Centering Fathers to Advance Justice with Carol Mitchell

Centering Fathers to Advance Justice with Carol Mitchell

Today’s episode is a re-release of the recording with Carol Mitchell from Season Two on June 19, 2025. This is a great episode for both Father’s Day and Juneteenth.  In this episode, Valerie sits down with Carol Mitchell, a seasoned attorney, social justice advocate, and founder of the Institute for Black Justice (IBJ). With over 20 years of public sector leadership experience, Carol is dedicated to transforming how systems recognize and support Black fathers as essential caregivers and partners in family well-being. Based in Washington State, IBJ is committed to uplifting Black families by addressing systemic bias and promoting policies that center Black fathers’ dignity and leadership within family and community life. For example, the BABAS Program empowers dads to successfully navigate systemic challenges, achieve reunification with their children, and build healthy, enduring parent-child relationships. This episode explores the often-overlooked role of fathers, especially Black fathers, in caregiving and systems change. Carol and Valerie discuss the historical and cultural pressures shaping fatherhood, and why naming and centering fathers in child welfare and family support systems is critical for true justice and healing.  Tune in to hear powerful stories from Carol’s advocacy work and discover practical ways child welfare leaders and others can shift their approach to engage fathers authentically and respectfully. Community In-Site is now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CommunityInsite]. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families [https://thrivingfamiliessaferchildren.org/podcasts/] Here are a few resources that Carol wanted to share with you. * Institute for Black Justice - Social Justice, Family Advocacy [https://instituteforblackjustice.org/] * Carol Mitchell, M.A., J.D. | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolmitchellatibj/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/IBJTacoma/] We 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

Who Is Shaping AI in Child Welfare, and Who Should Be with Derrick Stephens

AI is here and how it impacts our work and lives is only going to speed up. As AI becomes ubiquitous in child welfare and family well-being systems, an important question emerges: who is shaping the use of these tools, and whose experiences are reflected in their design? In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost speaks with Derrick Stephens, a lived-experience leader and technology builder working on AI-informed tools for human services, about the opportunities and risks AI presents for families and young people. Drawing from both his lived experience and his work developing technology solutions, Derrick discusses why community involvement and co-design are essential if AI is going to support families rather than reinforce existing problems. He also shares the story behind Pathway Navigator, a tool designed with and for young people to help them navigate resources, organize next steps, and build toward long-term stability. The conversation explores how technology can support immediate needs while also creating pathways to employment, financial security, and opportunity. This conversation invites listeners to think more critically about how AI is already shaping the future of child welfare and family well-being, and what it will take to ensure communities help design that future rather than simply experience its consequences. Community In-Site is now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CommunityInsite]. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families [https://thrivingfamiliessaferchildren.org/podcasts/] Here are a few resources that Derrick wanted to share with you. * AIEYU - Where Technology and Humanity Converge [https://www.aieyu.ai/] * Cardinality.ai | Cardinality.ai's Train & Hire Program: Empowering Veterans for Success in Tech [https://www.cardyai.com/blog-cardy-train-hire] * Leading with Intelligence: A CEO’s Roadmap to AI Readiness & Co-design [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne6lDQzCRTU] We 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

Can a System Built on Separation Become a System Built on Well-being with Sixto Cancel

The child welfare field is increasingly focused on shifting toward a broader vision of family well-being, one that emphasizes prevention, stability, and keeping families together whenever possible. But a fundamental question remains: can the system we have today actually become a family well-being system? In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost speaks with Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, about what it would take to transform the current child welfare system into something fundamentally different. Drawing from both his lived experience in foster care and his national policy work, Sixto reflects on why he believes change can happen from within rather than starting over entirely. He explores how the system developed over time, why safety remains a central concern, and what it might look like to build a family well-being framework using the infrastructure that already exists. The conversation also touches on the broader conditions required for transformation, including government investment, community-based support, economic stability, and preparing young people for long-term success. This conversation doesn’t offer a simple answer. Instead, it invites listeners to think more critically about what transformation would actually require, and whether families would feel the difference. Community In-Site is now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CommunityInsite]. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families [https://thrivingfamiliessaferchildren.org/podcasts/] Here are a few resources that Sixto wanted to share with you. * Think of Us [https://www.thinkofus.org/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/thinkof-us/posts/?feedView=all&viewAsMember=true] We 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

Community is the Infrastructure: A Practical Case for Family Well-Being with Angela Burton

The child welfare field is increasingly asking what it would take to fundamentally change how we support families, and whether the systems we have today are capable of evolving into what communities and families have been asking for. One of the ideas at the center of that conversation is abolition. For many, it has existed as a critique from outside the system. But as that conversation moves closer to positions of leadership, new questions are emerging about what it would actually look like in practice. In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost speaks with Angela Burton, an attorney and advocate who was recently one of the final candidates to lead New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services. Drawing from her perspective, Angela outlines a practical approach for how to build the infrastructure that would support the needs of communities and families while preventing investigations and removals. She also explores how abolitionist ideas translate into leadership, what changes might be possible within existing systems, and how strategy, accountability, and decision-making would need to shift. This conversation doesn’t offer a simple answer. Instead, it invites listeners to think more critically about what it would take to move from critique to implementation, and what meaningful change would actually require. Community In-Site is now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CommunityInsite]. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families [https://thrivingfamiliessaferchildren.org/podcasts/] Here are a few resources that Angela wanted to share with you. * Reinvesting Upstream - NYC Family Policy Project [https://familypolicynyc.org/report/reinvesting-upstream/] * Narrowing the Front Door [https://narrowingthefrontdoor.org/] * Proposal for the Office of Family Well-Being_12.19.25 [https://familypolicynyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/NYC-Office-of-Family-Well-Being.pdf] * What is the Child and Family Wellbeing Fund?  | Schuyler Center [https://scaany.org/what-is-the-child-and-family-wellbeing-fund/#:~:text=The%20Child%20and%20Family%20Wellbeing%20Fund%20is,Black%20and%20Latino%20children%2C%20youth%2C%20and%20families.] We 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

What if Termination of Parental Rights Didn’t Exist with Toia Potts

Termination of parental rights is often described as a last resort, something that happens only after every other option has been exhausted. But many families and advocates question how those outcomes are shaped long before a case reaches that point. In this episode, host Valerie Frost speaks with Toia Potts, a family advocate and organizer with Emancipate NC, about the role legal representation plays once families enter the system. Drawing from her experience and her work with Carolina Parent Defenders, Toia walks through what meaningful legal advocacy should look like in practice. She also describes the common gaps and how they can influence the trajectory of a case. This conversation doesn’t offer a simple answer. Instead, it invites listeners to look more closely at how decisions are made, what shapes those decisions, and what it actually takes to prioritize keeping families together. Community In-Site is now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@CommunityInsite]. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families [https://thrivingfamiliessaferchildren.org/podcasts/] Here are a few resources that Toia wanted to share with you. * CPS Stole My Children - Toia Potts - Inquest [https://inquest.org/cps-stole-my-children/] * Motherhood Cannot Be Erased By The State | Toia Potts | TEDxLake Alfred [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzuh8xteg5Q] * Home | Black Mothers March [https://www.blackmothersmarch.com/] * Home - Emancipate North Carolina [https://emancipatenc.org/] We 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