Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of difficult subject matter, including child abuse and the tragic death/murder of a young child. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If these topics may be triggering or upsetting, we encourage you to prioritize your well-being and consider this before listening to this episode.

Welcome back for the second part of our special 2-episode series of Fostering Change, featuring the story of the horrific murder of 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery.

On our last episode, we spoke with Judge Carol Erskine, author of the book A Cruel Injustice, which documents how our judicial system failed young Harmony, who was taken out of foster care and placed with her birth father - who rather than nurturing her, murdered her.

Today, we speak with Blair & Johnathan Bobbit-Miller, adoptive fathers of two sons before becoming the father of a 3rd son, Jamison, Harmony’s brother.

These amazing and sensitive humans discuss with Rob how the system continues to fail those who need it most—the children. They explain what they are doing, along with help from other Good Humans like Judge Erskine and Rob Scheer, to fix what many consider to be unfixable.

This powerful episode of Fostering Change will make you want to activate yours.

At the sentencing of Adam Montgomery (Harmony’s father), Jamison read a victim-impact-statement. Part of the statement:

"Tell everyone my name is Jamison. I'm 7 years old. My sister is Harmony. I love Harmony, I miss her," Bobbitt-Miller read. "I hope I get to see her again."

He spoke of a broken Elmo toy Harmony had given him that was hers that he has kept ever since. He said he has a Minnie Mouse pillow and new Elmo he planned to give to her.

"I keep it in my closet for her," Bobbitt-Miller read. "I am really sad she is an angel. I miss her. She was my best friend. I hope she can see me playing basketball and being silly with my brothers and I wish I could bring Harmony to my school to meet my friends and teacher."

To learn more about the Bobbit-Miller Family:

Twitter: @BlairMillerTV @BobbitMiller

Instagram: @johnathanb @blairmillertv

“A Cruel Injustice” can be found anywhere you purchase books, including Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Cruel-Injustic...

If you have any comments or questions regarding this episode or the foster care system, please send them to info@comfortcases.org.

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Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of difficult subject matter, including child abuse and the tragic death/murder of a young child. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If these topics may be triggering or upsetting, we encourage you to prioritize your well-being and take this all into consideration prior to listening to this episode.

On today’s special episode of Fostering Change we speak with Judge Carol Erskine. Judge Erskine is the author of the book, A Cruel Injustice. In thebook, and in today’s interview with Rob Scheer, Judge Erskine discusses the tragic death of 5-year-old Harmony, at the hands of her father.

Harmony’s murder was the result of our failed foster care system. Where the system should have provided legal advocacy on behalf of Harmony, protecting her, instead it let her, her brother and all of us, down.

Judge Erskine further discusses her career on the bench, and how she remains an advocate for youth in foster care.

Please note that this is PART ONE of a two-episode series. On our next episode of Fostering Change, Blair Miller and Johnathan Bobbit-Miller, the adoptive fathers of Harmony’s brother, speak to Rob about their experiences with the system - their frustrations, and all they are doing to raise Jamison and work with him as he remembers his sister and fights for justice in her name.

To purchase a copy of A Cruel Injustice, please visit a local bookstore, Amazon, or carolerskine.com.

More About Carol:

Carol Erskine has been a lifelong child advocate and a Massachusetts Juvenile Court judge for twenty-one years. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named her one of the state's top ten lawyers.

Judge Erskine has written and published a children’s book and several op-ed columns on children’s issues. She and her husband are the proud parents of a blended family with their now grown adopted and stepchildren.

Website

carolerskine.com

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolErskine/

Twitter/X

https://x.com/TheCarolErskine

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-erskine-1065a1207/

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Happy New Year! On our first episode of the New Year, we are so happy to bring you an amazing human, Hunter Beaton. Hunter is the founder of Day1bags.org. Day1’s mission is right in line with Comfort Cases’ mission: to provide hope and dignity to youth in foster care by giving them new luggage or backpacks in place of the disgusting black trash bags that are still given out in so many states.

Hunter started this initiative in 2016 at the age of 15 as part of his Eagle Scout project (yes, he’s a Real Eagle Scout!). He initially provided 100 duffel bags filled with essential supplies to a local nonprofit serving foster youth in San Antonio, Texas. The project quickly became a sustainable mission to support foster children across the United States.

