Current Events · Fostering the Future Podcast

Understanding CBCs - Meet Tory

·40 min·5 clips

Jack and Sam introduce Tori and keep the opening easy. They start with studio banter and a Starbucks question. That gives the episode a relaxed way in. The conversation then shifts to Tori's work with their local CBC. She talks through what the organization inherited after the transition from Eckerd. The biggest strain was workforce stabilization. Case management had been badly understaffed. At one point, internal staffing was down to about 25 percent. A shortage like that ripples through the whole system. It makes case managers' jobs harder. It makes answers harder for children and families to get. It also makes it harder for foster parents to understand what is going on in a case. The hosts keep the focus on the practical effects. Tori then lays out the other priorities the team had to handle. Placement stability and placement capacity were both major concerns. Permanency was another focus, since more children needed to move out of care. Family preservation also got stronger on the front end. The episode offers clear signs of progress. Case management is now about 94 percent filled. Some staff are still in training, and protected caseloads remain part of the setup. The number of children in care has dropped by more than 500. Tori describes that as an 18 percent reduction in out-of-home care over 18 months. The team has also added new services for children who are officially safe but still at high risk. The conversation takes a moment to explain what safe-at-home services mean in practice. That distinction helps separate children who can stay home with support from children who do not need to enter foster care at all. The hosts keep the tone steady and direct. They let the numbers speak for themselves. By the end, the episode settles on a simple idea. Little wins and baby steps are what keep the work moving. That lands whether you are a parent, a foster parent, or someone working inside the system.

As heard by us

A clear look at child-welfare work, staffing recovery, and family preservation.

The episode keeps its feet on the ground. A local placement-resources leader joins the hosts to talk through staffing strain, placement pressure, and the work of keeping family preservation from slipping through the cracks.

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Why you'd press play

Hear what child-welfare stabilization sounds like when the numbers get real.

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