Partnership Connections

About Partnership Connections

The Learning Partnership for Children’s Services at Rhode Island College has launched the Partnership Connections podcast! LPCS is a partnership between RIC and the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, & Families (DCYF) to support ongoing training needs, capacity building, and the internship to employment pipeline for public child welfare in Rhode Island. The podcast is centered around Child Welfare training and educational topics all with the goal of helping to support those already working in, or with an interest in working in child welfare. Our desire is to bring information from experts on a variety of topics all at no cost to hard working professionals and others.

Publisher

sbrajer

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Nov 2024

Latest episode

2 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 34 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   2 Sept 2026

   "Failing Forward": Supporting Foster Youth Through Connection, Innovation, and Community

   Join us as we chat with Lisa Guillette, Executive Director of Foster Forward. From family finding and mentoring to housing and workforce development, this conversation explores how child welfare professionals can help build strong relationships with foster youth and learn more from an agency continuously striving to create pathways to permanency, belonging, and sustainable futures!

2. 

   20 Aug 2026

   Shaping the Future of Children’s Behavioral Health in Rhode Island: A Conversation with DCYF Director Ashley Deckert

   In this episode, we sit down with Rhode Island DCYF Director Ashley Deckert, who shares her journey into child welfare leadership and her deep commitment to family preservation and prevention. The conversation explores Rhode Island’s Children’s Behavioral Health Consent Decree, the state’s plans to transform behavioral health services through initiatives like a single point of access and enhanced care coordination, and the vision for a system that better supports children in the least restrictive settings possible.

3. 

   14 Aug 2026

   More Than Just a Pet: Why You Need to Understand Pet Loss & Attachment in Your Practice

   In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked topic of pet loss and grief through a child welfare lens. Joined by Dr. Michelle Crossley, Associate Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Rhode Island College and Vice President of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement, the discussion examines why the loss of a companion animal can be as emotionally significant as the loss of a human loved one, and important connections to child welfare practice; including how pet loss and separation from pets can affect children in foster care, residential treatment, and family reunification situations

Inside a recent episode

Youth Corrections Reimagined: Breaking Barriers & Building Bridges

Published 19 Sept 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But we also need to look at what's going on with the family. Why are they here? You know, what's going on with the kids? What's going on with the parents? And just really looking at them as the whole and, you know, what changes can be made, what supports do they have, right? Similar as to what you guys do over there. Holly touches on a great point. At home, mom may have a very difficult time getting Johnny to clean his bedroom. When Johnny comes to the training school, I can get Johnny to do almost anything. So maybe there's techniques that we're using inside of our facility that may help the family when Johnny comes home and keep that normalcy for Johnny when he gets out. […]

Who has been a guest on Partnership Connections

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

• Dr Mimi Mumm
• Mimi
• Ariana DeAngelis
• Tricia Driscoll
• Stephanie Manzi

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 24 / 100

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

Quality

48

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact Partnership Connections

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

Questions about Partnership Connections