By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care

Micaela Tracy
  • 5.0 (20)
  • Kids & Family
  • Updated Monthly

Welcome to the By Their Side Podcast, where we explore the intricacies of foster care and child welfare advocacy through candid discussions with industry professionals and people with lived experience. Join your host, Micaela Tracy, as we delve into topics such as trauma, attachment, and effective advocacy strategies. Produced in collaboration with Voices for CASA Children, each episode offers invaluable insights and perspectives to empower and inform. Join us as we journey alongside those dedicated to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children.

  1. Jul 28

    Cultural Identity Is Safety with Turquoise Skye Devereaux, MSW

    Episode Summary When a woman she had just met told Turquoise Skye Devereaux, "I can tell, because you eat like you went to boarding school," she heard how a history she never lived still shaped the way she moves through a day. Turquoise is Salish and Blackfeet, a social worker by training, and the founder of Indigenous Skye, where she has spent more than eight years helping schools, agencies, tribes, and child welfare systems create culturally safe spaces. She talks with host Micaela Tracy about what cultural safety actually means, the Indian Child Welfare Act in plain English, and the questions that help a child feel known instead of tested. Most of the adults in the orbit of a Native child are not Indigenous, and her message is for every one of them: you only know what you know, being present matters more than being perfect, and for a child, culture and identity are not extra. They are part of safety itself. In This Episode 00:00 Cold open 00:20 Welcome and season framing 01:50 Meet Turquoise: Salish and Blackfeet, and how Indigenous Skye began 03:10 What cultural safety actually means, and where the term comes from 05:00 Learning from the people you serve instead of assuming you know 08:10 Making it normal to not know: the zipper response 08:50 Asking about a child without putting the work of teaching on them 10:45 Native students are here to get an education, not to educate 12:30 The gap between what adults were taught and what a child needs 14:50 ICWA in plain English: why the law exists 17:40 The Indian Adoption Project, AIM, and 1978 19:45 ICWA in practice, and why it is hard on the people carrying it out 22:20 Well-meaning assumptions that land as harm 24:40 "Maybe I'm not Native enough": what a child internalizes 26:10 Better questions to ask about home and belonging 28:45 Intergenerational resilience and what else gets passed down 29:50 Seven generations in one body: epigenetics and trauma 31:45 "You eat like you went to boarding school": the story behind the cold open 35:30 Where to start learning on your own 39:30 Being present is enough: showing up where children already are 42:45 The pedagogy of discomfort, and why growth requires it 45:20 One thing to do differently tomorrow 46:15 Reflection and close About Our Guest Turquoise Skye Devereaux, MSW, is Salish and Blackfeet and the founder and lead consultant of Indigenous Skye, LLC, where she has spent more than eight years helping schools, agencies, tribes, and child welfare systems create culturally safe spaces for Indigenous youth and families. She is completing a PhD focused on identity in Indigenous communities in Arizona and Montana. Resources and Links Indigenous Skye · indigenousskye.com · @indigenousskye on Instagram National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) · nicwa.org Voices for CASA Children · voicesforcasachildren.org National CASA/GAL Association for Children · nationalcasagal.org About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners.

