The Forgotten Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 273: Finding Hope While Healing from a Painful Past (w/ Destini McAlister) Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

Content / Trigger Warning: This episode does contain mentions and descriptions of abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. If any of this may be triggering for you, we recommend you either listen carefully, listen with someone else, or you may even consider skipping this episode.

Unfortunately, so many children who enter foster care have experienced some terrible things in their lives. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that in 2022, children entered foster care for the following reasons:

62% due to neglect
33% due to drug abuse
13% due to physical abuse
6% due to alcohol abuse
4% due to sexual abuse

These are just a few of the circumstances that cause removal, and they total to over 100% because these challenges are not mutually exclusive.

My guest for this conversation knows this all too well. Destini McAlister experienced neglect and abandonment while she was still an infant. She would then go on to experience sexual abuse and rejection throughout her foster care journey.

Although Destini’s journey was filled with hardship, her story is one of hope.

In this episode, you’ll hear how God was guiding Destini’s steps throughout her journey, the importance of processing the past, how hope can be found even in the darkest of stories, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/destini-mcalister-273/

Episode 272: Striving for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System (w/ Shanelle Dupree) Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

The child welfare system can be confusing and complex. Families are often expected to navigate administrative systems, the criminal justice system, the legal system, and the social system—all at the same time and with no prior instruction.

Our guest today knows the child welfare system inside and out—and she’s passionate about helping families navigate it with hope and clarity. She also understands that its challenges don’t impact everyone equally. Her work focuses on uncovering why families of color often face worse outcomes and unpacking the systemic issues behind those disparities.

Shanelle Dupree is a former child welfare administrator who has practiced child welfare law. She is currently the executive director of Racial Equity Collaborative, a nonprofit focused on advancing racial equity for families and communities through collaborative action.

In this episode, Shanelle shares the correlation between child welfare outcomes and race, why it’s crucial for parents to have the uncomfortable conversations about race with their foster or adoptive children, how to advocate for your child when they encounter racial discrimination, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/shanelle-dupree-272/

Episode 271: Foster Fathers (w/ Chris Easley & Kyle Seick) Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

Note: In this episode, Jami talks about her pregnancy—but don’t worry, you didn’t miss another baby announcement! If you’re part of our TFI family, you know her sweet little one has already arrived. This episode was recorded back in January!

Sometimes, it can feel like the conversation within the foster care community is predominantly shaped by female voices. While it’s wonderful to have such a strong female perspective in this space, it can be a challenge for men to find resources that speak to their unique experiences.

This is the heartbeat behind the Foster Fathers podcast. Hosts Chris Easley and Kyle Seick are striving to create a community where men can learn and grow from one another within the context of foster care.

Chris and Kyle met during virtual foster care training classes in Boise, Idaho. They quickly bonded over shared humor and mutual support as they embarked on their foster care journeys. Together they offer valuable advice, encouragement, and connection to other foster and adoptive fathers who are navigating the joys and struggles that come with this calling.

In this episode, you’ll hear what inspired Chris and Kyle to become foster fathers, an honest take on some of the challenges of foster care and adoption, common misconceptions about the men and women who become foster parents, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/foster-fathers-271/

Episode 270: Recovering from Addiction to Achieve Reunification (w/ Jacob Jackson) May 26, 2025

Show notes

There are many requirements that a biological parent must meet in order to reunify with their children. While these requirements are necessary to ensure that children are being reunited with parents who can provide a safe and stable environment, many parents struggle to overcome the circumstances that led to their children being placed in foster care in the first place.

In the state of Illinois, the reunification rate was just 20% in 2021. Just as children and foster parents need a supportive community, biological parents working toward reunification need a strong, steady network around them too.

One such parent is Jacob Jackson. After a car accident, Jacob found himself addicted to prescription drugs, which led him into a tumultuous season of life. When he was at the end of his rope, Jacob attempted to take his own life. With nowhere else to turn, he entered the Louisiana Adult & Teen Challenge and by the grace of God found a connection with a local church.

It was during this time that Jacob learned his children had entered foster care. Determined to reunite with them, he threw himself into recovery, working tirelessly to complete the program and meet every requirement needed to regain full custody.

In this episode, you’ll hear the obstacles Jacob had to overcome, the ways that anyone can fall into difficult circumstances, how the support of the local church played a vital role in reunification, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/jacob-jackson-270/

Episode 269: Opening Your Heart and Home to Those in Need (w/ Sarah Hott) May 12, 2025

Show notes

Foster care is both rewarding and challenging. It’s happy at times and sad at others; it brings hard days as well as beautiful moments. If you are in the foster care community, you’ve likely seen (or experienced) this firsthand.

But what do we do when we come to the end of ourselves? How do we respond when we feel called to open our homes again to those in need—yet find ourselves unsure if our hearts are ready to face the joys and the pain that foster care can bring?

Our guest for this episode knows this tension well. Sarah Hott’s journey through fostering, adopting, and parenting has taught her profound lessons about faith, community, and the power of love.

Sarah and her husband, Chris, have been foster parents for over six years. They currently have five children in their home—three by adoption from foster care, one biological, and one foster child. Sarah believes that few things draw you to the heart of Jesus like opening your home and heart to children in need and their families.

In this episode, you’ll hear more of Sarah’s personal journey as she shifted from foster parent to adoptive mom, her thoughts on the power and necessity of a supportive community, the ways God showed up when she was at her maximum capacity, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/sarah-hott-269/

Episode 268: Building Compassion for Those Struggling with Addiction (w/ Christina Dent) Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

Substance use is a major factor in foster care cases; in 2017 alone, more than half of the children who entered care under age 5 did so because of parental drug use. Addiction is an issue that runs parallel to the foster care community, and it’s a struggle that agency workers and foster parents often witness firsthand in the lives of the families they serve.

