Episodes
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Following our recent Lunch and Learn on key child and family advocacy issues in this election, join Matt Gillard as he sits down with Charles Bruner, the director of InCK Marks and a leading voice in child policy. Together, they discuss critical issues on the ballot and explore what advocates need to prepare for—no matter the outcome in November.
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On the latest episode of the Speaking for Kids podcast, host Matt Gillard interviews Dennis Niemiec, the Executive Producer of the documentary "Kiss the Babies," and India Williams, an advocate against gun violence and the inspiration behind the film. Gun violence has become the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., often only gaining attention after mass shootings. "Kiss the Babies" aims to highlight the everyday impact of gun violence on youth. India, a victim of gun violence, shares how her life was forever changed by a stray bullet. Tune in as Dennis and India call for increased awareness around this critical issue. Watch the 2x Emmy award-winning documentary here, https://youtu.be/QFgummOxb9g?si=Q5csd-8TwayNVQyc to delve deeper into the conversation.
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Missing episodes?
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Speaking for Kids host Matt Gillard, president and CEO of Michigan’s Children,
welcomes participants from Peckham - Flint’s recent “Exchange for Change” program,
the multi-week roundtable between law enforcement officers and court-involved youths.
Over four weeks, seven officers from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department and
Flint Police sat down with seven youths enrolled in Peckham’s Youth Services Program
with the goal to find ways to “bridge the gap” between the community and police. They
explored difficult topics including trauma, implicit bias, policing practices, and individual
rights, and discovered a shared desire to improve their home community. In this
podcast, Matt talks with the guests about the impact the Flint Water Crisis had on youth
behavior and the distrust of authority that emerge from that environmental disaster. The
Flint cohort is the third in a series of dialogues that started with meetings between local
law enforcement and youth enrolled in Peckham’s Lansing program since the program
launched in November 2021. A fourth session is planned in the fall. The program is a
collaboration between Peckham and Michigan’s Children. Listen to it today.
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Michigan's Children Speaking for Kids podcast host Matt Gillard welcomes Schools Superintendent John M. Searles, head of the Midland County Educational Service Agency, to discuss the expansion of Pre-K for All. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the expansion in light of a contentious House budget plan that would negatively impact funding to community-based child care providers in favor of those operated by intermediate school districts. Listen in to this timely conversation around the Governor's plans for universal Pre-K.
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Join Matt Gillard, President and CEO of Michigan's Children, as he engages in a candid conversation with Jeff Cobb, Director of Government Affairs at Education Trust-Midwest, on the pressing need for equity in education funding. Delving into the Opportunity Index—a proposed funding formula inspired by successful models like Massachusetts—the discussion highlights the importance of prioritizing resources for districts serving low socioeconomic backgrounds and minority students.Gillard and Cobb advocate for increased investment in education, stressing the long-term benefits and cost savings associated with improving educational outcomes. They draw parallels between Michigan and Massachusetts' academic success, emphasizing the need for strategic investments to narrow the gap. Despite recent progress, they call for continued efforts to fully fund the Opportunity Index and double funding for English learners, setting Michigan on a path toward greater opportunity and prosperity for all.
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Michigan’s Children’s Matt Gillard sits down with Jeff Capizzano, President of the Policy Equity Group, to talk frankly about Governor Whitmer’s “PreK for All” plan now that expanding free 4-year-old preschool is moving closer to becoming reality with major state funding outlined in Whitmer’s proposed FY2025 budget recommendations. They discuss the plan’s “roadmap” for quickly expanding the state-funded preschool program at no cost to families, regardless of household income, while guarding against negatively impacting enrollment counts of private-pay, community-based child care providers.
Capizzano, whose Washington, D.C. firm was hired by the Governor's office to work on an implementation strategy, said the final recommendations represent a comprehensive strategy to better compensate early childhood educators, support the varied needs of families, and maintain viable privately owned child care businesses. He warned against “cherry picking” certain recommendations over others.
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To debrief Governor Whitmer’s 2024 State of the State address,
Michigan’s Children’s Speaking for Kids Podcast Host Matt Gillard
welcomes back two veteran Lansing lobbyists who have spent their careers
working on children’s issues in Michigan. Specifically, they look at what she
plans to champion on behalf of kids & families in the second year of her
second term in office. Listen in and learn how you can raise your voice for
the issues you care about. Returning guests are Andrea M. Cascarilla,
Government Policy Advisor, Dykema; and Matt Kurta, Partner, Karoub
Associates.
