On this week’s podcast we discuss developments in the legal battles over access to gender-affirming care for youth, the U.N.’s critique of American child welfare laws, and problems with the planned closure of California’s state-run youth prisons.
Guest Interview Details
Last month, a U.S. district court ordered two former judges to pay damages totaling $206 million to families that were caught up in what came to be known as the Kids for Cash Scandal in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center, who helped expose the scandal, joins to reflect on the lessons of this insanely dark moment in juvenile justice history.
No interview this week! We’ll be back with more great guests after Labor Day. On this episode, we catch up on a whole slew of headlines in child welfare and juvenile justice from the summer. Then, we highlight five things to keep an eye on this fall in terms of federal law and policy.
On this week’s podcast, we feature an online event hosted by Fostering Media Connections called “Stability Now: Getting Proactive About The Child Welfare Workforce.” This conversation features several child welfare experts who in different ways have worked on putting either their organization, or the system in general, in a better position to retain and support good workers.
Thanks to our sponsor, Binti, for supporting this important discussion.
Guest Interview Details
Featured in this conversation are:Andry Sweet, CEO, Children’s Home Society of Florida
Leslie Calloway, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare, Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services
Barry Chaffkin, CEO, Fostering Change for Children
Dr. Jay Miller, Dean, University of Kentucky School of Social Work
On this week’s episode we discuss a new bill to protect the rights of disabled adults involved in child welfare cases, and the resurgence of a lawsuit in West Virginia.
Guest Interview Details
Researchers and social workers Justin Harty and Kristen Ethier join us to talk about what they found when they tried to unearth anything about fathers and fathering while in foster care.
Reading Room
House Bill Would Establish Protections for Disabled Parents
https://bit.ly/3OOWoNAThe Office of Family Assistance Gets New Director, Ann Flagg
https://bit.ly/3OHy0O9Foster Youth Interning in Congress Envision Laws Improving Health Care, Greater Access to Benefits
https://bit.ly/3OJquSJLetter to Colleagues from Administration for Children and Families
https://bit.ly/3cWBPBSWest Virginia Child Welfare System Hit with Class-Action Lawsuit
https://bit.ly/3Bru4hvJudges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia
https://bit.ly/3ii6lpSA Federal Appeals Court Just Breathed New Life into a Lawsuit that Aims to Force W.V. to Reform its Foster Care System
https://bit.ly/3PPJhNsJuly Decision in Jonathan R. v. Justice
https://bit.ly/3bjrUFX
Fatherhood in Foster Care: A Scoping Review Spanning 30 Years of Research on Expectant and Parenting Fathers in State Care
https://bit.ly/3JoAmjL
Radically Reforming Reunification and More with Dee Wilson
Dee Wilson is a former leader in Washington’s child welfare system who writes the monthly child welfare commentary Sounding Board. Wilson joined us to discuss a range of topics, including his view on the abolition movement, his ideas around boosting reunification efforts, the Family First Prevention Services Act, and professional foster parenting.
On this week’s episode, we discuss the federal about-face on child support payment policies for youth in foster care; how the workforce crisis is impacting Texas juvenile justice; and the latest on localizing juvenile justice in California.
Guest Interview Details
Debbie Riley, CEO and co-founder of the Center for Adoption Support and Education, joins us to talk about what we’ve learned about post-adoption support in America and the recent data on adopted youth returning to foster care unearthed by USA Today this year.
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The Federal Government Will Allow States to Stop Charging Families for Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3uC2rOzComing Soon to Congress: Discussion on Child Support Clawback
https://bit.ly/3oJjvgHUnderstaffed, and Under Federal Investigation, Texas Juvenile Detention System Halts Intake
https://bit.ly/3uED1Q9How Hidden Foster Care Harms Children and Parents of Color
https://bit.ly/3OSneW1The Imprint’s Hidden Foster Care Series
https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-careCalifornia Budget Plan Supports Shifting Youth from State Prisons to Juvenile Halls, Amid Opposition
https://bit.ly/3OxSPfxLos Angeles County Launches New Youth Development Department to Deter Crime
https://bit.ly/3oaI0ol
For tens of thousands of children in the U.S., their “forever family” doesn’t last long. USA TODAY investigates: Why do adoptions fail?
https://bit.ly/3sPivePConnections Matter: Relationships with Birth Families are Important for Foster, Adopted Children
https://bit.ly/3NXdp7OFree Online Training Platform Launched for Adoption and Guardianship Workers
https://bit.ly/3RkE4yu
Narrowing Neglect in The Law with Diane Redleaf
On this week’s episode, we discuss some alarming high school graduation data for foster youth in one of America’s largest cities; Oregon’s move away from an algorithm; and how the bipartisan gun bill could bring accountability to Medicaid services for children.
