Giving Foster Teens a Phone Without Losing Them to It

Parenting in a Tech World · Oct 23, 2026 · 52m

For teens in foster care, smartphone safety cuts both ways. No phone leaves them cut off from peers who live on Snapchat and Instagram, while an unmonitored one exposes already vulnerable kids to unsafe adults online.

Jordyn Braun, MSW, has spent over three years as a Team Lead and Case Manager in Oregon Community Programs’ treatment foster care, and Jami Teran is a first-time foster parent who just guided her youth through senior year and the move toward college.

Host Adam Brooks hears from both sides of the table: how case managers roll out Bark phones that start locked down to a few…