    Cultural Identity Is Safety with Turquoise Skye Devereaux, MSW

  2. Jul 10

    The Long Game of Advocacy with Jamole Callahan

    Episode Summary When Jamole Callahan was fifteen, he realized the adults were meeting every few months to decide his future, and he was never in the room. He spent six years in foster care across nine homes and aged out at eighteen into the kind of instability that pushes so many young people straight into homelessness. Twenty years later, the rooms have flipped: lawmakers now invite him in, and he has helped shape the federal housing policy that gives young people leaving care a longer runway of support. He talks with host Micaela Tracy about the meetings he fought his way into, the foster-agency worker who finally leveled with him, the science teacher he now calls dad, and why housing is the foundation everything else depends on. His message reaches past the system to anyone listening: throw the pebble in the pond, because your expertise is someone else's learned skill, and the ripple reaches a shore you may never see. In This Episode 00:00 Cold open 00:30 Welcome and season framing 01:00 Fifteen years old, and the meetings he was never invited to 04:00 "Nothing about us without us": finding out decisions were made without him 06:00 Boycotting school, and the agency worker who finally leveled with him 07:00 The aging-out plan: an apartment, six months of help, then "you're on your own" 08:00 Practicing decisions while there's still a safety net 09:00 Why youth get left out: caseloads, staffing shortages, and old mindsets 11:00 Throwing the pebble in the pond: grassroots change from the ground up 14:00 Did he have an advocate? The people who took him under their wing 16:00 The lasting impact of one adult showing up for a teen 18:00 Aging out by the numbers, and why housing equals stability 18:30 Helping create the Foster Youth to Independence housing voucher 21:00 Getting housed is one thing, staying housed is another 22:00 The Permanency Pact and building a real support list 23:00 "Just like a CASA": the volunteer who stayed nineteen years 25:00 On connection, broken attachments, and being a gumbo pot of every home 25:30 What he's working on now: housing and a healthy workforce 27:30 How the community can support from the outside 28:00 What any volunteer can give: your time and your expertise 30:00 Making it easy to say yes, and getting back to grassroots outreach 31:00 Donating your small talk 32:00 Find your niche: closing words for the system, parents, and youth 34:30 Reflection and close About Our Guest Jamole Callahan spent six years in foster care across nine homes and aged out at eighteen. Today he is a co-founder of ACTION Ohio, a national speaker and trainer known as Mr. Motivator, and an advocate whose work helped advance the federal Foster Youth to Independence housing voucher for young people leaving care. Resources and Links Jamole Callahan  ·  info@jamolecallahan.com  ·  @Jamole Callahan on social media ACTION Ohio (Alumni of Care Together Improving Outcomes Now) Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers — HUD Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act (2019) Permanency Pact — FosterClub Voices for CASA Children National CASA/GAL Association for Children Share Your Voice This season is about the many different voices in the room when a child is in foster care. If that's you, whether you've been there as a professional, a foster or birth parent, or someone who lived it, and you'd like to share your perspective on the show, host Micaela Tracy would love to hear from you. Reach out at education@voicesforcasachildren.org. About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content note: this episode discusses aging out of foster care and homelessness, and includes brief strong language. Voices for CASA Children  |  By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care

    The Long Game of Advocacy with Jamole Callahan

  3. Jun 26

    Mother and Baby, Healing Together with Tara Sundem, MS APRN NNP-BC

    Episode Summary For thirty years, neonatal nurse practitioner Tara Sundem watched newborns go through opioid withdrawal under bright lights, separated from their mothers, and for a long time she believed those mothers had brought it on themselves. Then she learned what she had been missing, and she set out to build the opposite of what she had been part of. As co-founder and executive director of Hushabye Nursery in Phoenix, she now cares for substance-exposed babies and their mothers together, treating the two as one patient. She talks with host Micaela Tracy about the night a baby in withdrawal changed her mind, why dignity is a clinical intervention and not a nicety, how she partners with the Department of Child Safety instead of against it, and what families navigating addiction and recovery actually need. Her message holds for anyone who has ever judged a parent from the outside: this is a brain disease, not a choice, and the earliest moments of a child's life can shape everything that follows. In This Episode 00:00 Cold open 00:30 Welcome, season framing, and a content note 01:30 Meet Tara: Hushabye Nursery and the whole-family model 02:00 The nurse who didn't understand: Tara's own change of heart 03:30 Adverse childhood experiences and rethinking the whole approach 05:30 What the research says about keeping families together 09:00 Open child welfare cases, and getting a baby home with mom 10:30 One little win, and changing the safety narrative 12:00 Back to 2015: the hospital and the 2:30 a.m. morphine call 14:00 The night it clicked: soothing a baby through withdrawal 17:30 "So what about the moms?" the question that reshaped the mission 19:00 It isn't a choice: understanding addiction with dignity 21:00 The HOPPE model: meeting mom, baby, and family together 23:00 Same room, six feet, and partnering with DCS 25:00 What a family actually hears when DCS arrives 28:00 Community, staying engaged, and giving back 29:30 Relapse without writing a parent off: the "oopsie" 34:00 Former clients who now do the work 36:00 A mother's impossible math 38:30 What Tara wants anyone who has judged to understand 42:30 Where to find Hushabye 43:00 Reflection and close About Our Guest Tara Sundem is a neonatal nurse practitioner with more than thirty years in intensive care and the co-founder and executive director of Hushabye Nursery, a Phoenix nonprofit that cares for opioid-exposed newborns alongside their mothers rather than separating them. Since 2020, Hushabye has cared for more than 1,000 babies and walks alongside the families learning to care for them. Resources and Links Hushabye Nursery  ·  480-628-7500 (call or text, available 24/7) How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime — Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (TED Talk) Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) — CDC Voices for CASA Children National CASA/GAL Association for Children About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of substance use, addiction, and sexual violence, and may be difficult for some listeners. Voices for CASA Children  |  By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care

