The Lives in the Balance Podcast

Episodios

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  Preschool Pushout 12.05.2026 51m

  Our new host Ben Jones, Director of Legal & Policy Initiatives, explores the issue of Preschool Pushout. Every year, our youngest learners are pushed out of early childhood education settings through formal expulsions, but much more commonly, they are pushed out by informal means. We hear from two experts and a parent on not only the depth and personal impact of the issue, but how we can make progress in the name of kids."What a tragedy it is, right at very beginning of a child's educational career to be told that school isn't the right place for them at three years old. Can you imagine that? And yet that happens all the time. Every single year we expel enough children to be able to fill up Yankee Stadium and Medlife Stadium and still have children standing in the parking lot without a place to sit." - Dr. Gilliam.Interviewees:Walter S. Gilliam, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute.Alejandra Jaramillo, a parent of a young student who was pushed out of preschool.Shantel E. Meek, Ph.D., Founding Director of the Children's Equity Project at ASU.Lives In The Balance:Visit our Action Center to join in the movement.Register for our 2026 Annual Summit - Between Alarm and Opportunity: Kids in the Digital Age - presented virtually on May 20, 2026.
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  Empowering Voices: Previewing The Children's Mental Health Advocacy Conference 03.10.2025 36m

  In this episode of the CPS Podcast, Dr. Ross Greene and Ben Jones discuss the upcoming Children's Mental Health Advocacy Conference, the current issues in children's mental health advocacy, and the opportunities for community involvement. They highlight recent legislative successes and challenges, particularly regarding corporal punishment and restraint in schools, and emphasize the importance of grassroots advocacy efforts. The conversation underscores the need for continued advocacy and legislative change to protect children's rights and well-being.  You can register for the CMHAC here and be sure to check out our advocacy Take Action page here.
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  Are the Kids OK? 01.07.2025 1h 27m

  Check out the May 2025 episode of the CPS Podcast - Are the Kids OK?   Dr. Ross Greene and Dr. Nirav Shaw explore the question “Are the kids ok?” by unpacking the rising stressors kids face in a rapidly changing world, from social media and school shootings to shifting social roles, while reminding us that many kids are still doing well. They emphasize that mental health struggles are human responses to stress and that it’s hard to pin down single causes, given the layered and nuanced nature of these challenges. They caution that correlation (e.g., social media user with anxiety) does not equal causation – and that involving kids in identifying solutions will likely be more successful than mandates. This was a special live presentation arranged by Freeport Speech, Meetinghouse Arts, and Freeport Community TV3.
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  CPS with Adults and Kids with Disabilities: The Ireland Demonstration Project 21.04.2025 46m

  This episode dives into the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions Ireland Demonstration Project, which has been making waves across children's disability services in Ireland. Toby Sachsenmaier shares how a grassroots start among a few healthcare professionals snowballed into a national initiative embraced by multidisciplinary teams — and even adult disability services. Anecdotes highlight how CPS helps both kids and adults feel truly heard, often solving long-standing challenges with surprising ease. With hundreds trained and research underway, this project is showing just how impactful CPS can be in multiple settings and varied populations.
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  If Not Now, When? 27.03.2025 30m

  This episode of the CPS Podcast takes a big-picture look at why power struggles dominate our world—politically, socially, as well as in parenting and education—when collaboration could be the real game-changer. We explore how listening, understanding, and solving problems together (instead of fighting to "win") could lead to better outcomes for everyone. Turns out, three simple steps might just be the secret to a less aggrieved and more cooperative world! 
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  The Realities of Restraint and Seclusion 21.02.2025 45m

  Two mothers share their stories about their children's experience with restraint and seclusion in schools to raise awareness and offer hope - there is a different way...
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  Skills That Foster The Better Side of Human Nature 16.01.2025 32m

  Perhaps especially now, we think it's important to get back to skills -- empathy, appreciating how one's actions are affecting others, taking another person's perspective, resolving disagreements without conflict, and honesty -- that bring out the better side of human nature, and to be helping kids develop those skills as early as possible. Dr. Greene especially homed in on the honesty dimension...for the unfamiliar, here are two links to bring you up to speed on what he was talking about:https://cpsconnection.com/why-the-name-change/https://cpsconnection.com/disinformationormisinformation/
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  Passion, perseverance…and problem solving 19.12.2024 29m

  Dr. Ross Greene and Kim Hopkins explore the definition of grit and the fact that a lot of literature explaining how to teach grit leaves out the important role of problem solving first...
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  US Dept of Ed's Words of Wisdom: Do More of the Same 26.11.2024 45m

