Episode 24: Barriers to Solutions: Advocacy, Autism, & Foster Care

Описание: Shanelle sits down with advocate and long-time therapeutic foster parent Steve Goneya to talk about what is not working and what communities can build right now. Steve has welcomed 178 children through respite and high-needs care, fought for supports for high health needs children, and learned the hard truth about bureaucracy, turnover, and waitlists. Instead of waiting, he built solutions: an Autism Barn that became a community hub and an Ability Bus model that partners with veterans to get youth and adults with disabilities to appointments and life-giving activities when agencies do not run nights or weekends. This is part one of the conversation. Links to Steve’s projects and Shanelle’s 360º Assessment are in the show notes.



You will hear




• How years in family care and therapeutic foster care shaped Steve’s approach to high-needs placements


• Why adoption decisions must consider lifelong supports and eligibility, and how delays and paperwork keep youth waiting.


• Community solutions that work now: a private Autism Barn that became a regional resource and an Ability Bus run with veterans that agencies could not replicate due to after-hours gaps.


• Why Steve is organizing storytellers and aged-out youth, meeting legislators, and developing a national transportation initiative with a film partner to seed similar models in other states.




Key takeaways




• Build the environment you wish existed. Small, concrete projects can scale when partners see them working.


• Accountability and support are both true. Families need timely decisions and workers need realistic caseloads and clear roles.


• Community partners can move faster than bureaucracy. Veterans, faith groups, and local donors can fill critical gaps.




Steve Gonyea, Co‑Host, Finding Common Ground



Podcast website (https://www.fcgadvocacy.org/about-ste...) : https://www.fcgadvocacy.org/about-ste...



Sensor Barn solution: A vibrant, calming haven for kids and adults with sensory needs (Spectrum News) (https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/cen...) .



Email (mailto:[email protected]) : [email protected]



Take the 360º Assessment today to partner effectively: www.syncingchildwelfare.com