Community In-Site

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] 

In this episode, Tecoria and Elliot open the door to a real and vulnerable conversation about the importance of LGBTQ+ youth inclusion. They talk to Shawn Mitchell, a Youth Contributor to the Safe Haven project, and Currey Cook, a Senior Counsel and Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project Director at Lambda Legal. This conversation touches on the Thriving Families, Safer Children guiding principles of addressing issues of disproportionality, specifically for LGBTQ+ youth, and emphasizing upstream strategies for prevention, health promotion, and well-being. They focus on what it's like to be an LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system, what is needed, and how professionals and family members can affirm and honor LGBTQ+ youth. Listeners will learn about the data that highlights the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ foster youth and how the lack of inclusion and repeated rejection harms young people. They end with practical solutions to support and protect LGBTQ+ youth within their families, community, and in foster care. 

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

For more information about Lambda Legal and the Safe Havens project you can visit their website. Lambda Legal

Here are a few resources that Shawn and Currey wanted to share with you. 

2017 Safe Havens Report: Safe Havens | Lambda Legal Legacy

2024 Safe Havens II Report: Safe Havens Report 2.0 - Lambda Legal

2024 ACLU Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Map: Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures in 2024

2024 Designated Placement Requirements (Title IV-E and IV-B) for LGBTQI+ Children: Designated Placement Requirements for LGBTQI+ Children 

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] 

In this episode, Elliot and Tecoria sit down with Sandra Gasca to talk about the family well-being movement and Thriving Families, Safer Children from the national perspective. Sandra is the Vice President of the Center for Systems Innovation at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which is one of the Thriving Families national partner organizations.  Thriving Families has a guiding principle of centering the work in communities. It's also an initiative that involves six national partners. So, to engage in community led work requires national organizations to practice power sharing in a way that is a departure from the norm, creates challenges and tensions, and it takes time to develop the ability. In this conversation, you'll hear from Sandra about what she and the Foundation are learning about leading with communities, sharing power, and taking the time to build equitable partnerships.

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 - Thriving Families

Here are a few resources that Sardra wanted to share with the audience.

•   First-Of-Its-Kind Partnership Aims To Redesign Child Welfare Into Child And Family Well-Being Systems 
• Key Funding Streams to Keep Families Supported, Connected and Safe 
• KIDS COUNT® Data Book
• A Framework For Effectively Partnering With Young People 
• Revamped Curriculum Helps Atlanta-Area Fathers Build Community And Parenting Skills 
• Helping Communities And Child Welfare Systems Become Partners For Change 

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] 

In this episode Elliott and Tecoria have a conversation with Sarah Winograd who is the Co-Executive Director of Together with Families.  Together with Families is a new organization in Georgia that works with families at risk of CPS involvement and their children being removed and placed in foster care. They work with families to help them meet their needs as they define them for themselves with the goal of keeping families together. In this conversation, you are going to learn about what differentiates their organization from others, how they build trust with the parents they serve, what it takes to build an organization from the ground up with families, and why Sarah is such a passionate advocate for justice for families. Sarah is also a masterful storyteller and begins the conversation with a story of how a few thousand dollars and the right approach can prevent a family experiencing the trauma of being separated by foster care.

Together with Families will be launching a new website later this year. In the meantime, you can follow Sarah on LinkedIn. Sarah Winograd-Babayeuski | LinkedIn

Here are a few resources that Sarah wanted to share with the audience. 

• 'Never Give Up': Nonprofit Graduates Empowered Parents | Local News | mdjonline.com
• One promise became a lifelong mission for this Atlanta family advocate (atlantanewsfirst.com)
• When Families Need Housing, Georgia Will Pay for Foster Care Rather Than Provide Assistance — ProPublica
• Economic and Concrete Supports are Key Ingredients in Programs Designed to Prevent Child Welfare Involvement – Chapin Hall
• Building Community Partnerships, Step by Step (aecf.org)

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] 

This is episode is a little bit different from other episodes. You're going to get some of the behind the scenes with your cohosts, Tecoria and Elliott. They share the backstory about why they wanted to part of the podcast and what they hope to accomplish as the hosts of the show. They also dive into a conversation about the insights and perspectives they bring to each conversation based on their personal and professional experiences. You're going to enjoy getting to know Tecoria and Elliott and hearing more about what to expect in future episodes.   

For more information about Elliott's work at Unicorn Solutions you can visit the website. Unicorn Solutions

To learn more about some of the work happening to support Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse youth living in out-of-home care you can read the newly released Safe Havens report.  Safe Havens Report

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]