Why Housing is the Right Problem to Solve with Carol King

In this week’s episode my friend Carol King joins me for a conversation about why she made the pivot from technology to affordable housing. The story actually starts during her childhood. Carol grew up with her father as the primary caregiver and in an environment that wasn’t always safe. She eventually made the difficult decision to remove herself from the home and ultimately go into foster care. In spite of the ups and downs Carol always knew she had the respite and stability of a home to go to at the end of the day. As Carol become more established in her career, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing, that she wasn’t solving the right problem. She never let go of the idea that stable housing is an important factor in the well-being of families, and it’s a significant problem facing many families caught up in the child welfare system. So, with great consideration she took the leap to pursue her dream of launching an affordable housing venture in her hometown of Kansas City. 

Headlines: Capitol Hill Action, California’s Insurance Cliff, Tracking Adoption Subsidies and More

On this week’s episode we recap a hodgepodge of headlines from late summer, starting with the effort to reauthorize a major federal child welfare program called Title IV-B. Among the other stories we discussed: California’s novel new approach to fund enrichment activities for foster  youth, and the state’s looming insurance cliff for nonprofits; New York could become the first state to track adoption subsidies; and shocking data on youth transferred into adult court in Florida. 

Working Toward Systemic Child Welfare Reform, with Chris Gottlieb

Welcome back to the EPPiC Broadcast! We’re kicking off season 9 with returning guest Christine Gottlieb. Chris has been newly appointed the Director of the New York University School of Law’s Family Defense Clinic. Today she tells us about the work the Clinic does to defend individual families in child welfare cases and to advocate for broader systemic change for family preservation in the child welfare system. Plus, Chris shares what you can do to advocate for child welfare reform today.

The EPPiC Broadcast is hosted by Michael Ramey, president of the Parental Rights Foundation.

A Framework for Being in Right Relationship

For this week’s journal episode, I scrolled back into my photos to see where I was one year ago. I was on production of Standing with Mom’s, a short film we produced for Mother’s Outreach Network about their guaranteed income pilot. One of the lessons I learned from MON’s founder, Melody Webb, is that we should believe in people, invest in people, and our investments should meet the need as defined by the people we serve. I talk about how this lesson can be turned into a simple framework for assessing our organizations, programs, and ourselves. And by creating the space to go through a process of answering a series of questions, I think we can see if we are in right relationship with ourselves and the people we serve.

Summer Rewind: SOUL Family, with Patty Duh and Leslie Gross

The Imprint Weekly Podcast has been re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. On this final installment of Summer Rewind, we feature our conversation with Patty Duh and Leslie Gross about the SOUL Family Concept, a new permanency option that was conceived of by youth with lived experience in foster care. 

Since our interview, Kansas became the first state to incorporate SOUL Family into its options for permanency. 

The Evidence Says Investing in Families Improves Well-being and Prevents Foster Care with Clare Anderson

Clare Anderson is a Senior Policy Fellow with Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago. Clare was previously Deputy Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she provided leadership for federal programs and co-led developing and implementing a national well-being policy. She is a national thought leader on economic and concrete supports as core to the prevention of child welfare involvement. Discover how decades of research reveal that when families receive the financial stability they need, their risk of involvement with child welfare decreases significantly.

In this week’s episode, Elliott and Tecoria talk with Clare Anderson about how concrete and economic supports promote family well-being. This conclusion is backed by over 40 years of compelling evidence and intersects with both the lived experience movement and recent conversations around differentiating poverty from neglect. What the data shows, combined with what we hear from parent advocates, is that economic instability is a root cause issue of child welfare involvement. The data also informs practical policy and funding solutions to keep families together in their homes, supporting them rather than intervening with foster care. Listeners will walk alongside Clare as she describes how states like Kentucky, Indiana, and Wisconsin are taking action by putting the research into action and meeting families’ needs. 

