The Riverside Project Podcast

“You don’t just wake up one day caught up in this. There’s usually a long line of needs not being met that result in a kid being in this situation.”When a young person finds themselves involved in the juvenile justice system, their defense attorney has the crucial responsibility of considering the challenging circumstances that may have played a role in how they got there. Their job is to help the judge and jury consider the human being—and the child—behind the crime.My guest for this conversation strives to see beyond the exterior and understand how early trauma, social disadvantages, and family dynamics have shaped a young person’s current circumstances. Then, he works to ensure their voice, their story, and their unmet needs are heard fairly in court.Le’Otis Boswell Johnson is a Juvenile Defense Attorney and the co-founder of Sons of Sophistication. His experience includes a double major in Criminology and Psychology, serving as a Guardian ad Litem for youth in both Child Protective Services (CPS) and the Juvenile Justice System, and working as a Staff Attorney with Foster Care Advocacy Center. He strives to create spaces that give all kids, regardless of their circumstances, a fighting chance to discover and reach their full potential.This episode is a powerful listen for anyone involved in the foster care community, because we know that foster care is not an isolated issue. Multiple factors often overlap with involvement in the child welfare system, including family instability, incarceration, poverty, and homelessness. Understanding those intersections is an important part of understanding what children and families need, and how we can respond more effectively.In this episode, you’ll hear about the connection between trauma and a child’s involvement with the legal system, the importance of humanizing everyone in the courtroom, how education can play a crucial role in providing life skills, and much more.Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: https://riversideproject.org/podcast/leotis-boswell-johnson-53

When a family is in crisis, every moment matters. That's why Texans Together is helping build a more flexible, responsive support system that's deeply rooted in the communities it serves through a model called Community-Based Care (CBC).Community-Based Care is transforming the way foster care services are delivered in Texas by empowering local organizations to coordinate support for children and families. Whether it's finding a weighted blanket for a child in foster care or providing a bed for a kinship caregiver welcoming a child into their home, CBC helps ensure families can access the resources they need more quickly and through trusted local partners.In this episode, I’m joined by Shaundricka Easley and Dr. Brock Boudreau from Texans Together to discuss how the principles guiding Community Based Care will bring about better outcomes for children and families in Houston.Listen in to hear Shaundricka and Brock share how Texans Together is working to preserve the safety and well-being of Houston’s children, the ways CBC differs from traditional foster care services in Texas, guiding principles that can offer helpful insight for the ways we offer care across the board, and much more.Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: riversideproject.org/podcast/easley-boudreau-52

One of the first lessons you learn as a foster parent is that you can never assume how a placement will end.Most parents enter each placement knowing that reunification is the primary goal of foster care whenever it’s safe and possible. But that doesn’t make the journey any easier. They must learn to love a child wholeheartedly while also holding space for the possibility of one day saying goodbye.There may not be a book that covers every challenge you’ll encounter as a foster parent, but that’s what makes conversations with parents like my latest guests so important.Grant and Michaele Leathers have been foster parents for five years and have walked through many placements that ended with a variety of outcomes. They have been married for 9 years, and they truly see it as a privilege to be a small part in the stories of the families they work with.In this conversation, Grant and Michaele share some of the good and hard parts of fostering, why it’s essential to find your village of support, how to manage parenting in spite of uncertainty, and much more.Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: https://riversideproject.org/podcast/grant-michaele-leathers-51/

What does it look like to integrate mental health and faith?My guest today brings her knowledge, experience, and passion to answer this question. Ashley McFarland is a trauma trainer, psychotherapist and co-founder of the Pineheart Center. Throughout her time in child welfare, nonprofits, the school system, and a detention center, she gained insight into the ways trauma shapes our brains. In this conversation, we explore why it’s important to build connection and safety with an individual before trying to encourage behavior changes, how the Bible connects with neuroscience and healing, and much more. Ashley’s insights are so eye-opening for Christians who want to understand evidence-based mental health treatment models, and the hope and healing these methods can bring, through a biblical lens.Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: https://riversideproject.org/podcast/ashley-mcfarland-50

Going to court can be intimidating for everyone involved in the child welfare system: from foster parents to biological families, and of course, for children. Because of this, it's often the case that parties will neglect to show up for their court date. When this happens, judges have to base their decisions on an incomplete picture of the situation—and key testimony and desires are not taken into consideration.That's why we're so grateful to welcome Judge Charles Griffin on the podcast for an important conversation. He serves as the Associate Judge of the Gulf Coast Children’s Court under the Office of Court Administration and is a board-certified attorney in child welfare law. Charles has spent over six years presiding over cases that directly impact children and families in the foster care system. He’s here to give us some perspective on the factors that judges take into account as they strive to secure the best possible outcome for each case.In this conversation, Judge Griffin brings both extensive legal experience and a compassionate lens to one of the most complex areas of the child welfare system as he explains the role of a judge in a child welfare case, why everyone should respond to the call to “come to court,” some first steps you can take to get involved, and much more.Find the show notes and links to anything we discussed here: riversideproject.org/podcast/charles-griffin-49