In Episode 3 of Inside Story, our video series for people in prisons and jails, we look at how foster care agencies use federal funds intended for some of our nation’s most vulnerable children.
Host Lawrence Bartley speaks with Malerie Shockley, who spent years in the Alaska foster care system and discovered by chance that the state was collecting benefits owed to her — money that could have helped her pay for safe housing and other essentials. Bartley also hears from Marshall Project Managing Editor Geraldine Sealey, who explains how state agencies comb through their files to find children who are eligible for these benefits. And Professor Daniel Hatcher from the University of Baltimore Law School discusses how children aren’t being notified when their funds are taken and describes legislation intended to protect them.
If you are incarcerated or work or volunteer in a correctional facility and are interested in showing Inside Story in your prison or jail, please contact lbartley@themarshallproject.org.
Host and Executive Producer Lawrence Bartley
Director Donald Washington, Jr.
Director of Photography Adam Giese
Additional Photography Donald Washington, Jr.
Editor Donald Washington, Jr.
Consulting Producers Ruth Baldwin and Geraldine Sealey
Archival Getty Images, Pond5, Alaska Office of Children and Family Services