Raising Rochester

On this episode, Larry Marx connects with ROC the Future Executive Director, Brian Lewis.  ROC the Future is an affiliate of the national Strive Together Network of collective impact initiatives. Tune in to discover how ROC the Future approaches their work with young people through a comprehensive systems perspective. Links ROC the Future Strive Together

In this episode, Raising Rochester welcomes Aqua Porter, Executive Director of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI). Aqua speaks with TCA CEO, Larry Marx about the role RMAPI plays in the community, how poverty impacts children in the city of Rochester, and how collective impact efforts are making a difference in poverty in our community. Links Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI)

This week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast is Monica Graham. Monica is a parent of a 9th grader in the Rochester City School District and a committed advocate for parents in the district. She shares her experiences as a parent advocate, explains how she got involved in parent advocacy, and gives advice on how more parents can get involved as advocates for their children and all children in our community. Links: RCSD Parent Group Opportunities Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute Join our Very Invested Parents

Amanda Wilbert and Stacia Paganelli from Step by Step Pediatric Therapy Services join this week's episode of Raising Rochester to discuss Monroe County's shortage of Early Intervention services from a provider perspective. The conversation touches on their backgrounds, the importance of Early Intervention services for children and families in our community, and the workforce shortages affecting the sector in Monroe County and throughout New York State. Links: Step by Step Pediatric Therapy Early Intervention Parent & Community Zoom Registration

This week's episode of Raising Rochester has been handed over to our colleagues at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy. The Schuyler Center recently convened a discussion about “The Path to Universal Child Care,” and we felt the conversation would be worth amplifying through our podcast. This episode is hosted by Dede Hill, Director of Policy at the Schuyler Center. She is joined by Maria Whyte, Deputy County Executive of Erie County and Shanita Bowen, Director of Operations for ECE on the Move. Links: Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy ECE on the Move

Rachel Bonsignore is this week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Rachel is the Executive Director of Liftoff Western NY, an initiative to ensure all young children in Western NY are ready for Kindergarten. She and Pete Nabozny discuss Liftoff's origins and the effort's key issues areas. They also highlight some promising local efforts to better support young children in different parts of western New York. Links: Liftoff Western NY Strong Starts Chautauqua Cost of Child Care Study in Erie County Help Me Grow NY

Jenn O'Connor is this week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Jenn is the Director of Policy and Advocacy and Prevent Child Abuse New York. She and Pete Nabozny discuss a wide range of topics, including her background, Prevent Child Abuse New York's work and recent legislative and policy changes affecting children in New York State. Links Prevent Child Abuse New York More about ACEs

Sara Taylor is this week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Sara is a parent of a child with mental health issues, an advocate for parents and families advocating the mental health system, and the founder of BIPOC PEEEEEEK, a parent organizing effort. She shares her perspective on the state of mental health care for children in our community, inequities within that system, and news about an exciting project that she and other parents are attempting to launch in the fall of 2022. Links About BIPOC PEEEEEEK CCSI Tuesday Talks (minute 61)

This week's podcast guest is Danielle Jones. Danielle is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, doula, and a highly involved member of the Rochester community. This conversation focuses on her background, her involvement in the Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, her work as a doula, and maternal wellness. Links: Maternal health disparities in our region Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative MomMe Timeout Podcast June 11th Maternal Wellbeing Expo

This week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast is Eamonn Scanlon. Eamonn is the Education Policy Director at The Children's Agenda, and focuses a great deal of his work on the Rochester City School District's budget. He joins the show to discuss challenges with this year's RCSD budget, Rochester's somewhat unique budget approval process, budget advocacy priorities, and more. After recording this episode, the RCSD Board of Commissioners narrowly passed the proposed budget, though many board members expressed a great deal of frustration with the way the budget process played out this year. Links: WXXI news article on the district's budget vote The Children's Agenda's initial analysis of the 2022-23 RCSD Budget

Justin Murphy joins the Raising Rochester podcast to discuss his new book, “Your Children are Very Greatly in Danger.” That book is a history of school segregation in Rochester, NY. It chronicles attempts to integrate schools in Rochester, as well as efforts to resist desegregation. Justin is the Education Reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, and has covered Rochester's schools for the past 8 years. He and Pete Nabozny discuss his book, the broader context of school segregation in our community, and his recommendations for ways to begin to address school segregation in Rochester and Monroe County. Show Notes: Justin Murphy's website Hipocampo Children's Books

Larry Marx is this week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Larry is the CEO of The Children's Agenda. Larry is an experienced and highly successful advocate for children and has overseen The Children's Agenda's growth over the past decade. He led our recent effort to commission a statistically representative public opinion poll of Monroe County parents, He joins the show this week to discuss the poll's findings and its implications for public policy in our community and throughout New York State. Links: Monroe County Parent Poll Targeted Universalism

Isaiah Santiago is this week's guest on the Raising Rochester podcast. Isaiah is an extremely busy senior at School of the Arts and a passionate youth advocate in the community. He and Pete Nabozny discuss his background, some of his current pursuits, and his perspective about some of the key issues in our community today. Link I'm Free – Isaiah Santiago