Hunter's work has led to significant milestones, including distributing over 220,000 bags to foster youth across 47 states, legislative advocacy for proper luggage bills, and initiatives that celebrate foster youth's achievements. Through Day 1 Bags, Hunter has inspired meaningful change and continues to empower children in foster care by promoting dignity, belonging, and recognition.

To learn more about Hunter and Day1Bags - and how you can support them, please visit the following links:

Website:

https://day1bags.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/day1bags

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/day1bags/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/day-1-bags/

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Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! This is our final episode of Fostering Change before we launch into 2025. And what a year it’s been. We’ve celebrated amazing guests on our show, learning so much about each other and our society.

Thank you to all of you who have written in with comments and guests suggestions about what you’ve listened to this year. We truly appreciate YOU ALL!

Our charity, Comfort Cases has touched so many people around the country this year, with Rob Scheer once again sharing our message of providing hope and dignity for youth in foster care. It’s not too late to make one last donation if this is possible for you. If this is something you would like to do, to help out our most important people, youth entering foster care, please click on this link or here: https://comfortcases.org/ to become a #Bagbuster to help us stop the evil practice of giving trash bags to our youth.

Thank you!

As for today’s Christmas Eve episode, we end the year with a Very Special Guest: Chef Art Smith. You may initially recognize him as Oprah’s personal Chef, a role he held for 10 years. He is also the founder of Common Threads, a non-profit organization teaching low-income children to cook wholesome and affordable meals since 2003. He believes that through hands-on cooking and introducing children to fresh foods we can help prevent childhood obesity, reverse the trend of poor eating habits, and learn about diversity and tolerance through the celebration of our cultural differences and our commonalities.

Chef Art has appeared on numerous national television appearances including ABC’s Lady Gaga Thanksgiving Special, Top Chef, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Iron Chef America, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, Fox News, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, BBQ Pitmasters, The Talk, The Dr. Oz Show and of course, The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Chef Art has appeared on the cover of Parade Magazine, and has been featured in Cooking Light magazine. He is a regular contributor to Standup magazine, whose proceeds benefit The Ben Foundation, which raises awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying.

To learn more about Chef Art Smith, please visit:

Website: https://www.chefartsmith.com/

Instagram: @thechefartsmith

Facebook: ChefArtSmith

X/Twitter: @chefartsmith

To learn more about Common Threads, please visit:

Website: https://www.commonthreads.org/

Instagram: @commonthreadsorg

Facebook: CommonThreadsOrg

X/Twitter: @commonthreadsUS

Thank you again for listening and watching Fostering Change. We hope you have a happy and safe holiday and look forward to bringing you more great discussions in 2025. Again, if you have any comments or guest suggestions, please feel free to reach out by emailing our producers at info@comfortcases.org.

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Welcome back to another thought-provoking episode of Fostering Change. Today, we speak with Jason Green, a friend and amazing filmmaker. Jason’s documentary, Finding Fellowship, is a story of hope about the unlikely merger of three segregated churches in the 1960s. Jason and Rob belong to this same church, which is how they first met, and both have the same passion for community coming together.

We thought today would be a perfect time to share this interview in the spirit of the holiday season.

Following the episode, we encourage you to watch Finding Fellowship. You can find it on PBS, or click the following link to stream it on PBS.org: https://www.pbs.org/show/finding-fellowship/

If you have any comments or questions, please get in touch with us at info@comfortcases.org. There is just one more episode before the New Year, which posts on Christmas Eve—with someone we know you will love to meet!

To learn more about Jason and Finding Fellowship:

Instagram: @jg1732

Twitter/X: @jg1732

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasongerardgreen/

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A reminder that through the end of November (National Adoption Awareness Month), when you visit www.BarelyCanadian.com our friend Kelly and her team will donate a Comfort XL Duffle bag for every one of their amazingly plush items purchased.

Today, we go back almost exactly 3 years to revisit a special episode about a remarkable woman, Pam Willis and family. We know you’ll enjoy!

