Creating a System that Works for Families with Rebecca Jones-Gaston Artwork

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

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Community In-Site

Creating a System that Works for Families with Rebecca Jones-Gaston

December 19, 2024 • Proximity Design Studio & 14th Street Studios • Season 1 • Episode 18

In this episode, we hear from Rebecca Jones-Gaston, Commissioner of the Administration of Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Children’s Bureau, which is part of ACYF, is one of the six national partners of the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative. As a key leader in Thriving Families, Safer Children, Rebecca brings invaluable insight into how the initiative is reshaping the way we approach family well-being.

With both a federal perspective and personal lived experience in child welfare, Rebecca explores the limitations of a system that too often relies solely on foster care, without addressing the underlying burdens and inequities families face. She highlights how the Thriving Families initiative offers a new approach, focusing on prevention and support that goes beyond the harsh intervention of family separation.

Throughout the episode, Rebecca emphasizes the need for listening, setting boundaries, and embedding race equity in systemic change. She challenges us to move past small fixes and tackle the deep, structural issues preventing families from thriving. Her message is simple: we can’t keep doing things the same way and expecting better results.

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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