For those of us who have never battled with addiction, it can be easy to think we have nothing in common with parents whose substance use results in their children being removed from their care. However, my guest today is here to help us see these people through a new lens—one that emphasizes compassion, understanding, and shared humanity.

Christina Dent is the Founder and Vice President of Mission at End It For Good, a nonprofit that invites people to support approaches to drug addiction that prioritize life, preserve families, and promote public safety. As an adoptive mom and former foster mom, Christina’s experiences in foster care ignited a passion in her for finding better solutions for addiction.

In this episode, she shares the realities of addiction and drug use, how drug addiction intersects with foster care, why we should reframe the way we think and speak about those struggling with addiction, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/christina-dent-268/

Episode 267: Beauty Woven in the Brokenness (w/ Austin Ludwig) Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

Trigger Warning: We want to let our listeners know that this episode includes mentions of physical abuse. If you are sensitive to this topic, we recommend you listen with caution.

Trauma is one of the hardest challenges to navigate in life. Whether it’s impacting you or someone you love, it can be easy to wish that trauma could be erased in an instant. But our latest guest’s powerful story reminds us that healing doesn’t happen with the snap of a finger. It takes the steady presence of others, the patience to water seeds we can’t yet see growing, and the courage to keep seeking God—even in the darkest moments.

After fifteen years of abuse and a childhood riddled with trauma, Austin Ludwig ended up in the foster care system until he aged out at 18. As he wrestled with the broken pieces of his past, he encountered the transformational love of Jesus and the opportunity for healing and restoration through the Gospel.

Today, Austin is a musical artist, writer and speaker who serves on staff with the WinShape Foundation.

In this episode, he shares about the brokenness in his childhood as well as the hidden beauty, why every person has an opportunity to respond to the trauma they have experienced, encouragement for foster parents who may currently have a tumultuous relationship with a child in their care, and much more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/austin-ludwig-267/

Episode 266: Advocating for Whole Family Care (w/ Esther Sherrard) Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

The child welfare system is not perfect. Not only is it subject to the types of challenges all government programs can face—such as a lack of funding, policy gaps, and inefficiencies—it’s also very overloaded. As a result, many biological parents don’t receive the best resources to help them navigate their circumstances, and often, they are confused about how to access the resources that are available.

Here at The Forgotten Initiative, we’re committed to advocating for the best interests of children and families while ensuring that the laws and procedures designed to protect them are upheld. This is exactly what Esther Sherrard, a dedicated private consultant, works to do every day!

Esther helps agencies, courts, and faith communities improve child welfare outcomes by preserving, restoring, and growing families. She was a licensed foster parent for older youth and has spent 10 years with the Federal Child and Family Services Review team. Esther is determined to see more children and families involved in the child welfare system experience positive outcomes.

In this episode, Esther shares some of the challenges biological parents face when trying to navigate the system, the importance of the local church standing in the gap to support children and families in foster care, why we should seek to show true compassion to biological parents, and much more.

This conversation was grounding and inspiring as we seek to fulfill God’s calling to promote justice and support families.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/esther-sherrard-266/

Episode 265: Walking Through the Heartache of "Blocked Care" (w/ Eric & Diana Powell) Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Like so many families, Eric and Diana Powell entered into adoption with the best intentions. After their first international adoption from Thailand, they quickly started the paperwork for their second, knowing that the process is often long and fraught with delays.

What they couldn’t know is that the next few years of their adoption journey would include physical aggression, episodes of emotional dysregulation, marriage tension, a phenomenon known as “blocked care”, and an overwhelming sense of isolation. During this challenging period, they often didn’t know where to turn next or what to do to help their family heal and connect.

Blocked care is a response that can occur when a person rejects your attempts to provide for them, no matter how loving or compassionate those attempts may be. Over time, this pattern can lead to feelings of rejection, hostility, anxiety, and even compassion fatigue in the caregiver.

Eric and Diana’s story has been one of incredible challenges, but it is also one of tremendous growth. Today, the Powells are passionate about being a listening ear for others on their fostering or adoption journey.

In this episode, they explain how they learned what blocked care is and how to navigate it, the importance of finding a supportive community as a foster or adoptive parent, where to find hope when reality doesn’t match your expectations, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/eric-diana-powell-265/

Episode 264: The Reality of a Caseworker’s Role (w/ Brittni Hodges) Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

Foster care caseworkers often feel forgotten, isolated, and alone. From managing stressful workloads to coping with secondary trauma and sometimes facing frustration from families in crisis, it’s not hard to understand why caseworker turnover is so high. But here at The Forgotten Initiative, we believe well-supported caseworkers will more effectively serve children, leading to better outcomes for everyone.⁠

Our guest for this episode is here to give us an inside look at the kinds of struggles caseworkers may be experiencing in your community and how both individuals and churches can come together to give these professionals a network of support.

Brittni Hodges is currently a social worker at Delavan Schools in the same community where she grew up. However, she began her career as a foster care caseworker in Central Illinois.

During her time in this role, Brittni worked tirelessly to support children, biological families, and foster families within the complex demands of the foster care system. Despite heavy caseloads, limited resources, and challenging situations that took a toll on her emotional and physical well-being, her time as a caseworker profoundly shaped her understanding of compassion, resilience, and Christ’s love for all His children.

In this episode, Brittni helps us understand some of the most challenging parts of a caseworker’s role, how big of an impact community support can have on caseworkers, what kinds of resources can make a meaningful difference for local agencies, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/brittni-hodges-264/

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