Speaking for Kids, the podcast from Michigan’s Children

In this episode, we explore what mental health looks like across the early years and into adolescence — and what adults need to understand to truly support kids. Matt is joined by an expert in infant and early childhood mental health (ages 0–3) and a professional working closely with middle and high school youth. Together, they unpack the signs of struggle, the systems that help (or hurt), and what it will take to create real change for young people's mental wellness in Michigan. What does mental health look like in toddlers? What challenges are older youth facing today? What can we do to make things better?Tune in for practical insights, honest reflections, and a better understanding of how we can all support the mental health of Michigan's kids.

In this episode, we dive into the real-life consequences of proposed U.S. Department of Education budget cuts, specifically their impact on children with disabilities in Michigan. With guests from an Intermediate School District (ISD), the Autism Alliance of Michigan, and an agency serving people with developmental disabilities, we explore how federal education dollars currently support essential services, what's at risk if that funding disappears, and how local communities can respond. From early intervention to IEP implementation and long-term equity concerns, our panel unpacks the cascading effects these cuts could have on students, families, and schools across the state.

In this episode, we reflect on the 2023 Michele Corey Child Advocacy Summit and the powerful moments that reminded us why youth voices must be at the center of our work. Advocacy is most effective when it's inclusive, and we explore what it truly means to uplift the voices of those we serve.

Our Host and CEO Matt Gillard is joined by special guests from the Michigan Immigrants Rights Center and Centro Multicultural to discuss the recent changes in Immigration Enforcement and their impacts on Michigan kids and families. Tune in to hear a very timely episode from experts on the matter.

Special Guest Brian Jordan sits down with our President and CEO, Matt Gillard, to discuss the policy of reading. You might remember Brian from his days of playing for the Falcons and Braves, but since retiring, Brian has become a champion for children. Listen to this episode to learn about his foundation, living with dyslexia, and why advocating for children is important to him.

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.

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.

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 andFlint Police sat down with seven youths enrolled in Peckham's Youth Services Programwith the goal to find ways to “bridge the gap” between the community and police. Theyexplored difficult topics including trauma, implicit bias, policing practices, and individualrights, and discovered a shared desire to improve their home community. In thispodcast, Matt talks with the guests about the impact the Flint Water Crisis had on youthbehavior and the distrust of authority that emerge from that environmental disaster. TheFlint cohort is the third in a series of dialogues that started with meetings between locallaw enforcement and youth enrolled in Peckham's Lansing program since the programlaunched in November 2021. A fourth session is planned in the fall. The program is acollaboration between Peckham and Michigan's Children. Listen to it today.

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.

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.

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.

To debrief Governor Whitmer's 2024 State of the State address,Michigan's Children's Speaking for Kids Podcast Host Matt Gillardwelcomes back two veteran Lansing lobbyists who have spent their careersworking on children's issues in Michigan. Specifically, they look at what sheplans to champion on behalf of kids & families in the second year of hersecond term in office. Listen in and learn how you can raise your voice forthe issues you care about. Returning guests are Andrea M. Cascarilla,Government Policy Advisor, Dykema; and Matt Kurta, Partner, KaroubAssociates.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Michigan's Children's Speaking for Kids Host Matt Gillard explores GovernorGretchen Whitmer's “universal PreK plan” to expand access and eligibility to thestate'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 thathas raised interest and some concern among early childhood providers andadvocates. Listen in as Matt welcomes Dawne Bell, CEO of Michigan's EarlyChildhood Investment Corporation, one of the state's leading voices on early careand education, and Jeff Capizanno, founder of the Washington, D.C.-based PolicyEquity Group. Capizanno is working with Michigan's early childhood communityto evaluate how to implement the proposal in Michigan.

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.

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.

Speaking for Kids Host Matt Gillard from Michigan's Children explores animportant family issue that's thankfully gaining greater attention at the Capitollately. With 54,000 children living in kinship care families in Michigan, Mattdiscusses the issue of formal and informal kinship care arrangements with twotop advocates, David Berns and Erin Peets. Both serve as members of theMichigan Kinship Care Coalition and the Kinship Advisory Council of the MichiganDepartment of Health and Human Services. David Berns, now retired was mostrecently the Director of the Department of Human Services for the District ofColumbia. He was also the Director of the Office of Children's Services for theMichigan Department of Health and Human Services agency. There,was that he realized that kinship care is often the best way to keep childrensafe without placing them in foster care. Erin Peets, a lawyer, is the grantmanager at the Elder Law & Advocacy Center, which offers free legal services,education, and assistance to older adults and caregivers throughout WayneCounty.

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.

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.

“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.

Michigan's Children President & CEO Matt Gillard sat down with former State Treasurer Nick Khouri to discuss the most recent state tax proposals under debate in Lansing, and the potential impact on state revenues and future investments in programs serving children, youth and families . Tune in to hear them breakdown the EITC, Pension Tax, and a possible General Income Tax Cut, and what advocates need to know to continue championing better services for our kids and families!