Tina Carney is this week's Raising Rochester guest. Tina is a committed parent advocate in Rochester and Monroe County. Tina shares her personal experience as a parent trying to get her children the services they need, describes how she got involved as a parent leader in this community, and details how she believes child serving systems need to better engage and empower parents. She and host Pete Nabozny also discuss recent Early Intervention legislation and Governor Hochul's Early Intervention budget proposal. Tell the Legislature that Early Intervention needs an 11% rate increase this year. Tina's Affiliations: Monroe County Early Intervention Coordinating Council ROC The Future School Readiness Outcomes Team Dyslexia Allies of Western NY Community Advocates of Struggling Learners (Gates-Chili) Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute

Stevie Vargas joins Raising Rochester for our first episode of 2022. Stevie is Upstate Campaign Coordinator for the Alliance for Quality Education, and works to organize communities across New York State to ensure that all students receive a high quality education regardless of ZIP code. AQE has also emerged as a leader to implement universal child care in New York State. The conversation focuses on the state of child care in New York, Stevie's personal challenges accessing and maintaining child care, and the 2022-23 state budget. Links: Alliance for Quality Education The Children's Agenda's new Barriers to Care report Empire State Campaign for Child Care

Brigit Hurley joins Raising Rochester this week to discuss the proposed 2022 Monroe County budget. Brigit is The Children's Agenda's Senior Director of Advocacy and Programs, and has been responsible for our Monroe County budget reviews since joining The Children's Agenda in 2012. The conversation focuses on what is important in the county budget and what The Children's Agenda is recommending before the budget is finalized. Proposed Monroe County Budget The Children's Agenda's Prior County Budget Analyses American Rescue Plan Act Feedback Opportunities

Katie Albitz joins Raising Rochester this week as our podcast's first out-of-town guest to analyze the child care components of the proposed federal Build Back Better reconciliation package. Katie is the Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for the New York Association for the Education of Young Children (NYAEYC). The conversation touches on the important work that NYAEYC does throughout New York State, the transformational nature of the proposed federal legislation, what New York should do to best implement of this child care system overhaul, and what listeners should do to ensure it passes the United State Senate. Links and Resources: New York Association for the Education of Young Children Empire State Campaign for Child Care Hunt Institute Summary of Build Back Better's Pre-K and Child Care Provisions First Five Years Fund Action Toolkit We also discussed, but had to cut for time, a survey that NYAEYC conducted to tell the stories of child care provider experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kristen Rogers joins the show this week to reflect on her experiences as a family child care provider. She shares her motivation for opening her program, how she tried to structure a high quality experience for the children in her care, the unique value of family child care compared to center based care, and why, after 15 years of operating her program, she decided to close. She also provides information about her current position with the Career Development Center at the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. Links – Learn more about the Early Childhood Career Development

Jessica Lewis, ROC the Future's Communications Specialist and Urban-Suburban program graduate, joins the show this week. She and host Pete Nabozny discuss her experiences in the Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer program as a child, the origins and history of Urban-Suburban, her thoughts on various critiques to the program, and her hopes for the program's future. Links: Learn more about the Urban-Suburban Program Learn more about ROC the Future Register for ROC the Future's 10 year celebration and Report Card Release

Yversha Roman, Director of CASH at Empire Justice Center, joins the show this week to discuss the CASH program, the recent temporary expansion of the child tax credit, and local efforts to ensure that all potential recipients of the child tax credit are able to receive it. Learn more about the child tax credit expansion and assistance that CASH can provide Learn more about the CASH program and how you can get involved

Carmen Torres, The Children's Agenda's Parent Advocacy Coordinator, joins the show to discuss the alarming rise of violence in Rochester over the past 18 months and the effect it has on children's mental health. They also discuss the need for the Rochester City School District and community partners to address mental health needs as children transition back into the classroom this fall. Links- Register for the Violence Hurts Children's Mental Health March Read the letter - The Children's Agenda and 14 other organizations sent the Rochester City School District about ways to use federal funds to support children as they re-enter the classroom this fall.

This week's episode is all about sleep. Raising Rochester's Host Pete Nabozny interviews Dr. Jack Peltz, a clinical psychologist and researcher who specializes in sleep issues. They explore the basics of sleep from a developmental perspective, the importance of positive sleep routines, and the challenge that early school start times present to teenagers. Give it a listen, and please subscribe and share on social media if you have enjoyed the first few episodes of Raising Rochester. Links and Resources from Jack Peltz – URMC Pediatric Sleep Center Rochester Regional Health Sleep Center Start School Later Craig Canapari, MD Pediatric Sleep Council Website

The first episode of Raising Rochester is a conversation with Kim Dooher. Kim is a parent of four, including Vivian, a remarkable 5 year old girl who has benefitted immensely from Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education services. Kim is also one of the co-founders of Parents Helping Parents of Monroe County, a group established to ensure that every young child with developmental delays or disabilities is able to receive the supports they need to thrive. She and our host Pete Nabozny discuss her background, her experiences as a parent navigating Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education services, parent advocacy, and Early Intervention Awareness month in Monroe County. Links The Children's Agenda's Kids Can't Wait campaign page Parents Helping Parents of Monroe County – Public Forum Parents Helping Parents of Monroe County – Non-Public Group Monroe County LEICC website Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Raising Rochester is a wide-ranging, conversational podcast, focusing in on issues related to children and families in our community. Host, Pete Nabozny, Director of Policy at the Children's Agenda, brings his unique perspective as a policy expert (and recent father) and talks with a diverse set of content and context experts, from policy makers, to parents, to community leaders in an effort to uncover smart solutions for children in the Rochester community. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.