The Imprint Weekly

The Imprint
  • 0.0 (0)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED 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.

  1. 18 MAY

    Headlines: D.C. Activity, Parental Relinquishments, Fentanyl Legislation and More

    On this week’s Headlines edition of the podcast, we discuss the latest on the Trump administration’s A Home for Every Child initiative and some child welfare bills moving in Congress. We also discuss The Imprint’s recent reporting on parental relinquishments, a law in Oklahoma prompted by a child fentanyl death, foster youth and chronic absenteeism, and more.  Thanks to iFoster for sponsoring this episode. Reading Room A Home for Every Child Innovation Challenge https://acf.gov/home-every-child-innovation-challenge The Imprint’s Who Cares Project FosterCareCapacity.com New Focus on Psychotropic Medication Use in Foster Care Declared at RFK ‘Overmedicalization’ Summit https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/top-federal-child-welfare-official-focused-on-psychotropics/274408 Trump’s Planned Spending on Child Welfare and Youth Justice https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trumps-budget-plan-on-child-welfare-and-youth-justice/274224 Federal Bill Aims to Address Sibling Separation in Foster Care https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/federal-bill-aims-to-address-sibling-separation-in-foster-care/274283 House Committee Moves Bills to Support Current, Former Foster Youth https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/house-committee-moves-bills-to-support-current-former-foster-youth/274257 Lawmakers Seek to End Ban on Medicaid Covering Foster Youths’ Residential Care https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/bill-would-end-ban-on-medicaid-covering-foster-youths-residential-care/273791 Foster Care for Mental Health Treatment: Parents Surrender Thousands of Kids Each Year In Search of Help https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/foster-care-for-mental-health-treatment-parents-surrender-thousands-of-kids-each-year-in-search-of-help/273355 Adopted and Locked Away: Kids promised ‘forever homes’ instead confined in for-profit institutions https://apnews.com/article/adopted-children-boarding-schools-treatment-investigation-e5d8dab2e4db1f2f4c5abbfaf0d97c52 At CT DCF, staff turnover is high. The costs can be devastating. https://ctmirror.org/2026/05/10/ct-dcf-staff-turnover/ ‘This is where they came to die’: Historical marker highlights horrors at segregated reform school https://marylandmatters.org/2026/05/07/this-is-where-they-came-to-die-historical-marker-highlights-horrors-at-segregated-reform-school/ Leo's Law to protect children from fentanyl approved by the Oklahoma Senate https://okcfox.com/news/local/leos-law-to-protect-children-from-fentanyl-approved-by-the-oklahoma-senate When Life ‘Explodes’: New Research Explores Why California Foster Youth Miss School https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/when-life-explodes-new-research-explores-why-california-foster-youth-miss-school/274367 California Lawmakers Try to Avoid Foster Youth Going Hungry Following Federal Food Stamp Cuts https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/california-lawmakers-looking-to-avoid-foster-youth-going-hungry/274537 Indigenous People Honor and Raise Awareness for Relatives Who are Missing or Have Been Killed https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/indigenous-people-raise-awareness-for-missing-murdered-relatives/274252 ‘The Little Flowers Are Me, Unbloomed:’ Georgia Foster Teens Find Their Voices Through Art Exhibit https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/the-little-flowers-are-me-unbloomed-georgia-foster-teens-find-their-voices-through-art-exhibit/274098

    57 min

  2. 11 MAY

    The Sun Keeps Rising, with Christopher Baker-Scott

    In 2021, Christopher Baker-Scott joined The Imprint Weekly Podcast to talk about Sun Scholars, a new nonprofit he started to help support Connecticut foster youth on college campuses. Unlike many school-based approaches around the country, Sun Scholars is a centrally located organization serving youth on a number of campuses around the state.  Five years later, Baker-Scott joined us to talk about what’s gone well, what’s changed, and what he hopes to accomplish in the future as Sun Scholars continues to grow in the state.  Christopher Scott is the founder and Executive Director of SUN Scholars Inc. Drawing from his personal experience in the Connecticut foster care system, Scott has led SUN to achieve a graduation rate 10 times the national average for this demographic.  Thanks to iFoster for sponsoring this episode. Reading Room Supporting Foster Youth on College Campuses https://imprintnews.org/podcast/supporting-foster-youth-on-college-campuses The Imprint’s coverage of Education https://imprintnews.org/topic/education