    Mother and Baby, Healing Together with Tara Sundem, MS APRN NNP-BC

  4. Jun 1

    More Than a Placement with Phoebe Johnson

    Episode Summary Phoebe Johnson spent her childhood living in foster care. Today she runs the kind of home she once needed. As executive director of Firm Foundation Youth Homes and Gigi's Cottage, she talks with Micaela about what it took to get there, the foster mom who never gave up on her, and the two models that shape how the girls in her care are met every day: Trust-Based Relational Intervention and Grace Based Parenting. Her central message holds for any adult showing up for a child carrying complex trauma. You can't redirect a brain until it feels safe, and connection is what heals it. In This Episode 00:00  Cold open 00:15  Welcome, season framing, and a content note 01:30  Meet Phoebe: Firm Foundation Youth Homes and Gigi's Cottage 03:00  Phoebe's story: foster care, a pastor's family, and seven years to permanency 08:00  Losing Ona, a scholarship she didn't know existed, and the people who walked her into adulthood 12:00  Stepping into the executive director role 14:30  Empathy for a system under pressure: community problem, community solutions 17:00  Why loving your staff well is how you love the girls well 20:00  Length of stay, permanency, and meeting each girl where she is 23:00  Trust-Based Relational Intervention and how complex trauma lives in the brain 26:00  Grace Based Parenting: connection before correction, and play as a regulator 30:00  Staying connected with girls who age out 33:00  What general audiences misunderstand about group homes 36:00  The gaps Phoebe sees, and how anyone can step in 38:00  Where to find Phoebe's work 39:00  Reflection and close About Our Guest Phoebe Johnson is the executive director of Firm Foundation Youth Homes and its DCS-licensed group home, Gigi's Cottage. She grew up in foster care herself and now leads the kind of home that shaped her. Resources and Links Firm Foundation Youth Homes Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel Voices for CASA Children National CASA/GAL Association for Children About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners.   Voices for CASA Children  |  By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care

    More Than a Placement with Phoebe Johnson

  5. May 15

    What the Body Carries with Dr. Scott Lyons

    Episode Summary Dr. Scott Lyons explains why trauma is not about the event, it is about what it does to a body. He walks through co-regulation, why safety can stop feeling safe, and the one thing any caring adult can do differently tomorrow: play. In This Episode 00:00  Cold open 00:15  Welcome and episode framing 01:15  What "somatic" actually means, in plain language 04:45  What the body carries: trauma in the body, not the event 05:45  Memory, temporal collapse, and lifebooks 10:15  An ordinary Tuesday for a child: oxytocin, vasopressin, and why safety doesn't always feel safe 15:15  Why play and movement undo learned helplessness 22:10  Co-regulation, grounding before a visit, and "Mommy needs a moment" 32:50  Behavior is communication, and where CASA volunteers connect the dots 34:50  Hope, and the one thing to do tomorrow 37:30  Reflection and close About Our Guest Dr. Scott Lyons is a holistic psychologist, founder of The Embody Lab, and author of Addicted to Drama. He hosts The Gently Used Human podcast. Resources and Links Addicted to Drama: Healing Dependency on Crisis and Chaos in Yourself and Others The Embody Lab The Gently Used Human podcast Dr. Scott Lyons Website Voices for CASA Children National CASA/GAL Association for Children About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners. Voices for CASA Children  |  By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care

