The Proximity Process

14th Street Studios

This is a show about how child welfare transformation actually starts with personal transformation. Follow Matt Anderson, a former child welfare executive with 20 years of experience, as he goes deeper into his own process of becoming who he needs to be.  Matt has conversations with creative disruptors who help us see how systems can harm and oppress people.  Each episode is an invitation to go deeper into your own process of being in service of people rather than systems. 

  1. 12/04/2024

    A Families Fight for Parental Rights with Shrounda Selivanoff: Part One

    In this episode we return to our ongoing series on Termination of Parental Rights. This is part one of a two-part conversation with Shrounda Selivanoff. Shrounda is the Chief of Parent Representation Initiatives with the Washington State Office of Public Defense. She has a long history as an effective policy director and respected advocate for parental rights. She also brings her own personal experience of CPS, child welfare, and TPR as a mother and a grandmother. In part on of our conversation, Shrounda shares her story of fighting for her son's rights as a parent and for her grandson's right to know and be connected to his family. In part two of our conversation we'll dive into the policy she worked in WA and the implications it has in the ongoing conversation about a world without TPR.  Here are links to the article that Shrounda referenced about safety, permanency, and well-being as well as HB 1747. Oregon Child Welfare Review Assessment Findings Report, 2023 Washington State Legislature You are invited to join the Proximity Podcast Club, a community of people supporting one another through their process of becoming who they want to be in this work. We have two options to make this community accessible. We meet every Monday at 9am ET and 9am PT (12pm ET). You can join the club by filling out this form and we'll send you the meeting invite. Proximity Podcast Club - Google Forms Please connect with me, Matt Anderson, on LinkedIn - Matt Anderson | LinkedIn

    1 hr
  2. 11/13/2024

    Am I Enough, Am I Doing Enough?

    In this week's journal episode, I share a simple exercise that my coach, Brendalyn King shared with me. Since then, I have shared this with a number of people I work with, and they typically resonate with it and find it valuable. This came to me at a time in my process where I was questioning the impact of my work and if I was doing enough and doing "the right" things. I think this is an experience that most of us have felt throughout our lives and careers. The exercise helps us to identify where those feelings are coming from and how we can remind ourselves that we are always enough, and we can trust our future to emerge.  If you haven't listened to the episode with Brendalyn, I would highly recommend doing so. She is an incredibly skillful coach and absolutely amazing person. You can listen here.  Should I Leave My Job with Brendalyn King Here is this week's journal prompt.  - Am I Enough?  - Am I Doing Enough?  - Can I Measure My Impact?  - Can I Trust My Future to Emerge?  You are invited to join the Proximity Podcast Club, a community of people supporting one another through their process of becoming who they want to be in this work. We have two options to make this community accessible. We meet every Monday at 9am ET and 9am PT (12pm ET). You can join the club by filling out this form and we'll send you the meeting invite. Proximity Podcast Club - Google Forms Please connect with me, Matt Anderson, on LinkedIn - Matt Anderson | LinkedIn

    10 min
  3. 10/30/2024

    Imagining a Future Without Termination of Parental Rights

    In this week's journal episode, I wanted to return to the conversation about Termination of Parent Rights. I've been surprised by the number of conversations that are happening around TPR in recent months, more than any time in my career, including national working groups. While we have a long way to go in terms of making significant strides, it seems as though we are normalizing the conversation about a world without TPR. So, I wanted to come back to the thought experiment of, "what if TPR no longer existed?"  I also reference a future episode that we are developing that will likely touch on a particular policy in Washginton state that was passed in 2022, which requires the state to rule out guardianship before proceeding with adoption and TPR. Can you read the bill language here. 1747-S HBR FBR 22 (wa.gov)  The journal prompt this week is...in ten years, TPR will no longer exist, what will need to change between now and then to be prepared for a world without TPR? This is a creative constraint to help us imagine the future we want to see rather than how we want to change the current structures of the system.  You are invited to join the Proximity Podcast Club, a community of people supporting one another through their process of becoming who they want to be in this work. We have two options to make this community accessible. We meet every Monday at 9am ET and 9am PT (12pm ET). You can join the club by filling out this form and we'll send you the meeting invite. Proximity Podcast Club - Google Forms Please connect with me, Matt Anderson, on LinkedIn - Matt Anderson | LinkedIn

    11 min
4.2
out of 5
51 Ratings

About

This is a show about how child welfare transformation actually starts with personal transformation. Follow Matt Anderson, a former child welfare executive with 20 years of experience, as he goes deeper into his own process of becoming who he needs to be.  Matt has conversations with creative disruptors who help us see how systems can harm and oppress people.  Each episode is an invitation to go deeper into your own process of being in service of people rather than systems. 

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