scott Pham joins to discuss his data reporting work on state-rund child abuse and neglect registries, which led him to conservatively estimate that 3 million people are currently on them.
Reading Room
Free registration! Tough Conversations: Navigating Relationships with Biological Family
Sponsored by iFoster
https://bit.ly/3NLFWxR
For tens of thousands of children in the U.S., their "forever family" doesn’t last long. USA TODAY investigates: Why do adoptions fail?
https://bit.ly/3sPiveP
Bill Aims to Prevent Adoptive Parents from Abusing Subsidy Program
https://bit.ly/39KP0nB
Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts, #10: Better Policing of Adoption Subsidies
https://bit.ly/3MCkdrH
Time for New Numbers on Adoption Disruption
https://bit.ly/3wA5tE8
A First, But Incomplete, Measure of Adoption Success
https://bit.ly/38V0Pnj
The U.S. Government Releases Landmark Investigation Into the Brutal Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools
https://bit.ly/3sPBgyV
Following Landmark Report on Indian Boarding Schools, Survivors Call on Congress for Broader Inquiry
https://bit.ly/3Pcrro2
Lawsuit Alleges End to End Failures in Alaska’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3Gnd9ND
Firm Files Lawsuit Against Indiana’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3wEBJFe
7th Circuit Dismisses 2019 Lawsuit Seeking Sweeping Changes to Indiana DCS Policies
https://bit.ly/3PAgfSr
Judges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia
https://bit.ly/3ii6lpS
“It’s Like A Leech On Me”: Child Abuse Registries Punish Unsuspecting Parents Of Color
https://bit.ly/3G5YmGQ
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the return of federal earmarks and which youth and family organizations benefitted, Florida’s new Family Navigator plan, and the findings of the first Voice of The Foster Care Community survey.
Instead of a guest interview, we’re featuring a great conversation on connecting youth in foster care to higher education and careers. This discussion was hosted by our team at Fostering Families Today, a bimonthly magazine delivered straight into the homes of foster and kinship caregivers, and was moderated by Ivory Bennet, who has been a guest on this podcast before and served as a special advisor in the creation of the recent special issue of Fostering Families Today entitled College Ready, Career Prepared: A Guide to Postsecondary Education for Youth in Foster Care.
Reading Room
The Return of Earmarks: Winners from Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice and Youth Homelessness
https://bit.ly/3yyrGnI
DCF Announces Robust Child and Family Well-Being Initiative to Better Support Families
https://bit.ly/3yBOfYz
Voice of The Foster Care Community
https://voiceoffostercare.org/
College Ready, Career Prepared: A Guide to Life After High School
https://bit.ly/3JZFWsr
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the Justice Department’s entry into the legal battle on trans medicine for youth; Biden’s new juvenile justice leader, decarceration advocate Liz Ryan; and the first state in decades to pursue lowering the age of its juvenile justice system.
Judge Len Edwards joins us to talk about the “reasonable efforts” standards in child welfare policy, his book on that topic, the rise of relatives in the system, and the future of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Reading Room
Free Event!
Safe Space When There’s No Safe Place: Tips from Youth Who Faced Maltreatment
Register: https://bit.ly/38ZmChi
Decarceration Advocate Liz Ryan to Lead Juvenile Justice for Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/37hzj6A
U.S. Department of Justice files challenge to Alabama transgender law
https://bit.ly/3vVKkEm
Louisiana Stopped Putting 17-Year-Olds in Adult Prisons. It May Start Doing It Again.
https://bit.ly/37u85da
Texas Juvenile Justice Leader Departs with State Agency at Critical Juncture
https://bit.ly/3w5mqVG
Ignoring Reasonable Efforts: How Courts Fail to Promote Prevention
https://bit.ly/3kRhYEY
Timely Permanency and the Appellate Process
https://bit.ly/3LWGxfs
On this week’s podcast, we discuss some of the significant changes to federal child welfare policy proposed in President Biden’s budget for the next fiscal year.
Erin Dorrien, vice president of policy for the Maryland Hospital Association and Carrie Etheridge, director of social work at Sheppard Pratt, join to talk about why foster youth are getting stuck in hospitals long after such a restrictive sitting is necessary, a problem that seems to be very acute in Maryland but we are also hearing is a major capacity symptom in other states as well.
Reading Room
Biden Proposes Major Spending Shifts to Prioritize Kin, Foster Care Prevention
https://bit.ly/3iL0U26
FMAP: Four letters that drive the biggest source of federal funding for state child welfare services
https://bit.ly/3wD1dk2
Maryland H.B. 406: Children in Out-Of-Home Placements
https://bit.ly/3P1Xp6y
Stranded in the ER: Can California Change its Treatment of Kids in Crisis?
https://bit.ly/3B41pMu
On this week’s podcast we discuss what’s happened in Ohio since the death of Ma’Khia Bryant, how child welfare might figure into California’s ideas around reparations, Connecticut’s new approach to helping families, and more.
Bridgette Carr and Vivek Sankaran, who both lead legal clinics at the University of Michigan Law School, join to discuss the importance of organizational support for the wellbeing of people who work in trauma-filled professions.
Reading Room
Honoring the Life of Ma’Khia Bryant: An Ombudsperson for Foster Youth in Ohio
https://bit.ly/3v153pP
Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts: Housing Help to Keep Siblings Together
https://bit.ly/3xYvxWX
Life Altered for One Texas Family Determined to Protect Transgender Child
https://bit.ly/3Ou1tfm
In California, First-Ever Task Force Envisions Reparations for Black Residents
https://bit.ly/3xz5Tvz
Violence & Vanishing Supervisors At Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall
https://bit.ly/3MiCGcq
Reports Without Surveillance: Connecticut’s New Child Welfare Experiment
https://bit.ly/3xCSjal
Measuring What Actually Matters
https://bit.ly/37VWL9w
LawLifeProf Coaching
http://lawlifeprofs.com
On this week’s podcast we discuss a new kinship prioritization in Washington, New York gets sued (twice), privatization ends in Nebraska, and controversial new legislation in Alabama and Tennessee.
Kim Clifton of HALOS in South Carolina, joins us to talk about kinship care, what federal funding for kinship navigators could mean for her state, and hidden foster care.
Reading Room
Washington Supreme Court: ‘Meaningful Preference’ for Kin Is Required
https://bit.ly/3IcVdp1
Keeping Families Together Act
https://bit.ly/3vs1MP4
Lawmakers Pass Child Welfare Changes, Teacher Incentives, Tax Break on Tampons
https://bit.ly/3jPfxSw
Alabama Lawmakers Vote to Make Providing Gender-Affirming Care to Trans Youth a Felony
https://politi.co/3MhinMB
New Law Shields Religious Foster, Adoption Agencies from Discrimination Lawsuits
https://bit.ly/392ordz
New York State Failed to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Care to Kids, Lawsuit Claims
https://bit.ly/3JOdSav
Lawsuit Alleges New York Created ‘Extremely Harmful’ Shadow Foster Care System
https://bit.ly/3xvWoxa
January Contreras Confirmed to Biden’s Top Child Welfare Post
https://bit.ly/3JKsYh5
Hidden Foster Care: Continuing Coverage in The Imprint
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-care
Today on The Imprint Weekly Podcast we feature a great conversation that Fostering Media Connections hosted last month called “Homeless in Foster Care: What Would Really Keep Foster Youth from Sleeping in Offices.”
As the title suggests, the motivation for this discussion was the reality that youth living in foster care are sleeping in offices, sometimes in hotels or even in rare cases cars, with systems struggling to find more appropriate shelter for them…and all of these kids had been removed from their home at one point or another due to safety concerns, which makes leaving them in such an unstable position is truly failure in its most clear form.
This has gotten attention of late because several states saw the number of youth in this situation increase during the last year or so, likely in part to the pandemic and its impact on the child welfare workforce and more generally on foster care capacity.
But this is not by any means a new problem in child welfare. This conversation was meant to discuss not the emergency solutions for it, but rather the upstream issues with how child welfare systems proceed that end up leaving youth open to these circumstances.
This conversation includes Molly Tierney of Accenture, who worked in child welfare leadership in Illinois and in Baltimore; BJ Walker, former director of the state child welfare systems in Georgia and Illinois, and Gary Ivory, the President of Youth Advocate Programs, which for decades has been focused on serving as a community alternative to things incarceration and foster care.
The Imprint Weekly Podcast is on vacation, so we're bringing you a bonus podcast today from the great new series "Diaries of A Black Girl in Foster Care."
The show’s co-hosts include Tashia Roberson Wing, who is pursuing her master’s degree in social work and public administration at Ohio State University; Kaysie Getty, a senior program analyst at the Center for the Study of Social Policy; Amnoni Myers, author of “You Are the Prize!;” consultant Alexandria Ware; and Ángela Quijada-Banks, author of “The Black Foster Youth Handbook” and CEO of Soulful Liberation.
The ladies were kind enough to let us feature their work while The Imprint Weekly Podcast took a week off here. In the episode you’re about hear, which is the second episode of the podcast, they are joined by social workers Cortney Jones and Christa Martinez for a conversation about a whole range of topics including the experience of being a black girl in the foster care system, gaining expertise on child welfare issues, being labeled “resilient,” and how they practice self-care.
Reading Room
A New Podcast Speaks to Black Girls’ Experience in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3uPFZAM
Subscribe to Diaries of A Black Girl in Foster Care
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3u0dtNGApple: https://apple.co/3J5GqvDYouTube: https://bit.ly/36RLM0x
Follow on Social Media:https://www.facebook.com/BlkGrlDiariesFChttps://twitter.com/BlkGrlDiariesFChttps://instagram.com/BlkGrlDiariesFC
We discuss several headlines related to litigation in the child welfare space, including two states exiting class-action lawsuits after decades and a new legal center aimed at fighting removals into foster care. Also: MacKenzie Scott drops unrestricted grants on youth organizations, and a great new visualization tool on racial and ethnic disproportionality in foster care.
Jason Smith, executive director of the MIchigan Center for Youth Justice, joins to discuss how Michigan’s recent reforms of its juvenile justice system, and what’s changed since the 2020 death of Cornelius Fredericks.
Reading Room
Agreement Reached on New Jersey Plan to Exit Decades-Old Child Welfare Lawsuit
https://bit.ly/3JM2Gfg
Federal Court Approves End to Child Welfare Lawsuit in Connecticut, Citing Dramatic Improvements for Children and Families
https://bit.ly/36sQhPc
South Carolina Short Term Action Plan
https://bit.ly/3DdnJVM
New Civil Rights Organization Dedicated to Families’ Rights Launches in New York City
https://bit.ly/356ToLZ
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott Supports Child Welfare, Youth Justice Organizations
https://bit.ly/3NejTAi
Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care Dashboard (2010-2020)
https://bit.ly/3JMDZ2f
Michigan Raises the Age, Includes 17-Year-Olds in Juvenile Justice System
https://bit.ly/3JJPCad
Michigan Raise The Age Law on Track to Pass, Leaving Three States with Juvenile Age Under 18
https://bit.ly/36NsWHB
We discuss what’s in the $1.5 trillion federal spending deal for youth and families, a court challenge to Canada’s new Indigenous child welfare law, and Colorado seeking to “raise the floor” for juvenile justice.
Digital artist and poet Karl Wyatt joined the podcast and talked about his own experience as a youth in foster care, his more recent adventure as a foster parent, and took us into the world of NFTs and how that technology might have value in child welfare.
