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
Finding the Money: How Fiscal Leaders Can Keep Families Together with Marie Zemler Wu and D.L. Moffitt
In this episode, Valerie talks with Marie Zemler Wu and D.L. Moffitt of Foster America about an innovative shift happening in child welfare financing. Marie, Co-founder and Executive Director, and D.L., Fiscal Innovation Specialist, explain how Foster America is reimagining the way we support families by creating a just and equitable alternative to the current child welfare system. They envision families receiving the support they need before encountering child protective services and the threat of family separation.
Foster America has a fiscal strategy centered on family preservation. In partnership with national leaders and philanthropies, they launched the Fiscal Leadership Circle to rethink how existing child welfare funding is utilized. Marie and D.L. share insights into the crucial role fiscal leaders play in driving systemic change and how mentorship and community-building around state and federal funding streams can offer new opportunities to rethink resource allocation.
This conversation goes beyond financing. It’s about aligning our budgets with our values, ensuring that funding reflects what families truly need. Marie and D.L. also highlight a real-life example of a family benefiting from these approaches, showing how fiscal innovation can help keep families together.
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 Marie and D.L. would like to share with you.
- Learn more about Foster America - Home - Foster America
- Fiscal Leadership Circle video - Funding the Future: A Fiscal Approach to Child Welfare Transformation
- Fiscal Leadership Circle blog - Fiscal experts tackle child welfare funding challenges - Foster America
- Inaugural Fiscal Leadership Circle cohort - 2024 Fiscal Leadership Circle
- White House leaders join Foster America at event advancing strategies to support families - 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