Community In-Site

In this re-release of one of our most impactful episodes, host Valerie Frost revisits her conversation with Adam Ballout, 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 provides a groundbreaking model of early legal advocacy, partnering with healthcare and community organizations to support mothers facing...

In this episode, host Valerie Frost speaks with Daniela Molina, lived experience leader and financial empowerment coach at the Liberation Family Resource Center in Richmond, Virginia. Liberation is part of the Family Resource Center cohort within the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative, and it exemplifies what it means to be truly embedded in the community. Daniela shares how Liberation u...

In recognition of five years of the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative, this episode highlights the power of youth and adult partnership. Valerie sits down with Alayna Leonard, a youth advocate and former member of Indiana’s Commission for Improving the Status of Children, and Sam Garman, a national youth engagement consultant with Cetera. Together, they share the story of how authentic,...

In this episode, Valerie Frost talks with Dr. David Sanders, Executive Vice President of Systems Improvement at Casey Family Programs and one of the early visionaries behind the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative. As the initiative marks its fifth anniversary, David reflects on the bold idea that sparked it: the belief that we must shift from a system centered on child removal to one tha...

In this episode, Valerie talks with Dr. Jessica Pryce. Jessica is a Research Faculty member at Florida State University and the author of the book Broken: Transforming Child Protective Services . In addition to being a researcher and author, Jessica is a nationally recognized thought leader on child welfare workforce development. The framework in her book documents stories and lessons for moving f...

In this re-release of one of our most resonant Season One episodes, we revisit the conversation with Jay Dugger, Chief Judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Hampton, Virginia. Host Valerie Frost wanted to bring this episode back because the story continues to matter. Judges hold a lot of power within their communities and Judge Dugger is a great example of how judicial inf...

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Carol Mitchell, a seasoned attorney, social justice advocate, and founder of the Institute for Black Justice (IBJ). With over 20 years of public sector leadership experience, Carol is dedicated to transforming how systems recognize and support Black fathers as essential caregivers and partners in family well-being. Based in Washington State, IBJ is committed...

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Sarah Winograd, the visionary and founder behind Together With Families, an organization committed to transforming the way we approach family support. Sarah explains the philosophy behind Together with Families and Playbook on their Relational Practice Approach, which emphasizes showing up for families not as service providers, but as genuine partners. The h...

Today’s guest is Clare Anderson, a policy expert and passionate advocate for using evidence to drive upstream investments to prevent child welfare involvement. Claire is a Senior Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall, and she’s spent years organizing data to help us understand the impact of economic policy on families — and what puts them at risk. Clare helps connect the dots between the economic shocks th...

Valerie sits down with Mashai Small—a former army sergeant, a mother, and member of the African National Women’s Organization leadership team. She’s also an organizer, abolitionist, and one of the leaders of the Black Mother’s March happening in Washington, DC on May 11th.  Part of the family well-being movement is the abolitionist perspective, which holds that the path to justice requires dismant...

Valerie sits down with David Lujan who is the former Director of the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Arizona School for the Arts. They discuss his pivotal role in significantly reducing the number of children in care in Arizona. In 2017, there were nearly 19,000 kids in foster care in Arizona. During David’s time at DCS, he oversaw a d...

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 storyt...

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...

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 imp...

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 exper...

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 f...

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 whi...

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 transi...

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...

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 explo...

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 ol...

In this episode, hosts Tecoria and Elliott connect with Zenayda Bonilla, a mother who overcame the challenge of feeling silenced by the child welfare system. Zenayda shares her journey of navigating motherhood in a new country and culture, and how she found support through the Center for Family Life in Brooklyn. The Center for Family Life is one of the recipients of the Youth, Family, and Communit...

Keith Bostick is the President of the Black Administrators in Child Welfare and a long-term clinician, administrator, and director in the child welfare space. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of Broward County Human Services in the state of Florida.  Along with the Haywood Burns Institute, Keith provides technical assistance to the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative to help adv...

In this episode, we hear from Kailene Nihipali Sanchez, Network Manager at EPIC ʻOhana, Inc in Hawaii. As a teenager, Kailene grew up in a community with high rates of health issues, homelessness, and substance abuse. She describes a pivotal moment when she returned to her culture and identity to overcome early adversity. As the Network Manager, she now advocates alongside other native Hawaiian fa...

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 F...