    57 min

  3. 4 MAY

    A Fashion Forward Experience for Foster Youth with Sixto Cancel and Sharon McDaniel

    On this week’s episode, we were joined by Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, and Sharon McDaniel, founder and CEO of A Second Chance. We talked first about their relatively new joint venture between the two organizations called Fashion Forward Kinspire, which is entering its second year of helping expose youth in kinship or foster care to the world of fashion culminating with a trip to Fashion Week in New York City.  They stuck around to discuss the recent efforts to update the federal Chafee program for transition-age foster youth, the future of kinship care, and more.  Thanks to iFoster for sponsoring this episode.  Reading Room Application for the Fashion Forward Kinspire Program https://asecondchance-kinship.com/fashion-forward-kinspire/ InStylePhD: Fashioned to Lead https://www.youtube.com/@sharonmcdaniel6321 Trump’s Planned Spending on Child Welfare and Youth Justice https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/trumps-budget-plan-on-child-welfare-and-youth-justice/274224 A Model Standard for Approving Kinship Caregivers https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/model-standard-approving-kinship-caregivers/245279 Biden Proposes Major Spending Shifts to Prioritize Kin, Foster Care Prevention https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/biden-prioritize-kin-foster-care-prevention/63821

    54 min

  4. 27 APR

    InnerViews – The Amazing Begins to Outweigh the Terror: Entering the ‘It Gets Better’ Era

    In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett sits down with Nesta N. Johnson to explore what it means to reach an “It Gets Better” era after surviving systems and trauma. Together, they unpack the slow, nonlinear journey toward healing, the power of storytelling as both release and responsibility, and what it means to hold hope for the next generation. This conversation is honest, grounding, and deeply affirming for anyone navigating life after survival. Guest Bio: Nesta N. Johnson is a lived expert and storyteller whose work centers on healing, reflection, and the power of narrative. With a deep commitment to honesty and growth, Nesta uses their voice to explore the complexities of surviving systems, processing trauma, and stepping into a new chapter where hope and possibility begin to take root. Their perspective offers both grounding and inspiration for individuals navigating their own journeys toward healing.

    1hr 25min

  5. 19 APR

    Recent Trump Administration Action with Alex Adams

    Alex Adams, assistant secretary in charge of the Administration for Children and Families, joined the podcast last year to discuss his background and the child welfare goals for President Trump’s second term.  This week he returned to discuss his first six months on the job. We discussed the early going of the A Home for Every Child initiative, his decision to rescind the “designated placement” rule for LGBTQ foster youth, the future of the Chafee program for transition-age foster youth, and more.  Alex Adams is the assistant secretary in charge of the Administration for Children and Families. Before joining the administration he led the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare. Reading Room Trump’s Top Child Welfare Official: An Interview with Alex Adams https://imprintnews.org/podcast/trump-top-child-welfare-official-interview-alex-adams The Latest on A Home for Every Child https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/latest-a-home-for-every-child/271534 Feds Warn States: Family Gender Disputes Should Not Lead to Child Welfare Cases https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/feds-warn-states-family-gender-disputes-should-not-lead-to-child-welfare-cases/271600 What Program Improvement Can Look Like https://imprintnews.org/opinion/what-program-improvement-can-look-like/273564 ACF is Rescinding Biden-Era Rule on LGBTQ Foster Care Placements https://imprintnews.org/subscriber-content/acf-rescinding-biden-era-rule-lgbtq-foster-care/271775 Homes Waiting for Children, Not Children Waiting for Homes https://www.city-journal.org/article/child-welfare-executive-order-foster-care-licensing-placement