    What the Body Carries with Dr. Scott Lyons

  6. May 1

    The Seeds We Plant with Tori Hope Petersen

    Author and national speaker Tori Hope Petersen joins host Micaela Tracy to talk about the people who shaped her: the court advocate who said "I'm not going anywhere," the foster mom Tanya who let her be a kid without turning every moment into a lesson, and her own decision to become a healed person instead of a hurt one. For anyone wondering whether small acts of consistency really matter, Tori's answer is clear: the seeds you plant today shape generations you may never see. Content note: Tori reflects on childhood abuse and family instability. Listener discretion advised. In This Episode 00:00 Cold open 00:30 Welcome and episode framing 01:00 Tori's story: foster care, reunification, and re-entering at 12 07:00 The court advocate who said "I'm not going anywhere" 1 3:00 The group home and a perspective shift 16:00 Choosing to be a healed person, not a hurt one 20:00 Tanya's house: not every moment is a teaching moment 28:00 Adoption and learning to receive family 34:00 Generational impact: the long game of showing up 37:00 Tori's books and where to find her work 38:00 Reflection and close Standout Quotes "Not every moment needs to be a teaching moment. Some moments just need to be: I'm here for you." "I don't want to be a hurt person that hurts people. I want to be a healed person that helps heal people." "You're not just breaking cycles for one person. It impacts generations." About Our Guest Tori Hope Petersen is a national speaker and author of Fostered and Breaking the Patterns That Break You. She grew up in the foster care system and was later adopted. Today she is also a foster mom, adoptive mom, and biological mom, and writes and speaks about identity, healing, and breaking generational patterns. Resources and Links Fostered and Breaking the Patterns That Break You by Tori Hope Petersen, available wherever books are sold Voices for CASA Children National CASA/GAL Association for Children About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners.

    The Seeds We Plant with Tori Hope Petersen

  7. Apr 17

    Earn the Right to Be Heard with Jason Lewis

    Host Micaela Tracy opens Season 3 with Jason Lewis, a student at Grand Canyon University, entrepreneur, and aspiring nonprofit founder who spent ten years in the foster care system. Jason talks about what it felt like to grow up alone inside a system that moved him 28 times and through 13 schools, and about the adults who actually got through to him: an advocate who never sugarcoated anything, who asked what he wanted, who took him to summer camps and arcades, and whose presence "screamed I love you" without ever needing the words. His message to CASA volunteers and any caring adult: earn the right to be heard before you try to help. It's a fitting opening to a season about understanding every voice in the room, beginning with the young people at the center of it all. In This Episode: 00:00 Welcome and Season 3 framing 01:00 Safety and consent note 01:30 Meet Jason: GCU, mentorship dreams, and life on campus 03:00 Ten years in care: 28 moves, 13 schools, and the loneliness of growing up that way 05:00 Being misunderstood as an eight-year-old in the system 07:00 The advocate who didn't sugarcoat and asked Jason what he wanted 09:00 What advocacy looked like in practice: arcades, summer camp, advocacy 14:00 The adults who left a lasting impression 17:00 Faith, ministry, and the future Jason is building 22:00 The friends who became family 26:00 What he'd change about how the system shows up for kids 28:00 Advice for caring adults: don't try to be a parent. Be a friend. 30:00 Reflection and close Standout Quotes: "You have to earn the right to be heard." "That tender love that screams I love you with just your actions is the best thing that I could have asked for." "Don't try to be a parent with them. Just try to be their friend." About Our Guest: Jason Lewis is a junior at Grand Canyon University who experienced foster care as a child. He's working toward starting a nonprofit that will mentor young people aging out of foster care. Links and Resources: Voices for CASA Children National CASA/GAL Association for Children About the Show By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners.

