Barry Cooper is founder of the BRO Experience, a Brooklyn-based organization that uses cognitive behavioral therapy at the center of its approach to mental health support for young men of color. He is among this year’s winners of the David Prize, which each year goes to five New Yorkers with an extraordinary idea for change.

Cooper joined us to discuss his own adolescence growing up in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and how his first early career as a barber informed his approach with the BRO Experience. We also talked about a new short
documentary about the organization — We All Deserve to Be Well — and what he plans to do with the $200,000 that comes with the David Prize.

Note one: We will discuss President Trump’s executive order on foster care in a
subsequent episode, but a link to reporter Michael Fitzgerald’s coverage of the
order is in our show notes. 

Note two: It’s Newsmatch season! Any donation to The Imprint for the rest of the year will be DOUBLED, so please consider supporting this show and everything else we do here at The Imprint. To support our work visit: www.Imprintnews.org/donate

Reading Room

The BRO Experience

https://www.thebroexperience.org/

We All Deserve to Be Well (Trailer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmY6hyXG5j8&t=10s

The David Prize

https://thedavidprize.org/

With New Executive Order, Trump Thrusts Foster Care Into National Spotlight

https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/with-new-executive-order-trump-thrusts-foster-care-into-national-spotlight/268739

On today’s episode we discuss some of the recent Imprint reporting on how the federal shutdown is impacting youth and family programs like food stamps and Head Start, and one state where the shutdown has prompted gatekeeping of child welfare services. We also review the child welfare priorities hinted at in a 

Journalist and author Nell Bernstein joins to discuss her new book In Our Future We Are Free: The Dismantling of the Youth Prison. We talked about her goals for the book, what the main drivers of progress have been, and more. 

Nell Bernstein is a journalist and author. She is a former Soros Justice Media Fellow, a winner of a White House Champion of Change award.

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Families Head to Food Pantries as Congress, Courts and White House Spar Over SNAP Benefits

https://bit.ly/43mH19z

Families Head to Food Pantries as Congress, Courts and White House Spar Over SNAP Benefits

https://bit.ly/4opN7ye

‘Unimaginable Hardship’ Ahead for Children and Families if Shutdown Continues

https://imprintnews.org/law-policy/hardship-ahead-for-children-and-families-if-shutdown-continues/268292

‘Our Children’s Development Can’t Wait For Washington’s Dysfunction’ — Georgia Head Start Programs Among Hardest Hit in the Nation

https://bit.ly/4qWbwgI

Federal Shutdown Prompts Georgia To Gatekeep Vital Child Welfare Services

https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/georgia-child-welfare-shutdown/268521

Trump’s Child Welfare Leader Vows to Protect Benefits Paid to Foster Youth

https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/adams-vows-curb-abusive-practice-foster-youth-benefits/268451

Trump Appointee Demands States Roll Back Foster Parenting Rules That Aim to Protect LGBTQ+ Youth

https://bit.ly/485ipoj

Imprint articles by Nell Bernstein

https://imprintnews.org/author/nell-bernstein

Nell Bernstein’s Substack

https://nellbernstein.substack.com/

In Our Future We Are Free

https://thenewpress.org/books/in-our-future-we-are-free/?v=eb65bcceaa5f

Latonia Rolbiecki, a Minnesota mother of three, died last month at the age of 48. Several years ago, Rolbiecki was the subject of an Imprint series about her fight to adopt her grandson after he was taken into foster care at birth. 

Rolbiecki lost that legal battle, and her grandson was adopted by non-relative foster parents.  On this week’s episode we reflect back on the series, “Latonia vs. Chisago County,” and what her experience reflects about the child welfare system. 

We also talk to Grace Yung Foster, founder and CEO of The Inclusion Initiative, about her organization’s upcoming leadership summit for people who have experienced foster care or adoption. 

Grace Yung Foster founded The Inclusion Initiative in 2023. Before that she served as a fundraising consultant and as senior director of development for Vote.org.