Guest Interview Details
Longtime child welfare legal expert (and poet!) Diane Redleaf joins to discuss her career, recent legislation to change neglect statutes in state law, and how they tie into her recent work on children’s rights.
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New York City Foster Youth Graduation Rates Found Far Lower Than Previously Known
https://bit.ly/3HQu77LOregon Is Dropping An Artificial Intelligence Tool Used in Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3HSFhZrAn Algorithm That Screens for Child Neglect Raises Concerns
https://bit.ly/3xU4BJZFindings from a Qualitative Analysis of Racial Disproportionality and Disparity for African American Children and Families in Michigan’s Child Welfare System
https://on.ny.gov/3HQKAZyEarly and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment
https://bit.ly/3btZ3ytYouth Advocates Eye 2020 for Revolution on Children’s Mental Health in California
https://bit.ly/39TWBkcWhen the Backlash Came for Title IX, She Fought Back
https://nyti.ms/3bxS1ZHFormer Rep. Patsy Mink’s comments on the Adoption and Safe Families Act
https://bit.ly/3u2pvpsThe Challenge of Changing America’s Amorphous, Limitless Neglect Laws
https://bit.ly/3PhFQ2tBuilding Resilience: Group Pushes for Looser Neglect Laws, More Child Autonomy
https://bit.ly/3xSuNot
An Identity Erased: Lemn Sissay, Author of “My Name Is Why”
On this week’s episode we discuss the Biden administration’s possible crackdown on the use conversion therapy, Los Angeles’ new child welfare director, and a promising new legal clinic for mothers of newborns.
Guest Interview Details
Lemn Sissay, chancellor of the University of Manchester, was stolen from his mother by the U.K. care system, renamed Norman, and placed with a family he was told was his forever but who callously discarded him as an adolescent. The award-winning poet and writer joins us to talk about growing up in care, the social worker who made a difference in his childhood, and much more.
Reading Room
Stability Now! Getting Proactive About the Child Welfare WorkforceRegister for Free!
https://imprintnews.org/webinarsExecutive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals
https://bit.ly/3OtkbDjEnding Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth
https://bit.ly/3bbXhlpHHS Leader Rafael López: It’s Time to Flip the Script on Child Welfare
https://bit.ly/3QvTC1NChild Welfare Leaders Sign on to Letter Urging States to Ban Conversion Therapy
https://bit.ly/3bavMstDecision Backing Conversion Therapy Inches Controversy Closer to U.S. Supreme Court
https://bit.ly/3zNRMncLongtime County Official Tapped to Lead Los Angeles Child Welfare Agency
https://bit.ly/3tC9YMAKeeping Moms With Their Newborns: A Team of Washington Lawyers and Advocates Works to Avoid Foster Care Separation at Birth
https://bit.ly/3MWZApEMy Name Is Why, by Lemn Sissay
https://bit.ly/3OkSVXt
A Fourth Path to Permanency: The SOUL Family
On this week’s episode we discuss the worsening capacity crisis when it comes to older youth in foster care, calls for better juvenile judge training, and an update on the legal battle over investigating gender affirming care as abuse in Texas.
Guest Interview Details
After a youth enters foster care, there have traditionally been three paths to a more permanent setting: reunification, adoption and guardianship. Patty Duh of Epic ‘Ohana and Leslie Gross of the Annie E. Casey Foundation join to talk about a proposed fourth version of permanency: the “SOUL Family,” an approach one state has already agreed to try out.
Reading Room
Stability Now! Getting Proactive About the Child Welfare Workforce
https://imprintnews.org/webinarsIllinois is Routinely Housing Wards of The State in Chicago’s Jail for Kids
https://bit.ly/3MJaKhFIllinois DCFS Director Marc Smith Held in Contempt of Court for Ninth Time for Improperly Placing Teen
https://cbsn.ws/3xLbajrThe Chicago Judge Who Held Child Welfare Directors In Contempt Dozens of Times
https://bit.ly/3tuMXuUWashington Settles Lawsuit Involving Foster Youth Left Sleeping in Offices and Hotels
https://bit.ly/3O5TjsOJuvenile Courts Need National Training Standards, Webinar Told
https://bit.ly/3xqR6kOMore Families of Trans Teens Sue to Stop Texas Child Abuse Investigations
https://bit.ly/3MI5PxpJudge Temporarily Blocks Some Texas Investigations into Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Kids
https://bit.ly/3NNCEdNSOUL Family Permanency Option for Older Youth in Foster Care
https://bit.ly/3Qhl43ySOUL Family Relationship Wheel
https://bit.ly/3xJ3LAXSOUL Family Comparison to Existing Legal Permanency Pathways
https://bit.ly/3mImoi4
Assessing Foster Care from Within
On this week’s episode, we discuss a scary error in California’s abuse registry process, more on state efforts to end gender-affirming care for youth, Louisiana’s “Lower the Age” bill and a new ombuds office for youth in foster care in Ohio.
