The Imprint Weekly

On this week’s episode we discuss new data on drug use among youth who experience incarceration; federal legislation to define poverty out of neglect; testing cash assistance in child welfare; and how foster care is being discussed in the context of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Angela Orkin, co-host of The Children’s Law Podcast, joins to discuss one of the longest running podcasts on child wel...

On this week’s episode we discuss the ever-decreasing amount of kids in adult jails and prisons; an ominous audit on the use of psychotropics and opioids in foster care; and several interesting stories published by The Imprint this month.  Adrian McLemore, a founding member of the Unbelievably Resilient podcast, joins to discuss the origin of the show and his views on the state of child welfare. ...

On this week’s episode we discuss new supports for older foster youth in California, psychiatric facilities in North Carolina, an angry Texas judge and an interesting new leader in New Hampshire.  Michael Ramey, host of the EPPiC Broadcast, joins us to discuss the show’s origin, the state of parental rights in America, and more.  Reading Room California Budget Boosts Higher Education and Housing f...

On this week’s episode we discuss a slate of recent court decisions over gender-affirming care for minors; Arizona moves to protect Social Security benefits for foster youth; big data breaches involving youth in the system; and California closes state-run juvenile prisons for good.  We begin our summer series SafeCamp Spotlights, where we’ll talk to hosts from all of the great shows featured on th...

Darrell Missey’s path to leading the Missouri Children’s Division was an interesting one. He joined us to talk about his own life growing up in a family that experienced a mental health crisis; the group of grandmas that helped him run for judge; and the frank conversation that landed him in charge of a state with one of America’s highest foster care rates.  Reading Room Missouri Child Welfare Lea...

Last week, in a surprising 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court fully upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act in Brackeen v. Haaland. We break down the full opinion of the court and their various reasons for siding in support of the 1978 law that was passed at a time when nearly a third of indigenous children were separated from their family.  We are joined for reaction to the Brackeen ruling by three...

What can the ChatGPT and Bards of the world do to improve the child welfare and juvenile justice systems? On this week’s podcast, Carole Hussey of Evolv Strategy Group joins to talk about that and why states are hesitant to make big changes to case management systems.  Reading Room Feds Chart Future for Antique Data Management Systems https://bit.ly/3CtgObb How Tech Ties into Family First https://...

On this week’s podcast we discuss some of the figures in the biennial report on state-by-state child welfare spending from Child Trends. Also: looming deadlines on “Family Miranda” laws in two states and a Supreme Court case on ICWA, and more.  Imprint reporter Michael Fitzgerald joins to talk about his investigative reporting looking into sexual and reproductive health policies for youth in foste...

This week we discuss the race between Texas and New York to pass the first “Family Miranda” bill for child welfare investigations, clergy as mandated reporters, and the 28th state to ban juvenile life without parole sentences.  Serita Cox of iFoster joins to discuss some of the most interesting results from the organization’s second annual foster care survey, including some notable responses from...

This week we review some new research on older youth in foster care, and the impact of mother bonding in the treatment of withdrawal symptoms for opioid-exposed newborns. We also discuss several recent stories published in The Imprint, including the first installment of a series looking at the haphazard rules around sexual and reproductive health for youth in foster care; how a small group of pare...

A recent law journal article lays out three arguments against the rate at which many child welfare systems terminate parental rights. “The Ties That Bind” lays out data, outcomes and legal reasoning to support that idea.  We are joined this week by the co-authors of this paper: Christopher Church, a pro-bono attorney for the CHAMPS Clinic at the University of South Carolina School of Law and a co-...

This week we discuss SafeCamp Audio, the forthcoming podcast network from Fostering Media Connections, which will feature terrific audio projects on child welfare, youth justice and more. Click here to join the SafeCamp newsletter! We also review some recent headlines, including new research on racial disparities in the child welfare process, renewed Congressional interest in congregate care, fami...

Last week we talked to Keri Richmond, manager of child welfare policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), about a 50-state look at the new federal rules prompted by the Family First Prevention Services act around the use of group homes, residential programs and other forms of congregate care. On this week’s podcast we talk to Jim Czarniak about a deep dive on the same topic that focused...