Michigan Supreme Court’s Decision on TPR and What’s Next with Vivek Sankaran

This week’s episode is the next in a series of conversations with a variety of guests on the topic of Termination of Parental Rights. The question we’ve been asking is, what if TPR didn’t exist? In past episodes with Vivek, we’ve talked about two TPR cases he’s been appealing and the opportunity he had this summer to present oral arguments to the Michigan Supreme Court. A few weeks ago, the Michigan Supreme Court released their decision in both cases. Vivek shares their decision, his reaction, and what’s next in the fight for a world without TPR.

Summer Rewind: The Chicago Juvenile Justice Experiment, with David Roush

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week, we feature our conversation with juvenile justice reform expert David Roush about how a construction project inside Chicago’s juvenile detention center accidentally led to one of the most influential experiments in how to effectively engage incarcerated youth. 

Navigating 17 Foster Homes and Breaking Barriers

In this powerful episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett sits down with Brittney Lee, who endured 17 foster homes over 17 years. Brittney shares her inspiring journey of resilience, community engagement, and her mission to fight racial inequality within the child welfare system. With a passion for giving back, Brittney is committed to being a role model and creating positive change for youth in foster care, drawing from her own experiences and deep compassion. Don’t miss this episode on empowerment, healing, and breaking down systemic barriers.

Imagination Factory has Launched

In this week’s episode I talk about why I’m cofounding the Imagination Factory and what I’m learning about myself and the work to advance justice. Systems change, changing the structures of what currently exists, is not enough to advance justice. We need to imagine and create a future where families and communities have what they need to thrive. While many of us have dreams and ideas for the future we want to create we don’t always have the community, support, or resources we need. The Imagination Factory is building a community and offering programs to help individuals and organizations unlock their creative capacity so they can move from dreaming to taking action and ultimately having an impact. Our cornerstone program is our 8-week Accelerator where cohort members clarify their dream and intention, learn principles and practices, develop action plans, and build community. You can follow us on Instagram at Imagination Factory (@imgnfactory).

Summer Rewind: Abolition and Non-Reformist Reform with Dorothy Roberts

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week we feature on of our most frequently downloaded episodes, our 2021 conversation with author and law professor Dorothy Roberts. 

At the time of our interview, Roberts was still working on her since-published book Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families. We talked about the abolition movement in child welfare, and how Roberts distinguishes between major and incremental reform within the existing child welfare system. 

How One Community is Indigenizing the Parent Leadership Initiative with Bewaush Ballot 

In this week’s episode, Elliott and Tecoria talk with Susie Ballot about the Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative. Susie lives in Callaway Minnesota on the White Earth Nation Reservation. She is a graduate of the Indigenous Parent Leadership Initiative (IPLI) program run by All Nations Rise. As a graduate of the Initiative, she helps people deepen their connection to their culture and develop their skills as leaders and advocates. 

Systems Change Starts with Personal Transformation with Dr Bruce Perry

In this episode I talk to leading trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry. I wanted to continue an ongoing conversation Bruce and I have been having about why systems don’t change and the important role of storytelling in personal transformation. Dr. Perry is working on a new book about why systems don’t change, and we thought it would be great to talk about what he’s learning. 

Summer Rewind: Supporting Foster Youth on College Campuses

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around.This week we feature two different interviews about the same issue: how to ensure that foster youth succeed once they get to college. In 2022, we talked to Amy Dworsky of Chapin Hall and Judy Havlicek of the University of Illinois about dismal research around community college completion …

Am I in Right Relationship and What Can I Do About It?

 In this week’s journal episode, I talk about the practice of Right Relationship and how it has been a significant part of my process. I share a few different definitions that can be helpful in how we think about what this principle and practice actually means. I also walk through the Japanese concept of Ikigai as a tool that we can use to assess whether or not we are living in Right Relationship with purpose, joy …

Summer Rewind: Ash Kalra and California’s Racial Justice Act

During the month of August, The Imprint Weekly Podcast is re-running some of our most intriguing guest interviews from the early years of the show for listeners who might not have heard them the first time around. This week we feature our 2020 interview with California Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who joined the podcast to discuss the Racial Justice Act, a bill he championed that enables a defendant and their legal counsel to present evidence of racial bias as a means of pushing back …