This week we talk with Jey Rajaraman, who served the last 15 years as chief counsel and supervising attorney at Legal Services of New Jersey's Family Representation project. She has recently joined former Children's Bureau chiefs Jerry Milner and David Kelly at Family Integrity & Justice Works. Jey tells us about her work in providing legal support to families before a removal into foster care is needed. Support the show
Mar 29, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 8
This week, we talk with Rachel Barkley, an experienced coalition- and community-builder at the state and local level, and a spinal cord tumor survivor and mom. Rachel tells us about her work promoting policies that promote personal freedom and human dignity, and about parenting her children while quadriplegic. In this episode, Rachel shares her professional experience in the policy-making world, and her personal experience in parenting with a disability. Rachel also hosts a podcast with her husb...
Mar 23, 2022•52 min•Season 4Ep. 7
This week, we’re talking with Willie Deutsch, who served for four years on the school board of Prince William County, Virginia. A parent himself, Willie focused on making parents’ voices heard in the local school system. Hear about how he worked to pass parent-focused policies and what it’s like to serve on a school board, plus tips for parents looking to engage with their local school board and advice for those interested in running for local school boards themselves. This episode is hosted by ...
Mar 15, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 6
This week, we’re talking with Ian Prior, founder of Fight for Schools , an organization of concerned parents dedicated to protecting parental rights in the public school system of Loudoun County, Virginia. Ian explains how he came to be involved in the parental rights movement and the work his organization has done and is currently doing on behalf of parents in the local schools. This episode is hosted by Will Estrada, president of the Parental Rights Foundation and ParentalRights.org! Support t...
Mar 08, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 5
In the final installment of our anniversary series, we’re celebrating 15 years of ParentalRights.org by talking with Will Estrada, president of ParentalRights.org and the Parental Rights Foundation! Will began his career with Home School Legal Defense Association and has served in the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He shares why parental rights matter to him and how his journey led him to helm ParentalRights.org and the Parental Rights Foundation. Su...
Mar 01, 2022•46 min•Season 4Ep. 4
In the third week of February, we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of ParentalRights.org by talking with two volunteer State Coordinators! This week, Michael talks with Adriana Gonzales, former Florida State Coordinator for ParentalRights.org, and her successor, Patti Sullivan, now a long-time advocate for families and parental rights. Adriana and Patti share how they’ve worked to pass parental rights legislation over the years, including the recent Florida Parents Bill of Rights that was sig...
Feb 23, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Welcome to week two of our celebration of 15 years of ParentalRights.org! This week, Michael talks with Shaun Alexander, 2005 NFL MVP and Vice President of the Parental Rights Foundation, and Ethan Demme, CEO of Demme Learning and former chairman of the Parental Rights Foundation Board. Shaun and Ethan share why protecting parental rights is important to them, and how they came to join ParentalRights.org and the Parental Rights Foundation. Support the show...
Feb 15, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 2
In this first episode of our fourth season, we talk with Michael Farris, founding president of ParentalRights.org and currently the president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom . This month, ParentalRights.org is celebrating its 15th anniversary! To celebrate, we’re interviewing key figures from our organization’s history, beginning with our founding president. Michael explains to us why he founded ParentalRights.org, and why the mission of the organization remains so important today. Support...
Feb 08, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Thank you for listening to Season Three of the EPPiC Broadcast! Episode 21 with Shanta Trivedi marks the end of our third season, but we’ll be back soon with more interviews and more parental-rights focused content. The EPPiC Broadcast will return on February 7th, 2022 so mark your calendars. As always, new episodes air on Tuesdays at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time. In the meantime, you can catch up on our older episodes at parentalrightsfoundation.org/podcast . If you enjoy the show, how about leav...
Dec 14, 2021•2 min
Our child welfare system exists to protect children from harm. Yet, in most jurisdictions in America, courts fail to consider the trauma that children will suffer if they are removed from their parents. The best way to protect most children is to support their parents and families. This week, Michael talks with Shanta Trivedi, an Assistant Professor of Law and the Faculty Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts , at the University of Baltimore School...
