Community In-Site

Proximity Design Studio & 14th Street Studios
  • 5.0 (23)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Community In-site is about the family well-being movement. Hosts Tecoria Jones and Elliott Hinkle bring their lived expertise with the child welfare system as well as their professional insights to each episode. We'll be talking to leaders, advocates, and community members who are working from the grassroots to the grasstops on strategies to invest in the well-being of families and communities in order to prevent child welfare involvement.  The show will feature stories and lessons from community sites (featuring Thriving Families, Safer Children sites) that make the family well-being movement real and personal. Each episode will unpack a specific topic (e.g. racial equity or community partnerships) and what can be learned from the challenges and successes. The hosts hope to leave listeners with something they can take into their own work to help grow the movement in their community. For more information about the family well-being movement and Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative you can visit, Thriving Families 

  1. 4D AGO

    How Transitional Housing Can Help Youth Build Wealth with Mike Williams

    When most people think about transitional housing for youth aging out, Mike Williams thinks about home ownership as a way to help them build generational wealth. Mike is the CEO of Dreams and Success Homes and SMART DREAMS Inc. Some would say that what Mike is doing is innovative and exactly what young people need, while others might say that mixing foster youth, real estate, and profit introduces new risks. How can innovation introduce healthy and necessary risk without putting young people in a situation where they don’t have the support they need to succeed. Mike knows this tension because he lived it when he transitioned out of foster care. In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost talks with Mike about these perspectives. Mike walks through the mechanics of his housing and mentorship model, including how homes are financed, how relationships are structured, and the safeguards built in to protect young people as they transition to adulthood. This conversation doesn’t resolve the debate. Instead, it asks harder questions about risk, accountability, and what it takes to build new solutions.  Community In-Site is now on YouTube. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here is a site where you can learn more about Mike's work.  DASH Foundation | Coaching & HousingWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    33 min

  2. JAN 29

    Why Less Intervention Doesn't Mean Increased Risk with Mollie Warren

    Some would say that reducing child welfare intervention puts children at risk, while others argue that too much intervention causes its own harm. How can stepping back be seen as both responsible leadership and potentially risky, and what does that tension reveal about how we define safety? In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost balances these perspectives in her conversation with Mollie Warren, Director of Boulder County Child Welfare. Mollie shares how Boulder County has reduced foster care entries while referrals continue, and how her team makes decisions about when not to intervene. This conversation doesn’t resolve the debate. Instead, it asks harder questions about risk, accountability, and whether child safety can be measured differently when fewer families are pulled into the system. Community In-Site is now on YouTube. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here are a few resources that Mollie wants to share with you.  Human Services - Boulder CountyChild Welfare - Boulder CountyWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    34 min

  3. JAN 22

    Why Abolition Shouldn’t be a Scary Word with Erin Miles Cloud

    Some would say that abolishing the child welfare system would put children at risk while others would say it is a beautiful vision for families. How can one idea, one word, spark such vastly different points of view, and what does this difference help us better understand about the child welfare system?  In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost balances these differing points of view in her conversation with Erin Miles Cloud, co-founder of Movement for Family Power and co-editor of How To End Family Policing. Erin explains what abolition actually means in practice, how safety can exist outside traditional systems, and what structures must be built to replace what’s removed. This conversation doesn’t resolve the debate. Instead, it asks hard questions about power, accountability, and whether we can imagine a system that protects children without unnecessarily policing families. Community In-Site is now on YouTube. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here are a few resources that Erin wants to share with you.  How to End Family Policing | Join the MovementMovement for Family PowerThe Scholar & Feminist Online - Toward the Abolition of the Foster SystemWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    35 min

  4. 12/11/2025

    How Entrepreneurship Can Solve the Right Problems with Bobbi Taylor

    Producer's Note: Season Three is Coming in January.... 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 became her pathway to tackle it. Listeners will hear about the lessons she’s learning as an early-stage founder, the challenges of building something new in this sector, and the practical insights she hopes other social entrepreneurs can carry forward. This conversation highlights creativity, courage, and the kind of initiative that shows why more founders and builders are needed to create new pathways when traditional systems fail. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here are some links Bobbi would like to share with you. Home - Proximate SolutionBobbi Taylor | LinkedInWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    29 min

  5. 11/25/2025

    Thriving Families: Insights on Preventing Family Separation [Re-release] with Lisa Lawson

