The Imprint Weekly
The Imprint Weekly Podcast offers listeners a regular review of news and trends in America's child welfare and juvenile justice systems, along with other critical services for youth and families. Join Imprint Senior Editor John Kelly for a discussion of the week's major headlines, plus interviews with leaders in the field.
Episodes
254 episodes
College Stability After Homelessness or Foster Care, with Maddy Day
On this week’s podcast Maddy Day of Maddy Day and Associates joins to talk about what it takes to provide stability on college campuses for youth who have experienced aging out of foster care, homelessness or both. She is helping to coordinate ...
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Episode 223
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1:02:52
Trump’s Second Term Child Welfare Agenda
President Trump’s White House event announcing an executive order on foster care got a lot of attention. But it is not the only indicator of what the administration might have in mind for policy making in child welfare during his second term. W...
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Episode 222
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34:42
InnerViews – Becoming the Woman I Am: Faith, Family & the Future
In this powerful season finale, Ivory reflects on a transformative year—motherhood through kinship adoption, buying her first home, navigating love, and preparing for preventive surgeries after testing BRCA2+. Joined by spiritual healer and aut...
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1:10:06
From the Barber’s Chair to the BRO Experience, with Barry Cooper
Barry Cooper is founder of the BRO Experience, a Brooklyn-based organization that uses cognitive behavioral therapy at the center of its approach to mental health support for young men of color. He is among this year’s winners of the David Priz...
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Episode 221
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45:28
The History of Closing Youth Prisons, with Nell Bernstein
On today’s episode we discuss some of the recent Imprint reporting on how the federal shutdown is impacting youth and family programs like food stamps and Head Start, and one state where the shutdown has prompted gatekeeping of child welfare se...
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Episode 220
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50:42
Remembering Latonia Rolbiecki
Latonia Rolbiecki, a Minnesota mother of three, died last month at the age of 48. Several years ago, Rolbiecki was the subject of an Imprint series about her fight to adopt her grandson after he was taken into foster care at birth. ...
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Episode 219
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40:45
InnerViews – Homeownership & Healing: Building Stability After Adversity
In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory sits down with Realtor Joy Hill and Mortgage Banker David McGowan to discuss her journey to becoming a first-time homeowner—while navigating adversity, foster care advocacy, and single motherhood. T...
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1:09:00
The Life and Times of Vinny Schiraldi, Part Two
On this week’s episode we present the second part of our career-spanning interview with Vinny Schiraldi, currently a visiting fellow with the Pinkerton Foundation. In
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Episode 218
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1:38:16
The Life and Times of Vinny Schiraldi, Part One
On this week’s episode we begin a two-part in-depth interview with Vinny Schiraldi, a firebrand for justice reform whose career has included leadership on alternatives to incarceration, advocacy, and government leadership.In part one we ...
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Episode 217
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1:34:59
Headlines: The Shutdown, New Foster Care Numbers, and More
On this week’s Headlines edition of Imprint Weekly Podcast, we discuss the implications of the government shutdown, the newest federal data on foster care, and promising research on home visiting programs. We also talk about recent headlines ab...
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Episode 216
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37:20
InnerViews – Resilience Redefined: Destiny Jackson on Foster Care, Type 1 Diabetes, and Advocacy
In this powerful episode of InnerViews, Destiny Jackson shares her journey of navigating foster care, homelessness, and life with Type 1 diabetes—all while pursuing her dreams at Spelman College. From overcoming systemic barriers to ad...
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59:14
Dobbs, Abortion and Adoption with Gretchen Sisson
On this week’s episode we talk to Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist studying abortion and adoption. Sisson’s research on mothers who choose to relinquish their rights into private adoptions led to her writing Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption...
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Episode 215
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1:03:47
Wards of the State, with Author and Journalist Claudia Rowe
On this week’s episode we talk with Claudia Rowe, one of the true veteran journalists in the child welfare and youth justice space. We talked about her experiences covering both systems in New York and in Washington State, but focused on her re...
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Episode 214
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43:07
Headlines: Trump Impact, Texas Defines “Not Neglect,” Mental Health Research and More
On this Headlines edition of the podcast, we start by talking about recent Imprint coverage that examines the on-the-ground impact of recent Trump policies and actions. We also cover new research about foster youth access to both medication and...
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Episode 213
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33:35
InnerViews – Breaking Cycles: Lakievia’s Journey from Juvenile Justice to Youth Advocacy
In this episode of InnerViews, we sit down with Lakievia to explore her powerful story of resilience, transformation, and advocacy. From navigating the juvenile justice system to becoming a fierce champion for youth, she reveals how cy...
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1:08:24
Headlines: Alex Adams Hearing, Juvenile Justice Funding, and More
On this Headlines edition of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, we start with news of out Washington, D.C., including the confirmation hearing for Trump’s child welfare nominee; the lack of grants available on juvenile justice; and several actions rel...
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Episode 212
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31:21
A.I. and Child Welfare with Michael Tanana
On this week’s episode, Michael Tanana of Lyssn, joins us to talk about artificial intelligence, or AI, in the child welfare system. Tanana helped found Lyssn, which uses AI to help assess the quality of various services in a way that used to r...
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Episode 211
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47:22
InnerViews – Faith, Food, and Freedom: Diaspora Wisdom with Nancy Konjo
In this deliciously deep episode, we sit down with Nancy Konjo—author of From Jollof to Sweet Potato Pie and a faith-rooted justice advocate. We talk food as healing, faith as resistance, and what it means to build bridges across the African di...
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Episode 211
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44:52
Trump is Running Out of Time to Fund Homeless Youth Services
On July 9, the Department of Health and Human Services started the funding competition for organizations that work on the frontlines of helping youth who are homeless, have run away, and are either involved in or at risk of being trafficked.&nb...
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Episode 210
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43:12
The Trump Bill, Parental Relinquishment, and New Mexico’s New Drug Policy
On this week’s Headlines edition of the podcast, we start by summing up the most relevant details from the massive budget bill recently passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. We also discuss The Imprint’s recent reporting on youth wh...
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Episode 209
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39:40
innerViews – Mothering on Empty: Healing, Holding On, and Letting Go
In this deeply personal and profoundly moving episode, host Ivory Bennett is joined by mental health professional Dr. Alison Davis for a candid conversation about the emotional toll and transformative lessons of caregiving. From the complexitie...
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1:01:45
A YMCA Membership for Every Older Foster Youth
On this week’s episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast we are joined by Brandon Nichols, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, and Victor Dominguez, CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. They recent...
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Episode 208
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24:03
Supporting Dorm Life for Current and Former Foster Youth
On this week’s episode, Congressman Greg Landsman joins to talk about the Campus Housing Affordability Act, his new bipartisan bill to make dorm life attainable for current and former foster youth. We discuss the college dorm model in his home ...
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Episode 207
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24:56
Headlines: New Federal Child Welfare Data, Insuring Foster Care, the Trump Budget, and more
On this week’s “Headlines” edition of the Imprint Weekly Podcast, we talk about the new federal dashboard for child welfare data from through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. We discuss the dashboard itself and ...
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Episode 206
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45:59
InnerViews – Sisters, Systems & Sibling Rights: Advocacy Rooted in Experience
In this powerful episode of innerViews, changemakers Isabel Stasa, Erica Hickey, and Lily Colby share how they transformed personal pain into public purpose through advocacy. They discuss the founding of the National Network for Fostering Sibli...
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Episode 206
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54:56