Dec 07, 2021•52 min•Season 3Ep. 21
A new law in Virginia makes it illegal for parents to choose babysitters based on shared beliefs. Not only does this new statue violate previously existing law, it represents a dangerous threat to parental rights. This week, Homeschool Legal Defense Association staff attorney Peter Kamakawiwoole, who has helped us to file suit against this law, joins us to explain how it violates Virginia state law regarding freedom of religion and disregards the traditional rights of parents. At HSLDA, Peter he...
Dec 01, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Our child welfare system removes minority children from their parents’ homes at a much higher rate than white children. What if there were a way to remove racial biases from CPS child removals and end the over-representation of black and minority children in our child welfare system? This week, Michael talks with Dr. Jessica Pryce, Director of the Florida Institute of Child Welfare. Jessica is a professor and a former social worker, and she’s the author and presenter of a TED Talk entitled “ To ...
Nov 23, 2021•42 min
The 21st Century Children and Family Act , recently introduced into the House of Representatives, promises to reduce "legal orphans" in the foster care system by supporting families up front and keeping them together. Can we expect to see this change succeed? This week, Michael talks with Andrew Brown, a distinguished senior fellow of child and family policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation . Andrew has advocated for parents and families as an attorney, and he’s an expert on issues surround...
Nov 16, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 19
The recent Virginia gubernatorial election signaled a win for parental rights, arguably on a national level. Will the growing grassroots support for parental rights continue? This week, Michael talks with Joel Grewe and Jeremiah Lorrig, director and deputy director, respectively, of Generation Joshua -- an organization dedicated to educating youth about the political process and helping them enter the political arena. Join us for an in-depth breakdown of how parents rallied in Virginia to reject...
Nov 09, 2021•48 min•Season 3Ep. 18
The EPPiC Broadcast is taking an official, two-week hiatus. We’ll be back with more great content on November 11th. Coming up, we’re going to be talking with Shanta Trivedi, Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Family, Children and the Courts, at the Baltimore University School of Law. Another upcoming guest is Dr. Jessica Pryce, Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at Florida State University and the Executive Director of The Florid...
Oct 26, 2021•1 min
The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) was passed in 1997 to keep children from languishing in foster care, but today this law gives state agencies a cash bonus for breaking up families. How did we get here, and what can we do to give families that encounter social services a fighting chance to stay together? This week, we talk again with Dr. Martin Guggenheim of the NYU School of Law. Marty tells us about how ASFA creates a ticking clock for families caught in the CPS system, and how he’s wo...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 17
This week, Jim talks again with Jerry Milner, former Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau in the US Department of Health and Human Services. Jerry now works with Family Integrity & Justice Works. Jerry explains why the Adoption and Safe Families Act, created in the 1980s, needs to be reformed to preserve families, rather than splitting them up unnecessarily. He also tells us about the harms that the current mandatory reporting system causes, and what can be done to better protect ...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In March 2020, we heard ominous warnings of ‘pandemic of child abuse’ accompanying the COVID-19 shut downs. Children went home, away from the watchful eyes of mandated reporters, and back to their families. But did cases of child abuse actually increase during the added stress of the pandemic? This week, Jim sits down with Anna Arons, a professor at the NYU School of Law. Anna has previously worked as a family defender at the Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, representing parents in chil...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 15
This week, Jim sits down with Florida State Rep. Erin Grall, sponsor and architect of the recently passed Florida Parents’ Bill of Rights. Erin tells us about the long road to this historic victory for Florida parents, and how grassroots involvement from local parents helped the bill gain traction. Plus, hear about how this bill can help parents and families in other states. Support the show
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Florida parents are celebrating a historic victory - the successful passage of a Parents' Bill of Rights in their state. This week, Michael talks with Patti Sullivan, ParentalRights.org's Florida State Coordinator, and a long-time advocate for families and parental rights. Patti was deeply involved with the passage of this bill, and she explains how this bill was passed, how it will help families in Florida and across the nation, and the opposition the bill faced. Learn more about Patti’s work a...