Guest Interview Details
Serita Cox of iFoster joins to talk about how an email her organization sent to partners about what the Biden administration should prioritize in child welfare may have planted the seed for an annual nationwide survey about foster care.
Reading Room
California’s Child Abuse Registry is Missing Upwards of 22,000 Abuse Suspects, Audit Finds
https://bit.ly/3NRv4hRTexas Resumes Investigations into Parents of Trans Children, Families’ Lawyers Confirm
https://bit.ly/3lLCS8RDeSantis Moves to Ban Transition Care for Transgender Youths, Medicaid Recipients
https://nbcnews.to/3GSTpkZIn New Orleans, City Officials Are No Longer Holding Juveniles in the Adult Jail. A Proposed State Law May Force Them To
https://bit.ly/3Q3YYRZHonoring the Life of Ma’Khia Bryant: An Ombudsperson for Foster Youth in Ohio
https://bit.ly/3v153pPOhio Youth and Family Ombudsmen Office Opens
https://bit.ly/3NBIS0lGovernor Appoints Two Ombudsmen to Lead New Office
https://bit.ly/396YKswSurvey Shows Frustration with Foster Care from Within The System
https://bit.ly/3MkmSp2Voice of the Foster Care Community
https://voiceoffostercare.org/Year 2 Survey for Voice of the Foster Care Community
https://bit.ly/3NPtBbI
Marginalizing Mothers: Behind The Sprawl of Abuse and Neglect Registries
On this week’s episode, we go straight to the interview! Colleen Henry, of the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, joins us to talk about the origin story of abuse and neglect registries and how they have changed in size and impact over the decades since they were first introduced. We close with some thoughts from Henry about some common-sense changes that systems should be considering in regard to these things.
Guest Interview Details
Colleen Henry is an Assistant Professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College at the City University of New York. Her research examines child welfare policy and practice with a focus on family violence.
Dr. Henry is the Principal Investigator for the Family Violence Research Project and a Visiting Research Investigator at the Mack Center where she works on the Child Welfare Qualitative Data Mining Project. She has worked on several research projects associated with the Center for Social Services Research and the California Social Work Education Center, including the California Child Welfare Indicators Project and the Standardized Core Project for California Child Welfare Workers.
Reading Room
Marginalizing Mothers: Child Maltreatment Registries, Statutory Schemes, and Reduced Opportunities for Employment
https://bit.ly/3M5AJjb“It’s Like A Leech On Me”: Child Abuse Registries Punish Unsuspecting Parents Of Color
https://bit.ly/3G5YmGQBiden Needs to Consider Child Abuse Registry Reforms as an Agenda Item
https://bit.ly/3sZj8mcGeorgia Dissolves Child Abuse and Neglect Registry
https://bit.ly/3wOG0GcNew York Limits Access to Parents’ Names on Child Abuse And Neglect Registry
https://bit.ly/3wQjnB2Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts #9: Standardized Registry of Maltreatment Reports
https://bit.ly/3adMGWv
New Numbers on Broken Adoption and Child Maltreatment Registries
On this week’s podcast we discuss the recent series and data reporting by USA Today on youth who experience adoption from foster care and return to the system, the recent federal investigation on America’s use of Indian boarding schools; and news on lawsuits in Alaska and Indiana.
Guest Interview Details
Buzzfeed reporter Scott Pham joins to discuss his data reporting work on state-rund child abuse and neglect registries, which led him to conservatively estimate that 3 million people are currently on them.
