Supporting, Not Surveilling Reimagining How We Help Families in Need

Involvement in the foster care system is not random. Racism and social inequities are both reflected in and actively shape our foster care system that’s largely comprised of Black and Brown youth experiencing poverty. Foster care abolitionist Dorothy Roberts talks about the “family policing system” that is tied to historically oppressive and harmful practices, including slavery and the carceral system, and inflicts trauma on communities of color. Tamara Hunter, a foster care systems leader for Los Angeles County, champions a shift from mandated reporting to mandated supporting, and the need for a “third option” beyond either reporting or not reporting. What is the “foster care-to-prison-pipeline,” and how are Black children being funneled into it? How can we build pathways to support mandated reporters, like teachers and health care professionals, to connect families with resources?

Guest 1: Dorothy Roberts, Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Program on Race, Science, and Society, author of Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families–and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World

Guest 2: Tamara Hunter, Interim Executive Director, Los Angeles County Prevention and Promotion Systems Governing Committee

Interviewer: Tyrone C. Howard, Pritzker Family Professor of Education to Strengthen Children & Families, School of Education & Information Studies; Director, Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families; Faculty Co-Director, Center for the Transformation of Schools, UCLA

Among Us is a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Geneva Sum is the host and Creative Director. Angela James is the Interviewer. Elizabeth Windom is the Supervising Producer. Julia Windom is the Editor. Caitlyn McAloon is the Production Coordinator. J Woodward is the Senior Producer. Among Us is produced by Windhaven Productions and Bluejay Atlantic.

#fostercare #fostereducation #podcast