    Earn the Right to Be Heard with Jason Lewis

  8. 11/21/2025

    Occasional Angels with Foster Care Advocate David Ambroz

    Welcome to By Their Side, everyone! This episode features an interview with David Ambroz, a national poverty and child welfare expert and the author of the bestselling memoir A Place Called Home: A Memoir! Ambroz shares his powerful personal story of growing up homeless and in the foster care system and how those experiences shaped his lifelong mission to help children and families break the cycle of poverty! David explains that for him, "home" as a child was simply wherever he and his family could find shelter at the time - a church basement, a bus stop, or the subway. He describes the trauma of entering the foster care system, where most of the homes he was placed in were not truly "homes" filled with love and safety. As he's gotten older, David has come to define home not by physical walls but rather by the people and mission that sustain him. Our conversation explores how the child welfare and foster care systems have improved over time, with more policies and programs to support vulnerable children. However, David highlights the fact that there is still much work to be done to address the root causes of childhood poverty and homelessness, and he passionately argues that as a society, we need to stop treating these issues as just statistics and start seeing them as a moral necessity that affects the lives of real children. David also shares some inspiring stories of the "occasional angels" - teachers, social workers, and foster parents who made a profound difference in his life, even via small acts of kindness. He stresses that everyone has the power to be an "occasional angel" and make a big impact, whether by becoming a CASA volunteer, hiring a foster youth intern, or simply having meaningful conversations about these issues. The interview closes with David's call to action - for all of us to get involved, get uncomfortable, and do more to end the intergenerational cycle of poverty and trauma. He believes that with collective passion and action, we can create a society in which every child has access to the resources and support they need to thrive! Highlights: [1:45] - Home wasn't a place for David but rather the people and purpose that he chose. [3:38] - David argues that it's important to celebrate progress in child advocacy while continuing the work that remains unfinished. [5:09] - David reminds us that all wins are important, even imperfect ones. ​​ [8:36] - David encourages people to show children the same passion we give sports and celebrities. [9:52] - David believes that communities tend to step up during visible crises, but we need to shift to collective responsibility. [10:58] - David asserts that we need to address immediate crises like hunger while also fixing the systemic causes that create them in the first place. [13:41] - What did it feel like for David, as a small child, to be suffering yet completely ignored? [14:19] - Hear how David learned early on that society ignored his suffering, revealing to him how little his life mattered to others. [16:54] - Everyday "occasional angels" doing small, compassionate acts can drastically impact a child's life! [19:48] - ​​How might David's life have been different if more people had simply helped in small ways? [20:18] - David points out how a consistent adult presence such as a CASA could have guided him and profoundly changed his life trajectory. [23:44] - Hear how a question from David's mother awakened the idea of choice and sparked his first real hope. [26:00] - Having someone show you options and hope can transform survival-focused minds toward seeing a better future. [27:25] - David describes forgiveness as a lifelong discipline that enabled him to survive unbearable circumstances. [30:49] - Illness, not moral failure, explains many troubling behaviors. [32:35] - David argues that people misunderstand foster care and ignore their duty to oversee its power. ​​ [34:33] - David reiterates that kids living in foster care aren't broken and argues that we need to stop judging struggling families and workers. [37:08] - David feels that kids living in foster care aren't broken. [39:58] - The foster-friendly workplace certification encourages employers to support foster parents, and doing nothing is unacceptable. [41:22] - Don't wait for perfect conditions; show up with heart, take action, and always do more! [43:49] - Where can David be reached online? [44:56] - David expresses gratitude toward adults who helped him, but ending child poverty requires all of us to act. Links & Resources: David's Website David's Instagram Page David's Threads Page David Ambroz - A Place Called Home: A Memoir   Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Voices for CASA Children or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners.

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About

Welcome to the By Their Side Podcast, where we explore the intricacies of foster care and child welfare advocacy through candid discussions with industry professionals and people with lived experience. Join your host, Micaela Tracy, as we delve into topics such as trauma, attachment, and effective advocacy strategies. Produced in collaboration with Voices for CASA Children, each episode offers invaluable insights and perspectives to empower and inform. Join us as we journey alongside those dedicated to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children.

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