Reading Room
Free registration! Tough Conversations: Navigating Relationships with Biological Family
Sponsored by iFoster
https://bit.ly/3NLFWxRFor tens of thousands of children in the U.S., their “forever family” doesn’t last long. USA TODAY investigates: Why do adoptions fail?
https://bit.ly/3sPivePBill Aims to Prevent Adoptive Parents from Abusing Subsidy Program
https://bit.ly/39KP0nBChild Welfare Ideas from the Experts, #10: Better Policing of Adoption Subsidies
https://bit.ly/3MCkdrHTime for New Numbers on Adoption Disruption
https://bit.ly/3wA5tE8A First, But Incomplete, Measure of Adoption Success
https://bit.ly/38V0PnjThe U.S. Government Releases Landmark Investigation Into the Brutal Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools
https://bit.ly/3sPBgyVFollowing Landmark Report on Indian Boarding Schools, Survivors Call on Congress for Broader Inquiry
https://bit.ly/3Pcrro2Lawsuit Alleges End to End Failures in Alaska’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3Gnd9NDFirm Files Lawsuit Against Indiana’s Child Welfare System
https://bit.ly/3wEBJFe7th Circuit Dismisses 2019 Lawsuit Seeking Sweeping Changes to Indiana DCS Policies
https://bit.ly/3PAgfSrJudges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia
https://bit.ly/3ii6lpS“It’s Like A Leech On Me”: Child Abuse Registries Punish Unsuspecting Parents Of Color
https://bit.ly/3G5YmGQ
College Ready, Career Prepared: Foster Youth and Higher Education
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the return of federal earmarks and which youth and family organizations benefitted, Florida’s new Family Navigator plan, and the findings of the first Voice of The Foster Care Community survey.
Guest Interview Details
Instead of a guest interview, we’re featuring a great conversation on connecting youth in foster care to higher education and careers. This discussion was hosted by our team at Fostering Families Today, a bimonthly magazine delivered straight into the homes of foster and kinship caregivers, and was moderated by Ivory Bennet, who has been a guest on this podcast before and served as a special advisor in the creation of the recent special issue of Fostering Families Today entitled College Ready, Career Prepared: A Guide to Postsecondary Education for Youth in Foster Care.
America’s New Juvenile Justice Leader; Reasonable Efforts in Child Welfare with Judge Len Edwards
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the Justice Department’s entry into the legal battle on trans medicine for youth; Biden’s new juvenile justice leader, decarceration advocate Liz Ryan; and the first state in decades to pursue lowering the age of its juvenile justice system.
Guest Interview Details
Judge Len Edwards joins us to talk about the “reasonable efforts” standards in child welfare policy, his book on that topic, the rise of relatives in the system, and the future of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Reading Room
Free Event!Safe Space When There’s No Safe Place: Tips from Youth Who Faced Maltreatment
Register: https://bit.ly/38ZmChiDecarceration Advocate Liz Ryan to Lead Juvenile Justice for Biden Administration
https://bit.ly/37hzj6AU.S. Department of Justice files challenge to Alabama transgender law
https://bit.ly/3vVKkEmLouisiana Stopped Putting 17-Year-Olds in Adult Prisons. It May Start Doing It Again.
https://bit.ly/37u85daTexas Juvenile Justice Leader Departs with State Agency at Critical Juncture
https://bit.ly/3w5mqVGIgnoring Reasonable Efforts: How Courts Fail to Promote Prevention
https://bit.ly/3kRhYEYTimely Permanency and the Appellate Process
https://bit.ly/3LWGxfs
Stuck Kids: How Foster Youth End Up In Hospitals for Months
On this week’s podcast, we discuss some of the significant changes to federal child welfare policy proposed in President Biden’s budget for the next fiscal year, which includes new incentives to prioritize kinship care placements and more generous federal support for foster care prevention.
Guest Interview Details
Erin Dorrien, vice president of policy for the Maryland Hospital Association and Carrie Etheridge, director of social work at Sheppard Pratt, join to talk about why foster youth are getting stuck in hospitals long after such a restrictive sitting is necessary, a problem that seems to be very acute in Maryland but we are also hearing is a major capacity symptom in other states as well.
Reading Room
Biden Proposes Major Spending Shifts to Prioritize Kin, Foster Care Prevention
https://bit.ly/3iL0U26FMAP: Four letters that drive the biggest source of federal funding for state child welfare services
https://bit.ly/3wD1dk2Maryland H.B. 406: Children in Out-Of-Home Placements
https://bit.ly/3P1Xp6yStranded in the ER: Can California Change its Treatment of Kids in Crisis?
https://bit.ly/3B41pMu
Wellness In The Workforce with Bridgette Carr and Vivek Sankaran
On this week’s podcast we discuss what’s happened in Ohio since the death of Ma’Khia Bryant a year ago, how child welfare might figure into California’s ideas around reparations, Connecticut’s new approach to helping families, and more.
Guest Interview Details
Bridgette Carr and Vivek Sankaran, who both lead legal clinics at the University of Michigan Law School, join to discuss the importance of organizational support for the wellbeing of people who work in trauma-filled professions.
