Community In-Site

This week’s episode sheds light on the persistent challenges and significant opportunities in engaging people with lived experience in child welfare system transformation. While there is a lot of interest and focus on lived expertise, the truth is that working with the community is critical, but agencies often lack the skills and experience to do this well. It’s easy for leaders to fall back on old ways of thinking, outdated power dynamics, and entrenched incentives. Elliott and Tecoria talk to Jennifer Holman, Oregon Department of Human Services’ Family Preservation Manager, and Jeanine Morales, a Senior Advisor and lived expert at Foster America. They share their journey and the challenges along the way of altering traditional government approaches to focus on community-driven solutions.

While they outline how ODHS is working towards being better at integrating voices of lived experience to create meaningful change, they are honest that they don’t have the answers. What they want to leave listeners with is what you do when you don’t have the answers. For example, be patient, be honest, and prioritize relationships. 

Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are some additional resources that Jennifer and Jeanine would like to share with you.

• Oregon Department of Human Services : Services for Children, Youth and Families : Child and Youth Services : State of Oregon
• OPT-In for Families
• Home - Foster America

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

In this episode, hosts Tecoria and Elliott connect with Zenayda Bonilla, a mother who overcame the challenge of feeling silenced by the child welfare system. Zenayda shares her journey of navigating motherhood in a new country and culture, and how she found support through the Center for Family Life in Brooklyn. The Center for Family Life is one of the recipients of the Youth, Family, and Community Partnership Grants, awarded to nonprofits engaging Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities within the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative. 

The Center has a unique approach to  investing in people like Zenayda through community-driven models that harness the skills they already have and help their families thrive. Zenayda shares how their model of starting and supporting cooperative businesses helped her gain the skills, confidence, and support to become an employee, owner, and leader with Gold Steps Elder Care Cooperative. Listeners will learn how cooperatives are an innovative approach to meeting families' need for stable income, meaningful employment, and quality time with their children — things that traditional child protective services often fail to provide.

Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are some additional resources that Zenayda would like to share with you.

• Please visit the Center for Family Life website - Center for Family Life
• Golden Steps
• United Community Consulting LLC

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Keith Bostick is the President of the Black Administrators in Child Welfare and a long-term clinician, administrator, and director in the child welfare space. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of Broward County Human Services in the state of Florida.  Along with the Haywood Burns Institute, Keith provides technical assistance to the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative to help advance the principle of addressing racial equity and disproportionality.  

In this episode, hosts Tecoria and Elliot join Keith as he delves into the hard truth that not all families are treated fairly in communities. Keith shares his unflinching perspective on the structural racism that underpins many child welfare practices, leading to disproportionate impacts on Black and Brown children. He explains how, until we view these systems through a race equity lens, meaningful change will remain out of reach. Keith assesses where the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative is in terms of the race equity principle and how sites can make progress. He also shares critical insights about who holds authority and how inclusivity, especially involving those with lived experiences, can lead to change.

Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are some additional resources that Keith would like to share with you.

Black Administrators in Child Welfare - Black Administrators in Child Welfare

Burns Institute - Burns Institute – Burns Institute

Navigating Racism in the Child Welfare System - Navigating Racism in the Child Welfare System: The Impact on Black Children, Families, and Practitioners

Child Safety Forward: A Reflection Guide to Shape Provider Conversations about Infant Sleep - Final CSF Conversation Guide on Sleep Practices.pdf

Race Equity Strategy Areas 2.0 - RESA 2.0 Booklet final.pdf

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

In this episode, we hear from Kailene Nihipali Sanchez, Network Manager at EPIC ʻOhana, Inc in Hawaii. As a teenager, Kailene grew up in a community with high rates of health issues, homelessness, and substance abuse. She describes a pivotal moment when she returned to her culture and identity to overcome early adversity. As the Network Manager, she now advocates alongside other native Hawaiian families for a reimagined child welfare grounded in Native Hawaiian culture, values, and deep positive relationships that heal and strengthen individuals, families, and communities.