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In the December episode of Speaking for Kids, the Podcast, Michigan’s Children’s host Matt Gillard welcomes Gongwer News Service Managing Editor Alethia Kasben to talk about the accomplishments and shortcomings of the Michigan Legislature’s 2023 legislative year. Among big investments for kids and families were greater family tax relief through the expanded earned income tax credit, the adoption of free school meals, expanded free PreK for 4 year olds, and $50 million for afterschool programming. Also discussed were a few key issues that didn’t make it to the finish line, including paid family and medical leave. Listen or watch it today.
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Michigan’s Children President & CEO Matt Gillard welcomes state Rep. Jasper Martus to the Speaking for Kids podcast to discuss efforts to advance making paid family medical leave mandatory in Michigan. The Genesee County Democrat is a point person in the House on the issue and has introduced a measure calling for an actuarial cost study to keep the issue moving forward into the new Legislative year. Lawmakers are expected to finish the current session next week without action on the promising bill hailed by family advocates including Michigan’s Children and favored by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
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As Advocates from the Michigan Kinship Care Coalition (MKCC) gathering for aLegislative Day in Lansing to address state lawmakers, host Matt Gillard talks totwo guests about the changes needed to assist more kinship parents in raisingchildren outside the formal foster care system. Joining him this month areStephanie Armendariz, senior policy analyst, Chapin Hall at the University ofChicago, and author of the new research brief, Diverting Children from Foster toKinship Care: The Issue and the Evidence; and, Deborah Frisbie, co-chair ofMKCC’s Policy & Advocacy Committee. The advocacy group Generations Unitedestimates that for every one child being raised by kin who are registered as formalfoster parents with government support and services, there are 18 kids beingraised by relatives under informal arrangements and absent necessary services.
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Speaking for Kids podcast host Matt Gillard from Michigan’s Children talks with three top state advocates about the sizeable funding wins in the new FY24 state budget for afterschool programming, services for homeless and runaway youths, and adult education and literacy help. Listen in as Matt welcomes Patrick Brown, Executive Director of the Michigan Adult, Community and Alternative Education Association; Ben Moe, President, of Michigan Network for Youth and Families; and Erin Skene-Pratt, Executive Director, of Michigan Afterschool Partnership. Hear what these unprecedented and historic funding increases mean for real service improvements and outcomes for youth and families, what made the difference in budget advocacy this year, and the lessons advocates can take away from these important new successes.
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Speaking for Kids podcast host Matt Gillard talks inside politics around the FY24 State Budget with two veteran Lansing lobbyists. As state budget negotiations begin winding down to a conclusion next month, Matt welcomes two Capitol insiders experienced in the fight for children’s issues to discuss what the new fiscal year’s budget holds for kids and families. What do the latest state revenue estimates mean for programs and services we care about most? And how can advocates follow through on these issues? Listen in as Matt welcomes Andrea Cascarilla from the Government Policy and Practice Group at Dykema, a leading law firm, and Matt Kurta, a long-standing partner with Karoub and Associates.
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Speaking for Kids host Matt Gillard speaks with Sen. Rosemary Bayer about bills in the Michigan Legislature that she and other Democrats have sponsored to reform gun laws as the state deals with the aftermath of the mass shooting on campus at Michigan State University in February. They are joined by MSU Senior Dylan Gebhard, active in the Sit Down MSU and Students Demand Action movement in this podcast.
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Michigan’s Children’s Speaking for Kids Host Matt Gillard explores Governor
Gretchen Whitmer’s “universal PreK plan” to expand access and eligibility to the
state’s Great Start Readiness Program to all interested families of 4-year-olds.
Presented in the Governor’s recent State of the State address, it’s a bold plan that
has raised interest and some concern among early childhood providers and
advocates. Listen in as Matt welcomes Dawne Bell, CEO of Michigan’s Early
Childhood Investment Corporation, one of the state’s leading voices on early care
and education, and Jeff Capizanno, founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Policy
Equity Group. Capizanno is working with Michigan’s early childhood community
to evaluate how to implement the proposal in Michigan.
