In this episode, Valerie sits down with Heather Hanson, Founder of Building Bridges, LLC, and a leader in the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families. Heather takes us through the journey of The Story of the System—a project that was initiated, designed, and led by individuals with lived experience to transform the way Colorado's systems engage with families. The project focuses on storytelling and qualitative data to ensure that the voices of those most impacted are heard and understood.

Heather reflects on the pivotal moment when the project idea was born, the power dynamics at play, and how this research led her to start her own consulting business, Building Bridges, dedicated to amplifying the voices of families in systems change. She shares insights on how shifting power from systems leaders to those directly affected by the system can drive sustainable, meaningful change. Tune in to hear about how lived experience leaders are reshaping policies and creating a future where families are supported and empowered.

NEW!! Community In-Site now has a Blog!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Community In-Site Blog - Thriving Families

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

• You can read the Story of the System Report here: SOTS_Report_FINAL.pdf
•  You can learn more about Illuminate Colorado here: Home - Illuminate
• You can learn about Heather's business Building Bridges here: LinkedIn

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 re-release the conversation with Gwen Clegg, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation. At the end of the episode, Valerie and Gwen catch up on what has happened in the past year, including the office’s growth, impact, new innovations, and what’s on the horizon. 

As a reminder, Season One hosts, Elliott and Tecoria, talked to Gwen Clegg about Oklahoma’s new statewide Office of Family Representation. The office was so new at the time of the recording that it hadn’t even launched yet. Gwen is a parent defense attorney who has been working tirelessly to improve the quality of family representation in Oklahoma for more than 15 years. This conversation revealed how, 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 and sometimes dire consequences. Listeners followed Gwen through her journey of turning a vision of high-quality family representation in Oklahoma into a legislative-passed and funded reality. 

NEW!! Community In-Site now has a Blog!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Community In-Site Blog - Thriving Families

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

• Learn more about the app “Your Case Plan” and how it is being used to improve case communication and engagement between parents and attorneys. Your Case Plan, Your Case Plan Expands to North Carolina
• How to empower parents and children involved in the child welfare system through uniform, high-quality legal representation.  Home - Oklahoma Office of Family Representation
• The Family Justice Initiative is a wonderful resource for high-quality legal representation of parents and children in abuse and neglect cases. Family Justice Initiative

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]

Valerie sits down with Lisa Lawson, the President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. They discuss her leadership in the child welfare sector and the Foundation's pivotal role in advancing the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) movement. Lisa reflects on her journey as a leader, Foundation President, and the future of the TFSC movement.

Lisa shares insights into the shift from improving the foster care system to investing in community-based health promotion and family well-being. She also speaks about the work the Foundation is doing to keep children and families safe and thriving in their communities without involvement in the child welfare system.

The conversation explores the key principles behind the approach to TFSC, the challenges they’ve faced, and the tangible progress that’s being made. Lisa reflects on what excites her about the future of the child welfare sector and the role of philanthropy in driving lasting change. Tune in to hear how leadership, vision, and strategic partnerships are working together to create a movement that prioritizes prevention over intervention.

NEW!! Community In-Site now has a Blog!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

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

• Thriving Families, Safer Children Embraces a Public Health Approach to System Reform - The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• The Work of the Annie E. Casey Foundation

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, Valerie connects with Ashley Bates, a fellow parent leader in Kentucky and a Lead Family Coordinator. Ashley shares her powerful journey from navigating the challenges of substance use and family separation to becoming an advocate for change in Kentucky's child welfare system. She reflects on the importance of parent leadership, the value of lived expertise, and how her experiences shaped her commitment to reducing stigma and improving family outcomes.

Ashley offers an inside look at Kentucky’s approach to engaging impacted parents in systems reform efforts. She discusses the evolution of her own advocacy work, from her role as a peer recovery mentor to her current position on Kentucky SEAT (System Experience at the Table), which is a statewide impacted parent advisory council. Throughout the episode, Ashley emphasizes how involving families in systems change conversations and providing parents with leadership development opportunities can reshape the future of child welfare policies. Her story is a powerful example of how investing in parents with lived experience can drive meaningful, long-lasting change.

NEW!! Community In-Site now has a Blog!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

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

• KYSEAT – Kentucky Youth Advocates: Kentucky's statewide birth parent advisory council 
• TFSCKY – Kentucky Youth Advocates: Kentucky's Thriving Families, Safer Children site work 
• Building the Voices of Lived Experience: Lessons Learned from Navigating the System – Kentucky Youth Advocates
• KYThrivingfamilies.org – Navigating the Child Welfare System in Kentucky

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, Valerie talks with Marie Zemler Wu and D.L. Moffitt of Foster America about an innovative shift happening in child welfare financing. Marie, Co-founder and Executive Director, and D.L., Fiscal Innovation Specialist, explain how Foster America is reimagining the way we support families by creating a just and equitable alternative to the current child welfare system. They envision families receiving the support they need before encountering child protective services and the threat of family separation.

Foster America has a fiscal strategy centered on family preservation. In partnership with national leaders and philanthropies, they launched the Fiscal Leadership Circle to rethink how existing child welfare funding is utilized. Marie and D.L. share insights into the crucial role fiscal leaders play in driving systemic change and how mentorship and community-building around state and federal funding streams can offer new opportunities to rethink resource allocation.