Aug 31, 2021•49 min•Season 3Ep. 13
During her time as a family court judge, foster care rates in her city dropped to just 10% of the national average. How did she do it? This week, Michael talks with former judge Ernestine Gray, who served for 35 years in the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court in Louisiana. Judge Gray explains how she prioritized preserving families and parent-child relationships in her court, and how she helped parents find community resources and support, rather than immediately revoking their rights. Support the sh...
Aug 24, 2021•48 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Parental rights and religious liberties are being increasingly threatened by radicalized school curricula. What can we do about it? This week, ParentalRights.org founder and Alliance Defending Freedom CEO Michael Farris returns to the EPPiC Broadcast. Michael explains why these new curricula are harmful to children and even unconstitutional, and what Alliance Defending Freedom is doing about it. Hear about ADF’s ongoing case representing Tanner Cross, the Virginia PE Teacher who was suspended fo...
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 8
How can we build a child welfare system that treats families with respect and justice? This week we talk with David Kelly, former Special Assistant at the Children’s Bureau in the US Department of Health and Human Services. David tells us about his work, and explains why our child welfare system needs a complete overhaul to truly support families, from providing better support and services to replacing laws like CAPTA and ASFA. Support the show...
Jul 20, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 7
How has the pandemic affected education, including parental rights and homeschooling issues? This week we talk with Dr. Steven Duvall, Director of Research at the Home School Legal Defense Association, and former public-school psychologist and university professor. Dr. Duvall unpacks some shifting trends in the education world, including some recent data on the increase in homeschooling in the past year, and why that’s good news for the rights of all parents. Support the show...
Jul 06, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 6
What is “Reasonable Childhood Independence,” and why is it so important? This week we talk again with Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids , and founder of the Let Grow movement. Lenore explains why it’s important for children to grow up with a healthy amount of freedom and responsibility. Plus, hear about some recent legislative wins in Texas and Oklahoma for childhood independence and parental rights! Support the show...
Jun 29, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 5
As we celebrate legislative victories in Texas, Congress is set to re-authorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). How should this important legislation be reformed to better help parents and children? This week, we talk with Andrew Brown, a distinguished senior fellow of child and family policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation . Andrew has advocated for parents and families as an attorney, and he’s an expert on issues surrounding child and family policy. Andrew tells us ...
Jun 22, 2021•51 min•Season 3Ep. 4
The Biden administration has recently proposed universal preschool for American families, but some experts are skeptical. What’s the case to be made against universal preschool? This week, Jim talks with psychologist and Boston College research professor of psychology Dr. Peter Gray, author of the recent Psychology Today article, The Case Against Universal Preschool. Peter explains how, over time, early child education has come to emphasize test scores and academics, rather than the play and org...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Guardians ad litem have great power over your family in a CPS case. But who are they? This week, we’re talking with Joanna Woolman about guardians ad litem [GAL’s], the people responsible for representing your child’s interests in court. Joanna is an associate professor of law at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the executive director of the Institute to Transform Child Protection . GAL’s can be a big help to your family by representing what is best for your child, but a lot of them are si...
Jun 08, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 2
When faced with a struggling family, bystanders can be quick to call CPS, not realizing that child protective agencies often aren't equipped to help families and rush to punish them instead. Vivek Sankaren is working to reform this broken system and provide families with helpful, high-quality legal care in the midst of CPS cases. Vivek is a clinical professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School, where he heads a program to educate future lawyers. In this week’s episode, Jim and Vivek...
Jun 01, 2021•52 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Thank you so much for listening to the EPPiC Broadcast! This week, Michael shares a brief special announcement to mark the end of Season Two and reveal exciting plans for Season Three. Plus, hear how you can help educate friends and family on parental rights issues. We’re returning on June 1st—see you then! Support the show
Apr 06, 2021•5 min