What are kinship families and why are they gaining greater attention in Michigan, most recently among recommendations of a House Task Force on Adoption and Foster Care? Speaking for Kids Podcast Host Matt Gillard, president & CEO of Michigan's Children, explores the issue with two guests, attorney Shannon Urbon, executive director of The New Foster Care, and Ryleigh Frisbie, a self-described “kinship kid” from Northern Michigan. Join us as we learn about long-awaited supports for kin caregivers, the grandparents, great-grandparents, aunties, cousins and older siblings who traditionally have stepped up to provide loving homes for children experiencing trauma. For the vast majority, however, they've done so without financial help and services children require. Hear what might be changing for these Michigan families, and how you can advocate before decision-makers.

Senator Debbie Stabenow joins Matt Gillard from Michigan's Children for a special edition of Speaking for Kids to discuss the Senate prospects for the Build Back Better act. The senior senator from Michigan offers her take on passing the bill by Christmas, with provisions for cutting taxes for families through expanding the child tax credit, university pre-K, child care funding, and reducing the cost of prescription drugs. She also has a strong message for the state Legislature.

This month's Speaking for Kids podcast from Michigan's Children features an important conversation about Michigan's foster care system and how new recommendations from a bipartisan task force could raise needed reforms. “Re-imaging Child Welfare: A Discussion on the latest House Task Force Report on Foster Care” brings together three guests with insider knowledge on Michigan's foster care system. Joining host Matt Gillard are Shannon Urbon, executive director of The New Foster Care, and Alexis and Justin Black, Michigan natives who spent portions of their childhoods in foster care. They recently wrote the memoir, “Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Care Kids Beat the Odds and Discovered Healing, Happiness and Love.”

Michigan voters say we must invest in children. In the newest episode of Michigan's Children Speaking for Kids, host Matt Gillard leads an important conversation on the results of a new statewide public opinion poll that finds Michigan voters strongly support greater investments in the state's 2 million children, even if it means raising taxes. Matt and guests break down what 800 likely 2022 General Election voters had to say about their priorities for kids - overcoming learning loss due to the pandemic, supporting kids' mental health, and boosting jobs and skills training, among others. They also discuss the key take-aways for child and family advocates working to improve the odds for all children in Michigan. Matt's guests are Todd Patterson, president of the Washington, D.C. strategic planning firm, Public Progress, and Patrick Brown, Executive Director, Michigan Association of Community and Adult Education.

Speaking for Kids, the podcast explores the statewide drive to urge more Michiganders of all ages to achieve a postsecondary degree or credential from a community college, 4-year university, technical, or internship program. With more than 70% of today's jobs requiring a degree or credential, host Matt Gillard discusses Michigan's goal to see 60% of the population attain a career-enhancing degree or credential by the year 2030. Joining him are two special advocates for college access: Michele Strasz, Executive Director of the Capital Area College Access Network, and Sydney Newsome-Smith, a Detroiter serving as a youth ambassador for the Detroit College Access Network, an incoming freshman at Michigan State University. They'll discuss the need to create a college-going culture in Michigan, and the challenges facing college access for many Michiganders, including ways to avoid crippling college debt by finding scholarships and school aid to pay for it.

Speaking for Kids, the podcast explores the critical need for expanded afterschool and out-of-school time programs for Michigan students as a “continuum of care” for school-age youth. Demand for expanded programming is clearly high, but how's the state's supply of afterschool opportunities that meet family needs? Host Matt Gillard of Michigan's Children explores the issue of community-based programming with Fran Talsma, Executive Director of the State Alliance of Michigan YMCAs, and Matt Watrous, Lead Director for Government Relations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

In the newest episode of Speaking for Kids State Reps. Ranjeev Puri and Greg VanWoerkom, members of the Governor's Task Force on Child Care, and parents of school-age children of their own sit down with Host Matt Gillard to discuss the Legislature's plan to take up the Governor's $1.4 Billion proposals to address the state's child care system and the eight-bill package of reforms working through the Legislature. An issue that's plagued working parents for years, child care access and affordability reached a critical point during the pandemic with 100s of thousands of women leaving the workforce in Michigan. VanWoerkom and Puri discuss how the issue has gained bipartisan support and what the prospects are for real change in this and future budget cycles.

With $1.4 Billion in new federal relief dollars targeted for Michigan, state lawmakers and the Whitmer Administration have an unprecedented opportunity to make some real change in the state's struggling child care system, which is inaccessible for many working families and untenable as a business model for many child care providers. A successful state economy needs a strong child care system for its working parents and their employers. Join us as host Matt Gillard, President & CEO of Michigan's Children, discusses transforming the state's child care system with guests Denise Smith, Director of Detroit's Hope Starts Here early learning framework, and Sheri Williams, owner/operator of Agape Love Child Care Center in Detroit.

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