On this week’s podcast, we go over some of the actions taken by the Trump administration in their first full week since the inauguration. We also discuss a report that finds some states are sending back federal money to help older foster youth, and a Texas bill that would bring sweeping change to the way the child welfare system works in that state. 

Rena Johnson of the Aviv Foundation and Mary Bissell of Child Focus join to talk about the Aviv Foundation’s Springboard Prize, an award that will invest $400,000 in several game-change oriented proposals.

Reading Room

Trump’s Day-one Actions Reverse Biden Decisions

https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-day-one-actions-reverse-biden-decisions/258340

Trump Administration Cancels Child Welfare Contract, Pulls Juvenile Justice Grants

https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trump-administration-cancels-child-welfare-contract-pulls-juvenile-justice-grants/258439

Child Welfare Leaders Stunned by Trump’s Call to Freeze Social Services Spending; Legal Action Quickly Threatened

https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/child-welfare-leaders-stunned-by-trumps-call-to-freeze-social-services-spending-legal-action-quickly-threatened/258488

Report: Millions for Helping Older Foster Youth Goes Unspent

https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/report-millions-helping-older-foster-youth-goes-unspent/258528

HHS Should Help States Address Barriers to Using Federal Funds for Programs Serving Youth Transitioning to Adulthood

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107154.pdf

Texas Lawmakers Consider ‘ICWA for All’ Bill That Would Set New, Higher Standards for Removing Children
From Home

https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/texas-lawmakers-consider-icwa-for-all-bill-that-would-set-new-higher-standards-for-removing-children-from-home/258553

In this episode of InnerViews, Sensei Dave shares his journey from foster care and juvenile detention to becoming a mentor, author, and advocate for at-risk youth. Discover how his transformative "Inspire to Aspire" program equips young people with hope, skills, and resilience while empowering caring adults to create lasting change. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about breaking cycles, fostering equity, and building brighter futures for youth impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

In November, the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) held its first national conference in more than a decade, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the landmark Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. 

Right after the conference ended, OJJDP Administrator and longtime youth justice reformer Liz Ryan joined us to discuss the conference, in particular the large presence of young people who have experienced the justice system. Ryan also reflected on the future of justice reform, and what she feels the Biden administration accomplished during her tenure.  

Reading Room

Episode 100! Biden’s Juvenile Justice Agenda with Liz Ryan
https://imprintnews.org/podcast/episode-100-biden-juvenile-justice-agenda-liz-ryan

Decarceration Advocate Liz Ryan to Lead Juvenile Justice for Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/37hzj6A

Nation’s Top Juvenile Justice Official Disputes ‘Youth Crime Wave’ Narrative
https://bit.ly/3xR7k7X

On this Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we stick with Capitol Hill where a lot went down around the holidays. We discuss the arrest of a former foster youth and advocate arrested after a celebration of the Chafee Act, along with some child welfare legislation that made it into law (and one bill that did not). 

We also break down some long-sought data about what happens when youth are charged as adults in the United States, and the lastest federal report on child abuse and neglect. Thanks to live podcast attendee, new rescue dog Dracula, for being a good boy while we recorded!

Reading Room

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace Calls Police on Prominent Foster Youth Advocate; Eyewitnesses Dispute Her Assault Allegations
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/nancy-mace-calls-police-prominent-foster-youth-advocate/256826

Foster Youth Advocate Pleads Not Guilty to Alleged Handshake Assault on Member of Congress
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-youth-advocate-pleads-not-guilty-to-alleged-handshake-assault-on-member-of-congress/256858

Flurry of Bills Move to President, but Not Workforce Reauthorization
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/flurry-bills-move-president-not-workforce-reauthorization/257117

Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act Poised to Become Law
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/stop-institutional-child-abuse-act-poised-to-become-law/257027

A Long-Delayed Look at Youth Charged as Adults
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/a-long-delayed-look-at-youth-charged-as-adults/258083

Juveniles Charged in Adult Criminal Courts, 2014
https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/jcacc14.pdf

Federal Study on Transfers of Juveniles Delayed, Again
https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/federal-study-transfers-juveniles-delayed/25194

Biden Commutes Sentence of one of the ‘Kids for Cash’ Judges
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/biden-commutes-kids-cash-judges/256977

Closing the Book on “Kids for Cash”
https://safecampaudio.org/episode/closing-the-book-on-kids-for-cash/

Child Maltreatment Reports on the Rise, Confirmed Victim Numbers Decline, Federal Report Shows
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/child-maltreatment-reports-on-the-rise-confirmed-victim-numbers-decline-federal-report-shows/258032

As always, we were fortunate to have some amazing guests join us this year on The Imprint Weekly Podcast. In this episode we feature clips of 10 great interviews from 2023. 

If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and Fostering Families Today, and the work that our Youth Voices Rising team does, please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!

Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online events.
There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit www.imprintnews.org/donate.

Guests include:
Shelly Jackson, law enforcement policies attorney for Strategies for Youth.
LaShawnda Pittman, associate professor of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Rob Geen, founder of CWPolicy, LLC and leads the Child Welfare Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Carolyn Travis, community advocacy coordinator for California Youth Connection.
Alex Piquero, professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminology at the University of Miami and previously served as the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Serita Cox, co-founder of iFoster.
Gwen Moore, Member of Congress
Dawn Post, founder of Themis Youth Law & Advocacy.
Jerry Milner, co-founder of the Family Justice Group, and former associate commissioner of the U.S. Children’s Bureau. 
Will Schneider, associate professor at the University of Illinois School of Social Work and the faculty director for the Children and Family Research Center. 

