This episode contains mention of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.

This episode, we hear from Victoria Best (she/her), Project Manager for the DATA CoLab at the Philadelphia District Attourney's office and founder of Victoria's Urban Outreach Tutoring Service (VUOTS). Victoria discusses the systems that have shaped her life: Foster Care System, the Criminal Legal System, and the Education system, and how she's learned from her experiences to take charge of her future.

Sources:

-Wagner, W. S. and P. March, 14, 2023. Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2023. Prison Policy Initiative. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2023.html

-D'Onofrio, M. July 21, 2023. Long stays in pre-trial detention strain Philadelphia Prisons. Axios Philadelphia. https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2023/07/21/philadelphia-prisons-pre-trial-detention

-Cash Bail 101. Philadelphia Community Bail Fund. https://www.phillybailout.org/cash-bail-101.html

-A Proclamation on National Foster Care Month, 2023. (2023, April 28) The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/28/a-proclamation-on-national-foster-care-month-2. 2023/#:~:text=The%20more%20than%20391%2C000%20American

-Perez, Jaxzia. The Foster Care-To-Prison Pipeline: A Road to Incarceration. The Criminal Law Practitioner, 24 Feb. 2023, www.crimlawpractitioner.org/post/the-foster-care-to-prison-pipeline-a-road-to-incarceration.

-What Is the Foster Care-To-Prison Pipeline? Juvenile Law Center, 26 May 2018, jlc.org/news/what-foster-care-prison-pipeline.