Reading Room
“When 911 Isn’t Your Only Option,” brought to you by Fostering Families Today
Register for free: bit.ly/ToughConversations0324
What’s in the 2022 Federal Spending Deal for Children and Families
https://bit.ly/3qcZ26w
Ottawa backs Indigenous child welfare law after Quebec court declares parts of it unconstitutional
https://bit.ly/3IpPknq
Ottawa appeals Quebec court decision finding parts of Indigenous child welfare law unconstitutional
https://bit.ly/37LKYdS
“Decolonization Is Only The Beginning”: Indigenous Child Welfare in Canada
https://bit.ly/3rNEP8x
Colorado Considers a Raise the Age Youth Justice Bill
https://bit.ly/3qlfG3W
Humanitarian Support in Ukraine Should Prioritize Children Without Stability
https://bit.ly/3qaiiBo
This is Not How You Fix Things: Testimony from A Transgender Teen in Texas
https://bit.ly/3CJ7Kyz
The Orphan’s Plea NFT Collection, by Karl Wyatt
https://opensea.io/collection/orphansplea
We discuss the latest developments in the fight in Texas over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to treat medical services for transgender youth as abuse, a major lawsuit over sexual abuse in L.A.’s juvenile justice system, hidden foster care in North Carolina, and more.
Journalist Rebecca Nagle, host of the podcast This Land, joins to help us break down the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case about the Indian Child Welfare Act, and what’s riding on their decision for Native American kids and families.
Free Event! Better Tech, Better Outcomes: How Technology Collaboration Can Improve Foster Care
Thursday, March 17 - 11am PST, 2pm EST
Register: bit.ly/techchildwelfare.
Reading Room
The Imprint Tracks Political Actions Against LGBTQ Youth in Texas
https://bit.ly/3tNGIBP
The Imprint Tracks Political Actions Against LGBTQ Youth in Texas
https://bit.ly/3pXHGdU
‘Delete this form and never use again.’ DSS agencies remove kids without judge’s order.
https://bit.ly/3q0L9bD
Calls to Roll Back Raise the Age Laws Reach NY Statehouse, But Find Little Traction
https://bit.ly/3hRklWB
Don’t Let Foster Care Contracts Open a Back Door to Discrimination
https://bit.ly/35MbKSB
The Imprint’s coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act
https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa
We discuss the latest on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to treat medical services for transgender youth as abuse; the Supreme Court set to decide fate of Indian Child Welfare Act (much more on that next week); and a bill aimed at reducing the need for congregate care placements in foster care.
Ivory Bennett, a playwright and educator, joins us to discuss her own pursuit of higher education after foster care, what systems should be doing differently, and we talk about our forthcoming project that she served as a guest editor for: College Ready, Career Prepared: A Guide to Postsecondary Education for Youth in Foster Care.
To pre-order the guide: https://bit.ly/caready
Want to give a copy to all the foster youth or caregivers in your life? E-mail sales@fosteringmediaconnections.org
Reading Room
Better Tech, Better Outcomes: How Technology Collaboration Can Improve Foster Care
Sponsored by Binti
Register for free: https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Threatened with Investigations and Foster Care, Texas Parents and Advocates Fight for Transgender Youth
https://bit.ly/3MoRTcK
Biden Blasts Texas Leaders’ ‘Cynical and Dangerous’ Targeting of Transgender Youth and Their Parents
https://bit.ly/3IIeRJC
Alabama bill seeks to ban hormone treatments for trans youth
https://bit.ly/3CjQvDt
Human Rights Campaign Condemns Arizona Lawmakers for Advancing Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills, Putting the Well-Being of Youth At Risk
https://bit.ly/3vFUIQM
Supreme Court Will Hear Indian Child Welfare Act Case
https://bit.ly/3vvea2v
Senators Baldwin, Portman Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Access to Treatment Family Care Services for America’s Most Vulnerable Youth
https://bit.ly/3tzsRir
Read Ivory Bennett’s contributions to The Imprint: https://imprintnews.org/author/ivory-bennett
We discuss the seeming contradiction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to consider medical services to trans kids as abuse, and the Washington State Supreme Court’s ruling that sets heightened expectations around relatives in the child welfare system.
Ian Forber-Pratt, the director of Global Advocacy & Growth for Children's Emergency Relief International, joins to discuss his long, international path through child welfare. Forber-Pratt was adopted from his home country of India, grew up in Missouri and has since worked on child welfare reform in both nations.
We talked about his childhood, his effort to create a foster care system in India (which previously saw abuse/neglect handled informally in the community or with big orphanages and institutions), and kinship care in America.
Reading Room
Free Online Event!
Homeless in Foster Care: What Would Really Keep Foster Youth from Sleeping in Offices
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Pre-Order Today!
College Ready, Career Prepared: A Guide to Postsecondary Education for Youth in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/caready
Texas Governor Calls on Citizens to Report Parents of Transgender Kids for Abuse
https://nbcnews.to/3JYeN8F
5 Texas DAs Defy Gov. Greg Abbott, Won't Treat Gender Affirming Care for Trans Youth As Child Abuse
https://bit.ly/3HkKYO0
Washington Supreme Court: ‘Meaningful Preference’ for Kin Is Required
https://bit.ly/3IcVdp1
Keyon’s Case Heads to Washington Supreme Court
https://bit.ly/3sAirg1
A New Era of Community-Based Social Work – Lessons Learned from Impossible Odds
https://bit.ly/35AcREI
Nonprofit Launched toReplicate Missouri Family-Finding Program
https://bit.ly/35xCt4O
On this week’s podcast we discuss a recent roundtable on child welfare held by the Biden administration, and the legislative responses that have popped up in Illinois after the killing of a caseworker while responding to an abuse and neglect call.
Jess Dannhauser, the new commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services, joins to discuss his early priorities, his thoughts on several parental rights issues, and more.
Readout of HHS Secretary Becerra’s Roundtable on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3p3yR1D
Path to Federal Foster Care Prevention Funds Overlooks Tribal Programs, Experts Say
https://bit.ly/3JTSySp
New legislation Would Arm Child Welfare Workers with Mace
https://bit.ly/3JTSySp
Illinois Foster Care Numbers Climb During Pandemic, Bucking National Trend
https://bit.ly/3HOho4l
Eric Adams Taps Jess Dannhauser to Lead City’s Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice Systems
https://bit.ly/3zes219
On this week’s podcast we discuss what was on Senators’ minds during the confirmation hearing for Biden’s top child welfare officials; more federal scrutiny on for-profit colleges; and the human consequences of family court shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last month, the Canadian government announced a historic, $31.5 billion agreement with Indigenous people to compensate them for three decades of discriminatory treatment by the child welfare system. Chief Cadmus Delorme of Cowessess First Nation joins to discuss the long, dark history that led to this settlement. Reading Room
During Confirmation Hearing for Top Biden Child Welfare Officials, Senators Voice Their Own Priorities
https://bit.ly/3gKAWe4
Confirmation Hearing of January Contreras and Rebecca Jones Gaston
https://bit.ly/3Ls0dYV
Consumer Finance Agency Digs Into Questionable Direct Student Loan Practices
https://bit.ly/3uNwxzc
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Examine Colleges’ In-House Lending Practices
https://bit.ly/3rNyZUs
New York City Court Dysfunction Found to Have ‘Caused Harm to Thousands of Families’
https://bit.ly/3gGA0Y7
Historic $31.5 Billion Settlement to End First Nations Suits Against the Child Welfare System in Canada
https://bit.ly/3JjL2Po
On this week’s podcast we discuss more troubling indicators on the workforce crisis in child welfare and juvenile justice, and a new bill introduced in Congress that would bring federal scrutiny around the use of automated decision making tools in America.
New York Times reporter Andrea Elliott joins to discuss her new book “Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City,” which chronicles Dasani Coates and her family in New York City. Elliott talks about her thoughts on how the social safety net, and the city’s child welfare system, did (or did not) help the family.
Reading Room
Nonprofits in New York City Struggle to Keep Child Welfare Workers
https://bit.ly/3IIM5rM
The Employment Situation - January 2022
https://bit.ly/3shJz5u
The Scope and Impact of Nonprofit Workforce Shortages
https://bit.ly/34lKwBI
Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2022 Section-by-Section
https://bit.ly/3GvmZvb
The Foster Care System Turns to Big Data: Promising or Profiling?
https://bit.ly/3GnHp9o
Girl in the Shadows: Dasani’s Home Life
https://nyti.ms/34oLuwV
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City
https://bit.ly/35XENTf
On this week’s podcast, we try to tie three different sets of federally collected numbers together in regard to child welfare during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic between March and September 2020, when lockdowns were ubiquitous, schools were mostly closed and vaccines were still in the offing. We also talk about some well-timed research on the nexus between income support for poor parents and child well-being.
Later in the podcast we talk what could be the first collateral consequence of last year’s Supreme Court decision on faith-based discrimination in child welfare; where things stand with a court challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act and auditing L.A.’s child welfare agency. We end with a discussion of Edgar Cahn, a giant in the legal community whose legacy includes two innovative ideas in juvenile justice.
Reading Room
Child Maltreatment 2020
https://bit.ly/3rdgets
2020 Child Maltreatment Data: A Breakdown
https://bit.ly/3u5vfiI
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
https://bit.ly/3udG5n0
Trends in U.S. Emergency Department Visits Related to Suspected or Confirmed Child Abuse and Neglect
https://bit.ly/3rdEuvJ
Cash Aid to Poor Mothers Increases Brain Activity in Babies, Study Finds
https://nyti.ms/3KVYGtF
Public Investments and Class Gaps in Parents’ Developmental Expenditures
https://bit.ly/3GcwqzA
Michigan Settles Lawsuit with St. Vincent Catholic Charities over Same-sex Adoptions
https://bit.ly/32I7Rwy
Jews Have Been Rejected by Adoption Agencies for Years. This Couple Hopes to Force a Change
https://bit.ly/3KVqjDd
Edgar Cahn, Pioneer of Time Banking, Passes Away
https://bit.ly/3KNvAMY
A Perfect Combination of Chutzpah and Soul
https://wapo.st/35AGINf
A Novel Approach on Litigating Racial Disparities in Juvenile Justice
https://bit.ly/3g9BWYZ
On this week’s podcast we discuss the final numbers on the enhanced child tax credit that ran from July to December; host home respite care comes to New York after a two-year standoff; and an audit suggests what might really be behind Montana’s very high use of foster care.
Amy Dworsky of Chapin Hall and Judy Havlicek of the University of Illinois join to discuss some dismal new findings about community college completion among youth who aged out of foster care. And, current community college student Matt Schaad talks about his own path towards a degree.
Sixth Child Tax Credit Payment Kept 3.7 Million Children Out of Poverty in December
https://bit.ly/3tRWcX6
New York Allows Overnight Respite Care For Children, Despite “Shadow Foster Care” Concerns
https://bit.ly/3qry8Z2
Faith-Based Movement to ‘Host’ Children of Struggling Families Hits Opposition in New York
https://bit.ly/33As1Fa
Report Finds Problems with Foster Child Program, Including Missing Protection and Safety Plans
https://bit.ly/3fQc30f
Kids in Care: Analysis of Population Trends and Management Processes in Montana’s Foster Care System
https://bit.ly/33LKSkF
Chapin Hall Study Finds Lack of Support for Foster Youth in Community College
https://bit.ly/33vUpMt
Chapin Hall Research Brief
https://bit.ly/32q84o7
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the ongoing capacity crisis in Texas foster care, jarring numbers on community college enrollment, and new federal funds to seed innovation in supporting kinship caregivers.
