Change The Story

"It takes a village" is something we so often hear, but how often do we see it truly lived out? Sherry Mott joins us on the podcast today to share how she and her community did just that! After seeing a real need in her local county for supportive wraparound care - people needing safe homes, supportive and loving friends and families, generous hearts - Sherry sought out a resource that would bring...

Alexis joins us on the podcast today! Five years ago, Alexis found herself in the middle of an unplanned pregnancy. She wanted to keep the baby and felt like her deepest dream was coming true - getting to be a mom to a baby girl. But as the pregnancy went on, the biological father left the picture and her family disowned her for having an unplanned pregnancy. She found herself struggling with no s...

Justin Peterson joins us on the podcast today! Justin helped plant Table Community Church, a church based in Oregon that, from the very beginning, wanted to practice radical, biblical hospitality in their city. When they reached out to community members to hear what it was the community was actually needing, safe homes for struggling families consistently came up. Justin then heard about Safe Fami...

Kaila joins us on the podcast today! Kaila shares with us the story of her family adopting and fostering 5 children in the span of 15 years all from the same mother, a cousin in her family struggling with addiction. Kaila has seen throughout the 15 years the countless resources that her cousin has been given - free rehab, medical attention, chances for support - and none of this has prevented her...

Ezechiel 'Zeke' Bambolo joins us on the podcast today! Zeke is the current Executive Director of Antioch Adoptions ( https://antiochadoptions.org/ ), an adoption agency based out of Washington state that stands apart for a few important reasons: They never charge families for adoption services, they never take government funding, and they operate strictly according to biblical principles. Since it...

Sarah Strode joins us on the podcast today! Sarah has been a foster parent in Washington State for the past 17 years. She has 8 children, including 5 adopted children with special needs. One of her adopted children, Leo Alexander, made Washington headlines 4 years ago as the little boy who was left in a shed for hours unattended and suffered severe burns after a heater that had been put on a rafte...

Representative Alicia Rule joins us on the podcast today! After beginning her career as a social worker over 20 years ago, Rep. Rule has dedicated her life and work to helping better family services and child welfare in Washington state. She recently proposed a bill that would change the current verbiage of “imminent physical harm” to be broader and more immediately help children. She also took in...

What does it really look like inside the foster care system—and what happens when laws prioritize policy over child safety? Jyasmine Lane gives us an inside look on the podcast today! Jyasmine is a first-time foster mom in Washington state. A former teacher, she has always had a deep care for children and child development. After being married for 9 years and not having any biological children of...

Note: This episode contains highly sensitive topics Suzanne Timms joins us on the podcast today! At 3 years old, Suzanne (then Dallas Otto) witnessed the tragedy of seeing her parents in a physical altercation ending with her father dragging her mother out of sight, never to be seen again by her or her sister. Once the police became involved in the case, Suzanne and her sister were temporarily rem...

Representative Josh Penner joins us on the podcast today! A lifelong resident of Washington State, Penner has served formally served as mayor of Orting, WA from 2018 until the end of 2025, when he was elected to the Washington House of Representatives. He is also a US Marine Corp veteran and father of 4 children, two of which have special needs. In our conversation today, we covered the topic of t...

Tracie Jefferson - foster mom, physician’s assistant, and child advocate - joins us on the podcast today! In the past year, Tracie has lead the charge on several campaigns on conversations to help recall and change House Bill 1227, otherwise known as the Keeping Families Together Act. She, and many others, have seen the devastating impact this bill has made on Washington state and its families. Th...

Jeanette Oblecz, a supervisor, social worker, and union rep in Washington state, joins us for Part 2 on the podcast today! In this episode, Jeanette shares with us how HB 1227 has fulfilled its duty, but not in the way we think. With the bill’s main objective being putting children back together with parents, regardless of that parent's sobriety status, previous intake history, displays of neglect...