  The US Department of Education recently released guidance suggesting that FBAs should be completed on all students.  Dr. Ross Greene and our Director of Legal & Policy Initiatives, Ben Jones, J.D., discuss where this idea falls short, what can be done instead, and how the USDOE became so wedded to PBIS.  We also have time to address one parent's email regarding a 4-year-old who is having difficulty with the word "stop."
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  The CPS Podcast: School Safety 17.10.2024 33m

  Don't be late...ask the kid...developmental variability...safety - all key themes of this month's episode tackling the topic of school safety.  Listen now! 
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  Setting the CPS Record Straight 09.09.2024 33m

  We are back for the 2024-25 school year!  ...and using new technology to hopefully resolve previous audio issues.  In this edition of The CPS Podcast, Dr. Greene responds to a TikTok-er who is spreading misinformation about the CPS Model.  A good listen whether you are a parent, educator, provider or other caring adult! 
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  What We're Up Against 21.05.2024 42m

  There's legislation pending in Massachusetts that would ban suspension for students in grades K-3. An admirable effort, but it drew some very ineresting responses from readers of The Boston Glove, which reported on this effort. Those responses tell us we still have a lot more work to do to ensure that caregivers understand the true factors that cause kids' concerning behaviors...and why a suspension would do far more harm than good. 
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  What's the Problem with Plan C? 19.03.2024 44m

  In the March edition of the CPS Podcast, we take a deep dive into Plan C (in the CPS model, Plan C refers to putting an expectation on hold, at least for now). While those familiar with CPS recognize that Plan C is a very important part of prioritizing expectations -- and stabilizing some kids -- putting expectations on hold is frequently misinterpreted as "giving in" and "giving up," and some caregivers have pressures being placed on them that make it very difficult to put ANY expectations on hold. 
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  The CPS Podcast: Is the New ABA Really New? 06.02.2024 50m

  On this month's program, we took a deep dive into "new" Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and whether its emphasis on assent and compassion really changes anything. Featuring guests Cindy Andree-Bowen and Shani Mandel.
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  Coping Strategies: Are We Teaching Kids to be Early or Late? 05.12.2023 50m

  The special topic on today's program was Coping Strategies: Are We Teaching Kids to Be Early or Late? Unfortunately, many of the coping strategies we're teaching kids these days teach them to cope once they're already frustrated. That's late. What should we be empahasizing instead? Teaching kids how to identify, anticipate, and solve the problems that are causing them to become frustrated in the first place. That's early. And we were also able to respond to an email and help out a mom who called in with a difficult situation with her son.
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  Voices of the Neurodivergent Community 14.11.2023 44m

  Today's program -- Voices of the Neurodivergent Community: What We Need You to Know -- features an interview with Jenny Hunt, a published multidisciplinary researcher that focuses on medicine, medical law, and ethics. Recently, they shifted their interest to Neurodiversity and go by the online name Autistic Sighentist.  
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  Why is There Disproportionality of Punitive, Exclusionary Discipline in Schools? 03.10.2023 45m

  Our guest hosts, Alex Spencer (formerly principal of the Alternate Learning Centers in the New York City Public Schools) and Ben Jones (Director of Legal and Policy Initiatives at Lives in the Balance) described their personal experience with and data related to the disproportionate use of punitive, exclusionary discipline with Black and Brown students and those with with disabilities.
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  De-escalation is Not Crisis Prevention 05.09.2023 43m

  On the first Tuesday of every month, at 11 am Eastern time, from September through May, Dr. Ross Greene and Lives in the Balance Director of Outreach Kim Hopkins cover a wide range of topics related to how we understand and treat our kids -- especially those with concerning behavior -- and the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model. Whether you're a parent, a grandparent, an educator, a mental health clinician, or just someone who cares about kids, you can call into the program to get your questions answered or submit them via email here. And, if you can't listen live, all the programs are archived on i-Tunes. Today's program topic: De-escalation is not crisis prevention.
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  CPS Across a Range of Ages 02.05.2023 44m

  We had an update from one previous caller (Plan C for the win!), an email about how to use the model with toddlers, and another caller who is worried about her 18 year-old son who seems to have regressed considerably.  Check out the advice given about the CPS Model across a range of ages!  We will be back in September - You can call into the program to get your questions answered or submit them via email here.  And, if you can't listen live, all the programs are archived on i-Tunes.
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  A Little of This and a Little of That 04.04.2023 43m

  We were able to clear some of our email backlog in today's episode and talk through how a grandparent could bring up CPS to her daughter who is parenting a challenging child, what to do when solutions don't work, and using the model with a kiddo who appears to be cognitively rigid.  Have a listen!