Episode 6: "What it Takes: Supporting the Youth Experience" Conversation with Gaelin Elmore

In this episode, hosts Betsy Goulet and Rachael Kerrick-Brucker speak candidly with Gaelin Elmore, a former NFL player and national public speaker. More importantly, he knows what it takes to lean into adversity and how perspective can change everything. Listen and learn Gaelin's insights on creating a culture of belonging and what it takes to support youth in care. This is such an important conversation you won't want to miss it!

This episode is Part Two of our series on foster care experiences in honor of Foster Care Awareness Month in May 2022.  We will magnify voices and share lived experiences to help us all shape the future in how we practice and serve child welfare.  

To learn more about Gaelin Speaks, visit https://www.gaelinspeaks.com

To reach out to Betsy Goulet: [email protected]

To reach out to Rachael or if you are interested in being part of a candid conversation: [email protected]

To learn more about the University of Illinois, Springfield Child Advocacy Studies program: https://www.uis.edu/cast/

To learn more about child welfare and human services technology and innovation: https://citi-us.com/#state-and-local

Episode 5: "What It Takes: Adult Stakeholders Supporting The Youth Experience"

In this episode, hosts Betsy Goulet and Rachael Kerrick-Brucker speak candidly with Joy Rios, executive director and founder of Connect with a Wish at Virginia Beach, about supporting youth through their experiences in the foster care system.  This episode is Part One of our series on foster care experiences in honor of Foster Care Awareness Month in May 2022.  We will magnify voices and share lived experiences to help us all shape the future in how we practice and serve child welfare.  Please join us for this candid conversation about adult stakeholders supporting youth.  

To reach out to Joy Rios: Contact at Connect with a Wish on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

To learn more about Connect with a Wish: https://connectwithawish.org

To reach out to Betsy Goulet: [email protected]

To reach out to Rachael or if you are interested in being part of a candid conversation: [email protected]

To learn more about the University of Illinois, Springfield Child Advocacy Studies program: https://www.uis.edu/cast/

To learn more about child welfare and human services technology and innovation: https://citi-us.com/#state-and-local

Candid Conversations, Episode 4- Reboot, Recharge & Level-Setting our Mission to a Create Better Child and Family Well-Being Practice…the System Formerly Known As Child Welfare.

In this episode, hosts Betsy Goulet and Rachael Kerrick-Brucker speak candidly with friend and colleague Amy Wheeler, Director at Child Protection Training Academy (CPTA), University of Illinois, Springfield (UIS), about shifting from a welfare mentality to one focused on building strong families. Join us for an open discussion about a way forward that calls on all stakeholders and community partners to take the child welfare system to a child and family well-being practice.

To reach out to Amy Wheeler [email protected]

To reach out to Betsy Goulet [email protected]

To reach out to Rachael or if you are interested in being part of a candid conversation: [email protected]

To learn more about the University of Illinois, Springfield Child Advocacy Studies program: https://www.uis.edu/cast/

To learn more about child welfare and human services technology and innovation: https://citi-us.com/#state-and-local

In this episode, hosts Betsy and Rachael share a candid conversation with former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director, Jess McDonald.  Jess shares some insight about his time in the chair. We also discuss the impact of poverty in the child welfare.

In this episode, hosts Betsy and Rachael share a Candid Conversation with Amy Wheeler, CPTA Director at The University of Illinois, Springfield.  An avid Wonder Woman fan, Amy whips out her Lasso of Truth and shares her experiences in child welfare.  Listeners will hear about Amy’s beginnings as a child protection investigator and how this Kentucky girl winds up on a Central Illinois campus.  Listen as we laugh a little and get real about fact-finding and the importance of authenticity in child welfare. 

In this premier episode, hosts Betsy Goulet and Rachael Kerrick-Brucker talk with Melissa Chadburn. 

Melissa Chadburn is an economic justice fellow at Community Change and a doctoral candidate in the University of Southern California’s creative writing program. Melissa has written for LA Times, NYRB, NYTBR, Buzzfeed, longreads, American Public Media’s Marketplace, and dozens other places. Her essay, “The Throwaways,” received notable mention in Best American Essays and Best American Nonrequired Reading. Her essay Food of My Youth was selected for Best American Food Writing 2019, and her debut novel, A Tiny Upward Shove, is forthcoming with Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Melissa also appears in the docuseries, 'The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez', a heartbreaking series about an eight-year-old child, Gabriel, and the abuse he endured that eventually led to his tragic death. 'The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez' premiered on Netflix on February 25, 2020. 

In this introductory episode, our hosts, Betsy Goulet and Rachael Kerrick-Brucker talk about the "why" and the importance of giving child welfare stakeholders a voice.