Kathleen Creamer of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia joins to discuss two recent court cases of note in the state, Philly’s high rate of foster care, the Adoption and Safe Families Act and more.
Outside Experts Give Texas Roadmap to Decrease Sky-high Rates of Foster Kids Sleeping in Offices, Hotels
https://bit.ly/3qptqez
Chapin Hall Study Finds Lack of Support for Foster Youth in Community College
https://bit.ly/33vUpMt
Looming Questions, 2022 Edition
https://bit.ly/3Gld5gh
A Court Reminds Us of the Obvious: Probable Cause Counts in Child Welfare Cases, Too
https://bit.ly/3tedeP4
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues Landmark Ruling in Child Welfare Case
https://bit.ly/3GLLsNu
He’s 400 Pounds. Pennsylvania Says That’s Good Enough Reason to Deny Custody of His Children
https://bit.ly/3GBsl94
Free event! Tough Conversations on Understanding Addictive Behaviors
Thursday, January 27, 10am PST.
Register: www.bit.ly/fftwebinar
On this week’s podcast, we discuss Biden’s new nominee to lead child welfare and family support policies at the Department of Health and Human Services; the tragic murder of a social worker in Illinois; and it’s decision time for the Supreme Court on the Brackeen v. Haaland case that could decide the fate of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Ruth White of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare joins us to talk about the first two full years of Foster Youth to Independence, a housing voucher program designed by current and former foster youth that aims to prevent housing instability for those aging out. We also talk about her thoughts on “Housing First” as a strategy, an untapped resource for youth homelessness prevention, and her idea for a “flat rent” approach to help develop savings for former foster youth.
Reading Room
Supreme Court Set to Decide Whether to Take Up Indian Child Welfare Case
https://bit.ly/3zDm8Xi
Coverage of the indian Child Welfare Act by The Imprint
https://imprintnews.org/topic/icwa
January Contreras Nominated for Top Child Welfare Position
https://bit.ly/334l3vG
DCFS Worker was Stabbed to Death While Responding to Report of Children in Danger in Thayer
https://bit.ly/3q5szPU
Texas v. Haaland Supreme Court Documents
https://bit.ly/32ZCPjX
Ben Carson Unveils Major Stable Housing Initiative for Former Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3odHqUS
On this week’s episode we discuss some leadership departures and additions in top jobs; the ongoing “workforce spiral” in child welfare; how systems pull money from the social safety net to offset costs; and the Adoption Files Initiative.
Former Alaska legislator Les Gara is seeking the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for governor of the Last Frontier. He joined us to talk about his time in foster care, his advocacy for foster youth and parents in the Alaska legislature and why he thinks he has a chance in a state that has historically sent Republicans and Independents to the governor’s mansion.
Reading Room
Los Angeles County Child Welfare Director Bobby Cagle Suddenly Steps Down
https://bit.ly/3DPFHgw
Eric Adams Taps Jess Dannhauser to Lead City’s Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice Systems
https://bit.ly/3zes219
Legal Settlement: New York Foster Parents Poised for Big Increase in Support Payments
https://bit.ly/3JgCgSW
Kentucky Social Workers Get 10% Pay Hike Amid Job Exodus
https://bit.ly/3pkS3Z8
These foster youth say the state of Alaska pocketed thousands of dollars that belonged to them.
https://bit.ly/3vHyjPX
A Mother Needed Welfare. Instead, the State Used Welfare Funds to Take Her Son.
https://bit.ly/3FNQIQf
States send kids to foster care and their parents the bill — often one too big to pay
https://n.pr/3zgqsvu
Judge Curbs Alaska’s Practice of Claiming Foster Youths’ Federal Benefits
https://bit.ly/3EMrbpD
A Seattle Agency Digs Deep into Unanswered Questions About Past Adoption Practices, and its Obligations to Families
https://bit.ly/30I2KLO
We had some amazing guests join us on The Imprint Weekly Podcast this year, and we reviewed the entire 2021 archive to bring you clips from some of the very best! This episode includes clips of 20 interviews from this year.
Guests on this episode include:
- Melissa Thompson, Melanie Jordan and Cam Lundstrom of the Office of Respondent Parent Counsel in Colorado
- Christopher Scott and Lino Peña-Martinez of Sun Scholars
- Gary Ivory, president of Youth Advocate Programs
- Former juvenile judge Karen Baynes-Dunning
- Michelle Caldeira, senior vice president of College Bound Dorchester
- Dorothy Roberts, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Program on Race, Science & Society
- Kevin Skidmore, owner of Four Fourty Trucking in Georgia
- Dr. Jay Miller, dean of the University of Kentucky School of Social Work
- Adoption expert April Dinwoodie
- Beverly Jones, child operating officer for Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois
- Takkeem Morgan, founder of Foster Together Indiana
- Josh Gupta-Kagan, professor, University of South Carolina School of Law
- Dr. Bruce Perry, founder and senior fellow at the Child Trauma Academy
- Rae Baker, director of the Minnesota Prison Doula Project
- Kris Henning, professor, Georgetown Law
- Rebecca Nagle, host of the award-winning This Land podcast
- Corey Best, consultant, Mining for Gold
- Irene Clements, former president, National Foster Parent Association
- Lisa Thurau, founder, Strategies for Youth
If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and Fostering Families Today, please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!
Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online events.
There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit imprintnews.org/donate.
This week’s episode is an edited-for-length version of a discussion that Fostering Media Connections recently conducted called “Navigating the Holidays.” Kim Hansel, the editor of our Fostering Families Today magazine, moderated this terrific panel of four former foster youth — Raquel Wilson, Tamar Sebesta, Jessica Castillo, and Daniel Bisuano — in a conversation about what the holidays can be life for young people with lived experience, and what foster and resource parents should know and expect during this time of year.
Reading Room
The Holidays Aren’t Always a Celebration. It’s Much More Complicated for Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3nDIsf1
Holiday Lessons from a Former Foster Youth: Families Don’t Have to Be Bound by Blood
https://bit.ly/3sp9TMv
For This Foster Youth, Christmas Was Always Conflicting
https://bit.ly/3skxyO5
Be Mindful of Foster Youths’ Struggles with Holidays
https://bit.ly/3qen9B1
On this week’s episode, we discuss California’s looming foster care cliff for older youth, obesity-as-neglect in Pennsylvania, and the passing of a major figure in international adoption.
Lisa Thurau, the head of Strategies for Youth, joins us to talk about the true front door of the juvenile justice system: police encounters with youth. We talked about the origins of her organization, how it trains law enforcement to think differently about engaging young people, and what she thinks will come of the current moment of reckoning around police and civil rights.
Donate to Fostering Media Connections during the month of December and your contribution will be fully matched! Help support our independent coverage of child welfare, youth justice and youth homelessness today at www.imprintnews.org/donate.
Reading Room
Youth Voices Contest, Free Registration
www.YouthMatterSFY.org
Los Angeles Leaders Aim to Prevent “Housing Cliff” for 1,100 Aging Out of Foster Care Dec. 31
https://bit.ly/3owBaKA
The New Year’s Cliff for California Foster Care Requires a Community Solution
https://bit.ly/3oi7xN0
A Pennsylvania Case Illustrates Again Why, for Children, “Best Interests of The Child” Is Among the Most Dangerous Phrases in the “Child Welfare” Lexicon
https://bit.ly/3s0fWXx
Hyun Sook Han, Korean Social Worker and Adoption Pioneer, Dies at 83
https://nyti.ms/3rW1Gze
Make Training Police on Juvenile Justice, Youth Interaction a National Priority
https://bit.ly/3IFnzbY
Hope Springs Infernal for Better Policing
https://bit.ly/3DIleJG
On this week’s episode, we discuss new numbers (from the federal government and from The Imprint’s annual survey of states) that shed light on foster care trends across the nation during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. Also: a new leader nominated for Biden’s child welfare team, and the release of a ProPublica/New York Times feature on “hidden foster care.”
Aurelle Amram joins us to discuss a new approach Los Angeles is taking to gear services to people with serious mental illness around outcomes-based contracting, a plan that is expected to include a lot of focus on youth involved in foster care and/or the juvenile justice system.
Reading Room
Youth Voices Contest, Free Registration
www.YouthMatterSFY.org
Navigating the Holidays with Fostering Families Today
www.bit.ly/FFTholidays
Federal Report: Foster Care, Adoptions Dropped in 2020
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/federal-report-foster-care-adoptions-dropped-2020/60489
National Foster Care Population Down 4% Amid Pandemic
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/national-foster-care-population-down-amid-pandemic/60421
Biden Nominates Oregon Leader, and Former Foster Youth, for a Top Child Welfare Post
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/biden-nominates-oregon-director-former-foster-youth-top-child-welfare-post/60479
“They Took Us Away From Each Other”: Lost Inside America’s Shadow Foster System
https://www.propublica.org/article/they-took-us-away-from-each-other-lost-inside-americas-shadow-foster-system
Hidden Foster Care: A Continuing Series by The Imprint
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-care
Deborah Shropshire and Charlene Wong are career pediatricians, and Terry Stigdon is a registered nurse who specializes in pediatrics. All three are now leading state child welfare systems in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Indiana, respectively.
This episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast features a conversation hosted by Fostering Media Connections in which Accenture’s Molly Tierney and The Imprint’s John Kelly talk to the three women about the differences between the health and child welfare fields, what child welfare systems could learn from or adapt from health systems, and what they see coming in the next five years for the field.
Guests:
Molly Tierney, Accenture
Terry Stigdon, Indiana Department of Child Services
Deborah Shropshire, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Charlene Wong, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
California became one of the first states to extend foster care when the federal Fostering Connections to Success Act became law, offering states the opportunity to extend foster care to the age of 21 with financial assistance. Last year, The Imprint produced an in-depth series looking at the first decade of the program in California, exploring what holes still existed in a new safety net that overall has helped ease the transition to adulthood for teens in the system.
This episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast features a panel discussion hosted by Fostering Media Connections on the state of extended foster care in the Golden State. Imprint reporter Sara Tiano moderates a discussion that features perspectives from two young leaders who experienced the system before and after the extension to 21; an expert in California child welfare policy; and one of the nation’s leading researchers on the experience of older youth in foster care.
Guests:
- Janay Eustace, California Youth Connection
- Jordan Sosa, California Youth Connection
- Amy Lemley, John Burton Advocates for Youth
- Mark Courtney, University of Chicago
Reading Room
Fostering Adults: The State of Care
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/fostering-adults-state-extended-care
Behind the Stats: Mark Courtney on His Newest Study on Transition-Age Foster Youth in California
https://imprintnews.org/analysis/behind-the-stats-mark-courtney-on-his-newest-study-on-transition-age-foster-youth-in-california/31833
Report: Extended Foster Care in California Boosts Wealth, Stability
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/report-extended-care-foster-care-in-california-boosts-wealth-stability/33508
Study Finds Foster Youth Fare Better When They Receive Care Until 21
https://imprintnews.org/news-2/study-finds-foster-youth-fare-better-receive-care-21/18007
On this week’s podcast we talk to the University of Michigan’s Natasha Pilkauskas about what a recent survey of low-income families tells us about the enhanced child tax credits included in coronavirus relief and, possibly, in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan.
Irene Clements, the retiring head of the National Foster Parent Association, talks about her own massive family, her concerns with the recent rise of “foster-to-adopt,” the continuing impact of the coronavirus on foster parents, and the future of fostering in America.
