DCS Talks about Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities with Dr. Paiml

DCS Talks about Autism and ASD with Dr. Alexa Dixon

In this episode of DCS Talks, foster parent trainer Toney Horton sits down with foster dad, Chris Templeton. Together, they discuss what it means to be a foster father and the impact this has on the child as well as the parent.

In this episode of DCS Talks, foster parent trainer Toney Horton sits down with foster father, Anthony Johnson. Together, they discuss what parenting techniques best help children as well as how foster and biological parents can work as a team.

This is part 2 of Toney Horton's interview with Mr. Anthony Johnson, a current foster and adoptive parent. If you have not listened to part 1, yet, I highly encourage you to listen to the previous episode first, for context. Join us today as we discuss what it means to be a foster father, as Mr. Johnson shares his experiences and Mr. Horton challenges this foster father with real-world scenarios. 

In this episode of DCS Talks, we have Susan Kovac with us to discuss Termination of Parental Rights.  Ms. Kovac has serves as General Counsel Emerita at Department of Children’s Services where she served as the lead attorney for the Knox County Region as well as serving as an Associate Professor at the UT Knoxville School of Law for over 13 years. We have asked Ms. Kovac to join us today to discuss Termination of Parental Rights through the perspective of the child welfare legal system.

In this episode of DCS Talks, we have Steve Vann with us to discuss mindfulness in child welfare. Mr. Vann is a professional counselor who serves as an Assessment Consultant with the Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Beyond serving our agency through assessment consultation Mr. Vann is also a regular practitioner of mindfulness and with all his experiences, he is sensitized to the stress experienced in the child welfare community whether you are a case manager, foster parent or community partner there are  a lot of stressors in child welfare! I have asked Steve to join us today to discuss different ways to experience mindfulness and why these practices are so important in child welfare.

In this episode of DCS Talks, we have Shelby Johnson with us to discuss assessing for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors . Ms. Johnson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who serves as an Assessment Consultant with the Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Beyond serving our agency through assessment consultation Ms. Johnson also served as a case manager and team leader at DCS and has worked in the education system as a social worker. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children or CSEM refers to a range of criminal activities such as sex trafficking, pornography, early marriage, essentially it is sexual abuse of a minor for financial benefit including an exchange of anything of value.

In this episode of DCS Talks, foster parent trainer Toney Horton sits down with former foster youth, and co-founder of Jonathan's Path, Taylor Hart DuRard, to discuss the child welfare system through the eyes of the youth. 

This episode mentions our interview with Taylor's mom, Carrie DuRard, which can be found in our DCS Talks archive, Episode 51, "DCS Talks: Teen Placement and Advocacy" here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dcstalks/episodes/DCS-Talks-about-Teen-Placement-and-Advocacy-e1v3c6e

In this episode of DCS Talks, we have Susan Kovac with us to discuss the Indian Child Welfare Act. Ms. Kovac has serves as General Counsel Emeritus at Department of Children’s Services where she served as the lead attorney for the Knox County Region as well as serving as an Associate Professor at the UT Knoxville School of Law for over 13 years. Ms. Kovac has many special interests around law and child welfare one of which is about the Indian Child Welfare Act or ICWA. ICWA provides guidance to States regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect and adoption cases involving Native children and sets minimum standards for the handling of these cases. This is November 2023 which is National Native or Indigenous American Heritage month

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness month, DCS Talks about the Caring Dads program.

Join DCS Foster Parent trainer Toney Horton as he interviews current foster parents on their experiences with daycare and childcare facilities. Through this discussion topics such as prioritizing children's individual needs, daycare disruptions due to trauma behavior, and staff improvement through being trauma informed.

DCS Talks with Laurie Ellington CEO & Founder, Ancient Science, Inc. Inner Alchemy and The Path to Human Flourishing about the importance of self care as a caregiver.

In this episode of DCS Talks, DCS podcaster, Sirena Wilson will discuss a basic concept in the Human Sciences, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Many of us who have placed a focus in human sciences by studying, social work, psychology, sociology, or health were introduced to Maslow’s concepts early on in our education, the ideas that are outlined are fundamental to understanding the basic needs of people. If you have a vocational path in these areas, you too are familiar with Maslow’s but if you are not we think a basic introduction would be very helpful in understanding the work we do in child welfare and we’d like to share that with you in this podcast.

Jennifer Drake Croft works as a Project Director in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Technical Assistance Center at Georgetown University, she serves as a profession coach at the Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee (AIMHiTN), an Adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, and where I first worked with Ms. Drake Croft she served as the Director of Child Well-Being at the TN Commission of Children and Youth and lead an extremely successful campaign to support local, state, and national response and knowledge mobilization to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and promote resilience.

In this episode of DCS Talks we interview Melina Smith, the Program Manager of the Foster Home Quality Team at DCS. If there are concerns about a foster home, that home may be investigated by a special investigation unit, part of the process of that investigation includes that the case is reviewed by a group of child welfare professionals to help make determinations about the foster home that is in question. 

DCS Talks about the process of developing leadership at the department through the Mentorship Certification Program.

On this episode of DCS Talks, Foster Parent trainer Toney Horton sits down with Founder of Jonathan's Path, Carrie DuRard, as they discuss the importance of fostering, adopting, and advocating for our teens in care.

In this episode of DCS Talks, Courtney Matthews, the Director of Independent Living at DCS is interviewed. The Independent Living program offers help to youth who are in foster care and who may turn 18 and as an adult will “age out” of the child welfare system. These services include creating a personalized transition plan with each child that address topics such as education, housing, employment, finances, physical and mental health. The Independent Living program offers help through services designed to assist youth in foster care as they work toward self-sufficiency.

In this edition of DCS Talks, podcaster Anna Richmond discusses how human trafficking is addressed at the Tennessee Department of Children's Services with program leader, Kelli Germain.