Community In-Site
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
Community In-Site
Breaking Old Habits: The Tension and Promise of Shifting Power
This week’s episode sheds light on the persistent challenges and significant opportunities in engaging people with lived experience in child welfare system transformation. While there is a lot of interest and focus on lived expertise, the truth is that working with the community is critical, but agencies often lack the skills and experience to do this well. It’s easy for leaders to fall back on old ways of thinking, outdated power dynamics, and entrenched incentives. Elliott and Tecoria talk to Jennifer Holman, Oregon Department of Human Services’ Family Preservation Manager, and Jeanine Morales, a Senior Advisor and lived expert at Foster America. They share their journey and the challenges along the way of altering traditional government approaches to focus on community-driven solutions.
While they outline how ODHS is working towards being better at integrating voices of lived experience to create meaningful change, they are honest that they don’t have the answers. What they want to leave listeners with is what you do when you don’t have the answers. For example, be patient, be honest, and prioritize relationships.
Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families
Here are some additional resources that Jennifer and Jeanine would like to share with you.
- Oregon Department of Human Services : Services for Children, Youth and Families : Child and Youth Services : State of Oregon
- OPT-In for Families
- Home - Foster America
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