Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:17):
Welcome to the official broadcast of PCAA
America's National Conference.
I'm Nathan Fink, and I'll beyour host for the next four days
as we embark on thistransformative journey and hear
from experts in prevention, andtogether discover innovative
family-focused policies,cutting-edge research programs,
and practices that help drivethe field toward upstream
thinking so every child has theopportunity to grow up safe and
(00:40):
nurtured.
As Prevent Child Abuse America'sfirst in-person meeting of state
chapters and home visitingnetworks, policy and community
partners, and othercollaborators since 2019, the
2023 conference offers nearly 90sessions, three keynote
speakers, workshops, symposia,and presentations focusing on
effective prevention strategieswith nationally recognized
(01:00):
experts and leaders.
So tune in to hear fromprofessionals, advocates, and
innovators in child abuse andneglect prevention, because each
day is an opportunity to buildfoundations for our future.
Hello and welcome to thepodcast.
I'm excited to be here withValerie Frost of Kentucky Youth
Advocates, Resilience Builder,Community Change Maker, and now
(01:21):
mother of three children.
Valerie, welcome to the show.
And thank you for having me.
I say now, but you said 19months.
SPEAKER_01 (01:27):
But I I do feel like I just gave birth, to be honest.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
It's it's flown by.
Yeah, it goes fast.
My gosh.
So regarding the work that youdo, the work that is building
healthy communities, um, it'sall about creating conditions,
right?
Where children and familiesthrive.
How do you approach that work?
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Um, well, you talk about conditions for people to
thrive.
Um, traditionally, it's thechild welfare agency and system
has been very focused on peopleand them and like assessing
whether somebody is a risk orhas risk factors and what's
wrong with them, or what couldgo wrong with them, or what
could they do?
Um, and so with a lot of thework that I do, it's stepping
(02:08):
back and saying, What's going onaround people?
Um, do they even have the chanceto do well?
Um, do you do they have whatthey need to be a person, to be
a human being, and to besuccessful?
Um so it's taking it off ofpeople and taking it off of this
risk mindset and saying, like,what are the opportunities and
what is the quality of life thatis offered to someone?
(02:30):
Um, so do they have a chance tobe successful in the first
place?
SPEAKER_00 (02:33):
Are you finding that your approach or your the
conversations you're having withsystems?
What is the reception like?
SPEAKER_01 (02:40):
I think at first people were a little confused
and they didn't see, they didn'tsee how their role could shift
to being more preventionmindset.
Um they thought it was liketaking on a second job or
getting like a new set ofcriteria to do, a new checklist
to follow.
And it's really you're if youare living and working in a
community, you're surrounded bypeople, you're interacting with
(03:03):
people.
So it's just a different way ofwhen you have someone in front
of you, are you thinking aboutdoes this person have the
opportunity to have what theyneed and what can I do to
facilitate that and supportthat?
So it's the same work, the samepeople, the same community, and
just the way that you arethinking about them and thinking
(03:23):
about what you could do or say.
So it's not a new job, um, it'snot a second set, it's just a
shift.
SPEAKER_00 (03:31):
Right.
It's shifting, almost likeshifting that family, those
caregivers, that child to thecenter, and then surrounding
them with what they might need.
But it also does mean that wegotta kind of rethink this a bit
and eliminate some things thatwe have been doing, barriers,
practices.
Now, are there things out therethat you can point to that are
(03:51):
like, all right, this clearlyisn't working in terms of our
practices?
SPEAKER_01 (03:56):
I think a lot um is language.
There's a lot of power in words.
Um what you say to somebody toeither motivate them or to push
them further into hopelessness.
I think about that a lot withcaseworkers with the child
welfare agency.
You can have a parent in frontof you and tell them, like, you
(04:17):
got this, um, I have a cousinthat needed some mental health
support.
It's not a big deal, um, youknow, we're gonna walk through
this together.
And that's a huge difference tosomeone other than um you need
to see a therapist and I'm gonnaorder you to go do that.
And then to sit there and say,well, this parent's not
motivated to do this case plan.
Um, there's no hope here.
We're we're we're not gonna givethe kids back.
(04:37):
I think the the language is hugefor anyone just to have that,
like we're working together, I'mnot above you.
So something to eliminate wouldreally be that like us versus
them mentality.
Like we're all people, I know wetalk a lot um in the child
welfare system about families,and it's it's really kind of
othering the way that we sayfamilies, because it's like
those families that have thoserisks and those problems, um,
(05:00):
but then everybody in the roomhas children themselves.
So we're all families, we're allpeople that have needs.
So some people's needs are beingmet and some aren't.
So why aren't some people'sbeing needs being met?
And what could the community doto provide those needs?
SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
Let's walk down that path.
What do you think the communitycan do to provide some of those
needs?
SPEAKER_01 (05:18):
So when we look at people and and like I said, just
focusing on them, we're focusingon their capacity and individual
risk factors.
