The F Word: America’s Foster Care Crisis | Episode 5 | Nora McCarthy & Ella Bat-Ami

What would it take to change America’s foster care system—and how will we know when reform is actually working?

In Episode 5, “Now What?”, Rob Scheer closes The F Word: America’s Foster Care Crisis with two conversations about prevention, accountability, and what comes next.

Nora McCarthy, Founder and Executive Director of the NYC Family Policy Project, asks us to look upstream: What if families received meaningful support before reaching a crisis? She explores the distinction between poverty and neglect, preventing unnecessary family separation, and why parents and young people must help shape the policies that affect their lives.

Then Rob reunites with Ella Bat-Ami, the foster care advocate who helped open this series. After sharing her experiences of repeated placements, sleeping in government offices, and aging out of care, Ella returns to discuss what she has done to change the system.

Ella helped develop Tennessee’s Foster Youth Bill of Rights, signed into law in 2025. But passing a law is only the beginning. She and Rob examine enforcement, unanswered grievances, and whether systems truly welcome lived experience when it challenges those in power.

After five episodes, one question remains: What are we prepared to do differently now?

IN THIS EPISODE:

Supporting families before crisis leads to removal
Distinguishing poverty from neglect while protecting children
Giving parents and young people a meaningful role in policy
Turning lived experience into legislative change
Making foster youth rights enforceable and accessible
Measuring reform by what changes in children’s lives

THE FINAL “F WORD” QUESTION

After more than 700 nights in foster care, and now working to reform it, how much of this system can actually be fixed—and how much needs to be fundamentally reimagined?

MEET THE GUESTS

Nora McCarthy

Founder & Executive Director, NYC Family Policy Project

https://familypolicynyc.org/

Ella Bat-Ami

Foster Care Advocate | Helped develop Tennessee’s Foster Youth Bill of Rights

Instagram: @emphatically.ella

View the Tennessee Foster Youth Bill of Rights

KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

What did we miss? Whose voices should we hear next? Share your thoughts in the comments or send guest suggestions to info@comfortcases.org.

To find out more about Comfort Cases, please visit our website: www.comfortcases.org.

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To listen to previous episodes of Fostering Change and Comfort Cases: Unpacked, please visit: www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.