The Imprint Weekly

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...

This year, Jamaican child welfare officials abruptly removed eight teenage boys from a residential facility known as Atlantis Leadership Academy. All eight were American youth and three were adoptees.  Dawn Post, a veteran attorney for youth in foster care, represented the teens pro bono, working with the Jamaican government to ensure their safe return to the United States. She joined us to tell t...

On InnerViews , Ivory Bennett speaks with Jose A. Perez, winner of the 2024 Youth Voices Rising New York Op-Ed competition, for his poignant essay, When Help Hurts: Foster Care vs. My Mom . In a powerful conversation, Perez shares his journey from New York’s foster care and prison systems to becoming an acclaimed poet, actor, and advocate. Listen as Jose reflects on a system that separated his fam...

Rep. Gwen Moore, who represents the 4th District of Wisconsin, was in the state legislature when her state commenced a welfare-to-work program that would become the template for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.  Moore now sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees TANF. She joined the podcast to discuss her problems with TANF, how it could be impr...

On this week’s episode, we are joined by Administration on Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston, the most senior Senate-confirmed child welfare official in the Biden administration. We discussed the past year of federal child welfare policymaking, what the priorities will be for the final few months before Inauguration Day, implementation of the Family First Act, and the...

On this week’s episode, we review some recent headlines in child welfare and youth justice.  On this week’s episode, we review some recent headlines in child welfare and youth justice, including some big picture takeaways from recent stories about spiraling juvenile facilities and universal drug screening for soon-to-be parents.  We also talk to Marina Nitze about what states and child welfare sys...

In this compelling episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett talks with Christina Abraham about her journey as she aged out of the foster care system at 21. Christina shares her struggles navigating life in a group home and the challenges of finding stable housing in New York City. Through her story, Christina sheds light on the harsh realities faced by youth aging out of care and the urgent need...

On today’s episode we spoke with Aditi Shrivastava, deputy director of income security at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, known widely as TANF. We talked about the proposed new rule for regulating how states use this program, a new test of how to measure success, and we also discuss the many guaranteed income projects that have...

On this week’s episode we talk to Kamilah Bunn, CEO of the National Adoption Association, and Toni Oliver, former president of the National Association of Black Social Workers, about the recently published “Black Paper,” an early look at the effect of NAA’s Ujima Black Family Connection Program. The goal of the program is to convene Black leaders to work on addressing long-standing disparities in...

On this week’s episode we recap a hodgepodge of headlines from late summer, starting with the effort to reauthorize a major federal child welfare program called Title IV-B. Among the other stories we discussed: California’s novel new approach to fund enrichment activities for foster  youth, and the state’s looming insurance cliff for nonprofits; New York could become the first state to track adopt...

The Imprint Weekly Podcast has been re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. On this final installment of Summer Rewind, we feature our conversation with Patty Duh and Leslie Gross about the SOUL Family Concept, a new permanency option that was conceived of by youth with lived experie...

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week, we feature our conversation with juvenile justice reform expert David Roush about how a construction project inside Chicago’s juvenile detention center accidentally led to one...

In this powerful episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett sits down with Brittney Lee, who endured 17 foster homes over 17 years. Brittney shares her inspiring journey of resilience, community engagement, and her mission to fight racial inequality within the child welfare system. With a passion for giving back, Brittney is committed to being a role model and creating positive change for youth in...

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week we feature on of our most frequently downloaded episodes, our 2021 conversation with author and law professor Dorothy Roberts.  At the time of our interview, Roberts was still...

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week we feature two different interviews about the same issue: how to ensure that foster youth succeed once they get to college. In 2022, we talked to Amy Dworsky of Chapin Hall and...

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week we feature our 2020 interview with California Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who joined the podcast to discuss the Racial Justice Act, a bill he championed that enables a defendant...

In this episode of "InnerViews," join host Ivory Bennett in a real, raw conversation about reclaiming one’s narrative with New Yorker, Nathali Feliz. The two discuss the impact of storytelling and narratives in the development of child welfare engaged youth. Nathali discusses her life before, during, and after her time in the NY child welfare system. Together, we affirm the importance of...

Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year. On this week’s episode, Ashley Burnside of the Center for Law and Social Policy joins us to discuss a plan to update the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federal cash assistance program de...

Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.  On this week’s episode, Currey Cook of Lambda Legal joins to discuss a new rule aimed at ensuring all child welfare systems have enough foster homes that are supportive and safe for youth who identify as...

Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.  On this week’s episode, Allison Green of the National Association of Counsel for Children joins us to break down the new rule on federal funding to support legal counsel for parents and children involved...

On this week’s episode we go deep on one headline: a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing in which Chairman Ron Wyden called the residential care business an inherently flawed model that intentionally puts children in unsafe situations. The hearing followed the release of a scathing report on the committee’s findings from a multi-year investigation into four of the biggest providers in that spa...

In this impactful episode of "InnerViews," join host Ivory Bennett in a candid conversation with Mike Ostien as they delve into the vital realm of men's mental and emotional health. Explore the intersections of identity, societal expectations, and holistic well-being, as Mike shares his insights and lived experiences. From confronting trauma and grief to fostering self-care and resi...

Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year.  This week, Ana Beltran of Generations United joins us to talk about the new federal rules around approving (and financially supporting) relatives and other loved ones to care for youth in the foster care...

After nearly 20 years, The Pew Charitable Trust’s Public Safety Performance Project sunsetted at the end of 2023. Ruth Rosenthal, Pew’s director for courts & communities, joins to talk about the history and lessons learned from the project and its expansion to include youth justice as a focal point. Reading Room Public Safety Performance Project https://shorturl.at/9J55K Ways to Make the Juven...

On this week’s Headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss a precedent-setting law passed and signed in Minnesota called the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, and break down the basics of new child welfare policies finalized by the Biden administration. We also discuss a recent Imprint analysis of kinship care in New York, some legislation that was ins...