What Comes After Reform? Radical Imagination with Samantha Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows

A lot of conversations in child welfare and human services begin with reform. How do we reduce harm? How do we address disparities? How do we improve policies, practices, training, accountability, and outcomes?

Samantha Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows, Co-Executive Directors of the Haywood Burns Institute, bring decades of experience working with communities and systems to address racial and ethnic disparities, build community power, and imagine more just conditions for children, families, and communities.

In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost talks with Sam and Tshaka about a harder question: what if reform is necessary, but still not enough?

Together, they explore radical imagination, structural well-being, and what it takes to build beyond the systems we already know. They discuss why harm reduction remains urgent, while also challenging listeners to think beyond short-term fixes and incremental improvements.

Valerie, Sam, and Tshaka also talk about creating new infrastructure, making room for healthy disagreement, moving from ideas into practice, and imagining conditions where families and communities have what they need to thrive.