On today’s episode, Dr. Jenny Tanis of the Hope College School of Social Work and Dr. Sacha Klein of the Michigan State University School of Social Work join to talk about their research into the impact of State paid family leave policies on infant maltreatment. 

The United States is among the few developed countries without paid family leave as a national policy. But four states have long had local leave policies in place: California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Tanis and Klein wanted to see what, if any, impact this had on infant maltreatment in those states compared to trends in other states. 

Reading Room 

State Paid Family Leave Policies and Infant Maltreatment
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38574603/

Paid family leave's effect on hospital admissions for pediatric abusive head trauma
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26869666/

Impact of Direct Cash Benefits to Low-Income Families Can Be Far-Reaching
https://imprintnews.org/family/impact-direct-cash-benefits-low-income-families-child/237760

On this week’s episode we discuss the Trump transition process, the last months of the Biden administration, and recommend some interesting reads from The Imprint and elsewhere this month, including Sara Tiano’s two-part series on the intersection of addiction treatment and child welfare actions such as investigation, removal and reunification. 

Marina Nitze of the Child Welfare Playbook joins us to talk about the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC), a longstanding process aimed at ensuring that foster youth who are moved to a new state are protected. We talked to Nitze about the Playbook’s discussions on ICPC, what gaps exist in the system and what states are doing to improve it.  

Reading Room

ICWA Added to Federal Data Collection. Will It Last?
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/icwa-added-federal-data-collection-will-it-last/256693

Profiles in Youth Work: Lateefah Simon
https://youthtoday.org/2004/06/profiles-in-youth-work_2/

Congressional Candidate Wants to Create a Place for Young Women ‘To Dream, To Fight and To Just Be’
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/congressional-candidate-wants-to-create-a-place-for-young-women-to-dream-to-fight-and-to-just-be/248299

Penalized for Their Prescriptions: Parents Using Legal Addiction Medications Face Ongoing Discrimination in the Child Welfare System
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/parents-using-legal-addiction-medications-face-ongoing-discrimination/256350

When Prescribed Medications End in a Call to CPS: One Upstate New York Mom is Fighting Back in Court
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/when-prescribed-medications-end-in-a-call-to-cps-one-upstate-new-york-mom-is-fighting-back-in-court/256352

Treatment Foster Care for Kids with High Needs Offers Hope, but There's a Shortage of Willing Homes in Wisconsin
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/life/family/2024/11/29/childrens-wisconsin-needs-foster-families-who-can-provide-treatment-care/75887078007/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

The Survivors of Child Sex Abuse Who Don’t Want Their Abusers Punished
https://newrepublic.com/article/188362/child-sex-abuse-survivors-abusers-justice

Foster Youth Are at Great Risk for Suicide As They Prepare to Leave the System, California Study Finds
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-youth-are-at-great-risk-for-suicide-as-they-prepare-to-leave-the-system-california-study-finds/256210

In this special "Best of Season 1" episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett revisits powerful moments from this year’s episodes. From healing generational trauma to empowering resilience in the face of adversity, Ivory highlights transformative insights from each guest. Join us for a reflection on themes of healing, self-discovery, and empowerment, celebrating the voices that made Season 1 unforgettable. Tune in for an inspiring recap and a glimpse of the exciting 2025 season ahead!

On this week’s episode, Brightpoint CEO Mike Shaver and University of Illinois School of Social Work researcher Will Schneider join to discuss Empower Parenting with Resource, a test of the impact of guaranteed income as a component of how child welfare systems engage parents. Empower will provide hundreds of system-involved parents with cash assistance as part of a randomized control trial.

Reading Room
New Research Funded on Mental Health, Child Welfare
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/new-research-funded-mental-health-child-welfare/54184

Support Grows For No-Strings-Attached Cash For Families To Prevent Foster Care Removals
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/support-grows-for-no-strings-attached-cash-for-families-to-prevent-foster-care-removals/243395

The Bay Area’s Latest Guaranteed Income Program Offers Low-Income Families $500 a Month
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/bay-areas-latest-guaranteed-income-program/60793

Former Foster Youth Included in L.A. County Guaranteed Income Project
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/former-foster-youth-included-in-l-a-county-guaranteed-income-project/240181

On this week’s episode, we review some recent research on child opioid overdoses, youth with disabilities in foster care, and the Biden administration’s historic apology to the Indigenous community. 

Jerry Milner, co-founder of the Family Justice Group, joins us to discuss his time leading the U.S. Children’s Bureau during the previous Trump administration, and what his experience during the first term suggests to him about what might be coming in the next four years. 

Reading Room

Federal Roundtables with Foster Youth Find Them Feeling Supported, But Uncertain
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/federal-roundtables-foster-youth-find-supported-uncertain/49643

While Trump Separated Families, One of His Appointees Fought To Keep Them Together. Will Biden Keep Him Around?
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/trump-separated-families-milner-biden-foste/50944

 Staying The Course for Families
https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/staying-course-families-what-got-right_/51632

Most States Now Access Federal Funds for Family Court Lawyers
https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/states-access-federal-funds-for-family-court-lawyers/247752