Reading Room
Receipt and Usage of Child Tax Credit Payments Among Low-Income Families: What We Know
https://bit.ly/3nn8C5X
As Coronavirus Shutdowns Grow, Resource Families Left with Little Guidance
https://bit.ly/30yHBDE
We Have to Stop Losing Half of Foster Parents in the First Year
https://bit.ly/3CfWVSw
On this week’s podcast we break down the major legislation introduced last week by Rep. Karen Bass that would alter the controversial timelines around terminating parental rights in the Adoption and Safe Families Act. We also discuss a new waiver to use Medicaid in congregate care settings and good results for a strategy to prevent some foster care removals.
We continue our conversation with Corey Best of Mining for Gold. In part two of this interview we talk about an experiment with changing the way maltreatment reports are handled in Broward County, Florida, his fears over racial disparity with the Family First Prevention Services Act, and more.
Reading Room
Historic Bill Would Remove Federal Requirement to Terminate Parental Rights in Some Cases
https://bit.ly/3bPtNXq
Feds Offer More Medicaid Support for New Congregate Model
https://bit.ly/3BAb5Oe
Team Decision Making May Empower Child Welfare Decision Making and Improve Outcomes for Families
https://bit.ly/3BYwMaY
A Complete Guide to The Family First Act
https://bit.ly/2IoWNue
Sponsor of today’s episode:
Accenture Child Welfare Services: https://accntu.re/3CUV3j8
Institute for Family: Subscribe to the Institute’s new podcast series, Seen and Heard. https://podcasts.instituteforfamily.org/seen-and-heard/
On this week’s podcast we dig into a major decline in the number of youth charged as adults in the justice system, and some child welfare legislation that could include the first federal requirement for legal counsel for parents and children.
Corey Best of Mining for Gold joins us to discuss his own experience losing parental rights as a young father, mandatory reporting and what we could differently with information that comes in from child protection hotline.
Reading Room
Youth Younger Than 18 Prosecuted in Criminal Court: National Estimate, 2019 Caseshttps://bit.ly/3mwcMrH
Senate Bill May Require Legal Counsel for Parents, Children in Child Welfare Caseshttps://bit.ly/3g9GyiH
Continued State Flexibility To Assist Older Foster Youth Acthttps://bit.ly/3nBUbti
End Aging Out of Foster Carehttps://bit.ly/2ZwvExn
How Incarcerated Parents Are Losing Their Children Foreverhttps://bit.ly/3Cy8up7
Taking on Racial Bias in Child Welfarehttps://bit.ly/3mrMOFr
On this week’s podcast we talk about the new push for federal oversight of the “troubled teen industry,” and what might be different this time around; the first kinship support program approved for new federal funding nationwide; and a local court case over ICWA that involves high-powered attorneys.
Kate Murphy of Texans Care for Children joins us to break down a very eventful year in child welfare legislation and policy shifts in the Lone Star State, including the state’s plans around the Family First Act, a controversial change to its definition of neglect, legal protection for parents, and how mental health has been a major driver of the state’s continuing crisis on placements for older foster youth.
Reading Room
America’s ‘Troubled Teen Industry’ Needs Reform So Kids Can Avoid the Abuse I Endured
https://wapo.st/3maybGI
Lawmakers Issue Warning to Troubled Teen Industry: Congress Will Act
https://bit.ly/3vz6Vom
Behavior Modification: Abuse Alleged
https://bit.ly/3BmT8md
Washington Targets Behavior Modification Programs
https://bit.ly/2ZuqKRU
Residential Programs: Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing
https://bit.ly/2ZjWhWd
First Kinship Support Model Gains Approval by Family First Clearinghouse
https://bit.ly/3vtZZsl
State of Missouri and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma vs. Honorable Scott S. Sifferman
https://bit.ly/3vEmV8F
Texas Bills Aim to Boost Rights for Parents Accused of Mistreating Kids
https://bit.ly/3wje633
Introducing "Seen and Heard," a new podcast from Institute for Family that seeks to lift up the stories of youth and families impacted by the child welfare system. In this episode, "Looking for That Warm Hug All My Life," host Matt Anderson talks to Shrounda Selivanoff about her own journey from dark days of homelessness and substance abuse to her current status as mother, kinship caregiver and parent ally.
You can find Seen and Heard wherever you regularly subscribe to or download your podcasts!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/looking-for-that-warm-hug-all-my-life/id1588126658?i=1000538910017
On this week’s podcast, we discuss what The Imprint has learned from states about the end of the federal moratorium on aging out of foster care during the pandemic; a new law to limit the transfer of youth into adult court in Washington, D.C.; and a troubling case of entrenched and unchecked juvenile justice leadership.
Matt Anderson, who leads the Institute for Family at the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, joins to discuss his new mission to develop media projects that tell the stories of youth and families who experience the child welfare system.
Reading Room
Next Week, Thousands of Foster Youth Will Age Out on the Same Day
https://bit.ly/3ktAPXh
Redefinition of Child Amendment Act of 2021
https://bit.ly/30uUrCx
Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge.
https://bit.ly/3BRt9nT
The Institute for Family
https://instituteforfamily.org/
Seen and Heard Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seen-and-heard/id1588126658
Documentary: From Place to Place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98UIV-gsE2
On this week’s podcast we discuss new developments in the 2020 death of a teenager killed by staff at a Michigan residential center, state spending on post-permanency and the latest in The Imprint’s “Hidden Foster Care” series.
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 at a time when one-third of Native American children were separated from their families. Journalist Rebecca Nagle, host of This Land, joins us to discuss the podcast’s new season about a major court case that could determine the future of ICWA.
Reading Room
Family of Foster Youth Slain by Staff at For-Profit Group Home Files $50 Million Federal Lawsuit
https://bit.ly/3DmbW6a
Better Data and Guidance Could Help States Reinvest Adoption Savings and Improve Federal
Oversight
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-6.pdf
Kinship Caregivers in D.C. Say Child Welfare Agency Owes Foster Payments
https://bit.ly/3Da1uif
California Foster Youth Must Make UBI Payments Work Along With Other Public Assistance
https://bit.ly/3Ahc3ht
This Land, Season 2
https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/
The Nation’s First Family Separation Policy
https://bit.ly/3AXykSt
Indian Child Welfare Act Under Fire: Federal Judge Strikes Down 40-Year-Old Law, Appeals Could Lead to Supreme Court
https://bit.ly/3Dr5Xgv
Federal Court Ruling on Indian Child Welfare Act Goes in Several Directions
https://bit.ly/3mvzWMX
Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on ‘Gold Standard’ Law to Keep Native American Families Together
https://bit.ly/2QwINme
On this week’s podcast we discuss the end of some pandemic protections for current and former foster youth, what Canada’s reckoning with history on Native American children portends for America; exits from big lawsuits, and office-seekers of note in Alaska and Los Angeles.
Zach Laris, director of federal advocacy and child welfare policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics, joins us for a deep dive on the Family First Prevention Services Act, which fully took effect in all states last week.
Reading Room
Next Week, Thousands of Foster Youth Will Age Out on the Same Day
https://bit.ly/3ktAPXh
Several States Issue Second Round of Foster Youth Pandemic Assistance
https://bit.ly/3kPEKxF
Indigenous children in Canada slated to receive billions in compensation after court rejects Trudeau appeal
https://wapo.st/2YbOXvX
Bill To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States
https://bit.ly/3A4HADt
Bureau of Indian Affairs Listening Sessions Registration
https://on.doi.gov/3mgFUlb
Former state Rep. Les Gara becomes fourth candidate for Alaska’s governor
https://bit.ly/3l1uYbD
California Rep. Karen Bass Joins Los Angeles Mayoral Race
https://bit.ly/3EXRDhc
On this week’s podcast we discuss a new campaign to end fines and fees in the juvenile justice system, more problems with privatization in child welfare, and the estimated 18,000 young adults who could age out of foster care this week.
Georgetown Law professor Kris Henning has been a public defender for youth in Washington, D.C. for more than two decades, and has had exactly four white clients in that time. Henning joins us to discuss her experience representing youth, and her new book The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth.
Reading Room
Advocacy Groups Launch Nationwide Campaign to End Juvenile Court Fines and Fees
https://bit.ly/3u7PVVt
Debt Free Justice Campaign
https://debtfreejustice.org/
Nebraska Inspector General Recommends Ending Foster Care Contract with Saint Francis
https://bit.ly/3uajUfu
Next Week, Thousands of Foster Youth Will Age Out on the Same Day
https://bit.ly/3ktAPXh
Youth Voice Webinar: What Did Your Mental Health Do for You (or to You)?
Thursday, Oct. 7 10amP/1pmE
Register for free! Can’t make it? Register and we’ll send you a recording!
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
On this week’s podcast we discuss a foster care capacity crisis in Texas, promising programs and bad facilities in Los Angeles, and former foster youth getting positions of leadership in federal government.
In the early 2010s, Chicago’s juvenile detention center got a much-needed physical overhaul. Its leadership at the time used the opportunity to set up a gold-standard trial to test a new approach to engaging the youth inside. Juvenile detention expert David Roush joins us to talk about what they found and what’s happened since.
Reading Room
Healers in The System: From the Health Field to Child Welfare Leadership
Register for free! Tomorrow, Sept. 21, 4pm EST (can’t make it? Sign up and receive the recording!)
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Virtual Town Hall on Pandemic Assistance for Foster Youth
TODAY at 4pm EST
https://thinkofus.typeform.com/to/hUC75vWw
More Texas Foster Youth Are Sleeping in State Offices Than at Any Other Point in Recent Years
https://bit.ly/3hIQL5R
Texas Foster Care Children Exposed to Sexual Abuse, Given Wrong Medication and Neglected in Unlicensed Placements, New Report Says
https://bit.ly/39jqc2L
Los Angeles County Supervisors Approve Therapeutic Approaches to Youth Detention
https://bit.ly/3AiTHgT
State Agency Declares L.A.’s Juvenile Halls ‘Unsuitable for Confinement of Minors’
https://bit.ly/3CoEcVd
Foster Youth Advocate Joins Biden Administration’s Child Welfare Agency Leadership
https://bit.ly/39c0DR7
Child Welfare Policymakers Need to Learn User Centered Design
https://bit.ly/3kn5mG7
Young Adult Consultant and Youth Support Leads Application
www.bit.ly/ICFYAC2021
On this week’s episode, we discuss the slow-developing effort to connect current and former foster youth with federal pandemic assistance, and a new bill that would extend the deadline for it.
Also: the Family First Act clearinghouse reconsiders some programs; federal judges toss three child welfare lawsuits; Supreme Court asked to decide the fate of the Indian Child Welfare Act; and Maryland commission recommends an end to automatic transfers from the juvenile justice system.
Rae Baker of the Minnesota Prison Doula Project joins to discuss her organization’s efforts to help expecting moms in prison as they prepare for birth, and a precedent-setting state law the project successfully pushed for that will offer a chance for these moms to stay with their newborns outside of the prison walls.
Reading Room
Healers in the System: From The Health Field to Child Welfare Leadership
Register for FREE!
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
Pandemic Relief Funds for California Foster Youth Slow to Reach Needy Young Adults as Deadline Approaches
https://bit.ly/38sTtrg
Youth Voice: As Deadline for Federal Pandemic Relief Looms, Fosters Are Being Failed Yet Again
https://bit.ly/2YLab3C
Family First Clearinghouse Approves Two New Services, Will Reconsider Ohio Kinship Navigator
https://bit.ly/3yoV2Rv
Clearinghouse Abruptly Downgrades Family Centered Treatment
https://bit.ly/2MYNxiL
Judges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia
https://bit.ly/3ii6lpS
Both Sides Ask Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Indian Child Welfare Act
https://bit.ly/3trJqw9
Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on ‘Gold Standard’ Law to Keep Native American Families Together
https://bit.ly/2QwINme
On this week’s podcast we discuss a new proposal to boost funding for preventing and investigating child maltreatment, a controversial proposal to permit Medicaid in foster care institutions, and movements on legal counsel in Minnesota and Texas.
Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton and new senior fellow at the Rosenberg Foundation, joins us to discuss universal basic income, how being mayor shaped his views on child welfare and juvenile justice, shifting the narrative on fighting poverty, and more.
Reading Room
FREE EVENT!
The Bridge to Adulthood: A Discussion on California Extended Foster Care System
Register: https://bit.ly/cafostercare
Senators Propose Medicaid Exception for Congregate Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3s9PoRJ
New Law Gives Low-Income Minnesotans Access to Attorneys in Child Welfare Cases
https://bit.ly/3rTl8KL
Texas Lawmaker Commits to Restricting and Tracking Hidden Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3yRUTqO
Hidden Foster Care: A Series by The Imprint
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-care
On this week’s podcast we discuss the recent dismissal of lawsuits in Ohio and West Virginia, new research on the prevalence of child protection investigations, and a local investigation into “hidden foster care” that might make waves.
Bryan Samuels, executive director of Chapin Hall, joins us to discuss the Family First Act, race and poverty, congregate care and his organization’s new policy brief on including more concrete and economic supports in child welfare.
Reading Room
Judges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia
https://bit.ly/3ii6lpS
Nearly Half of Children Experience CPS Investigations For Abuse And Neglect Before 18, New Estimates For Large Counties Show
https://bit.ly/2TSQzsj
Contact with Child Protective Services Is Pervasive but Unequally Distributed by Race and Ethnicity in Large US Counties
https://bit.ly/3A12W4O
NC County Illegally Removed Kids from Homes
https://bit.ly/3ilWMq8
Key Supervisor Pleads guilty in DSS Family Separation Scheme
https://bit.ly/3ynnxQx
Addressing Economic Hardship Key to Preventing Child Welfare System Involvement
https://bit.ly/3ighQgo
On this week’s podcast we discuss the newest policy proposals from foster youth interns on Capitol Hill, new funding for racial equity in child welfare, and the newly approved guaranteed income pilot project in California that will pay up to $1,000 per month to young adults who have aged out of foster care.
Andrea Amavisca, a legislative aide to State Sen. Dave Cortese, joins to talk about how the plan became law. Veronica Vieyra, who participated in a smaller test of guaranteed income in Santa Clara County, joins us to reflect on the impact that help has had on her life this year.
Reading Room
Foster Youth Congressional Interns Present Policy Fixes to U.S. Legislators
https://bit.ly/3zJtLdD
Lawmakers Back Funding for Foster Sibling Pilot Programs
https://bit.ly/3lr4DEu
New Study Suggests Ending Group Care for Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3rsVqMU
H.R.4502 - Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022
https://bit.ly/3rMJ9mS
California Bans Out-of-State Treatment Programs After Reporters Investigate Abuse
https://bit.ly/3BkKm9u
Far from Home | Far from Safe
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/far-from-home
California Approves First State-Guaranteed Income For Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3xi84Qv
California County Tests Universal Basic Income to Support Youth After Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3dfmAB2
Help Us Close the Distance!
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This week, The Imprint Weekly Podcast presents our in-depth interview with Dr. Bruce Perry, recent co-author of the bestseller “What Happened to You” with Oprah Winfrey.
Perry, who heads the Neurosequential Network and is the founder or and senior fellow at the Child Trauma Academy, has spent years building the knowledge base around understanding and addressing the impact of child trauma on kids and adults.
Perry discussed his new book, his views on child welfare and its approach to engaging parents, the potential of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, and more.
Reading RoomEVENT: What Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents Wish Youth Knew
Free Registration Link
https://bit.ly/2Ut0wwg
The ‘20s and Youth Services: A Guess at What Comes Next
https://bit.ly/3j2afTd
What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
https://bit.ly/3ePBOh9
Timing of Early-Life Stress and the Development of Brain-Related Capacities
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6691036/
On this week’s podcast we discuss more plans for rethinking child welfare, universal cell phone coverage for California foster youth, and another big experiment planned for the “colorblind” approach to foster care removal decisions.
Josh Gupta-Kagan of the University of South Carolina School of Law joins to discuss “hidden foster care,” the practice of informally moving children out of their homes without the involvement of the courts. Gupta-Kagan’s research on this practice suggests that potentially hundreds of thousands more kids enter foster care every year than we think.
READING ROOM
EVENT: What Youth Wish Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents Knew
Thursday, July 22 10am PST
https://bit.ly/July22FFT
EVENT: What Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents Wish Youth Knew
Thursday, July 29 10am PST
https://bit.ly/July29YV
Addressing Economic Hardship Key to Preventing Child Welfare System Involvement
https://bit.ly/3ighQgo
Former Children’s Bureau Head To Work on Child Welfare ‘Replacement’
https://bit.ly/36v36oo
University of California Foster Students Organize to Demand Better Treatment on Campus
https://bit.ly/36BDDd3
Los Angeles Leaders Vote to Try “Colorblind” Foster Care Decisions
https://bit.ly/3wzc0vG
‘New Government Benefit’ Providing Cell Phones to California Foster Youth Made Permanent
https://bit.ly/3hNKtT7
America’s Hidden Foster Care System
https://stanford.io/3xPkX5y
Hidden Foster Care: A Collection of The Imprint’s Coverage
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-care
On this podcast we discuss the overrepresentation of LGBTQ youth in foster care, big budget investments in California families, baby bonds in Connecticut, and foster youth stimulus in New York.
Mary Bissell joins us for our first edition of Alphabet Soup: A Simple Serving of Complex Concepts in Child Welfare. First up: FMAP!
Reading Room
LGBTQ Youth Make Up One Third of Foster Care, But Are Often Poorly Served
https://bit.ly/3qQVXYV
LGBTQ Foster Youth in New York City: Strong in Numbers, Struggling in Care
https://bit.ly/3q0aJvI
Illinois Enhancing Support for LGBTQ Youth
https://bit.ly/3r1lChC
California’s Spending Plan Invests in Families and Children Still Reeling From the Pandemic
https://bit.ly/3qMtzao
Connecticut Becomes First State in Nation for Baby Bonds
https://bit.ly/3k4I7AX
One-time Pandemic Cash Assistance Now Available to Foster Youth in New York
https://bit.ly/2Vrn4hF
On this week's episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast we discuss new proposals for abolishing "family policing" and creating a community-led parallel system for family support; lowered expectations on L.A. juvenile justice reform; and a surprising outcome among states that have raised the age since 2007.
Jen Burdick of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia joins to talk about her organization's massive push to help clients file tax returns this year to prevent them from missing out on major new family supports that some believe could halve child poverty in America.
Reading Room
Envisioning a Different Future for Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3w8P2eL
Changing the Child Welfare System Starts With Reframing Our View of Families
https://bit.ly/3hihLYU
Los Angeles Seeks to Delay Sweeping Juvenile Justice Reform Plan
https://bit.ly/3w1x3qw
Advocates Tout Data Showing Raise the Age Laws Haven’t Overwhelmed States’ Juvenile Facilities
https://bit.ly/3w7O5mI
IRS Filing Portal for Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal
On this week’s podcast we discuss universal basic income and pandemic assistance for current and former foster youth; a new federal investigation into the sordid history of Indian boarding schools; potential trouble for Ohio’s new mental health reform; and a settlement over homeless foster youth in Washington.
Takkeem Morgan of Foster Together Indiana joins us to talk about how his own experience with foster care and his time embedded with state government shaped his new venture.
Reading Room
California’s Foster Youth UBI Bill Moves Forward, Bolstered By Promising Results from Similar Local Program
https://bit.ly/3vMKWc6
California County Tests Universal Basic Income to Support Youth After Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3dfmAB2
California Will Offer Pandemic Relief Cash to Young People Currently or Recently in Extended Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3xEuJHa
IRS Filing Portal for Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal
Child Poverty Increased Nationally During COVID, Especially Among Latino and Black Children
https://bit.ly/3jd6coF
US Boarding Schools to Be Investigated
https://bit.ly/2U5SysM
Ohio GOP Senate Change To Budget Could Endanger Program For At-Risk Youth
https://bit.ly/3vVBy5P
Moving Upstream on Mental Health
https://bit.ly/2ObtLAV
Washington Will End Foster Youth Placement in Hotels, Offices and Cars
https://bit.ly/3qilGt4
On this week’s podcast, we discuss New York’s new legal path to visits for parents whose rights have been terminated; trends in juvenile incarceration; and the return of early child welfare legal advocacy to the city that birthed it.
Christina Remlin, the lead counsel for Children’s Rights, helps us break down the decision in the recent SUpreme Court case over the right of faith-based child welfare providers to choose who they will work with based on religious beliefs.
Reading Room
A Better Future for Minnesota Families: How to Improve Support for Parents in Crisis and Youth in Foster Care
www.bit.ly/MNFamilies
New York Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Parent-Child Contact After Termination of Rights
https://bit.ly/3czeRxl
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp/
Biennial Juvenile Incarceration Census Data Released
https://bit.ly/3q7ltsI
Early Child Welfare Legal Help Comes Back to The City That Invented It
https://bit.ly/3iJKkB2
Supreme Court Says Philadelphia Violated Catholic Child Welfare Group’s First Amendment Rights
https://bit.ly/3iLjit7
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the decline in reunifications during the early pandemic, a potential legal counsel law in Congress, a new national campaign to connect current and former foster youth with pandemic assistance, and juvenile justice reforms in Michigan and New York.
David Kelly, a former official in the Children’s Bureau during the Obama and Trump administrations, joins to talk about his federal career and what he sees on the horizon for child welfare.
Reading Room
Families in Limbo: Coronavirus Hobbles Reunifications from Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3vgscRO
AP Analysis: COVID Prolonged Foster Care Stays for Thousands
https://bit.ly/3xiqT6y
Senate Bill May Require Legal Counsel for Parents, Children in Child Welfare Cases
https://bit.ly/3g9GyiH
Federal Guidance on Foster Youth Pandemic Relief: A Breakdown
https://bit.ly/3lj19lL
“Check for Us” National Campaign
www.checkforus.org
A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention.
https://bit.ly/3zlYyOj
After Grace’s Story, Michigan Will Study Its Juvenile Justice System
https://bit.ly/2ThbX9T
Attorney David Kelly Leaves the Children’s Bureau
https://bit.ly/3vvREUx
We were joined for this discussion by Jerry Milner, former head of the US Children’s Bureau; Kelley Fong, a researcher who has done some amazing work on abuse and neglect reporting; Brian Blalock, head of New Mexico’s child welfare system; Sixto Cancel, the founder of the nonprofit Think of Us; and Barret Johnson of the child welfare tech company Binti, who discussed how improved technological infrastructure can help usher in such endeavors.
On this week’s podcast, reporter Julie Reynolds Martinez drops in todiscuss a two-part series published by The Imprint and Voices of Monterey Bay about Corey Glassman, who was convicted as a teen for the brutal killing of a classmate. Glassman’s path through the incarceration system to recent parole epitomizes the changing tides in public attitude and policy about horrific crimes committed by youth.
Beverly Jones, child operating officer for Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois, joins us to talk about her organization’s efforts to identify massive racial disparities in the outcomes of the kids it serves, and what Lutheran did to change that trajectory.
