Bonus Babies
The Anthem Award winning BONUS BABIES podcast is the only one of its kind that features the compelling true-life hard-hitting stories of those with a lived foster care experience and the people who care for them––all via the unique 360* lens of a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. Through raw first-hand accounts, BONUS BABIES reveals the daunting complexity of the foster care world while documenting the challenges, failures and successes of the system as well as the people and the agencies involved. The creator and host, Jayne Amelia Larson, is a CASA - a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer for youth in foster care. In the same way a CASA works, she explores all things in the foster care maze by talking to kids, parents, caregivers, attorneys, social workers, therapists, adoptees, adoptive parents, members of community and social programs...anybody and everybody who will speak to her to keep the conversation open and the information flowing about all things CASA––to give a forum to help people understand what it's like to have a lived foster care experience. Original music by Christina Apostolopoulos. Emma Karpman is our Social Media Manager. Audio engineering and mixing by Adam "Yukon" Harr of Blue Oak Mastering. Executive Producer is Jake Eberle. Cover art by John Crowther.
Bonus Babies
Paul Freese: Who Are You, Why Are You Here, What Will Become Of You, What Impact Will You Have?
Jayne Amelia speaks with advocate Paul L. Freese, Jr. Paul has worked as a public interest attorney for more than 25 years and provides consulting on holistic innovations and solutions to poverty, with special focus upon traumatized populations. He specializes in strategic project development to achieve upstream early intervention impact. He has devoted his career to humanizing our child welfare, health and corrections systems by applying emerging insights from neuroscience on trauma informed care promoting emerging evidence based best practices to integrate and apply such insights. His work is guided by the core principles that 1) poverty and homelessness stem from the corrosion of the ties that bind our families and communities with connective care, and 2) the most pernicious form of poverty is that which erodes our collective spirit vis-à-vis the growing empathy divide between those suffering oppressive conditions in our inner cities and detached rural areas from those living in privilege, protected and ever more gated communities. Accordingly, he promotes ‘proximity projects’ that connect these worlds, with the specific goal of increasing the presence of caring protective adults in the lives of our most invisible and detached households and individuals through outreach, peer supports, mentoring engagements, community engagement and utilizing emerging technology to achieve this connectivity in care.
Paul’s career includes twenty-five years as a legal aid attorney developing programs to prevent and end homelessness and to protect and engage our most isolated and vulnerable youth – those experiencing homelessness, immigration distress, foster care and justice involved youth. Paul currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Law Center, whose attorneys represent youth in dependency proceedings; the Advisory Board of Angel’s Nest TLP, a transformative opportunity housing nonprofit for former foster youth. Paul is also Board Chair of the Human Trafficking Legal Network (Foster Are Legal Network).
Simply Friends
Angel's Nest
Human Trafficking Legal Network
Adaptation To Life by George Valiant
Harvard Study on Happiness
The Good Life by Robert Waldinger and Mark Schultz
Change Reaction
See bonusbabies.org to learn more about what we are doing and please donate to support us by making a 100% tax-deductible contribution. EVERY PENNY OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION GOES TO RECORDING AND PLATFORMING THESE STORIES. Yeah!
IG@bonusbabiespodcast
TW@BonusBabiesPod
FB@BonusBabiesPodcast
