Today’s episode is a re-release of the recording with Carol Mitchell from Season Two on June 19, 2025. This is a great episode for both Father’s Day and Juneteenth.

In this episode, Valerie sits down with Carol Mitchell, a seasoned attorney, social justice advocate, and founder of the Institute for Black Justice (IBJ). With over 20 years of public sector leadership experience, Carol is dedicated to transforming how systems recognize and support Black fathers as essential caregivers and partners in family well-being.

Based in Washington State, IBJ is committed to uplifting Black families by addressing systemic bias and promoting policies that center Black fathers’ dignity and leadership within family and community life. For example, the BABAS Program empowers dads to successfully navigate systemic challenges, achieve reunification with their children, and build healthy, enduring parent-child relationships.

This episode explores the often-overlooked role of fathers, especially Black fathers, in caregiving and systems change. Carol and Valerie discuss the historical and cultural pressures shaping fatherhood, and why naming and centering fathers in child welfare and family support systems is critical for true justice and healing.

Tune in to hear powerful stories from Carol’s advocacy work and discover practical ways child welfare leaders and others can shift their approach to engage fathers authentically and respectfully.

Community In-Site is now on YouTube. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are a few resources that Carol wanted to share with you.

• Institute for Black Justice - Social Justice, Family Advocacy
• Carol Mitchell, M.A., J.D. | LinkedIn
• Facebook

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

AI is here and how it impacts our work and lives is only going to speed up. As AI becomes ubiquitous in child welfare and family well-being systems, an important question emerges: who is shaping the use of these tools, and whose experiences are reflected in their design?

In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost speaks with Derrick Stephens, a lived-experience leader and technology builder working on AI-informed tools for human services, about the opportunities and risks AI presents for families and young people. Drawing from both his lived experience and his work developing technology solutions, Derrick discusses why community involvement and co-design are essential if AI is going to support families rather than reinforce existing problems.

He also shares the story behind Pathway Navigator, a tool designed with and for young people to help them navigate resources, organize next steps, and build toward long-term stability. The conversation explores how technology can support immediate needs while also creating pathways to employment, financial security, and opportunity.

This conversation invites listeners to think more critically about how AI is already shaping the future of child welfare and family well-being, and what it will take to ensure communities help design that future rather than simply experience its consequences.

Community In-Site is now on YouTube. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are a few resources that Derrick wanted to share with you.

• AIEYU - Where Technology and Humanity Converge
• Cardinality.ai | Cardinality.ai's Train & Hire Program: Empowering Veterans for Success in Tech
• Leading with Intelligence: A CEO’s Roadmap to AI Readiness & Co-design

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

The child welfare field is increasingly focused on shifting toward a broader vision of family well-being, one that emphasizes prevention, stability, and keeping families together whenever possible. But a fundamental question remains: can the system we have today actually become a family well-being system?

In this episode of Community In-Site, host Valerie Frost speaks with Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, about what it would take to transform the current child welfare system into something fundamentally different. Drawing from both his lived experience in foster care and his national policy work, Sixto reflects on why he believes change can happen from within rather than starting over entirely.

He explores how the system developed over time, why safety remains a central concern, and what it might look like to build a family well-being framework using the infrastructure that already exists. The conversation also touches on the broader conditions required for transformation, including government investment, community-based support, economic stability, and preparing young people for long-term success.

This conversation doesn’t offer a simple answer. Instead, it invites listeners to think more critically about what transformation would actually require, and whether families would feel the difference.

Community In-Site is now on YouTube. You can go to the website to listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families

Here are a few resources that Sixto wanted to share with you.

• Think of Us
• LinkedIn

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