Les Gara: From Foster Care to a Run for Governor The Imprint Weekly

On this week’s episode we discuss some leadership departures and additions in top jobs; the ongoing “workforce spiral” in child welfare; how systems pull money from the social safety net to offset costs; and the Adoption Files Initiative. 
Former Alaska legislator Les Gara is seeking the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for governor of the Last Frontier. He joined us to talk about his time in foster care, his advocacy for foster youth and parents in the Alaska legislature and why he thinks he has a chance in a state that has historically sent Republicans and Independents to the governor’s mansion.

Reading Room
Los Angeles County Child Welfare Director Bobby Cagle Suddenly Steps Down
https://bit.ly/3DPFHgw
Eric Adams Taps Jess Dannhauser to Lead City’s Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice Systems
https://bit.ly/3zes219
Legal Settlement: New York Foster Parents Poised for Big Increase in Support Payments
https://bit.ly/3JgCgSW
Kentucky Social Workers Get 10% Pay Hike Amid Job Exodus
https://bit.ly/3pkS3Z8
These foster youth say the state of Alaska pocketed thousands of dollars that belonged to them.
https://bit.ly/3vHyjPX
A Mother Needed Welfare. Instead, the State Used Welfare Funds to Take Her Son.
https://bit.ly/3FNQIQf
​​States send kids to foster care and their parents the bill — often one too big to pay
https://n.pr/3zgqsvu
Judge Curbs Alaska’s Practice of Claiming Foster Youths’ Federal Benefits
https://bit.ly/3EMrbpD
A Seattle Agency Digs Deep into Unanswered Questions About Past Adoption Practices, and its Obligations to Families
https://bit.ly/30I2KLO