The Imprint Weekly

We discuss what’s in the $1.5 trillion federal spending deal for youth and families, a court challenge to Canada’s new Indigenous child welfare law, and Colorado seeking to “raise the floor” for juvenile justice.  Digital artist and poet Karl Wyatt joined the podcast and talked about his own experience as a youth in foster care, his more recent adventure as a foster parent, and took us into the wo...

We discuss the latest developments in the fight in Texas over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to treat medical services for transgender youth as abuse, a major lawsuit over sexual abuse in L.A.’s juvenile justice system, hidden foster care in North Carolina, and more.  Journalist Rebecca Nagle, host of the podcast This Land, joins to help us break down the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case abou...

We discuss the latest on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to treat medical services for transgender youth as abuse; the Supreme Court set to decide fate of Indian Child Welfare Act (much more on that next week); and a bill aimed at reducing the need for congregate care placements in foster care.  Ivory Bennett, a playwright and educator, joins us to discuss her own pursuit of higher education af...

We discuss the seeming contradiction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to consider medical services to trans kids as abuse, and the Washington State Supreme Court’s ruling that sets heightened expectations around relatives in the child welfare system.  Ian Forber-Pratt, the director of Global Advocacy & Growth for Children's Emergency Relief International, joins to discuss his long, i...

On this week’s podcast we discuss a recent roundtable on child welfare held by the Biden administration, and the legislative responses that have popped up in Illinois after the killing of a caseworker while responding to an abuse and neglect call.  Jess Dannhauser, the new commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services, joins to discuss his early priorities, his thoughts on several par...

On this week’s podcast we discuss what was on Senators’ minds during the confirmation hearing for Biden’s top child welfare officials; more federal scrutiny on for-profit colleges; and the human consequences of family court shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the Canadian government announced a historic, $31.5 billion agreement with Indigenous people to compensate them for three...

On this week’s podcast we discuss more troubling indicators on the workforce crisis in child welfare and juvenile justice, and a new bill introduced in Congress that would bring federal scrutiny around the use of automated decision making tools in America.  New York Times reporter Andrea Elliott joins to discuss her new book “Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City,” whic...

On this week’s podcast, we try to tie three different sets of federally collected numbers together in regard to child welfare during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic between March and September 2020, when lockdowns were ubiquitous, schools were mostly closed and vaccines were still in the offing. We also talk about some well-timed research on the nexus between income support for poor pa...

On this week’s podcast we discuss the final numbers on the enhanced child tax credit that ran from July to December; host home respite care comes to New York after a two-year standoff; and an audit suggests what might really be behind Montana’s very high use of foster care. Amy Dworsky of Chapin Hall and Judy Havlicek of the University of Illinois join to discuss some dismal new findings about com...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss the ongoing capacity crisis in Texas foster care, jarring numbers on community college enrollment, and new federal funds to seed innovation in supporting kinship caregivers.  Kathleen Creamer of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia joins to discuss two recent court cases of note in the state, Philly’s high rate of foster care, the Adoption and Safe Families A...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss Biden’s new nominee to lead child welfare and family support policies at the Department of Health and Human Services; the tragic murder of a social worker in Illinois; and it’s decision time for the Supreme Court on the Brackeen v. Haaland case that could decide the fate of the Indian Child Welfare Act.  Ruth White of the National Center for Housing and Child Wel...

On this week’s episode we discuss some leadership departures and additions in top jobs; the ongoing “workforce spiral” in child welfare; how systems pull money from the social safety net to offset costs; and the Adoption Files Initiative.  Former Alaska legislator Les Gara is seeking the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for governor of the Last Frontier. He joined us to talk about his tim...

We had some amazing guests join us on The Imprint Weekly Podcast this year, and we reviewed the entire 2021 archive to bring you clips from some of the very best! This episode includes clips of 20 interviews from this year.  Guests on this episode include: Melissa Thompson, Melanie Jordan and Cam Lundstrom of the Office of Respondent Parent Counsel in Colorado Christopher Scott and Lino Peña-Marti...