The Network teams are restoring traditional practices, implementing cultural training, and creating a future where every native Hawaiian child thrives within a supportive and connected community. Through building networks, promoting cultural identity, and emphasizing communal support, Kailene and her team are redefining child welfare in Hawaii. Their specific goal is that by 2030, native Hawaiian children will no longer be disproportionately represented in the system. Listeners will learn how Hawaii is working on the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative principle of addressing racial equity and disproportionality. 

Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are some additional resources that Kailene would like to share with you.

EPIC ‘Ohana, Inc : EPIC ‘Ohana, Inc.

Call to Action for Healing: Call to Action for Healing

Handout Nā Kama a Hāloa: Nā Kama a Hāloa — EPIC ‘Ohana, Inc.

Native Hawaiian Fact Sheet: Native Hawaiian Fact Sheet 4c

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

In this powerful episode, we are honored to have Sarah Smalls, a tireless advocate for kinship caregivers and grandparents raising grandchildren. Sarah has been at the forefront of national and local efforts to secure resources, support, and respect for relative caregivers. She shares her personal journey of raising her three grandchildren and her influential roles with organizations like Formed Families Forward and Generations United. Sarah shares the invaluable lessons she's learned while navigating the complexities of child welfare systems and pushing for meaningful change that respects the dignity of family members. 

Sarah touches on the systemic challenges faced by kinship caregivers, obstacles and burdens placed on relatives who don’t have the finances to provide care, and the need for better policies and resources for these families. Sarah talks about a recent bill passed by the Virginia legislature that will increase a variety of support for kinship caregivers that are designed to avoid foster care placement. Her insights into informal kinship and her own experiences in the courtroom will inspire and inform listeners who are working to advance family well-being. 

Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive

Here is link to the Kinship legislation in Virginis that Sarah mentioned. a few resources that Judge Dugger would like to share with you.

VA SB39 | 2024 | Regular Session | LegiScan

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Tecoria and Elliott sit down with Judge Jay Dugger, who serves as the Chief Judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for the City of Hampton, Virginia. His story highlights how collaborative leadership led to a reduction of kids in foster care from 300 to about 80 and only one child in residential treatment over the past 20 years.

Judge Dugger joins the conversation in his personal capacity and as a consultant with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to share his unique perspective on judicial engagement. With over two decades on the bench, Judge Dugger shares how judges can partner with the community, provide critical leadership, and bring humanity into the courtroom. To advance the family well-being movement, judges need to use their proximity to families to understand the conditions that people face and build solutions that meet those needs. 

Judge Dugger discusses innovations, like Hampton’s visitation center, which emerged from a need to better support families in being reunified. He also reflects on how asking critical questions and centering the work in the community can lead to more effective approaches that keep families together.

Community In-Site now has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive

Here are a few resources that Judge Dugger would like to share with you.

A Model for Collaboration and Results - The Annie E. Casey Foundation (aecf.org) 

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Clare Anderson is a Senior Policy Fellow with Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago. Clare was previously Deputy Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she provided leadership for federal programs and co-led developing and implementing a national well-being policy. She is a national thought leader on economic and concrete supports as core to the prevention of child welfare involvement. Discover how decades of research reveal that when families receive the financial stability they need, their risk of involvement with child welfare decreases significantly.

In this week’s episode, Elliott and Tecoria talk with Clare Anderson about how concrete and economic supports promote family well-being. This conclusion is backed by over 40 years of compelling evidence and intersects with both the lived experience movement and recent conversations around differentiating poverty from neglect. What the data shows, combined with what we hear from parent advocates, is that economic instability is a root cause issue of child welfare involvement. The data also informs practical policy and funding solutions to keep families together in their homes, supporting them rather than intervening with foster care. Listeners will walk alongside Clare as she describes how states like Kentucky, Indiana, and Wisconsin are taking action by putting the research into action and meeting families' needs. 

Community In-Site now has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive

To learn more about Clare and Chapin Hall you can visit their website. Chapin Hall

Here are a few resources that Clare would like to share with you.