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Gun-related violence became the leading cause of child mortality in the United States – exceeding car accidents – just two years ago in 2020. Speaking for Kids podcast host Matt Gillard from Michigan’s Children welcomes gun reform activists Imani McKissic and Christopher Smith to the podcast to discuss Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s recent call for legislative action addressing gun violence during her State of the State address. McKissic, 19, now a college sophomore, lost her brother Michael McKissic II in an unsolved drive-by shooting in Lansing when she was 12. In his memory, her family started the Mikey23 Foundation to help mid-Michigan youth learn a skilled trade. Michigan State University professor Smith is the executive director of the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence working to prevent gun violence through community education and beneficial gun policies.
Listen today.
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Michigan’s Children’s Host Matt Gillard is joined on the Speaking for Kids podcast by three special guests to discuss glaring problems that came to light in the Wayne County youth detention system this fall. In a series of investigative reports by the Detroit Free Press, issues surfaced in the ways youths were detained before moving to their treatment plans - often for prolonged periods of time and in inhumane conditions – inside Wayne County’s Juvenile Detention Facility this past year. What does it say about the way we rehabilitate - or don’t rehabilitate - youth offenders, and the need for reforms? What should be done to more effectively move youth offenders on the road to rehabilitation for society’s benefit and their own? Guests: Detroit Free Press Investigative Reporter Christine MacDonald, Wayne County Parent Dinah Campbell, Lobbyist Rusty Merchant, McAlvey Merchant & Associates.
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Speaking for Kids Host Matt Gillard from Michigan’s Children explores an
important family issue that’s thankfully gaining greater attention at the Capitol
lately. With 54,000 children living in kinship care families in Michigan, Matt
discusses the issue of formal and informal kinship care arrangements with two
top advocates, David Berns and Erin Peets. Both serve as members of the
Michigan Kinship Care Coalition and the Kinship Advisory Council of the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services. David Berns, now retired was most
recently the Director of the Department of Human Services for the District of
Columbia. He was also the Director of the Office of Children’s Services for the
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services agency. There,
was that he realized that kinship care is often the best way to keep children
safe without placing them in foster care. Erin Peets, a lawyer, is the grant
manager at the Elder Law & Advocacy Center, which offers free legal services,
education, and assistance to older adults and caregivers throughout Wayne
County.
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Welcome two members of the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform to the Speaking for Kids Podcast to discuss a series of 32 recommended reforms that hold the promise of transforming the state’s court system for youth. Jason Smith, executive director of the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, and John Casteel, a former youth involved in the juvenile system, said they were optimistic that the work of the task force will result in a more fair system for young people, with more protections, diversion strategies, and improved opportunities for youth to thrive. Among the panels’ priorities were helping to keep young people out of detention facilities; reducing the number of incarcerated youth for low-level offenses; providing better legal representation; providing community-based family counseling and mental health treatment; and eliminating onerous fines and fees charged by juvenile courts. Listen to the podcast today.
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Michigan’s Children’s Speaking for Kids Podcast with Matt Gillard returns with senior economist Tim Bartik, of the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, to address the acute and long-term crisis in child care, its impact on labor markets in Michigan, and what state policymakers should do with billions of dollars in one-time revenue windfalls. Tax cuts or spending on investments with long-term gains, such as child care and preschool? Listen to Bartik’s advice on the opportunities before us, and help advocate before state lawmakers for investments that matter to us, kids and families.
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“I look at data for a living, but rarely do I ever do statistical analysis and look at the data and want to cry over it,” Yale University’s eminent child psychiatrist Dr. Walter Gilliam told Michigan’s Children’s Matt Gillard on the latest episode of Speaking for Kids. Addressing recent findings that underscore the incredible level of stress that early childhood caregivers are living with – 56% were screened for diagnosable levels of depression in a recent pandemic-related study – Gilliam and Gillard discuss Michigan’s experience with the state’s infant early childhood mental health consultation program and the significant positive impact it has on our youngest children and their adult caregivers. Once at the forefront of the social-emotional development field, Michigan failed to adequately invest in this particular mental health program, unlike states such as Ohio to the south. Today, Michigan’s Children and advocates are making a strong push to expand infant early childhood mental health services by seeking a $6.8 million investment that would help bring consultation services to beleaguered child care providers across the state.
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