    48 min

  6. 8 APR

    The Dark Past of Sterilization and the Bright Future for Birth Justice

    On this week’s episode, The Imprint’s Nancy Marie Spears sits down with reporter Suzette Brewer to discuss her recent two-part series on the tragic past and promising future of birth justice for the Native American community. The series examines the use of sterilization on Indigenous women, a practice many believe was intended to facilitate the dying out of tribes, and the more recent efforts to build a birth justice movement in the Native American community.  Spears and Brewer discussed their reporting careers, covering the Indian Child Welfare Act, and how her recent series came together over the course of a decade. Suzette Brewer is a journalist specializing in federal Indian law and social justice, with a focus on issues affecting Native women and children. She has reported extensively on the Indian Child Welfare Act, the U.S. Supreme Court, Native voting rights, environmental justice in Indian Country, and the opioid crisis.  Brewer is a recipient of the Richard LaCourse–Gannett Foundation Al Neuharth Investigative Journalism Award, a John Jay/Tow Juvenile Justice Reporting Fellow, and a 2024 National Fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. She is a member of the Cherokee Nation and is from Stilwell, Oklahoma. Episode Timeline 0:00-9:10: Reporting on the Indigenous community 9:11-18:00: Covering the Indian Child Welfare Act 18:01-1:02: Suzette Brewer's two-part series on the history of forced sterilization and the future of birth justice in the Indigenous community Reading Room For Centuries, Native Women Have Been Told to ‘Trust the Doctor.’ The Results Have Been Disastrous. https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/for-centuries-native-women-have-been-told-to-trust-the-doctor-the-results-have-been-disastrous/271389 Birth Justice: The Fight for Reproductive Freedom in Indian Country https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/birth-justice-the-fight-for-reproductive-freedom-in-indian-country/271753 Reporting by Nancy Marie Spears https://imprintnews.org/author/nancy-marie-spears

    1hr 2min

  7. 30 MAR

    InnerViews – Artivism, Credible Messengers, and Community Power: Reclaiming Youth Voice in Brooklyn

    In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory speaks with Tishon Sudlow and Sarah Robinson about youth voice, credible messengers, and community-led change in Brooklyn. Through artivism and coalition-building, they explore how young people transform lived experience into advocacy, healing, and action. This conversation highlights the power of storytelling as both resistance and restoration.

    1hr 8min

  8. 22 MAR

    The Buried History of Cheltenham

    On this week’s episode we are joined by Marc Schindler of Georgetown’s Center for Youth Justice, to discuss the Forgotten Children’s Initiative, which was born of research that he led about the history of the Maryland House of Reformation & Instruction for Colored Children between 1877-1939. As part of that research, it was discovered that more than 300 children are buried in an unmarked cemetery near where the House of Reformation was located in Cheltenham, Maryland.  We discussed that important and heartbreaking work, and how Schindler sees this research project in the context of current discussions around reforming the juvenile justice system in Maryland and elsewhere.  Marc Schindler is a research professor and senior fellow at the Center for Youth Justice at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and former assistant secretary & chief of staff of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.  Reading Room The Racist Roots of Youth Justice Are Buried Deep https://imprintnews.org/opinion/the-racist-roots-of-youth-justice-are-buried-deep/273246 Forgotten Children: Unearthing the Lives Behind the Lost Burial Sites of Incarcerated Youth https://cyj.georgetown.edu/forgotten-children/ ‘Incorrigible’ No More: In Rare Memorial Service, Graveside Tribute Paid to New York’s Formerly Incarcerated Girls https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-memorial-service-incarcerated-girls/250819 Torture of Kids Remembered: A North Florida reform school acknowledges its history of abuse. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2008/10/26/torture-of-kids-remembered/ Nickel Boys https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_Boys

    1hr 10min
See All (274)

Trailer

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    The Imprint
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    274
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Imprint Weekly
  • Show Website
    The Imprint Weekly

You Might Also Like