But when you step back to thecommunity and you look at the
community protective factors,that is does this community have
high-quality childcare?
Does this community haveopportunities for meaningful
social connection?
Does this community even havetransportation?
(05:40):
Um, I know a lot ofconversations about whether
people are working or not, buthow do you get to work?
You know, you have to have a wayto get there.
You have to have a job to get toin the first place.
Um, you have to wear clothes togo to work.
You ha your children need to besomewhere while you're working.
SPEAKER_00 (05:56):
Now, are you through your work with the Kentucky
Youth Advocates, are you seeingsome daylight?
Are you seeing some positivemovement in the direction we
should be going?
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
I believe four years now since I um had my own
personal involvement with childwelfare agency, um it it
impacted me a lot.
Um, you know, there there was atime that I I felt pretty
hopeless about child welfare andwhat was going on.
I was pretty blindsided um by myreport um and my involvement.
(06:25):
And um I had always thought, youknow, just being someone that
lives in the community, Ithought, you know, the reports
are for people that are abusingtheir kids.
Like that's, you know, they'rethere to stop, you know, really
bad people from doing badthings.
And so when I got involved, Iwas like, oh, I did not know
that this was happening.
And then you find out that, youknow, people are having
involvement for all sorts ofreasons that may or may not be
(06:46):
abuse or neglect or maybe inneed, but not severe.
Um, I would say over the pastfew years, um, partnering with
the child welfare agency,learning about how to respond to
the reports differently, um,working with community partners
and partnerships.
Um, and also I also facilitatelived experience as well.
(07:07):
Um, other people such as myselfthat have former involvement
with the child welfare agency.
Being right in the middle of allof those conversations, um, from
when I had my experience to now,I I do see a huge change.
Um, there's just a lot going onin Kentucky right now.
There are a lot of people thatare thinking about, you know,
how can we do thingsdifferently?
(07:28):
There are several differentplans for how to prevent calls
from coming in that don't needto come in in the first place.
But then if they do come in, youknow, how can we do things
differently?
Instead of just having this onesize fits all, they're all gonna
do the exact same thing and notreally individualizing for
different circumstances what afamily needs.
SPEAKER_00 (07:46):
Valerie, I so appreciate the work you do as a
father myself.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to talk to me today.
SPEAKER_01 (07:53):
All right, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (07:55):
And stay tuned for more interviews from PCA
America's National ConferencePodcast.
Welcome to the official broadcast of PCAA
America's National Conference.
I'm Nathan Fink, and I'll beyour host for the next four days
as we embark on thistransformative journey and hear
from experts in prevention, andtogether discover innovative
family-focused policies,cutting-edge research programs,
and practices that help drivethe field toward upstream
thinking so every child has theopportunity to grow up safe and
(00:40):
nurtured.
As Prevent Child Abuse America'sfirst in-person meeting of state
chapters and home visitingnetworks, policy and community
partners, and othercollaborators since 2019, the
2023 conference offers nearly 90sessions, three keynote
speakers, workshops, symposia,and presentations focusing on
effective prevention strategieswith nationally recognized
(01:00):
experts and leaders.
So tune in to hear fromprofessionals, advocates, and
innovators in child abuse andneglect prevention, because each
day is an opportunity to buildfoundations for our future.
Hello and welcome to thepodcast.
I'm excited to be here withValerie Frost of Kentucky Youth
Advocates, Resilience Builder,Community Change Maker, and now
(01:21):
mother of three children.
Valerie, welcome to the show.
And thank you for having me.
I say now, but you said 19months.
SPEAKER_01 (01:27):
But I I do feel like I just gave birth, to be honest.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
It's it's flown by.
Yeah, it goes fast.
My gosh.
So regarding the work that youdo, the work that is building
healthy communities, um, it'sall about creating conditions,
right?
Where children and familiesthrive.
How do you approach that work?
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Um, well, you talk about conditions for people to
thrive.
Um, traditionally, it's thechild welfare agency and system
has been very focused on peopleand them and like assessing
whether somebody is a risk orhas risk factors and what's
wrong with them, or what couldgo wrong with them, or what
could they do?
Um, and so with a lot of thework that I do, it's stepping
(02:08):
back and saying, What's going onaround people?
Um, do they even have the chanceto do well?
Um, do you do they have whatthey need to be a person, to be
a human being, and to besuccessful?
Um so it's taking it off ofpeople and taking it off of this
risk mindset and saying, like,what are the opportunities and
what is the quality of life thatis offered to someone?
(02:30):
Um, so do they have a chance tobe successful in the first
place?
SPEAKER_00 (02:33):
Are you finding that your approach or your the
conversations you're having withsystems?
What is the reception like?
SPEAKER_01 (02:40):
I think at first people were a little confused
and they didn't see, they didn'tsee how their role could shift
to being more preventionmindset.
