Children's Commission Conversations

About Children's Commission Conversations

The Conversations podcast features informal discussions with experts focused on key topics in child welfare. Each episode offers education and practice tips designed to inform and support judges, attorneys, and others who serve Texas children, youth, and families experiencing the child welfare system. While episodes are geared towards judicial and legal audiences, they are available to anyone who may be interested.

Publisher

Texas Children's Commission

Category

government

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Feb 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

8 of 12 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S1 E11: Intersection of Special Education & Child Welfare

   Judge Ian Spechler explains special education law's impact on child welfare cases, offering judges and attorneys best practices for meeting children's needs in this interview.

2. 

   14 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S1E10: Understanding and Addressing Grief in Child Welfare Cases

   Dr. Julie Kaplow discusses how child welfare professionals understanding and addressing grief positively impacts children's mental health and well-being.

3. 

   14 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S1E9: Parent Mentor Programs and Their Impact on Positive Permanency

   Host Tiffany Maggret, Founder and Director of One Hope Village, explains how parent mentor programs support families in the child welfare system, fostering reunification and positive permanency.

4. 

   14 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S1E8: Engaging Fathers in Child Welfare Cases

   Host Kenneth Thompson Sr., retired DFPS Fatherhood Program Specialist, shares vital strategies for judges and attorneys to effectively engage fathers in child welfare cases, improving outcomes for children and families.

5. 

   28 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT

   S1E4: Navigating the Attorney-Client Relationship When Representing DFPS

   In this conversation, DFPS Managing Attorney Sandy Self discusses the law related to and models of the attorney-client relationship, along with how attorneys representing the agency can develop a strong attorney-client relationship and prepare their client for court. The discussion includes the differences in representation across legacy regions and Community Based Care regions.

6. 

   24 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   S1E7: Bonus Episode: Role of the DFPS Clinical Coordinator

   Amy Clynes, Division Administrator, explains the role of the DFPS Clinical Coordinator and how they impact child welfare cases in this interview.

7. 

   25 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT

   S1E6: Visitation Best Practices

   Ali Vasquez explores visitation best practices in child welfare cases, providing attorneys with strategies to prepare clients for successful visitations that facilitate reunification and positive outcomes in this interview.

8. 

   25 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT

   S1E5: Mental Health First Aid in the Courtroom

   Judge Roxanne Nelson explores Mental Health First Aid techniques for judges and attorneys to foster safer, more supportive courtroom environments, benefiting all participants in this interview.

9. 

   14 May 2025

   S1E3: Preserving Sibling Connections in Child Welfare Cases

   In this conversation, Professor Diane Sumoski discusses the positive impact of keeping siblings connected at all stages of a case and related best practices for Attorneys ad Litem.

10. 

    14 May 2025

    S1E2: Pre-Petition Advocacy in Child Welfare Cases

    Attorney Cindy Dyar joins us for a conversation about the impact of pre-petition advocacy on the parent client and on the family, and shares practice tips for parent attorneys taking pre-petition cases.

11. 

    14 May 2025

    S1E1: Introduction to the Children's Commission

    In this inaugural episode of Children's Commission Conversations, Executive Director Jamie Bernstein introduces the work of the Children's Commission and highlights available resources.

12. 

    26 Feb 2025

    Introduction to the Children's Commission

    In this inaugural episode of Children's Commission Conversations, we chat with executive director Jamie Bernstein to introduce the work of the Children's Commission and highlight resources available to judges and attorneys who serve Texas children, youth, and families experiencing the child welfare system.

Inside a recent episode

S1 E11: Intersection of Special Education & Child Welfare

Published 5 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And then in 1975, they created the Education for Handicapped Children Act. And that was the precursor to what's now known as the IDEA, which came along in 1990 and then was amended in 1997 and 2004 and hasn't been amended since. So it's been in its current form for 22 years now. And that's the law that governs all of special education across the country. If states are accepting federal money in order to serve students with disabilities, then they have to follow the guidelines, the laws of the IDEA. Then Texas has its own equivalent, Chapter 29 of the Texas Education Code. And then it also has administrative rules related to special education. […]

Who has been a guest on Children's Commission Conversations

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ian Spechler
• Dr Julie Kaplow
• Tiffany Maggret
• Kenneth Thompson Sr
• Amy Clynes

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

10,559

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

39

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

81

Contact Children's Commission Conversations

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Children's Commission Conversations