Interview by Keyna Franklin
Katya Smyth is the CEO and founder of the social change organization The Full Frame Initiative.
Katya Smyth
Q: Can you tell us what you learned about services from running On the Rise to help women in crisis?
A: I knew going in that programs and systems tend to see people as problems. What I came to appreciate is how hard it is even for frontline workers who don’t want to see people that way to … Read More
Photo: Dana Christensen
Interview by Keyna Franklin
Dana Christensen is the model developer of Solution-Based CaseworkTM and a professor at the Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville.
Q: Solution-Based Casework is about caseworkers having “full partnership” with the family to make decisions. Why is that so important?
A: Partnership means actually believing that the family knows what needs to happen and is the best expert on themselves. The family needs to to be … Read More
Interview by Keyna Franklin
Photo: Julia Jean-Francois
The Center for Family Life in Sunset Park is nationally recognized for how it builds community to strengthen families. Here, Executive Director Julia Jean-Francois explains how economic stability is the first step toward achieving family wellbeing.
Q: A lot of parents feel like they just can’t cope and meet their basic needs. How does the Center for Family Life help with that?
A: We organize our service system so that we start … Read More
I met my caseworker Gloria when I went to rehab after I got the case. The first time we met, she explained how she could help me get my kids back if I put forth the effort. It was hard to believe her because she worked for the same people who took the ones I loved. But she let me know that my children belonged with me, that she believed in me and that I … Read More
I will never forget the day I returned home from an appointment and saw a note on my door saying that my children had been removed from home. I thought, “Did they take all of my kids?”
When I opened the door none of my six children were inside.
I immediately called the worker and found out that she had taken the two youngest, my 8-year-old son and my 4-year-old daughter because they were home alone.
I was … Read More
