Tune-in Tuesday: Episode 129

Episode 129

Lisa Seitz & Lizzi Montanti

What does it take to earn the trust of a teenager who has been let down by the very systems meant to protect them? 

In Episode 5 of The Anna Jinja Show's Athens County Children Services season, host Anna Jinja sits down with Lisa Seitz — a Life Skills Caseworker at ACCS with over twelve years of experience supporting youth in foster care ages 14 to 21. Lisa's work is both practical and profound: she helps young people navigate college enrollment, secure housing, obtain state IDs, manage savings, and develop the independent living skills they'll need to thrive as adults. 

But the foundation of all of it, Lisa says, is trust — and trust is built in the smallest moments. In car rides where neither person has to make eye contact. In following through on a promise written in a calendar before the next visit. In explaining what an organ donor card means before a teenager is asked to make that decision at the DMV counter. 

"They've been let down a lot in their lives," Lisa says simply. "I just follow through with the simplest things." 

The episode opens with something rare and beautiful: an original poem titled "I Can Attest," written by the show's assistant producer Lizzi Montanti after a summer interning at ACCS. Written from the perspective of a caseworker, the poem captures what so often goes unseen in this work — the quiet, persistent act of bearing witness to a child's story. 

For anyone who works in child welfare, education, or family services — or anyone who has ever been the one caring adult in a young person's life — this episode is for you. 

Lisa also has a message for anyone considering foster care: "You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be rich. We're just looking for people willing to open their homes and their hearts."