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

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

Youth Engagement Starts with Checking Your Privilege at the Door with Blanca Goetz and Kathleen Holt-Whyte

For more than twenty years, there has been a growing emphasis on youth engagement — inviting young people into the conversations and decisions about the systems that impact their lives. However, there are still fundamental skills that many people are developing that are grounded in working with people with lived experience as experts.  Today, we’re joined by two child welfare advocates who are focused on that question—particularly how shared decision-making can shape solutions that actually work. Blanca Goetz is a Jim Casey Fellow and youth advocate, and Kathleen Holt-Whyte is a senior youth engagement consultant with Cetera Inc. Together, they helped develop the Elevating Youth Engagement, or EYE, curriculum. Developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in partnership with Cetera Inc., EYE builds on more than two decades of the Casey Foundation’s national leadership in authentic youth engagement. The curriculum brings together system leaders and young people to explore what meaningful partnership in improving outcomes for young people in foster care can look like. This conversation explores what happens when systems move beyond simply including young people and begin to consider what it takes for their perspectives to actually shape decisions. 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 is a few resources that Blanca and Kathleen wanted to share with you. * Elevating Youth Engagement - The Annie E. Casey Foundation [https://www.aecf.org/resources/elevating-youth-engagement] * Elevating Youth Engagement: Recording Now Available - The Annie E. Casey Foundation [https://www.aecf.org/blog/register-now-elevating-youth-engagement] * Elevating Youth Engagement: Recording Now Available - The Annie E. Casey Foundation [https://www.aecf.org/blog/register-now-elevating-youth-engagement] * Cetera [https://www.ceterafl.org/] * Brain Frames: Short Tools for Positive Interactions With Youth in Foster Care - The Annie E. Casey Foundation [https://www.aecf.org/blog/brain-frames-short-tools-for-positive-interactions-with-youth-in-foster-car] 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