This week’s episode is an edited-for-length version of a discussion that Fostering Media Connections recently conducted called “Navigating the Holidays.” Kim Hansel, the editor of our Fostering Families Today magazine, moderated this terrific panel of four former foster youth —  Raquel Wilson, Tamar Sebesta, Jessica Castillo, and Daniel Bisuano — in a conversation about what the holidays can be li...

On this week’s episode, we discuss California’s looming foster care cliff for older youth, obesity-as-neglect in Pennsylvania, and the passing of a major figure in international adoption.  Lisa Thurau, the head of Strategies for Youth, joins us to talk about the true front door of the juvenile justice system: police encounters with youth. We talked about the origins of her organization, how it tra...

On this week’s episode, we discuss new numbers (from the federal government and from The Imprint’s annual survey of states) that shed light on foster care trends across the nation during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. Also: a new leader nominated for Biden’s child welfare team, and the release of a ProPublica/New York Times feature on “hidden foster care.” Aurelle Amram joins us to di...

Deborah Shropshire and Charlene Wong are career pediatricians, and Terry Stigdon is a registered nurse who specializes in pediatrics. All three are now leading state child welfare systems in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Indiana, respectively. This episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast features a conversation hosted by Fostering Media Connections in which Accenture’s Molly Tierney and The Imprint’s...

California became one of the first states to extend foster care when the federal Fostering Connections to Success Act became law, offering states the opportunity to extend foster care to the age of 21 with financial assistance. Last year, The Imprint produced an in-depth series looking at the first decade of the program in California, exploring what holes still existed in a new safety net that ove...

On this week’s podcast we talk to the University of Michigan’s Natasha Pilkauskas about what a recent survey of low-income families tells us about the enhanced child tax credits included in coronavirus relief and, possibly, in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan.  Irene Clements, the retiring head of the National Foster Parent Association, talks about her own massive family, her conc...

On this week’s podcast we break down the major legislation introduced last week by Rep. Karen Bass that would alter the controversial timelines around terminating parental rights in the Adoption and Safe Families Act. We also discuss a new waiver to use Medicaid in congregate care settings and good results for a strategy to prevent some foster care removals. We continue our conversation with Corey...

On this week’s podcast we dig into a major decline in the number of youth charged as adults in the justice system, and some child welfare legislation that could include the first federal requirement for legal counsel for parents and children.  Corey Best of Mining for Gold joins us to discuss his own experience losing parental rights as a young father, mandatory reporting and what we could differe...

On this week’s podcast we talk about the new push for federal oversight of the “troubled teen industry,” and what might be different this time around; the first kinship support program approved for new federal funding nationwide; and a local court case over ICWA that involves high-powered attorneys.  Kate Murphy of Texans Care for Children joins us to break down a very eventful year in child welfa...

Introducing "Seen and Heard," a new podcast from Institute for Family that seeks to lift up the stories of youth and families impacted by the child welfare system. In this episode, "Looking for That Warm Hug All My Life," host Matt Anderson talks to Shrounda Selivanoff about her own journey from dark days of homelessness and substance abuse to her current status as mother, kins...

On this week’s podcast, we discuss what The Imprint has learned from states about the end of the federal moratorium on aging out of foster care during the pandemic; a new law to limit the transfer of youth into adult court in Washington, D.C.; and a troubling case of entrenched and unchecked juvenile justice leadership.  Matt Anderson, who leads the Institute for Family at the Children’s Home Soci...

On this week’s podcast we discuss new developments in the 2020 death of a teenager killed by staff at a Michigan residential center, state spending on post-permanency and the latest in The Imprint’s “Hidden Foster Care” series.  The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 at a time when one-third of Native American children were separated from their families. Journalist Rebecca Nagle, h...