Supporting Expectant and Parenting Youth With Lanitta Berry, Part 2, Episode 87

"Anytime we have someone with lived experience at the table, we should absolutely be listening." —Lanitta Berry

Supporting expectant and parenting youth in foster care requires coordinated, relationship-centered support from professionals, peers, caregivers, and community partners. In this episode, Child Welfare Information Gateway's Gabriel Foley speaks with Lanitta Berry of FosterClub about the tangible supports that can help young parents in care feel heard, empowered, and connected. 

Lanitta explains that young parents' lived experiences are often condensed in ways that miss important nuance. She emphasizes the need to create spaces, programs, policies, and practices that center the voices of young people who have experienced the child welfare system as expectant or parenting youth. 

The conversation highlights the importance of building authentic relationships, acknowledging power dynamics, and helping youth remain in the driver's seat of their own lives. Lanitta encourages professionals to move from transactional interactions toward transformative partnerships that are grounded in shared goals, transparency, and trust. 

The episode also explores how placement settings can support young parents by offering safe spaces for trial, error, learning, and growth. Rather than framing independence as doing everything alone, Lanitta describes the value of interdependence—knowing one's strengths, asking for help, and relying on a supportive village. 

The conversation closes with a focus on empowerment. Lanitta encourages professionals and supporters to give youth both the microphone and the stage—to share their expertise, shape their own stories, build family traditions, and create stronger foundations for themselves and their children. 

The following individual is featured in this episode:

Lanitta Berry is a national advocate with lived experience as a young parent in foster care. She has worked across local, State, and Federal levels to advance policy and practice changes and is the founder of At-Risk 4 Greatness, an organization focused on holistic reform and technical assistance. 

Topics discussed include the following: 

• Centering the lived expertise of expectant and parenting youth in care 
• Creating spaces where youth can share feedback and be heard 
• Helping professionals listen to and act on young people's expertise 
• Building authentic relationships that acknowledge power dynamics 
• Supporting youth as the drivers of their own goals and decisions 
• Making placement settings safe, nurturing, and developmentally supportive 
• Moving from independence alone toward interdependence and community support mention above.