The Social Work Lens

Is mandated reporting critical to achieving child and family safety in our communities, or is it an outdated strategy that facilitates family surveillance? Who is this policy serving and why?  What is driving the shift in thinking about mandated reporting?  Join Jill Richard, MEd. & Dr. James Metz as they set the stage to learn from our history and create new possibilities.  

Neurodivergent youth and young adults, including those with autism, and gender-expansive youth face more adversity and are at a greater risk of trauma, such as abuse and neglect, as well as experiences like rejection, isolation, and bullying than their peers without those differences. Those living at the intersection of both neurodivergence, and gender expansiveness are at even higher risk. Join C...

Neurodivergent youth and young adults, including those with autism, and gender-expansive youth face more adversity and are at a greater risk of trauma, such as abuse and neglect, as well as experiences like rejection, isolation, and bullying than their peers without those differences. Those living at the intersection of both neurodivergence, and gender expansiveness are at even higher risk. Join C...

Neurodivergent youth and young adults, including those with autism, and gender-expansive youth face more adversity and are at a greater risk of trauma, such as abuse and neglect, as well as experiences like rejection, isolation, and bullying than their peers without those differences. Those living at the intersection of both neurodivergence, and gender expansiveness are at even higher risk. Join C...

Join Cassie, Chris, & Ellen as they close this series by discussing how to support youth beyond crisis response and foster lives worth living. Listen to Part 1 & Part 2 for information on universal screening and how to respond when youth screen positive.  Transcripts and show notes available at https://vermontcwtp.org/podcast/  

Youth suicide is a public health crisis, and we all have a role in prevention! Join Cassie, Ellen, & Chris as they discuss how to respond to youth in crisis, and what to do after you’ve administered a screening tool. Transcripts & show notes available at: https://vermontcwtp.org/podcast/

Part 1- You Have To Ask: The Importance of Screening for Suicide Prevention. Youth suicide is a public health crisis, and we all have a role in prevention! Join Cassie, Ellen, & Chris as they bust some myths about youth suicide, dig into the importance of screening, and walk through an accessible approach to screening that almost anyone can use.   Show notes & Transcripts available @ https...

Join Mercedes and Hailey in this third and final episode as they share their experiences in the VT DCF child welfare system with host, Kate Cunningham.  Using the list of hopes and aspirations for any youth in state’s care that the St. Joseph’s Orphanage survivors created in 2020, we discuss the importance of youth having access to their information, as well as, being a part of their own plan. Tra...

Join Mercedes and Hailey in this second episode as they share their experiences in the VT DCF child welfare system with host, Kate Cunningham.  Using the list of hopes and aspirations for any youth in state’s care that the St. Joseph’s Orphanage survivors created in 2020, we discuss the importance of the relationship between a youth in care and their alternative caregivers, either kin, foster or r...

Join host Kate Cunningham as she speaks with Hailey and Mercedes, about their experiences as children in custody in the VT DCF child welfare system.  Using the list of hopes and aspirations for any youth in state’s care that the St. Joseph’s Orphanage survivors created in 2020, Hailey & Mercedes tell their stories over three episodes, and dig into the importance of the relationship between a y...

Join us for our last episode in our 3-part miniseries with Corey Best on racial justice in child welfare. In this episode, Janine Beaudry brings Corey B. Best and Vermont Family Services Division, Deputy Commissioner Aryka Radke together to dream about, and discuss, the just child and family support system we want to build, along with a few specific thoughts about some of the ways we might get the...

Join Janine Beaudry as she continues her conversation with Corey B. Best, in Part 2, of our 3-part mini-series on racial justice in child welfare. In part 2, Corey & Janine focus on how the legacy of chattel slavery underpins the current child welfare system, and the current push to abolish racist practices to build a just child and family support system. Transcript & Show notes available...

The Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership (VT-CWTP) is proud to announce that we are changing the name of our podcast to THE SOCIAL WORK LENS.  

Most of us are having uncomfortable conversations about racism these days. Join Janine Beaudry as she talks with Corey B. Best about the origins and impacts of white supremacy in our country, and how authentic connection and belonging can help us all see the malady for what it is and move toward healing.        Transcript, Bios, and Show notes available at: https://vermontcwtp.org/podcast/

We all have Uncomfortable Conversations sometimes... join host Cassie Gillespie as she talks with Jan Fook, PhD about her work on using a Reflective Approach, and how this approach can transform tough conversations.  Transcript, Bios, and Show notes available at: https://vermontcwtp.org/podcast/  

“She said that the only thing that made this thing (a child being removed from their home) even a teenier bit more bearable, was that she saw tears in the social worker’s eyes” – Dr. Nicki Weld describing compassionate courage. Join host Kate Cunningham as she talks with Dr. Nicki Weld about the concept of courage, and the importance of caregivers and child welfare workers being authoritative and...

Join Cassie as she talks with Dr. Laura Biggart about The Team as Secure Base Model.  The Team as a Secure Base model is an adapted version of Gillian Schofield and Mary Beek’s Secure Base model (we have an episode on this- check it out!) used in foster care, adoption, residential care and schools; and draws from social workers’ experiences and their articulation of what helps create trust as a fo...

Safety and Security are at the heart of any meaningful relationship, especially the relationship between caregiver and child. In this episode, Cassie talks with Professor Gillian Schofield PhD about the Secure Base model, which provides a framework for building positive relationships and promoting security and resilience, not only in foster care, adoption, and residential care, but also in schools...

Talking with kids about their sexual development can certainly be uncomfortable. When you are a caregiver or a Family Services worker, having those conversations with a child you barely know might feel doubly uncomfortable. Add to that a limited knowledge of normative sexual development; maybe sprinkle in some myths, values, and a healthy sense of shame instilled upon you in your own upbringing, a...

Talking with kids about their sexual development can certainly be uncomfortable. When you are a caregiver or a Family Services worker, having those conversations with a child you barely know might feel doubly uncomfortable. Add to that a limited knowledge of normative sexual development; maybe sprinkle in some myths, values, and a healthy sense of shame instilled upon you in your own upbringing, a...

Join host Pete Cudney and guest Nam Holtz as they explore some of the complexity of adoption and transracial adoption. Adoption is complicated, transracial adoption even more so. In this conversation Nam highlights the importance of examining some of our taken for granted assumptions, and the need to have open and sometimes uncomfortable conversations to best support children and families involved...

Last season we brought you an introduction to Safety Culture and Safety Science with Mike Cull.  Well guess who’s back? On today’s episode Cassie & Pete welcome Mike Cull and his colleague Elizabeth Riley to talk about Why Feeling Connected to your Colleagues Matters.  Mike and Elizabeth will help us explore the connection between psychological safety and workplace connectedness, they’ll talk...

What is an uncomfortable conversation and why should we have them?   Join Cassie Gillespie & Kate Cunningham as they dig into uncomfortable conversations, what happens in your body when we try to have them, and some tips to have them more effectively. Transcripts and show notes available at https://vermontcwtp.org/podcast/     

Youth in DCF custody can feel stigmatized by the many stereotypes and common misconceptions about their experiences.  Jaylyn and Ashley were two youth in custody who are now young adults; they discuss how the assumptions made by the professionals and caregivers in their lives have impacted them, and they offer thoughts for improving relationships with youth in care.