Chapin Hall resources on Economic and Concrete Supports 

Children's Trust Fund Alliance: Building a 21st Century Community-Based Approach to Strengthening Families

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

In this week's episode, Elliott and Tecoria talk with Susie Ballot about the Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative. Susie lives in Callaway Minnesota on the White Earth Nation Reservation. She is a graduate of the Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative (IPLI) program run by All Nations Rise. As a graduate of the Initiative, she helps people deepen their connection to their culture and develop their skills as leaders and advocates. 

The IPLI program is a 23-week cohort opportunity where participants explore their community needs and resources while learning civics, government, and advocacy through the lens of culture. This program enhances their ability to use their talents, engage in skill development, and gain tools to advance solutions. 

Listeners will hear how Susie’s community indigenized the Parent Leadership Initiative curriculum by adding cultural components. Listeners will gain insight into the power of a group to lead collective change and provide support to overcome shared pain. Through retaining culture and identity with oneself, others, and community, IPLI program participants harness grief and transform it into strength and empowerment, providing multi-generational sources of hope.

Community In-Site now has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive

To learn more about All Nations Rise and the Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative you can visit their website. Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative

Here are a few resources that Susie and the team at All Nations Rise would like to share with you.
Learn More about Parents Who Lead - National Parent Leadership Institute 

White Earth project strengthens individuals to build community

Susie Ballot and Lera Hephner’s Work to Preserve Culture Across Generations

All Nations Rise Non-Profit Agency

We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

In this episode, Claire Louge discusses why effective child safety begins with cultural change. She explains how her organization is working to shift the narrative from reporting families to believing in and investing in families. Oftentimes, people confuse detecting child abuse and neglect with preventing it, when true prevention aims to stop it from happening at all. Claire is the Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, where they launched Lean on Me Arizona to promote supporting families as a way to keep children safe and out of foster care. 

Claire also sheds light on how professionals and systems are falling short on forming authentic partnerships with those directly impacted when incorporating them into these conversations, and how white supremacy culture acts as a barrier to engagement. Learn from Claire how to ask the right questions to support families in keeping children safe, and how kindness and a culture of support are the ultimate forms of prevention.

Community In-Site now has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive

To learn more about Prevent Child Abuse Arizona you can visit their website. Prevent Child Abuse Arizona

Here are a few resources that Claire would like to share with you.

Lean on Me AZ Toolkit: Lean On Me AZ
Considering Yourself a ‘Mandated Supporter’: For Mandated Reporters

To learn more about the Thriving Families, Safer Children Initiative you can visit the website. Thriving Families

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]

Elliott and Tecoria talk to Gwen Clegg about Oklahoma’s new statewide Office of Family Representation.  So new, in fact, that it hadn’t even launched when this episode was recorded. Gwen is a parent defense attorney and for the past 15 years she has been working tirelessly to improve the quality of family representation in Oklahoma. Across the country, families experiencing a child welfare case suffer from poorly funded, overworked, and ill-equipped (albeit well-intentioned) attorneys, which can lead to negative outcomes for their family. Listeners will follow Gwen through her journey of turning a vision of high-quality family representation in Oklahoma into a reality. In 2023, the Oklahoma legislature allocated $4.5 million and July 1, 2024, the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation was launched. Their multi-disciplinary team of attorneys, social workers, and peer parent mentors are committed to improving outcomes for families. Tune in to hear Gwen tell the story that is unfolding in Oklahoma.

Community In-Site now has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive

To learn more about the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation you can visit their website. Oklahoma Office of Family Representation

Here are a few resources that Gwen would like to share with you.

A Good Attorney Can Be Hard to Find for Parents.  The Frontier 

Bringing the National Parent Defense Movement to Oklahoma. Oklahoma Bar Association 

How to Empower Parents and Children Involved in Child welfare. Oklahoma Family Representation 

Resources for high quality legal representation. Family Justice Initiative and Child Welfare and Juvenile Law

To learn more about the Thriving Families, Safer Children Initiative you can visit the website. Thriving Families

Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. [email protected]