Um they thought it was liketaking on a second job or
getting like a new set ofcriteria to do, a new checklist
to follow.
And it's really you're if youare living and working in a
community, you're surrounded bypeople, you're interacting with
(03:03):
people.
So it's just a different way ofwhen you have someone in front
of you, are you thinking aboutdoes this person have the
opportunity to have what theyneed and what can I do to
facilitate that and supportthat?
So it's the same work, the samepeople, the same community, and
just the way that you arethinking about them and thinking
(03:23):
about what you could do or say.
So it's not a new job, um, it'snot a second set, it's just a
shift.
SPEAKER_00 (03:31):
Right.
It's shifting, almost likeshifting that family, those
caregivers, that child to thecenter, and then surrounding
them with what they might need.
But it also does mean that wegotta kind of rethink this a bit
and eliminate some things thatwe have been doing, barriers,
practices.
Now, are there things out therethat you can point to that are
(03:51):
like, all right, this clearlyisn't working in terms of our
practices?
SPEAKER_01 (03:56):
I think a lot um is language.
There's a lot of power in words.
Um what you say to somebody toeither motivate them or to push
them further into hopelessness.
I think about that a lot withcaseworkers with the child
welfare agency.
You can have a parent in frontof you and tell them, like, you
(04:17):
got this, um, I have a cousinthat needed some mental health
support.
It's not a big deal, um, youknow, we're gonna walk through
this together.
And that's a huge difference tosomeone other than um you need
to see a therapist and I'm gonnaorder you to go do that.
And then to sit there and say,well, this parent's not
motivated to do this case plan.
Um, there's no hope here.
We're we're we're not gonna givethe kids back.
(04:37):
I think the the language is hugefor anyone just to have that,
like we're working together, I'mnot above you.
So something to eliminate wouldreally be that like us versus
them mentality.
Like we're all people, I know wetalk a lot um in the child
welfare system about families,and it's it's really kind of
othering the way that we sayfamilies, because it's like
those families that have thoserisks and those problems, um,
(05:00):
but then everybody in the roomhas children themselves.
So we're all families, we're allpeople that have needs.
So some people's needs are beingmet and some aren't.
So why aren't some people'sbeing needs being met?
And what could the community doto provide those needs?
SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
Let's walk down that path.
What do you think the communitycan do to provide some of those
needs?
SPEAKER_01 (05:18):
So when we look at people and and like I said, just
focusing on them, we're focusingon their capacity and individual
risk factors.
But when you step back to thecommunity and you look at the
community protective factors,that is does this community have
high-quality childcare?
Does this community haveopportunities for meaningful
social connection?
Does this community even havetransportation?
(05:40):
Um, I know a lot ofconversations about whether
people are working or not, buthow do you get to work?
You know, you have to have a wayto get there.
You have to have a job to get toin the first place.
Um, you have to wear clothes togo to work.
You ha your children need to besomewhere while you're working.
SPEAKER_00 (05:56):
Now, are you through your work with the Kentucky
Youth Advocates, are you seeingsome daylight?
Are you seeing some positivemovement in the direction we
should be going?
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
I believe four years now since I um had my own
personal involvement with childwelfare agency, um it it
impacted me a lot.
Um, you know, there there was atime that I I felt pretty
hopeless about child welfare andwhat was going on.
I was pretty blindsided um by myreport um and my involvement.
(06:25):
And um I had always thought, youknow, just being someone that
lives in the community, Ithought, you know, the reports
are for people that are abusingtheir kids.
Like that's, you know, they'rethere to stop, you know, really
bad people from doing badthings.
And so when I got involved, Iwas like, oh, I did not know
that this was happening.
And then you find out that, youknow, people are having
involvement for all sorts ofreasons that may or may not be
(06:46):
abuse or neglect or maybe inneed, but not severe.
Um, I would say over the pastfew years, um, partnering with
the child welfare agency,learning about how to respond to
the reports differently, um,working with community partners
and partnerships.
Um, and also I also facilitatelived experience as well.
(07:07):
Um, other people such as myselfthat have former involvement
with the child welfare agency.
Being right in the middle of allof those conversations, um, from
when I had my experience to now,I I do see a huge change.
Um, there's just a lot going onin Kentucky right now.
There are a lot of people thatare thinking about, you know,
how can we do thingsdifferently?
(07:28):
There are several differentplans for how to prevent calls
from coming in that don't needto come in in the first place.
But then if they do come in, youknow, how can we do things
differently?
Instead of just having this onesize fits all, they're all gonna
do the exact same thing and notreally individualizing for
different circumstances what afamily needs.
SPEAKER_00 (07:46):
Valerie, I so appreciate the work you do as a
father myself.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to talk to me today.
SPEAKER_01 (07:53):
All right, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (07:55):
And stay tuned for more interviews from PCA
America's National ConferencePodcast.
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