On our monthly headlines episode, we discuss recent Imprint coverage on a child welfare litigation group’s first big legal challenge, the impact of fentanyl on legislation and policy in child welfare, and the Biden administration’s incremental steps on fines and fees in the juvenile justice system. We also discuss the child welfare case of a transgender teen in Montana, and the state of federal data on child welfare. Reading RoomNew York Appeals Court Case Focuses on Non-abusive Parent Being Subjected to Home Supervisionshttps://bit.ly/3w4YbumNew Civil Rights Organization Dedicated to Families’ Rights Launches in New York Cityhttps://bit.ly/356ToLZWestern States Wrestle With a Child Welfare Response to Addictive Drugshttps://bit.ly/489qlSe‘We failed her.’ Santa Clara County social workers publicly rebuke boss, agency over handling of high-risk kids like baby Phoenixhttps://bit.ly/49pui6CDOJ Calls on States To Eliminate Juvenile System Fines and Feeshttps://bit.ly/3SMGg4wA Minnesota Host Home Program Helps Vulnerable LGBTQ+ Youth Avoid Homelessnesshttps://bit.ly/49ejXu2Gianforte rebuts far-right accusations about child protection casehttps://bit.ly/42uTCFJChild Welfare Outcomes 2020https://bit.ly/493LGh9

On January 1, two of Washington State’s largest human services providers combined to form a new organization called Akin. The merger of two healthy nonprofits perhaps reflects the alignment of business and outcomes to a new vision for how youth and families are served by governments and their partners.Dave Newell, the first CEO of Akin, returns to The Imprint Weekly podcast to discuss how the merger came together, what to expect (and not) from the new organization, and his perspective on parts of the child welfare process that are not reformable.Reading Room“A Tsunami Is Headed Your Way.” The Pandemic, One Year Laterhttps://bit.ly/2OC4ErcSharon Osborne on Three Decades of Nonprofit Leadership and System Dismantlinghttps://bit.ly/3SBUrJQKeyon’s Case Heads to Washington Supreme Courthttps://bit.ly/3sAirg1Washington Supreme Court: ‘Meaningful Preference’ for Kin Is Requiredhttps://bit.ly/3IcVdp1Kinship Care Prioritized Under New Washington State Lawhttps://bit.ly/3uepodxBreaking The Scarcity Mindset In The Nonprofit Sectorhttps://bit.ly/3SKyQyAkinwww.akinfamily.org

Strategies for Youth (SFY) is one of the few organizations in the country focused on the true front door of the juvenile justice system: interactions between youth and law enforcement officers. Recently, SFY published a collection of model policies for departments to use in making those interactions safer and more productive. SFY’s Shelley Jackson, who spent decades working on guidance and policy for the federal government, joins us to describe these model policies and how they came together. Reading Room12 Model Law Enforcement Policies for Youth Interactionhttps://strategiesforyouth.org/model-policies/“Kids Are Not a Priority Until They’re A Problem” https://imprintnews.org/podcast/kids-not-priority-until-problemMake Training Police on Juvenile Justice, Youth Interaction a National Priorityhttps://bit.ly/3IFnzbYHope Springs Infernal for Better Policinghttps://bit.ly/3DIleJG

As always, we were fortunate to have some amazing guests join us this year on The Imprint Weekly Podcast. In this episode we feature clips of 20 great interviews from 2023. If you enjoy this podcast, or the great work our reporters do at The Imprint and Fostering Families Today, and the work that our Youth Voices Rising team does, please consider making a donation. And if you do so this month, during Newsmatch, your donation will get doubled!Fostering Media Connections is very lucky to have some terrific philanthropic supporters, advertisers and sponsors, and subscribers to our business and policy section that help make this organization go. But we really cannot do it without donors like you who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts and attend our online events. There are tons of really great nonprofit, independent news outlets to support out there, and we hope you consider us one of them. To give today it’s easy! Visit www.imprintnews.org/donate.

On this week’s podcast, we break down the new data featured in The Imprint’s “Who Cares” project, which seeks to provide an up-to-date answer on two key questions in child welfare: How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living?Every year we obtain answers directly from states on this subject, and surround that with data drawn from the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. You can access all of our national tables and state-by-state profiles at FosterCareCapacity.com.Reading RoomWho Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes and Familieswww.fostercarecapacity.comNumber of Youth in Formal Foster Care Continues to Decline, Imprint Survey Findshttps://shorturl.at/pIVY2Measuring Family Separationhttps://bit.ly/47SSeP8

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some headlines that seem to emanate in part from workforce woes, a lawsuit over anonymous reporting, one state’s effort to adjust child welfare policy after marijuana legalization, and missing school while locked up.Lisa Dickson of ACTION Ohio joins us to talk about the annual series of Thanksgiving dinners she helped state for youth in Ohio foster care, the right way to incorporate lived experience, the death of Ma’khia Bryant, and more.Reading RoomImperial County Social Services Report Draws Vocal Criticismhttps://tinyurl.com/bdfzr7tfWatchdog Finds ‘Errors on Top of Errors’ at DHHS Before Child Deathhttps://tinyurl.com/mznm99j7Financial Crisis for Central Florida Foster Care Nonprofithttps://tinyurl.com/2zb592vdBrooklyn Mother and Son Sue New York City Children’s Services over ‘Traumatic’ CPS Investigations Following False Reportshttps://tinyurl.com/4zwatuvmWith Cannabis Newly Legalized, Minnesota is Latest State to Adjust its Child Welfare Approachhttps://tinyurl.com/2yee8bchProblem Newly Revealed in Juvenile Hall Schools: A Failure to Get Kids to Classhttps://tinyurl.com/2jyf62ytEducation Inside and Outhttps://tinyurl.com/y68aaf6kFifty Years of Transforming Youth Justicehttps://shorturl.at/ePW23Thanksgiving Together Ohiohttps://tinyurl.com/3edd3w2d

