In this episode, host Valerie Frost talks with Bobbi Taylor, an experienced child welfare advocate and founder of Proximate Solution about why entrepreneurship matters in the family well-being sector. Bobbi shares the problem she saw up close: gaps in support, training, and tools for people trying to make meaningful change, and how founding a business […]

Since our original conversation with Lisa Lawson, she’s published a new book called Thrive: How the Science of the Adolescent Brain Helps Us Imagine a Better Future for All Children. The book is a powerful reminder that adolescence is not a problem to fix, but a window of growth and possibility. Drawing on research, stories […]

In this episode, host Valerie Frost talks with Tanya Torres Trice, Director of Washington DC’s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA), about CFSA’s efforts to build trust with the community as they launch DC’s Warmline to better support families. Director Trice dives into the story behind DC’s Warmline, a new pathway that allows families to […]

In this episode, host Valerie Frost speaks with Demarco Mott, a passionate youth leader and advocate from Miami who has spent years fighting racial disparities in child welfare and school systems. Demarco is the Chair of the Citrus Family Care Network Youth Advisory Council. His leadership journey began with his own experiences of exclusion and […]

In this episode, host Valerie Frost speaks with Liangliang Han, Program Director of the Family Enrichment Center at the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Together, they explore Rise Up, a community-driven initiative where immigrant families are not just recipients of services, they are the architects of them. Sunset Park is one of […]

In this episode, host Valerie Frost sits down with Dr. Melissa Merrick, President and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA), to talk about what it means to lead today as we all navigate through uncertainty. She emphasizes the importance of having courage, maintaining a clear vision, and being deeply committed to families. With a […]

In this re-release of one of our most impactful episodes, host Valerie Frost revisits her conversation with Adam Ballout, public defender and co-founder of the F.I.R.S.T. (Family Intervention Response to Stop Trauma) Legal Clinic in Washington State. The clinic provides a groundbreaking model of early legal advocacy, partnering with healthcare and community organizations to support […]

In this episode, host Valerie Frost speaks with Daniela Molina, lived experience leader and financial empowerment coach at the Liberation Family Resource Center in Richmond, Virginia. Liberation is part of the Family Resource Center cohort within the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative, and it exemplifies what it means to be truly embedded in the community. […]

In recognition of five years of the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative, this episode highlights the incredible power of youth-adult partnership. Host Valerie Frost sits down with Alayna Leonard, a youth advocate and former member of Indiana’s Commission for Improving the Status of Children, and Sam Garman, a national youth engagement consultant with Cetera. Together, […]

In this episode, Valerie Frost talks with Dr. David Sanders, Executive Vice President of Systems Improvement at Casey Family Programs and one of the early visionaries behind the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative. As the initiative marks its fifth anniversary, David reflects on the bold idea that sparked it: the belief that we must shift […]

In this episode, Valerie talks with Dr. Jessica Pryce. Jessica is a Research Faculty member at Florida State University and the author of the book Broken: Transforming Child Protective Services. In addition to being a researcher and author, Jessica is a nationally recognized thought leader on child welfare workforce development. The framework in her book […]

In this re-release of one of our most resonant Season One episodes, we revisit the conversation with Jay Dugger, Chief Judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Hampton, Virginia. Host Valerie Frost wanted to bring this episode back because the story continues to matter. Judges hold a lot of power within their […]

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Carol Mitchell, a seasoned attorney, social justice advocate, and founder of the Institute for Black Justice (IBJ). With over 20 years of public sector leadership experience, Carol is dedicated to transforming how systems recognize and support Black fathers as essential caregivers and partners in family well-being. Based in […]

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Sarah Winograd, the visionary and founder behind Together With Families, an organization committed to transforming the way we approach family support. Sarah explains the philosophy behind Together with Families and Playbook on their Relational Practice Approach, which emphasizes showing up for families not as service providers, but as […]

Today’s guest is Clare Anderson, a policy expert and passionate advocate for using evidence to drive upstream investments to prevent child welfare involvement. Claire is a Senior Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall, and she’s spent years digging into the data to help us understand what really supports families — and what puts them at risk. […]

Valerie sits down with Mashai Small—a former army sergeant, a mother, and member of the African National Women’s Organization leadership team. She’s also an organizer, abolitionist, and one of the leaders of the Black Mother’s March happening in Washington, DC on May 11th. Part of the family well-being movement is the abolitionist perspective, which holds […]

Valerie sits down with David Lujan who is the former Director of the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Arizona School for the Arts. They discuss his pivotal role in significantly reducing the number of children in care in Arizona. In 2017, there were nearly 19,000 […]

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Heather Hanson, Founder of Building Bridges, LLC, and a leader in the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families. Heather takes us through the journey of The Story of the System—a project that was initiated, designed, and led by individuals with lived experience to transform the way Colorado’s systems engage […]

In this episode, we re-release the conversation with Gwen Clegg, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Office of Family Representation. At the end of the episode, Valerie and Gwen catch up on what has happened in the past year, including the office’s growth, impact, new innovations, and what’s on the horizon. As a reminder, Season One […]

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Lisa Lawson, the President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. They discuss her leadership in the child welfare sector and the Foundation’s pivotal role in advancing the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) movement. Lisa reflects on her journey as a leader, Foundation President, and the future […]

In this episode, Valerie connects with Ashley Bates, a fellow parent leader in Kentucky and a Lead Family Coordinator. She shares her powerful journey from navigating the challenges of substance use and family separation during the opioid epidemic to becoming an advocate for change in Kentucky’s child welfare system. She reflects on the importance of […]

In this episode, Valerie talks with Marie Zemler Wu and D.L. Moffitt of Foster America about an innovative shift happening in child welfare financing. Marie, Co-founder and Executive Director, and D.L., Fiscal Innovation Specialist, explain how Foster America is reimagining the way we support families by creating a just and equitable alternative to the current […]

Valerie talks to Adam Ballout, a public defender and co-founder of the F.I.R.S.T. (Family Intervention Response to Stop Trauma) Legal Clinic in Washington state. The clinic takes an innovative approach by partnering with healthcare providers and community organizations to offer free legal advocacy to mothers facing substance use challenges. The goal is to keep mothers […]

In this episode, we hear from Flo White, a youth organizer and leader with Sasha Bruce Youthwork. Flo shares her powerful journey from experiencing homelessness to becoming a leader within the organization and a key advocate for youth in Washington, DC. Her story is one of resilience, growth, and empowerment, as she navigated the challenges […]