Before the Great Depression, charitable and religious organizations almost exclusively ran the child welfare system in the US. What is the appropriate role of private institutions in the child welfare system today? How can policy redress the perverse incentives currently built into the funding model of public child welfare agencies?

In this episode, Ian and Naomi pose these complex questions to Robert “Bob” Woodson, widely considered as the “godfather” of the neighborhood empowerment movement. Later on, Bob discusses why The New York Times’ 1619 Project is harming minority children’s sense of personal agency and ultimately their chances of upward mobility. 

Show notes:

* Dysfunction and perverse incentives in the child welfare system (2:21)* The role of private agencies in providing foster care services (5:19)* The good and bad about defunding group homes for foster children (9:30)* Should child placement decisions be given back to the private sector? (11:10)* How the 1619 Project’s curricula are harming minority children (14:55)* The 1776 Project (20:02)

Resources:

* Children in Jeopardy | City Journal* Public Schools Are Teaching The 1619 Project in Class, Despite Concerns From Historians | Reason* 1776 Project | Woodson Center