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some news out of Tennessee that makes a congressional inquiry look bad, and two stories that highlight the intrinsic problem with investigations of abuse within foster care. We also talk about new research on abortion laws and foster care entries, supportive housing’s impact on reunification, and two cool mapping resources on federal and state spending. Reading RoomThe Human Rights of Foster Childrenhttps://tinyurl.com/bddjpy4mDCS whistleblowers claim ‘cover-up’ of ‘dangerous’ conditions in state-run homeshttps://tinyurl.com/mveyh9maLouisville foster kids say they were harmed in residential care. Few were believed.https://tinyurl.com/p4v9js62The Forgotten Children of Texashttps://tinyurl.com/4uydfh7cTug of war over $125 million in temporary assistance to needy families surplus brewinghttps://tinyurl.com/2t46vy34Association Between Restricted Abortion Access and Child Entries Into the Foster Care Systemhttps://tinyurl.com/bddbm3j7How Supportive Housing Can Keep Families Togetherhttps://tinyurl.com/yp7t2ctbFind Federal Funding in Your Communityhttps://tinyurl.com/4byj78f5National Trends in State Funding for Children and Youthhttps://tinyurl.com/yp9t4cnc

Last month, the Biden administration proposed a new rule that would permit the use of federal funding to support attorneys for tribal governments, relatives and other kin, and parents and children at risk of experiencing a family separation. Jey Rajaraman, associate director of litigation, children and the law for the American Bar Association, spent 16 years leading parent counsel in New Jersey, helping to develop one of the nation’s first “pre-petition” programs. She joined the podcast to discuss what the new proposed rule means and the potential of earlier provision of legal counsel for families. Reading RoomWhite House Announces Slate of Actions on Child Welfarehttps://shorturl.at/iuFN1Trump Administration Rule Change Could Unleash Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds to Defend Rights of Parents, Children in Child Protection Caseshttps://shorturl.at/pHKV4Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Foster Care Legal Representationhttps://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-20932.pdfAmerican Bar Association Summer of Proposed Rulehttps://shorturl.at/bktMUJoint Public Comment of American Bar Association, National Association of Counsel for Children and Youth Law Centerhttps://shorturl.at/sCFLY

On this week’s podcast, we discuss some upcoming online conversations on self-sufficiency and navigating the holidays, The Imprint’s “Born of History” series, and more information on the Biden administration’s interest in updating a key piece of the Family First Prevention Services Act.Kerrie Lonard, Child Advocate for the State of Kansas, joins us to talk about an interesting survey her office did over the summer to learn more about the nature of why foster parents stop fostering. Reading RoomFree Online Event! Getting to Self Sufficiency: Helping Foster Youth Thrive as Young Adultshttps://imprintnews.org/webinarsSponsored by BintiFree Online Event!Redefining Holidays: How to Navigate Triggering Timeshttps://tinyurl.com/3n4ukmzsBorn of History: A Tulalip Youth’s Journey to Indigenize Child Welfarehttps://tinyurl.com/2ypmt7r9Biden Team Seeks More Input on Family First Act Processhttps://tinyurl.com/2pz3uvd4Listening Session on the proposed revisions to the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbookhttps://tinyurl.com/4pcpbvsmFoster Parenting in Kansas: The voices behind foster home closures and lessons to be learned https://tinyurl.com/ue7n8xyb

On this week’s episode we discuss action on Capitol Hill around the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, a Congressional investigation that so far includes only one state’s child welfare system, and how programs are reviewed for the Family First Act.Natalece Washington, policy counsel for the National Association of Counsel for Children, to talk about her organization’s campaign to get all 50 states to guarantee legal counsel to all children in foster care.Reading RoomThe Impact of Family Support on Child Safety: Right-Sizing CAPTA Funding to Better Protect Childrenhttps://www.childrensrights.org/our-advocacy#watchSenate Considers Legal Counsel Requirements in CAPTA Reauthorization Billhttps://rb.gy/qhmpySenate Judiciary Subcommittee to Investigate Georgia Child Welfarehttps://rb.gy/nmee1The Human Rights of Foster Childrenhttps://rb.gy/v4osgFoster Children in the Courtshttps://rb.gy/twqojTitle IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Draft Version 2.0https://tinyurl.com/y634dkenMore than a Dozen States Fail to Guarantee Lawyers for Children in CPS Cases, New Report Findshttps://rb.gy/g9gkhNACC Counsel for Kids Campaign Websitehttps://counselforkids.orgSeen, Heard, and Representedhttps://tinyurl.com/bdvamubcTrump Administration Rule Change Could Unleash Hundreds of Millions in Federal Funds to Defend Rights of Parents, Children in Child Protection Caseshttps://shorturl.at/rxDIT