Reading Room
The Corey Glassman Story
Part I: Redemption Delayed
https://bit.ly/3yrikrf
Part II: Earning Freedom
https://bit.ly/2SAhEzb
On this week’s podcast we discuss the everyday impact of the Indian Child Welfare Act in court; a guide for current and former foster youth who want to find out if they are owed social security benefits; Alabama gets sued (again); and new entries into the Family First Prevention Services Act.
Alain Datcher, executive director of the new Los Angeles Youth Commission, joins us to talk about how the new body will be put together and what guarantees are in place to make sure it has real power to influence the discussion on child welfare and juvenile justice policy.
Reading Room
Dollars and Dreams: Don't Waste What’s in Your Wallet!
http://bit.ly/DollarsAndDreams
Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on ‘Gold Standard’ Law to Keep Native American Families Together
https://bit.ly/2QwINme
Were You Ever in Foster Care? Here’s How to Find Out if the Government Took Your Money
https://bit.ly/2RxufmX
Class-Action Lawsuit in Alabama Alleges Mistreatment of Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3ytvfch
Clearinghouse OKs Five More Programs for Family First Act
https://bit.ly/3tZQu1R
Los Angeles Youth Commission Website
https://youthcommission.lacounty.gov/
On this week’s podcast we discuss a multi-million dollar jury award in a “hidden foster care” case; a bill to offer employers a tax credit to hire current or former foster youth; another state moves to protect faith-based discrimination; and the New York mayoral candidates talk child welfare.
Ricky Watson, executive director of the National Juvenile Justice Network, joins us to discuss local and national efforts to establish a minimum age for arresting and processing youth.
Reading Room
AP: N.C. County Illegally Removed Kids from Homes
https://bit.ly/3bNi5xd
Verdict: Federal jury awards millions to daughter, father separated by Cherokee County DSS
https://bit.ly/2RmrkgG
Tax Incentive to Hire Foster Youth Back in Congress
https://bit.ly/3faVuLI
We Asked the New York City Mayoral Candidates About the High-Stakes Child Welfare System. Here’s What They Said.
https://bit.ly/NYCchildwelfare
Still Bridging the Opportunity Divide for Low-Income Youth: Year Up’s Longer-Term Impacts
https://bit.ly/33L4QIT
Juvenile Arrests in 2019 Continued Long Downward Trend
https://bit.ly/3hqd6pD
Raising Our Standards by Raising the Minimum Age
https://bit.ly/3uRYR0K
On this week’s podcast we discuss the end of the federal eviction moratorium, a string of new laws aimed at protecting parents suspected of abuse or neglect in New York, and Molly Dunn joins to talk about problems with Arizona’s effort to get federal assistance to current and former foster youth.
Lindsey Bullinger of Georgia Tech University joins us for a conversation about how changes in the minimum wage can impact abuse and neglect, how to research the impact of the new child allowance, and what she and colleagues found when they matched up matched up child welfare data with cell phone usage during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Reading Room
Resuming Evictions Could Land Kids in Foster Care, Experts Say
https://bit.ly/3b8b89y
Evictions and Neighborhood Child Maltreatment Reports
https://bit.ly/3f1rulj
New York City Lawmakers, Moms Push Sweeping Changes to Child Maltreatment Reporting System
https://bit.ly/33qpldD
New Research Links Increased Minimum Wage to Reduced Child Maltreatment
https://bit.ly/2RvAqr7
COVID-19 and Alleged Child Maltreatment
https://bit.ly/3vNdCC7
On this week’s podcast we discuss the tragic deaths of Ma’khia Bryant and Aviva Okeson-Haberman, the system clawing back social security from youth in foster care, and new research on termination of parental rights.
April Dinwoodie joins us to discuss what we’ve learned (and what we haven’t) when it comes to supporting adoptions and guardianships in America, and what she thinks of the recent calls to repeal or revisit federal adoption legislation.
Reading Room
‘We Should Not Be Here Today’: Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, Mourned, Celebrated at Her Funeral
https://bit.ly/2QDY70u
Remembering KCUR Reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman
https://n.pr/3h1Xzwd
Foster Care Agencies Take Thousands of Dollars Owed To Kids Most Children Have No Idea
https://bit.ly/3vHyjPX
Coming Soon to Congress: Discussion on Child Support Clawback
https://bit.ly/3oJjvgH
New Study Confirms High Prevalence of Investigations, Loss of Parental Rights
https://bit.ly/32B1GXl
Five Early-Career Researchers Selected for the William T. Grant Scholars Class of 2026
https://bit.ly/338y9Vo
North Carolina D.A. Erases Criminal Records for Former Juvenile Offenders
https://bit.ly/3dRhBY5
Former Foster Youth’s Bill Signed: At Every Washington State School, a Foster Care Coordinator
https://bit.ly/3vyBFEE
Profiles in Permanency
https://bit.ly/3xRkgJs
On this week’s podcast we discuss the police shooting of an Ohio foster youth, the recent Supreme Court decision on juvenile sentencing, and a novel partnership to connect former foster youth with housing stability.
Robert Latham of the University of Miami’s Children and Youth Law Clinic joins us to discuss several issues at play in Florida, one of America’s largest and most privatized child welfare systems. We talked about Latham’s unprecedented data project tracking the movement of foster youth in the state, a law that often leads to system-involved youth being confined in mental health facilities, and the state’s child welfare response to COVID-19.
Reading Room
Police Killing of Foster Child Ma’Khia Bryant in Ohio Wrenches Youth, Allies
https://bit.ly/3vdTusm
On Juvenile LWOP, Supreme Court Answers One Question and Creates Another
https://bit.ly/3dP3GSo
Ohio Senate Seeks Ban on Life Without Parole for Juveniles
https://bit.ly/3dNCV0v
Ben Carson Unveils Major Stable Housing Initiative for Former Foster Youth
https://bit.ly/3odHqUS
Supporting Foster Youth on College Campuses
https://bit.ly/2PaX07q
On this week’s podcast we discuss the first public appearance by one of Biden’s top child welfare officials, and another big state moves toward adoptee access to birth certificates. Sixto Cancel of Think of Us joins us to discuss what’s going on with pandemic assistance to current and former foster youth.
Dr. Jay Miller, dean of the University of Kentucky School of Social Work, joins us to discuss what his research shows about how COVID-19 has specifically impacted child welfare social workers and foster parents.
Reading Room
Biden’s Child Welfare Chief Meets Foster Youth, Calling for Cash Grants and Promising to Address Systemic Racism
https://bit.ly/3mUmJOg
Federal Guidance on Foster Youth Pandemic Relief: A Breakdown
https://bit.ly/3lj19lL
Texas House Moves Bill Strengthening Adoptee Rights to Original Birth Certificate
https://bit.ly/3df3wU8
Far from Home | Far from Safe
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/far-from-home
Study Zeros in on Self-Care During COVID-19
https://bit.ly/3n1UHjJ
In our final installment of Big Questions for Child Welfare, Accenture’s Molly Tierney and Daniel Heimpel of Fostering Media Connections reflect on Tierney’s 2014 Ted Talk, at which she received a standing ovation for a speech that questioned the underpinnings of what she described as the child welfare industrial complex, and measured the use of foster care up to Einstein’s definition of insanity.
On this week’s podcast we discuss a portal to federal aid for former foster youth; abig juvenile probation reform proposal in California; and new leadership at a pioneer group for elevating parent voice in child welfare.
Chrissi Ross Nimmo, Deputy Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation, joins us to discuss the massive and complicated federal opinion on the Indian Child Welfare Act, and its likely move to the Supreme Court. And Fostering Media Connections Founder Daniel Heimpel joins us for a “farewell” lookback on the media platform he created.
Reading Room
Arizona Launches Portal to Connect Former Foster Youth with Pandemic Relief
https://bit.ly/2Q4BYrm
California Weighs Plan to Shrink Probation Supervision Terms for Youth
https://bit.ly/3fQ0qHG
Parent-empowerment Group Rise Names New Leadership Duo
https://bit.ly/322rNpU
Federal Court Ruling on Indian Child Welfare Act Goes in Several Directions
https://bit.ly/3mvzWMX
Extending Foster Care Past Age 18
https://bit.ly/3mzDOfW
UPCOMING EVENTS
Unjust Roadblocks: How the Juvenile System Makes It Hard to Succeed
April 13 / 1pm P/ 4pm E
https://bit.ly/3u0V9kJ
Transformation Points: Redesigning Child Welfare to Help Youth and Families Thrive
April 29 / 11am P / 2pm E
https://imprintnews.org/webinars
On this week’s podcast we discuss the growing interest in race-blind foster care removal decisions, hidden foster care, the return of federal earmarks, and an interesting Michigan Supreme Court case on educational neglect.
Rita Soronen, CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, joins to discuss the first 10,000 adoptions accomplished under the organization’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, and what’s next for expansion of the program.
Reading Room
Color-Blind Ambition
https://bit.ly/3ufhJWU
Kentucky’s Budget Shrunk. These Informal Foster Parents Were Left with Nothing.
https://bit.ly/39IDW7X
Pork Is Back
https://bit.ly/2PRK46M
Inside the Expanding Universe of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
https://bit.ly/2PX5dfv
On this week’s podcast we discuss the state of legislation on Raise the Age reforms in Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin; a new campaign to repeal the Adoption and Safe Families Act; and news on the Family First Act.
Kevin Skidmore, owner of Four Fourty Trucking in Georgia, joins to discuss his journey from a youth transferred into adult jail to a businessman helping young adults come back home from incarceration.
The Imprint Weekly Podcast is releasing bonus episodes featuring our publisher, Daniel Heimpel, and Molly Tierney, the child welfare lead at Accenture and former child welfare director for Baltimore.
On this episode, the two friends discuss the growing call for child welfare to paddle “upstream,” investing more money in keeping families together and less on splitting them apart. What will it take to improve our prevention of abuse and neglect in America? And should that work be done by child welfare agencies, other parts of government, or something entirely different?
On this week’s podcast, we discuss Washington’s limitations on life without parole, “raising the floor” on juvenile arrests, rules of the road for foster youth COVID relief and prioritizing foster parents for vaccines.
Dorothy Roberts, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Program on Race, Science & Society, wrote Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare two decades ago. At the time, she proposed abolishing the field as we know it, to be replaced by an entirely new system.
Today, she now longer believes that a system can work at all in a way that ensures justice for poor or Black families in America. She joins us to talk about the abolition movement in child welfare and the “non-reformist reforms” that she thinks can move the country in that direction.
Reading Room
Washington Supreme Court Raises Age of Sentencing Limits for Teenagers
https://bit.ly/2NmSAJR
Boy Picks Tulip, Gets Arrested: A Tale As Old As Time
https://bit.ly/30XvYmr
Federal Guidance on Foster Youth Pandemic Relief: A Breakdown
https://bit.ly/3lj19lL
California Foster Parents Win Vaccine Eligibility, As Fight Continues in New York
https://bit.ly/3tsMiaV
Abolishing Policing Also Means Abolishing Family Regulation
http://bit.ly/37Y8aDQ
Rising Voices For ‘Family Power’ Seek to Abolish The Child Welfare System
http://bit.ly/3okyyNU
Strengthened Bonds: Abolishing the Child Welfare System and Re-Envisioning Child Well-Being
https://virtual.eventmanagement.columbia.edu/strengthened_bonds
On this week’s podcast, we break down the major child and family provisions in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed by President Biden last week, including a major guaranteed income program for parents.