On this week’s podcast we discuss a new California law that grants more time for reunifying families in some child welfare cases; the ever-worsening situation in Los Angeles juvenile facilities; and Congress takes an interest in kids that run away from foster care.  Keri Richmond, manager of child welfare policy for the American Academy of Pediatrics, joins to discuss AAP’s recent assessment of th...

On this week’s podcast we discuss the lawsuit filed by an Oregon woman who wants to adopt and says the state is infringing on her religious freedom; higher education for incarcerated youth; and a new benefits tracker for people leaving Los Angeles foster care.  Jessica Pac of the University of Wisconsin’s Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work and Sophie Collyer of the Center on Poverty and Social...

On this week’s podcast, we feature an online conversation hosted by Fostering Media Connection about community mental health services for youth in New York State. Sandy Santana, executive director of Children’s Rights, talks about the lawsuit his organization has filed against New York for failing to meet its commitments under Medicaid law when it comes to community mental health services.  Jose P...

On this week’s podcast, we break down some recent research about toxicology testing of parents and newborns and how it connects to child welfare, legislative efforts to protect benefits for foster youth, and the troubling state of youth justice in Los Angeles.  Jeff Fleischer, the recently retired CEO of Youth Advocate Programs and recent founder of Neighborhood Safety Advocates, joins to discuss...

On this week’s podcast we discuss trends in the use of the Family First Act, the pursuit of more federal child welfare data, and a state seeks to lower the age of juvenile justice.  Terri Sorensen, longtime CEO of Friends of the Children, joins to talk about professional mentoring of youth, how her organization’s approach has developed over the years, and the insane run of major gifts that Friends...

On this week’s podcast we discuss some updates on the Indian Child Welfare Act front, Minnesota becomes a trans youth refuge, and the blind spot in America’s knowledge of youth justice.  Imprint alum Roxanna Asgarian joins to discuss her new book, “We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America,” which traces the lives and families of six children killed by their adopt...

On this week’s podcast we discuss some great recent coverage in The Imprint about extended foster care, “second look” laws for youth convicted in adult court, and efforts to improve educational stability for youth in foster care.  Heather Baker of Public Consulting Group joins us on the fifth anniversary of the Family First Prevention Services Act to discuss the law’s finer points, what conversati...

On this week’s podcast, we talk about the Biden administration’s plan to expand federal funds to support kinship caregivers; promising data on one state’s Raise the Age reform; how COVID-era child tax credits impacted child abuse and neglect; and more. Ian Forber-Pratt, deputy executive director of Children’s Emergency Relief International, joins us on the one-year anniversary of the War in Ukrain...

Part Two: A song for orphans On last week’s podcast, Imprint reporter Nancy Marie Spears talked to Sandy White Hawk about her early adoption story, and the implications of Indigenous adoptions on cultural and spiritual childhood wellbeing. In this episode they finish that journey by detailing the ways Sandy navigated through being a mother while finding her selfhood and sense of purpose, and her r...

Part One: “Here’s Your Mother…She’s Been Waiting for You” On this week’s podcast, we begin a two-part interview between Imprint reporter Nancy Marie Spears and Sandy White Hawk, author of the recently released memoir A Child of the Indian Race: A Story of Return. White Hawk’s recounts her own adoption story, which began in 1955, decades before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed to protect Ind...

On this week’s episode, we discuss a potentially landmark law on legal counsel in Washington, another state with an ICWA bill, and the Justice Department allegedly takes interest in a controversial child welfare algorithm. Nearly 40 years ago, federal child support laws were rewritten and included new instructions for states when it comes to parents with children in foster care. NPR investigative...

On this week’s episode we catch up on some headlines from the last few months in child welfare and youth justice, including: a flood of mental health litigation; adoption reckoning in South Korea; a federal effort to help states differentiate poverty and neglect; the nexus between money and maltreatment; the Finish the 5 campaign in Texas; and more.  Reading Room South Korea Sets Up a Truth and Re...