Jeanette Oblecz, social worker and union rep in Washington state, joins us on the podcast today! Jeanette shares with us the behind-the-scenes of the making of HB 1227, including the explicit exclusion of social workers, educators, and other child development experts in the creation of this bill, how this new bill has overwhelmed the system, and what the future of the bill might look like thanks t...

We have a very special guest joining us in the studio today- Jessica's daughter, Stephanie Hanna! Stephanie was adopted into the Hanna family after a short stint as a temporary foster placement. Stephanie shares with us what it was like to grow up in a home that, while filled with love, did not have the basics for living- like running water or heat. While she was not a victim of physical abuse, no...

Jim Sporleder, a former special education teacher turned administrator, joins us on the podcast today! In this episode, Jim shares the story of how he himself was a "behavior problem" through school and his surprising journey to becoming a special education teacher, then administrator. After many years as a successful principal, he was asked to help turn around a failing alternative school in Wall...

"Annie" joins us on the podcast today as she shares the story of "Kit", her now adopted daughter. At only 3 years old, "Kit" had already experienced physical & sexual abuse, homelessness, near starvation, and severe neglect– so much so that Kit's therapist advised Annie to treat Kit "as you would a war veteran" because of the severe PTSD Kit was experiencing. Kit is now 10 years old and shared...

Jamie Williams joins us on the podcast today as we discuss early intervention, the stories she saw as a nurse working with drug-addicted newborns, her own fostering story, and her insight on what Washington state can do to truly better the foster care system. Jamie is a former nurse, working most of her career in Labor & Delivery and working some time in urgent care, family practice, and menta...

Patrick Dowd, the director of the Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds, joins us today to discuss the complexities of child welfare currently happening in Washington State, including the significant increase in child fatalities and near fatalities, the impact of legislative changes like House Bill 1227 and Senate Bill 6109, and the challenges posed by the fentanyl crisis. With over a decade...

Angela Kraemer joins us on the podcast today as she shares her personal story with foster care and what inspired her to found a private agency that helps transport foster care children for their visitations. Angela candidly shares her personal story of being born addicted to cocaine and heroin, being in a detox unit as a newborn, and eventually being adopted by her half-aunt, only 13 years older t...

Kristina Johnson joins us on the podcast today as we talk about the drastic changes that have happened in Washington State over the last five years in regards to foster care, the devastating results of HB 1227 (and how every social worker, therapist, and stakeholder she knows knew it was going to fail), the stakes she personally has in making sure these parents become clean and well, and what she...

Listener Discretion: This episode contains mention of infant sexual abuse, starvation, and infant death. Amanda Ross joins us on the podcast today as she shares the story of sweet Baby Bianca, a foster placement who was only 3 days old when she came into Amanda's care. Throughout the following 11 months, Bianca grew and thrived, connecting with her foster siblings, passing all her baby health chec...

Representative Tom Dent joins us on the podcast today as we talk about the process of making policies for foster care. We talk about the origins of House Bill 1227, the beginnings of the DCYF Oversight board, and where they are hoping to take DCYF in the upcoming years. We are so thankful to have gotten to have this incredible insightful chat with one of our representatives! And as he reminded us,...

We had the privilege of joining Dave & Lance on KIT AM for an early morning radio segment a few weeks ago. We loved our conversation and hearing Dave & Lance's perspective on things and we wanted to share it with you as well. We hope you enjoy the episode and we'll see you again next week! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For more information on the work Fostering Change WA is doing in Washingt...

Dena Johnson joins us for the podcast today as we talk science: the life-long biological impact on children who experience trauma, what helps and hinders a healthy attachment, and why prioritizing blood bonds (blood relatives) may not be as helpful as we think. A licensed mental health counselor in Washington State with a private practice of almost 25 years, two post-grad certifications in TBRI an...

We are interrupting our usual schedule with an important story- Tara Harris is the aunt of Big Sis & Baby B, two children who, under the current laws of Washington State, have been placed back with their biological mother. Just 1 hour after being returned to his biological mother's care, Baby B overdosed on fentanyl and had to be narcanned 4 times to save his life.  He’s now safe, back in his...