Reading Room

Trump, Kids and Families: Register for Free

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jEyQQz_3R4Giv3J_LkZS5w#/registration

Latonia vs. Chisago County

https://imprintnews.org/special-series/latonia-chisago-county

Fighting for Kin

https://imprintnews.org/special-series/fighting-for-kin

Nana Kept Her Grandkids out of Foster Care. Then the Foreclosure Notice Arrived.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/30/caring-for-kin-grandma-raising-grandkids-kinship-foreclosure-texas-child-welfare/86503749007/

In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory sits down with Realtor Joy Hill and Mortgage Banker David McGowan to discuss her journey to becoming a first-time homeowner—while navigating adversity, foster care advocacy, and single motherhood. Together, they unpack the realities of accessible homeownership, financial literacy, and breaking generational cycles. This episode is both informative and deeply personal, reminding us that building a home isn’t just about property—it’s about planting roots for possibility.

This special episode celebrates a major milestone in Ivory’s story: becoming a first-time homeowner. Joined by her realtor, Joy Hill, and loan officer, David McGowan, Ivory reflects on what it meant to buy a home as a new foster mom overcoming systemic challenges. Together, they discuss the importance of financial readiness, community connections, and redefining stability on your own terms. Ivory also shares how she was introduced to Joy and David through lived expert Donnie Black, who hosted a free first-time homeownership seminar. The trio emphasizes that buying a home doesn’t mean you’re “stuck”—it’s a tool for empowerment and financial freedom.

On this week’s episode we present the second part of our career-spanning interview with Vinny Schiraldi, currently a visiting fellow with the Pinkerton Foundation. In part one we talked with Schiraldi about his formative years in youth justice and his first job leading a government agency. 

We start part two with a job Schiraldi actually didn’t get: leading the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the Obama administration. Then we turn to his time leading New York City’s probation, the notorious Rikers Island jail complex, and Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services. And we conclude with a few big picture questions about policy and practice. 

Reading Room

Opinion: Trump’s Youth Justice Agenda Will Make Us Less Safe

https://imprintnews.org/opinion/trumps-youth-justice-agenda-will-make-us-less-safe/265375

With Jails Mired in ‘Culture of Violence,’ New York City Taps Juvenile Justice Reformer

https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/jails-culture-violence-new-york-juvenile-justice-reformer/54542

Former Youth Corrections Officials: We Want to Help Close Youth Prisons

https://imprintnews.org/justice/new-york-justice-officials-close-youth-prisons/34514

Opinion: How to End the Era of Mass Supervision

https://imprintnews.org/justice/how-to-end-the-era-of-mass-supervision/37846

Learning from Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice Experiment

https://youthtoday.org/2011/12/learning-from-massachusetts-juvenile-justice-experiment/

Sure They Talk, But Can They Walk?

https://youthtoday.org/2006/10/sure-they-talk-but-can-they-walk/

On this week’s episode we begin a two-part in-depth interview with Vinny Schiraldi, a firebrand for justice reform whose career has included leadership on alternatives to incarceration, advocacy, and government leadership.

In part one we talk to Schiraldi, now a fellow with the Pinkerton Foundation, about his own formative impressions of the justice system as an adolescent growing up in Brooklyn. Then we discuss his first job working at a New York group home for delinquent youth, and the chance meeting with reformer Jerry Miller that challenged his early views on how to help kids. 

We then talked about the launch of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice and the Justice Policy Institute, and the city that challenged him to address the
problems with its youth justice system that Schiraldi had relentlessly called
out as an advocate. 

Thanks to Sellers Dorsey for sponsoring this episode!

Reading Room

Opinion: Trump’s Youth Justice Agenda Will Make Us Less Safe

https://imprintnews.org/opinion/trumps-youth-justice-agenda-will-make-us-less-safe/265375

With Jails Mired in ‘Culture of Violence,’ New York City Taps Juvenile Justice Reformer

https://imprintnews.org/justice/juvenile-justice-2/jails-culture-violence-new-york-juvenile-justice-reformer/54542

Former Youth Corrections Officials: We Want to Help Close Youth Prisons

https://imprintnews.org/justice/new-york-justice-officials-close-youth-prisons/34514

Opinion: How to End the Era of Mass Supervision

https://imprintnews.org/justice/how-to-end-the-era-of-mass-supervision/37846

Learning from Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice Experiment

https://youthtoday.org/2011/12/learning-from-massachusetts-juvenile-justice-experiment/

Sure They Talk, But Can They Walk?

https://youthtoday.org/2006/10/sure-they-talk-but-can-they-walk/

On this week’s Headlines edition of Imprint Weekly Podcast, we discuss the implications of the government shutdown, the newest federal data on foster care, and promising research on home visiting programs. We also talk about recent headlines about the rollback of youth justice laws in D.C., chronic absenteeism in Georgia, and a college president looking to make his campus more supportive of foster youth. 