Dave Newell, CEO of the Children’s Home Society of Washington, joins us to discuss a year of pandemic for an organization with services ranging from Head Start and home visiting to foster care.
Reading Room
The American Rescue plan puts us on a pathway to end child poverty within a generation if…
http://bit.ly/2Q1oWLj
Pandemic Support for Foster Youth Still Delayed, Months After Federal Action
https://bit.ly/2OgYKvC
Advice from Washington Family Services Provider: ‘Tsunami’ Is Coming Your Way
http://bit.ly/30F61rw
The Imprint‘s Coverage of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice in a Time of Pandemic
https://imprintnews.org/coronavirus-kids-and-families
Over the next few weeks The Imprint Weekly Podcast is releasing bonus episodes featuring our publisher, Daniel Heimpel, and Molly Tierney, the child welfare lead at Accenture and former child welfare director for Baltimore.
On this episode, the two friends discuss the new Biden administration and what should be front and center in its agenda for the field of child welfare.
On this week’s podcast we discuss testing universal basic income for youth aging out of foster care, a Minnesota law aimed at addressing race disproportionality, and the new head of the U.S. Children’s Bureau.
Lori Ross, the founder of FosterAdopt Connect, joins us to talk about the case of a high-needs youth who was almost pushed out of Missouri foster care onto the streets with no help, and the many policy implications that young man’s story carries.
Reading Room
Biden Taps New York Official to Lead U.S. Children’s Bureau
bit.ly/2MFsQZ0
Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration
bit.ly/2O360LE
California Considers Universal Basic Income for Former Foster Youth
bit.ly/3sIO5bM
Town Hall Held to Discuss Minnesota Bill Aimed At Limiting Black Family Separation
bit.ly/3e7oLrE
Tiffany Haddish Launches Internship Program for Foster Youth Interested in Showbiz
bit.ly/3sOIUqO
She Ready Internship Application
bit.ly/3qxVFod
ACLU Sues as Missouri is Set to Release Young Man with Severe Autism from Foster Care
bit.ly/2PGDEaq
On this week’s episode we discuss some of the Biden administration’s early hires for key positions at the Administration for Children and Families, which oversees family support and child welfare in the federal government.
**Michelle Caldeira, the senior vice president of College Bound Dorchester, joins us to discuss a plan to invest in a new trajectory for gang leaders in Boston as an antipoverty strategy.
Reading Room**
“How Foster Families Are Coping”: A webinar to discuss findings from a survey of foster and resource families about the pandemic.
http://bit.ly/ParentPollFindings
JooYeun Chang Joins Biden Child Welfare Team
https://bit.ly/3pWNCAR
Biden Starts to Fill in Leadership at Administration for Children and Families
http://bit.ly/3bGv42w
As Hotline Calls Plummeted, Michigan Did Some Dialing of Its Own
http://bit.ly/3fT15ET
$400 Million In Coronavirus Relief for Foster Youth Heads to States
http://bit.ly/3c36KIH
Confusion Among State Agencies Delays Vaccines for New York Foster Youth In Congregate Care
https://bit.ly/2MusUuz
Over the next few weeks, we will be releasing bonus episodes on Thursdays that will be conversations between The Imprint's publisher Daniel Heimpel and Molly Tierney, the child welfare lead at Accenture and former director of Baltimore's child welfare system.
On today's episode they discuss racial biases and the child welfare workforce with Karen Baynes-Dunning, acting president of the Southern Poverty Law Center and former juvenile court judge. The three explore interesting lessons on this issue learned from testing of a virtual caseworker training platform.
On this week’s episode we discuss new access to birth certificates for adoptees in New York with reporter Michael Fitzgerald, more job training efforts for system-involved teens and young adults in California and Nevada, and a national campaign to end the use of solitary confinement for youth.
Ned Breslin, CEO of Tennyson Center for Children, joins us to talk about Colorado’s Rewiring initiative aimed at proving that more money to help families avoid crises will reap huge savings in the long run.
Reading Room
Adoption Secrecy Has Ended for Thousands Since New York Unsealed Birth Records
bit.ly/2ZA5iYp
Houston Region Funds Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration
bit.ly/3bqHdsl
Child Welfare Workers Scramble to Protect Foster Youth through Deadly Texas Winter Storm
bit.ly/3aImDVs
States Jump on New Chance to Target Most-Vulnerable Youth for Job Training
bit.ly/3qIPluS
$1 Million to Fund New Phase of Fight Against Solitary Confinement for Youth
bit.ly/3dzteDj
What Child Welfare Can Learn from ‘Rewiring’
bit.ly/3ujCQrR
On this week’s episode we discuss the continuing spiral of Sequel, a for-profit provider of residential youth programs, Biden’s halt to Trump religious rules, a new slate of child allowance plans and more.
Gary Ivory, the new president of Youth Advocate Programs (often just called YAP) joins us to talk about what we know about serving young offenders without resorting to incarceration, his famous Tour of the South with young gang members, and what the Biden administration should focus on in regard to youth justice.
Reading Room
After Abuse Probe, Another Sequel-run Program that Housed California Youth Will Close
bit.ly/3daXNPy
LGBTQ, Foster Youth Groups Hail Biden Administration Stance on Discrimination Lawsuit
bit.ly/3amEeli
Annie E. Casey Foundation Puts New Focus on 14- to 24-Year-Olds
bit.ly/3peQgBG
New Washington State Senator’s Bill for Foster Kids Advances with Unanimous Support
bit.ly/2NnaM5Q
Founder of the Only Magazine By and For Parents Impacted by Child Welfare System Steps Down
bit.ly/2N5pGhj
About 40,000 foster youth live in group homes and institutions. On this week’s podcast we talk to reporter Megan Conn about what’s going on with vaccination for the frontline staff at these places, some research of note on homelessness and employment, and a former foster youth who just became an NAACP Image Award nominee.
Chani Katzen Laufer and Jill Nagle of the Aviv Foundation join us to talk about a new $200,000 award the grant maker will give to four new ideas for family support and child welfare.
BONUS: This episode features music from the Unsung program, which helps youth in juvenile settings learn to perform, record and produce songs.
Reading Room
Children’s Residential Centers Scramble to Secure Vaccines for Frontline Staff
bit.ly/3jx1EaH
With Frontline Workers Refusing Vaccination, Youth Residential Facilities Consider Future Mandates
bit.ly/39YiaNR
A New Study Highlights Promising Jobs Programs for Foster Youth
bit.ly/3oX1vi4
‘Black Foster Youth Handbook’ Author Nominated for NAACP Image Award
bit.ly/2MBpd6t
Vote for the NAACP Image Awards
bit.ly/3d3LIMb
Award Announced for New Ideas in Child Welfare
bit.ly/2OcLEix
On this week’s podcast, we highlight a law to dismantle and rebuild child protection in Iowa, closure of juvenile prisons in New York and a former foster youth gets a key spot in the Biden administration.
Christopher Scott and Lino Peña-Martinez of Connecticut’s Sun Scholars program join us to talk about their model of a central program that supports current and former foster youth on college campuses around the state.
BONUS: This episode features music from the Unsung program, which helps youth in juvenile settings learn to perform, record and produce songs.
Reading Room
A Bipartisan Bill To Bolster Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
bit.ly/3ajosGR
Bill Would Create One Million New Apprenticeships
bit.ly/39AlSNk
New York Governor Aims to Shut Down Nearly Empty Youth Prisons
bit.ly/3rdaP2y
Amid Abuse Reports, Sequel-run Facility That Treated California Children Will Close
bit.ly/39ymHGG
Youth Returning to California from Out-of-State Programs
bit.ly/3pFS5II
Biden Appoints Child Welfare Policy Expert, and Former Foster Youth, to Budget Office
bit.ly/39ANrGD
On this week’s podcast, we share some thoughts on the earlygoing on child welfare and juvenile justice for the Biden Administration: initial actions, key hires, and the Family First Act.
David Finkelhor of the Crimes Against Children Research Center and Family Research Laboratory joins to discuss the most recent federal data on child abuse and neglect, and what it showed as America headed into the coronavirus pandemic.
BONUS: This episode features music from the Unsung program, which helps youth in juvenile settings learn to perform, record and produce songs.
Reading Room
Biden First-Day Order Likely Means Rollback of Trump Faith-Based Protection
bit.ly/3c2D2Fc
Biden Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Leaders: Some Logical Candidates
bit.ly/36cErp0
The Biden Transition Team: Key Players on Family and Justice
bit.ly/38NpfjZ
A Complete Guide to The Family First Act
bit.ly/2IoWNue
On this week’s podcast we discuss the departure of Jerry Milner from the Trump administration (will he be back under Biden?), more lawsuits, and what the newest data on child abuse and neglect shows.
Double feature! Celeste Bodner of FosterClub joins to discuss the $400 million in coronavirus aid headed to states to help current and former foster youth; and New Jersey child welfare commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer talks to us about her recent stimulus check program for older youth in care.
BONUS: This episode features music from the Unsung program, which helps youth in juvenile settings learn to perform, record and produce songs.
Reading Room
Trump Separated Families. One Appointee Fought to Keep Them Together.
bit.ly/35MtGcG
California Budgets $8 Million to Bring Youth Home from Troubled Facilities
bit.ly/3nLKK8J
Children’s Rights Sued One-Third of New England This Week
bit.ly/39COVii
Number of Child Abuse and Neglect Victims Reached Record Low in 2019
bit.ly/3bLVB0k
Last-Minute Spending Deal Includes Boosts for Child Welfare
bit.ly/3rJJt5k
Feds Strongly Suggest That States Use Coronavirus Relief for Cash Payments to Foster Youth
bit.ly/3suFcmP
Improving casework. Identifying and addressing racial disproportionality and disparity. Reducing the use of foster care. More knowledge about what works to prevent abuse and neglect.
Whatever you think is the most pressing reform in child welfare, technology is a key facet of solving the problem. In December, The Imprint hosted an online discussion about technology’s critical role in improving the child welfare system.
Guests:
Molly Tierney, Child Welfare Industry Lead, Accenture
Scooter Ward, Former Deputy Chief Information Officer, D.C. Child and Family Services Agency
2020 was the first full year for the Foster Youth to Independence initiative (FYI), which helps secure stable housing and self-sufficiency services for young adults aging out of foster care.
This week’s podcast was recorded live on Zoom in early December, and features a discussion about FYI’s first year and what comes next as the initiative recently became enshrined into law. We’re joined by Ruth White and Jamole Callahan, two chief architects of FYI, and Love Williams, an early participant in the initiative.
Reading Room
Trump Administration Approves Vouchers for Housing After Foster Care
bit.ly/3q6Ypch
Ben Carson Unveils Major Stable Housing Initiative for Former Foster Youth
bit.ly/3odHqUS
In One Year, Homelessness Prevented for Hundreds of Former Foster Youth
bit.ly/3nrV2e3
Last-Minute Spending Deal Includes Boosts for Child Welfare
bit.ly/3rJJt5k
Behind the Stats: Mark Courtney on His Newest Study on Transition-Age Foster Youth in California
bit.ly/2JXVvXV
On this week’s podcast we discuss the child welfare package passed by Congress as part of the coronavirus relief deal, new studies on life after foster care, and a temporary fix in Ohio on kinship support.
We’re joined by Melissa Thompson, Melanie Jordan and Cam Lundstrom of the Office of Respondent Parent Counsel in Colorado for a sobering discussion on how the pandemic has impacted the cases of parents with children in foster care.
BONUS: This episode features music from the Unsung program, which helps youth in juvenile settings learn to perform, record and produce songs.