Pam and her husband have been married 36 years, raised 5 biological children (the youngest is 20). 11 years ago they became foster parents and began caring for children in their home. Pam led down a road of foster care and as a surprise to their life plan, 5 years ago they adopted a set of seven siblings from the foster care system. These kids now have a second chance at parenting, and they have a second chance at a family after their first parents passed away in a car accident.

It’s an amazing story we wanted to reshare with you.

Story Key Notes:

🖐️Adopting 7 Sets of Children Siblings

🖐️History of the 7 Children

🖐️Adjusting into a New Home

🖐️5 Biological Children's Reaction to Adopt New Siblings

🖐️Process to Adopt 7 Set of Children Siblings

Learn more at https://www.comfortcases.org/

If you have any questions, comments or guest suggestions, please reach out to us at info@comfortcases.org.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

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It is National Adoption Awareness Month, and Comfort Cases is honoring the occasion with special promotions.

Our “Coats for Comfort” Coat Drive, co-sponsored by CNN’s Laura Coates, is in full swing. There are donation boxes throughout the DC Metro area (including Maryland & Virginia), and for those of you outside the district, you can purchase coats and have them delivered directly to Comfort Cases by visiting https://comfortcases.org/lauracoates/

We are thrilled to announce our renewed partnership with Barely Canadian, running through November 30th! Known for their insanely soft sweaters and premium apparel, they have redefined cozy. With every purchase from their beautiful garment collection, Barely Canadian will generously donate a Comfort XL (valued at $148) to a child entering foster care. Explore their collection here: https://barelycanadian.com/

In today’s powerful episode of Fostering Change, we welcome Gretchen Sisson, author of RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. As a researcher at UC San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, Gretchen has conducted hundreds of interviews with women who have relinquished infants for adoption, especially since Roe v. Wade. Her eye-opening research has been featured on NPR, New York Magazine, VOX, and more.

In this riveting conversation with host Rob Scheer, they dive into the complex and often heartbreaking reasons behind adoption decisions, shedding light on the financial and societal pressures that force mothers to make impossible choices. This timely discussion touches on the profound challenges families face and why it should matter to us all.

This is an important discussion for our community, and we were honored to have Gretchen on Fostering Change to continue it.

For more information about RELINQUISHED or to follow Gretchen on social media, please visit:

Website: https://www.gretchensisson.com/

Twitter/X: @gesisson

Threads: gretchen.sisson

Instagram: @gretchen.sisson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchensisson/

Substack: https://gretchen.substack.com/

#nationaladoptionawarenessmonth #adoptionawareness #fostercare

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“When good people get together, great things happen.” - Jamie Truman

On today’s episode of Fostering Change, we welcome our good friend Jamie Truman. She and her husband Jerry co-founded Truman Charities, an organization that truly exemplifies what our host, Rob Scheer, has expressed over the years: it focuses on helping other local and national charities, hosts events multiple times a year, and covers all costs so that 100% of raised funds go directly to the charity.

Over the past fifteen years, Truman Charities has raised a little over $2 million for several different charities (INCLUDING COMFORT CASES).

Yes, Jamie and Jerry epitomize being “Good Humans.”

Jamie is also the author of “Vanishing Fathers: The Ripple Effect on Tomorrow's Generation," which hit #1 on Amazon's Best New Releases. Of course, 100% of the proceeds from Vanishing Fathers go towards charities that help at-risk youth.

These two themes, giving back to society and the important roles fathers play in that same society, are discussed in a lively interview. We know you will not only enjoy them but also be inspired.

Jamie Truman hosts The Truman Charities Podcast, which you can find wherever you listen to podcasts.

Find out more about Jamie and Truman Charities below:

Order her book, “Vanishing Fathers”: https://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Fathers-Ripple-Tomorrows-Generation/dp/B0CW3Q1QY8.

Visit the Website: trumancharities.com

Facebook: trumancharites

Instagram: jamie_trumancharities

LinkedIn: jamietruman

Email: info@trumancharities.com

Thank you for listening! Of course, if you have any questions or comments about today’s episode or a suggestion for a guest for Fostering Change, please reach out to us at info@comfortcases.org.

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