Thanks to Sellers Dorsey for sponsoring this episode of the podcast!

Reading Room

Trump, Kids and Families: Register for Free

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jEyQQz_3R4Giv3J_LkZS5w#/registration

What the Federal Shutdown Means for States and Localities

https://www.governing.com/politics/what-the-federal-shutdown-means-for-states-and-localities

2025 Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Grants Announced, But Shutdown Looms

https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/justice-child-welfare-grants-announced-shutdown-looms/267390

Federal Report: The Number of Youth in Foster Care Declines Again in 2024

https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/number-youth-foster-care-declines-again-2024/267429

AFCARS Data

https://acf.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/afcars

The Long-Term Effects of Home Visiting on Mothers, Families, and Children

https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/opre-beyond-early-years-aug25.pdf

With Youth Crime at Historic Lows, Trump Administration Attempts to Gut DC Juvenile Justice Reforms

http://bit.ly/4mVw71pn

Special Series: A Second Look

https://imprintnews.org/special-series/a-second-look

Michigan Kids Left Behind in Indigent Defense System: ‘It’s Absolutely Critical’

http://bit.ly/4qaTTcC

Detained for Skipping Schoolwork

https://imprintnews.org/podcast/detained-for-skipping-schoolwork

Georgia Students Will No Longer Be Expelled for Missing Class This Year.

https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/georgia-law-ends-expulsion-for-absences/265696

New Mexico Will be the First State to Make Child Care Free

https://imprintnews.org/early-childhood/new-mexico-will-be-the-first-state-to-make-child-care-free/265522

State Cuts in Washington Scale Back Once-Ambitious Preschool Options for Low-Income Families

https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/state-cuts-in-washington-scale-back-once-ambitious-preschool-options-for-low-income-families/265616

Luke Wood, Former Foster Child-turned University President, Has Made His Sac State Campus a Welcome Place

https://bit.ly/4nFeNyT

In this powerful episode of InnerViews, Destiny Jackson shares her journey of navigating foster care, homelessness, and life with Type 1 diabetes—all while pursuing her dreams at Spelman College. From overcoming systemic barriers to advocating for healthcare equity and child welfare reform, Destiny’s story is one of courage, resilience, and unapologetic hope.

On this week’s episode we talk to Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist studying abortion and adoption. Sisson’s research on mothers who choose to relinquish their rights into private adoptions led to her writing Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. We talked about that research, her book, and what both experiences have led her to believe about the framework and very existence of adoption in America. 

Gretchen Sisson is a qualitative sociologist studying abortion and adoption at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at University of California, San Francisco.

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Relinquished, by Gretchen Sisson

https://www.relinquishedbook.com/

Since Dobbs, Idaho mothers increasingly accused of child abuse while pregnant

https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/since-dobbs-idaho-mothers-increasingly-accused-of-child-abuse-while-pregnant/255965

A Misguided Rush to Judgment on How Abortion Laws Impact Foster Care 

https://imprintnews.org/opinion/a-misguided-rush-to-judgment-on-how-abortion-laws-impact-foster-care/256024

What Happens When Foster Youth Want an Abortion — and What Could Soon Change?

https://imprintnews.org/foster-care/foster-youth-abortion-sabino/66760

Roe v. Wade: Unintended Consequences

https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/roe-v-wade-unintended-consequences/66554

Overturned Supreme Court Rulings Affect Foster Youth, Too

https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/overturned-supreme-court-rulings-affect-foster-youth-too/234958

On this week’s episode we talk with Claudia Rowe, one of the true veteran journalists in the child welfare and youth justice space. We talked about her experiences covering both systems in New York and in Washington State, but focused on her recently published book Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care. 

Claudia Rowe is a member of the Seattle Times editorial board, and has reported for decades on youth and family services for the New York Times, Huffington Post and others. She is the author of the recently published Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care. 

Reading Room

Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care

https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/wards-of-the-state

From Failed Adoption to Homelessness and Incarceration, by Maryanne Atkins

https://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/from-failed-adoption-to-homelessness-and-incarceration/242485