The Imprint Weekly

Embark on a transformative journey with Jas Snell on "InnerViews," as we delve into the empowering realm of healthy emotionality amidst trauma. Explore how Jas, a Black woman with lived child welfare experiences, navigates the intricacies of mental and emotional health, cultivating resilience and empowerment. Uncover the transformative power of embracing emotions, fostering well-being, a...

Perspectives on the Future of Foster Care with Serita Cox For the past three years, iFoster has been conducting the Voice of the Foster Care Community survey to gather perspective on the system from current and former foster youth, caregivers and the child welfare workforce.  iFoster CEO Serita Cox joins the podcast to discuss this year’s findings, which focused on gauging attitudes about solution...

On this month’s headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss an upcoming appeal in Michigan around the constitutionality of some terminations of parental rights, as well as a trial starting in Oregon and a new lawsuit filed against Louisiana.  We also cover the very steep decline in foster care entries in Texas since the passage of a law that sharpened the definition of neglect in the state, a mus...

Join host Ivory Bennett in an insightful conversation with Saunya Jones as they explore the complexities of healing from trauma, neglect, and abuse within the foster care system. From mental,  emotional, and sexual health to the well-being of Black women, they delve into topics such as generational trauma, the intersection of past trauma and foster care, and societal stigmas hindering sexual assau...

We're sharing a  bonus episode from InnerViews! Join host Ivory Bennett on InnerViews as she delves into the complex intersections of trauma, health, and empowerment with special guest Dalyce Wilson. From the societal protection of predators to the health of Black women, Ivory and Dalyce explore topics such as sexual assault, trauma's impact on diseases like T1D, mental and emotional wel...

Criminologist Alex Piquero, who led the Bureau of Justice Statistics early in the Biden administration, joined us to discuss what the best available data shows about trends in youth crime before, during and after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also discussed the media’s coverage of youth crime, and what Piquero’s research shows are the most effective ways to prevent and deter youth from c...

In February, Carolyn Travis of California Youth Connection wrote an op-ed for The Imprint calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to keep his commitment to fair market support for youth who receive subsidized independent living placement (SILP) funds in extended foster care.  Travis joined us on the podcast to talk about her own experience transitioning into extended foster care and then into adulthood,...

On this month’s headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss new federal data on foster care, the first state and tribe to get approved for kinship licensing, and what happened this year in the government spending deal. We also talk about a controversial law in Tennessee over foster parents’ views on sexual orientation, Minnesota’s African American Family Preservation Act, and more. Reading Room W...

A new multimedia package produced by The Imprint and Voices of Monterey Bay takes readers, viewers and listeners deep inside rural Oregon’s Indian Country, where elders are Indigenizing social work through equine therapy for young people who have experienced foster care and youth justice systems. “Horses take us all the way back to our history before our land was taken away,” explains John Doug Sp...

Healing the Children of Horse Nations, a new multimedia package produced by The Imprint and Voices of Monterey Bay, takes readers, viewers and listeners deep inside rural Oregon’s Indian Country, where elders are Indigenizing social work through equine therapy for young people who have experienced foster care and youth justice systems. “Horses take us all the way back to our history before our lan...

Join us in an illuminating episode of InnerViews as we delve into the profound topic of healing trauma through the lens of re-parenting, guided by the wisdom of Deborah D. Denzel. Drawing from her lived expertise and career in improving the child welfare system, Deborah shares transformative insights into her personal journey of resilience. Explore the pillars of re-parenting and discover empoweri...

 Dr. LaShawnDa Pittman spent years studying the lives of dozens of grandmothers in the Chicago area for her book, Grandmothering While Black. “Despite managing the simultaneity of love and coercion,” she writes, “the Black grandmothers in this study demonstrated their love for their grandchildren in their willingness to provide care, as an extension of parenting and sometimes in place of it.” Dr....

On this week’s episode we talk to Rob Geen, who is leading the new Child Welfare Initiative started by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Some of the initiative’s early activities have included: -A national survey on public attitudes and views about the child welfare system and how it should operate -A landscape assessment based on interviews with those working for, involved with, and directly affected...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some new legislation aimed at drawing more interest in extended foster care, long-sought data on compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the use of federal funds for family justice. We also break down yet another child welfare-related lawsuit in New York, and concerns over the precedent set by the conviction of Jennifer Crumbley. Reading Room Bipartisan...

Healing Generations: Nurturing the Inner Child Through Reparenting - A Journey with Dr. Alison Davis Welcome to InnerViews, a new monthly podcast from the Youth Voices Rising program at Fostering Media Connections! InnerViews is not just a podcast; it's an intimate exploration led by Ivory Bennett, a seasoned professional with 17 years of lived foster care experience. Each episode is a deep d...

On this week’s episode we first talked to Kat McCloud about the new season of “Self-Taught,” a podcast from foster youth, for  foster youth that just joined our SafeCamp Audio Network. McCloud talks about the first season of the show, what to expect in the second (which is now out) and how she decides what she is comfortable sharing publicly. Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus on Children, joi...

On our monthly headlines episode, we discuss recent Imprint coverage on a child welfare litigation group’s first big legal challenge, the impact of fentanyl on legislation and policy in child welfare, and the Biden administration’s incremental steps on fines and fees in the juvenile justice system. We also discuss the child welfare case of a transgender teen in Montana, and the state of federal da...

On January 1, two of Washington State’s largest human services providers combined to form a new organization called Akin. The merger of two healthy nonprofits perhaps reflects the alignment of business and outcomes to a new vision for how youth and families are served by governments and their partners. Dave Newell, the first CEO of Akin, returns to The Imprint Weekly podcast to discuss how the mer...

Strategies for Youth (SFY) is one of the few organizations in the country focused on the true front door of the juvenile justice system: interactions between youth and law enforcement officers. Recently, SFY published a collection of model policies for departments to use in making those interactions safer and more productive.  SFY’s Shelley Jackson, who spent decades working on guidance and policy...

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 20 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, du...

On this week’s podcast, we break down the new data featured in The Imprint’s “Who Cares” project, which seeks to provide an up-to-date answer on two key questions in child welfare:  How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living? Every year we obtain answers directly from states on this subject, and surround that with data drawn from the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some headlines that seem to emanate in part from workforce woes, a lawsuit over anonymous reporting, one state’s effort to adjust child welfare policy after marijuana legalization, and missing school while locked up. Lisa Dickson of ACTION Ohio joins us to talk about the annual series of Thanksgiving dinners she helped state for youth in Ohio foster care, the rig...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some news out of Tennessee that makes a congressional inquiry look bad, and two stories that highlight the intrinsic problem with investigations of abuse within foster care.  We also talk about new research on abortion laws and foster care entries, supportive housing’s impact on reunification, and two cool mapping resources on federal and state spending.  Reading...

Last month, the Biden administration proposed a new rule that would permit the use of federal funding to support attorneys for tribal governments, relatives and other kin, and parents and children at risk of experiencing a family separation.  Jey Rajaraman, associate director of litigation, children and the law for the American Bar Association, spent 16 years leading parent counsel in New Jersey,...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some upcoming online conversations on self-sufficiency and navigating the holidays, The Imprint’s “Born of History” series, and more information on the Biden administration’s interest in updating a key piece of the Family First Prevention Services Act. Kerrie Lonard, Child Advocate for the State of Kansas, joins us to talk about an interesting survey her office d...