Reading Room
Last-Minute Spending Deal Includes Boosts for Child Welfare
bit.ly/3rJJt5k
Ben Carson Unveils Major Stable Housing Initiative for Former Foster Youth
bit.ly/3odHqUS
A First, But Incomplete, Measure of Adoption Success
bit.ly/38V0Pnj
Ohio Still Shortchanging Relative Caregivers Despite Court Order, Complaint Charges
bit.ly/2ISqXG1
It’s been 11 weeks since we launched The Imprint Weekly Podcast. On this episode, Imprint Senior Editor John Kelly and producer Christine Ongjocohave put together a collection of clips from interviews with our first year of guests.
Thanks to everyone who listened, subscribed, or joined us on the podcast in 2020. Happy New Year to all!
On this week’s podcast we discuss the immediate fallout from The Imprint’s investigation into California’s use of out-of-state youth facilities, the rise in child welfare cases in Los Angeles during the pandemic, rapid testing regulations getting lifted and a big result for the workforce development program Year Up.
We’re joined by Nora McCarthy and Jeanette Vega of Rise, a New York City organization dedicated to supporting parents involved in child welfare cases, about the organization’s first 15 years in the world.
Reading Room
Confronted Over Abuse, California is Bringing 116 Kids Home from Far-Away Programs. Counties are Scrambling.
bit.ly/38phRto
Dependency Court Backlog Finds Many Los Angeles Children Still in Limbo
bit.ly/37Dtduw
‘Year Up’ Sets The Standard on Workforce Development
bit.ly/2KJDYCR
Proposal to Focus Social Spending on Proven, High-Impact Programs: The “Funding Match for Evidence” Demonstration
bit.ly/3nGTrSD
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the major investigation of California’s use of an embattled for-profit to care for kids out of state, trendlines since New York “raised the age,” and a new foster youth film channel.
We’re joined by Campaign for Youth Justice CEO Marcy Mistrett to discuss the end of the campaign, which closes its doors this month, and the past 15 years in the fight to keep youth out of adult courts and facilities.
Reading Room
Far from Home | Far from Safe
bit.ly/3qPyeaX
Which Kids Are Getting Tried In Adult Court, Despite New York’s Raise the Age Law
bit.ly/2LCqQzX
Film Program Offers Foster Kids Hollywood Experience
bit.ly/3qVlcZO
Kids In The Spotlight Launch Event Hosted by IndieFlix
bit.ly/3r4b2Gm
Winning the Campaign: State Trends in Fighting the Treatment of Children As Adults in the Criminal Justice System
bit.ly/2WeizEm
On this week’s podcast we discuss the potential legislative aftermath of a suicide in a Wisconsin juvenile facility, new Family First Act approvals, and how a rapid home-testing strategy could affect juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
We’re joined by renowned journalist Lisa Ling and Imprint Publisher Daniel Heimpel to discuss Ling’s recent documentary covering the crossroads of opioid addiction and child welfare in her ongoing CNN documentary series.
Reading Room
This is Life with Lisa Ling
bit.ly/36PJTio
Maricella’s Last Breath
bit.ly/33MduXJ
Wisconsin Lawmakers Have Failed to Reform Juvenile Corrections for Years. Will a Teen's Death in a Racine Jail Push Them to Act?
bit.ly/33R9Fk9
Two New States Win Federal Approval of Family Preservation Plans
bit.ly/37HZiAs
A Complete Guide to The Family First Act
bit.ly/2IoWNue
How We Can Stop the Spread of COVID-19 By Christmas
bit.ly/3lRrdTm
On this week’s podcast we discuss the soaring cost of incarceration in New York’s juvenile justice system, a landmark settlement on how child welfare agencies support disabled parents, and a new tutoring plan available for thousands of foster youth in the country.
We’re joined by Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran to talk about her state’s new plan to change mental health services for youth and young adults and prevent unnecessary child welfare and foster care cases.
Reading Room
The Cost of New York’s Youth Prisons Approaches $1 Million Per Kid
bit.ly/3q25eMY
Sticker Shock: The Cost of Youth Incarceration
bit.ly/2JhABCs
L.A. County Moves A Step Forward in a New Approach to Juvenile Justice
bit.ly/2JaPBSn
U.S. Justice Department: Discrimination Settlement a ‘Landmark’ Moment for Disabled Parents
bit.ly/3641xhI
Family First Act Services Can Be Delivered Remotely During Pandemic, Feds Say
bit.ly/33kvZCx
Foster Youth Nationwide Gain Priority for Free Online Tutoring
bit.ly/367C1Ix
New Medicaid Program to Help High-Needs Kids Stay with Families
bit.ly/2J9PHdl
On this week’s podcast we cover a lawsuit over equal support for relative caregivers in Ohio, LGBTQ youth in foster care, how foster homes are doing during the coronavirus pandemic, and New Jersey’s stimulus relief for older youth in care.
We’re joined by California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra about his California Racial Justice Act, which was recently signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom and attempts to provide what might be an unprecedented check on racial bias during trials and at sentencing.
Reading Room
Ohio Still Shortchanging Relative Caregivers Despite Court Order, Complaint Charges
bit.ly/2ISqXG1
Ohio Has Ignored a Federal Court Decision Requiring Foster Care Payments to Relatives
bit.ly/3nKKxD9
Kentucky Case Could Mean More Support for Kin Caregivers
bit.ly/3pQeqUI
LGBTQ Foster Youth in New York City: Strong in Numbers, Struggling in Care
bit.ly/3q0aJvI
New Survey Shows 1 in 3 New York Foster Families Lost Income in 2020, With City Hardest Hit
bit.ly/2UNB8OT
New Jersey Sending Coronavirus Relief Checks to Older Foster Youth
bit.ly/3nLGwhM
Some Hope for Youth Services Boost in Coronavirus Relief Negotiations
bit.ly/2IVnJSo
On this week’s podcast we provide an overview of the Who Cares project, The Imprint’s annual data collection on foster youth and foster homes in America. We also discuss some local and state election results, and what’s going on with the Biden transition team.
We’re joined by Melissa Carter, executive director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University, and Andy Barclay, statistician for the group Fostering Court Improvement, to discuss a new metric to track family separation in America. Imprint columnist Vivek Sankaran joins to discuss what he hopes a Biden-Harris child welfare policy will look like.
Reading Room
Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes and Families
www.FosterCareCapacity.org
Who Cares 2020 Executive Summary
bit.ly/36IOW2A
We Want Kids to Grow Up in Safe Families. So Let’s Measure That.
bit.ly/3pxhiFF
The Biden Transition Team: Key Players on Family and Justice
bit.ly/38NpfjZ
Los Angeles District Attorney-Elect George Gascón Vows to Stop Prosecuting Juveniles as Adults
bit.ly/35wLxoa
From Homeless Teen Mom to Washington's Second Black Senator
bit.ly/2Uv25Xp
On this week’s podcast we cover state and local ballot measures with big consequences for children and families, the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia Supreme Court case, and an interesting new program in Ohio aimed at preventing parents from relinquishing custody of their kids.
Our guest this week is Serita Cox, co-founder of iFoster, on how her organization fueled a partnership that produced thousands of laptops and cell phones for current and former foster youth whose educations were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Reading Room
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Religious Freedom Case Involving Foster Care Contract
bit.ly/2U3A88M
Ballot Initiative Roundup: Marijuana, Minimum Wage, Universal Preschool and More
bit.ly/3k6DimW
Children’s Funding Project
bit.ly/3n1HFla
New Medicaid Program to Help High-Needs Kids Stay with Families
bit.ly/38iB8OJ
Eleven Weeks. 686 Partners. 6,630 Phones and Laptops.
bit.ly/3p3yemY
On this week’s podcast we look at a few interesting ballot initiatives that voters will decide on tomorrow, the plan to rewrite juvenile justice in Los Angeles, and how child support is used by states to offset the cost of welfare and foster care.
Our guests this week are Alan Dettlaff and Kristen Weber, co-founders of the upEND Movement, a partnership that is calling for the abolition of foster care and the child welfare system as we know it.
Reading Room
What’s On the Ballot for Youth and Families in 2020https://bit.ly/2TEack3
Los Angeles County Weighs a Transformative Model for Youth Justice
https://bit.ly/3oIr9s0
Coming Soon to Congress: Discussion on Child Support Clawback
https://bit.ly/3oJjvgH
What It Means to Abolish Child Welfare As We Know It
https://bit.ly/31U7lrG
The Research Doesn’t Support Child Welfare Abolition
https://bit.ly/3kjM6qF
Abolishing Policing Also Means Abolishing Family Regulation
https://bit.ly/37Y8aDQ
On this week’s podcast we talk with reporter Roxanna Asgarian about her investigation into the culture of silence around abuse at Texas’ residential treatment centers. We also cover Florida’s dangerous struggles with foster care capacity, a reversal on Trump’s food stamps limits, and the latest child welfare lawsuit settlement.
Our guest this week is ProPublica reporter Jodi Cohen, whose story about a Michigan teen detained for skipping virtual school prompted protests and the girl’s eventual release.
Reading Room
The Forgotten Children of Texas
https://bit.ly/3ouvOh2
Florida Took Thousands of Kids from Families, Then Failed to Keep Them Safe.
https://bit.ly/31IEiqR
In Texas, Trepidation as Child Welfare Privatization Moves Forward
https://bit.ly/34tWk1Q
Federal Judge Rejects Trump Food Stamp Rule
https://bit.ly/2G0rbdb
Arizona Tentatively Settles Major Federal Foster Care Lawsuit
https://bit.ly/3kAhOQo
On this week's episode we discuss getting school credit in juvenile facilities, suicide screening for foster youth, and new rules meant to expand housing support for people aging out of foster care.
Our guest this week is Sharon McDaniel, founder of Pennsylvania's A Second Chance, Inc. and president of the group Black Administrators in Child Welfare. We talk to McDaniel about how coronavirus has impacted her organization, and about what comes next in the ongoing discussion about racism inside the child welfare system.
Reading Room
Schoolwork Behind Bars Often Goes to Waste, Study Finds
https://bit.ly/356CTeK
University of Pennsylvania Seeks Input on Foster Care Suicide Assessment
https://bit.ly/2FEDTOr
Washington State Gets Federal OK on Foster Care Prevention Plan
https://bit.ly/3m0eRcl
Pennsylvania County Fills Foster Family Gap with Relatives
https://bit.ly/37jnACb
White Privilege in Child Welfare: What Racism Looks Like
https://bit.ly/34o9TPr
It's the inaugural episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast!
Imprint Senior Editor John Kelly reviews some of the most recent headlines in child welfare and juvenile justice, including the coronavirus stimulus package, the most recent state to join the Family First Act, and the end California's notorious state-run juvenile justice facilities.
Then Christina Remlin of Children's Rights joins us to discuss the legal and political battles over faith-based child welfare providers seeking to choose who they will, and will not, serve.
Reading Room
Supreme Court Sets Up Referendum on Faith-Based Discrimination in Foster Care, Adoption
https://bit.ly/2SDewj9
Some Hope for Youth Services Boost in Coronavirus Relief Negotiations
https://bit.ly/34KpqJA
Washington State Gets Federal OK on Foster Care Prevention Plan
https://bit.ly/33HLF3m
Coming soon: The Imprint Weekly Podcast offers listeners a regular review of news and trends in America's child welfare and juvenile justice systems, along with other critical services for youth and families. Join Imprint Senior Editor John Kelly for a discussion of the week's major headlines, plus interviews with leaders in the field.