This conversation goes beyond financing. It’s about aligning our budgets with our values, ensuring that funding reflects what families truly need. Marie and D.L. also highlight a real-life example of a family benefiting from these approaches, showing how fiscal innovation can help keep families together.

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 Marie and D.L. would like to share with you. 

• Learn more about Foster America - Home - Foster America
• Fiscal Leadership Circle video - Funding the Future: A Fiscal Approach to Child Welfare Transformation
• Fiscal Leadership Circle blog - Fiscal experts tackle child welfare funding challenges - Foster America
• Inaugural Fiscal Leadership Circle cohort - 2024 Fiscal Leadership Circle
• White House leaders join Foster America at event advancing strategies to support families - 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]

Valerie talks to Adam Ballout, a public defender and co-founder of the F.I.R.S.T. (Family Intervention Response to Stop Trauma) Legal Clinic in Washington state. The clinic takes an innovative approach by partnering with healthcare providers and community organizations to offer free legal advocacy to mothers facing substance use challenges. The goal is to keep mothers and their babies together while providing the support they need, including treatment and other resources.

Adam explains how early intervention at birth can help avoid the lasting trauma often caused by foster care and the court system. He highlights the importance of seeing the family as a whole and how prioritizing family preservation, rather than separation, results in better outcomes for both parents and children.

By taking a holistic approach and offering support before a crisis occurs, the F.I.R.S.T Clinic is able to keep the infant and mother together in 83% of their cases. The Clinic is a great example of how a compassionate, prevention-focused child welfare system can help keep families intact and improve long-term outcomes. Listeners will gain valuable insights into how the clinic achieves these outcomes and discover lessons that can be applied in their own communities. They’ll also learn about specific strategies, like involving peer allies (parents with lived experience) to empower families, build trust, and help them navigate the system.

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 Adam would like to share with you. 

• The First Clinic – Family Intervention Response To Stop Trauma
• Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others
• 2023 APEX Awards, FIRST Legal Clinic
• Being Gina - Short Film
• Family First: A group of Washington lawyers works to keep infants with their mothers

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 Flo White, a youth organizer and leader with Sasha Bruce Youthwork. Flo shares her powerful journey from experiencing homelessness to becoming a leader within the organization and a key advocate for youth in Washington, DC. Her story is one of resilience, growth, and empowerment, as she navigated the challenges of youth homelessness, received stabilization, and transitioned into leadership roles at Sasha Bruce, including serving on the Youth Advisory Board and contributing to The Curb podcast.

Flo reflects on the opportunity organizations like Sasha Bruce have to go beyond youth engagement and service provision, supporting the development and growth of young people in meaningful ways. Her experience highlights the profound impact such organizations can have in creating job opportunities, fostering personal growth, and developing leadership skills. She emphasizes the importance of investing in youth in a holistic, non-judgmental way and discusses how Sasha Bruce’s commitment to centering youth voices has shaped her own path and ability to contribute to broader systemic change. Flo also shares valuable lessons from her journey, offering insights on how we can create environments where young people aren’t just heard, but are also empowered as future leaders.

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 Flo would like to share with you. 

• Sasha Bruce Youthwork Website- https://www.sashabruce.org/
• Tune into the CURB podcast - Live From The CURB | Podcast
• Homeless Youth Want To Work But Say Programs To Help Often Fall Short
• Maryland receives $2M to support youth homelessness programs – NBC4 Washington

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 Rebecca Jones-Gaston, Commissioner of the Administration of Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Children’s Bureau, which is part of ACYF, is one of the six national partners of the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative. As a key leader in Thriving Families, Safer Children, Rebecca brings invaluable insight into how the initiative is reshaping the way we approach family well-being.

With both a federal perspective and personal lived experience in child welfare, Rebecca explores the limitations of a system that too often relies solely on foster care, without addressing the underlying burdens and inequities families face. She highlights how the Thriving Families initiative offers a new approach, focusing on prevention and support that goes beyond the harsh intervention of family separation.

Throughout the episode, Rebecca emphasizes the need for listening, setting boundaries, and embedding race equity in systemic change. She challenges us to move past small fixes and tackle the deep, structural issues preventing families from thriving. Her message is simple: we can’t keep doing things the same way and expecting better results. 

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 we would like to share with you. 

• FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Actions to Keep Children and Families Safely Together and Supported | The White House
• Message From Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston
• Biden's Last Year, with Rebecca Jones Gaston

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 special episode, hosts Tecoria and Elliott revisit episodes that left a lasting impact on them and reflect on the most insightful insights from the conversation. They return to moments with Clare Anderson, Shawn Mitchell and Currey Cook, Judge Jay Dugger, and Jennifer Holman and Jeanine Morales. Listen in to how they dive deeper into the takeaways that shaped their perspectives. From exploring economic supports and youth voice to examining judicial leadership and the power of lived experience, this episode sheds light on some of the key themes that defined the season. It's more than just a recap—it's a call to action, urging you to join the movement in prioritizing family well-being. Whether you’re hearing these conversations for the first time or revisiting them, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who is ready to learn how they can advance the family well-being movement. 

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

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]

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]