Conversations with KidsPeace – Details, episodes & analysis

Smartphones are a marvel of modern technology, and there’s no doubt they’ve become an almost essential part of their owners’ lives.  But there are downsides to having such a powerful tool for attracting and keeping your attention in your pocket -- and that goes for kids even more than adults.

In the latest installment of the “Conversations with KidsPeace,” KidsPeace’s Jason Haller talks about the pitfalls of smartphone use, and suggests some ways parents and families can keep their kids -- and themselves --protected against negative consequences while taking full advantage of the technology’s “marvelous” capabilities.

Regular visits to the dentist are a rite of passage for young people in our society - but among youth in residential treatment programs it’s not uncommon to find kids who haven’t had proper dental care before in their lives.  

For the latest edition of the Conversations with KidsPeace podcast, host Bob Martin sat down with Dr. Andrea DiPaul, the dentist for clients in KidsPeace’s programming at the Orchard Hills Campus in Pennsylvania.  They discussed how her experience growing up helps her relate to the kids she sees -- and how their reaction to sitting in the dentist’s chair might surprise you.

What is a “toxic friendship?”  How can I tell if a friendship is toxic … and if it is, what can I do about it?  These are questions addressed in a new “learning” section of KidsPeace’s therapeutic support service TeenCentral.com.  

TeenCentral’s Madelyn Almonte discusses the concept of toxic friendships and ways to help teens recognize and deal with them, on the latest edition of the Conversations with KidsPeace podcast.  

As program manager for KidsPeace Foster Care in Kingston, NY, Jennifer Udvardi-Morris works to connect kids in need with foster families and other services.  But she’s also taken on a different task – lobbying legislators in her state to address the needs of those working in the child welfare field.

In the latest installment of the “Conversations with KidsPeace” podcast, Jennifer talks with host Bob Martin on the critical issues facing those who work in the field, and her outreach on those subjects with lawmakers in the Empire State.  

In December, Jennifer wrote a guest column for the Times-Union newspaper in New York’s state capital of Albany. You can read her column here.

https://fostercare.com/turnover-in-child-welfare-workforce-is-hurting-vulnerable-children/ 

The sixth season of the “Conversations with KidsPeace” podcast kicks off with KidsPeace President and CEO Mike Slack discussing highlights of 2023 and what challenges he expects the organization and the mental healthcare field will face in the new year.  

According to a recent study, children with autism are more than twice as likely to enter foster care than those without that diagnosis.  In one county in Pennsylvania, KidsPeace is launching an effort to meld its expertise in foster care with its understanding of the needs of kids with autism.

On the latest episode of the “Conversations with KidsPeace” podcast, host Bob Martin talks with Heather Einsig, a family resource specialist in the KidsPeace Foster Care office near Reading, PA, about the “Autism Focused Foster Care” program – why it’s needed, and what challenges it faces in recruiting and training foster families to care for this population.

The reigning Miss Pennsylvania, Alysa Bainbridge, recently toured KidsPeace’s Orchard Hills Campus facilities, and sat down for an interview about her advocacy for greater awareness of mental health concerns, especially in children. You can learn how her social issue focus has its beginnings in her own family’s experience, on the latest “Conversations with KidsPeace” podcast.

Supporters of KidsPeace’s foster care operations in Fayetteville, North Carolina will come together again this fall to celebrate local artists and raise funds to help our office care for foster families in the region.

Host Bob Martin talks with Program Manager Mike Edelman about the 9th annual KidsPeace Fayetteville Auction, on the latest episode of the “Conversations with KidsPeace” podcast.

Hear it now here, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

KidsPeace and its clients benefit tremendously from the generosity of donors and philanthropic-minded people – whose contributions often make it possible for our kids a chance to just be kids, if only for a little while.

In some locations, support is provided by groups known as Boards of Associates. On the latest episode of the Conversations with KidsPeace podcast, Lehigh Valley BOA Co-chair Shawn Hughes of BSI Corporate Benefits discusses the group’s work and its current efforts to raise funds to improve recreational facilities at KidsPeace’s Children’s Hospital and the Pennsylvania residential treatment campus.

Listen here, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

The Lehigh Valley BOA has two fundraising events coming up – the “Sunset Social” reception on August 24 and the 37th annual KidsPeace Golf Classic, both at Woodstone Country Club in Danielsville, PA. For sponsorship and ticket information, contact Missy Hartney at Melissa.hartney@kidspeace.org, or 610/799-8071.

On the latest installment of the Conversations with KidsPeace podcast, host Bob Martin talks with the head of a nonprofit arts organization about how they faced the challenge of retaining and motivating employees when COVID-19 threatened to end everything they and their organization does.

The Conversations with KidsPeace podcast is sponsored by Spyglass Solutions. www.spyglasssolutions.org/conversations