    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 from the field, and feedback from young people, Lisa explores how we can better support adolescents, and why the decisions we make for young people now shape their future and ours. Building on this work, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has also developed an upcoming resource for youth-serving organizations called Elevating Youth Engagement. This curriculum is designed to help adults and young people work together as partners in changemaking. In the original episode, Valerie sat 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 of the TFSC movement. Lisa shares insights into the shift from improving the foster care system to investing in community-based health promotion and family well-being. She also speaks about the work the Foundation is doing to keep children and families safe and thriving in their communities without involvement in the child welfare system. The conversation explores the key principles behind the Foundation’s approach to TFSC, the challenges they’ve faced, and the tangible progress that’s being made. Lisa reflects on what excites her about the future of the child welfare sector and the role of philanthropy in driving lasting change. Tune in to hear how leadership, vision, and strategic partnerships are working together to create a movement that prioritizes prevention over intervention. Community In-Site now has a Blog!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Home - Thriving Families Here are some links Lisa would like to share to her new book and Elevating Youth Engagement curriculum.  Thrive Book - The Annie E. Casey FoundationElevating Youth Engagement - The Annie E. Casey FoundationWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    40 min

  6. 11/13/2025

    Launching DC’s Warmline and Building Community Trust with Director Tanya Torres Trice

    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 reach out for help before a crisis arises. She talks about how the agency made an intentional decision to slow down, engage the community, listen, review policies and practices, and then begin building the Warmline. The Warmline officially launched in February 2025. In addition to the importance of working with the community, Director Trice also shares the importance of vision, leadership, collaboration, and taking action. She also shares a turning point moment when a parent who had once publicly criticized the agency acknowledged, “If they tell you they’ll do something, they will.” Through moments like this, listeners see how small wins and community engagement can spark broader cultural shifts. This episode offers a powerful look at how government agencies can change not just policies, but relationships, showing that when trust becomes the goal, transformation follows. Check Out Past Community In-Site Episodes!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here are some additional resources Director Trice would like to share with you.  211warmlineDC ‘Warmline’ launches for easier access to social services - WTOP NewsBuilding a New Model for Child Well-Being in Washington D.C.: OPT-In Initiative - Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance LabA phone lifeline for families in need in DC receives support from Doris Duke Foundation - WTOP NewsWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    35 min

  7. 10/30/2025

    From Exclusion to Youth Leadership: Organizing for Racial Justice with Demarco Mott

    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 othering, moments that fueled his commitment to build spaces where youth voices are not only heard but drive change. Demarco shares stories from organizing youth councils, navigating resistance from agencies and schools, and partnering with supportive adults who stand with youth unconditionally. He discusses the critical shift Miami has made by moving away from traditional language to directly confronting child welfare disparities and how youth leadership is reshaping local systems and policies. Listeners will hear about the real impact of youth-led advocacy, the importance of community-rooted strategies, and the lessons Demarco has learned about resilience, inclusion, and collective power. This episode highlights how youth voice matters not just as a buzzword but as a catalyst for equity and justice. Check Out Past Community In-Site Episodes!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here are some additional resources Demarco would like to share with you.  Transitioning Youth — Citrus Family Care NetworkApril 2025 - Happy Highlights.pdf - Google Drive2019-2024 Citrus FCN Impact Report (1).pdf - Google DriveWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    37 min

  8. 10/16/2025

    How a "Third Place" Became a Catalyst for Change in New York with Liangliang Han

    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 New York City’s most diverse neighborhoods, home to vibrant Latinx and Chinese communities. Rise Up works to ensure programs meet the real needs, culture, and history of its residents, flipping the traditional top-down approach to family support. Liangliang shares how Rise Up began with families advocating at the Legislature in Albany. Rise Up has evolved into co-designing programs, developing leaders, and establishing new partnerships. One of these partnerships provides strategic financing tools and resources to help community led organizations secure sustainable funding. This episode highlights the power of culturally rooted community-led work and the ways family advocacy is reshaping systems for lasting change. Check Out Community In-Site's Blog!! You can go to the website to listen to episodes, read the blog, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families Here are some additional resources Liangliang would like to share with you.  Center for Family Life - HomeFinding Resonance Amongst Diverse Cultures Through Weaving ← Taconic Fellowship ← Pratt Center For Community DevelopmentRise Up: InstagramWe appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being. Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com

    30 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

Community In-site is about the family well-being movement. Hosts Tecoria Jones and Elliott Hinkle bring their lived expertise with the child welfare system as well as their professional insights to each episode. We'll be talking to leaders, advocates, and community members who are working from the grassroots to the grasstops on strategies to invest in the well-being of families and communities in order to prevent child welfare involvement.  The show will feature stories and lessons from community sites (featuring Thriving Families, Safer Children sites) that make the family well-being movement real and personal. Each episode will unpack a specific topic (e.g. racial equity or community partnerships) and what can be learned from the challenges and successes. The hosts hope to leave listeners with something they can take into their own work to help grow the movement in their community. For more information about the family well-being movement and Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative you can visit, Thriving Families 

Information

  • Creator
    Proximity Design Studio & 14th Street Studios
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Community In-Site
  • Show Website
    Community In-Site