Vicki Reed's career has spanned almost every facet of child welfare and juvenile justice. She is the founding director of a youth advocacy organization and the former commissioner of a state juvenile justice agency. Reed is active with the National Partnership for Juvenile Services and the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators.
""Written by someone whose life's work has been to improve a system that supports troubled youth, Sleight of Hand is one of the most engaging books I have had the opportunity to read. A fictional account that captures your heart and gives the reader insight into the life of a dual-system youth that is often fraught with chaos, pain and trauma. Reed brings to life lessons of complex cases and how trauma triggers behavior responses in situations that may seem benign on the surface. This book resonates with the importance of having one caring, committed adult in a foster child's life. Empathy, patience, and endurance - we all need more and this book shows why."" -Michael A. Jones, Managing Director, National Partnership for Juvenile Services ""Once I picked up Sleight of Hand, I couldn't put it down. I was too eager to see what happened next! Beyond the story, the book contains a lot of truth about the 'system' many children and youth find themselves in. As someone who works to improve that system, I was thrilled with how accurately and truthfully the book reads. Reed does a fantastic job bringing light to the incredible challenges before us. And she equips you with the opportunity to take action."" - Melynda Milburn Jamison, Executive Director, CASA of Lexington ""With Sleight of Hand, Vicki Reed once again provides a 'can't put down' read that offers the reader first-person accounts of the foster care experience through the eyes of a foster youth, his foster parent, and his caseworker. The interweaving of their three unique viewpoints provides a rich and multidimensional look at a system that both serves troubled children and sometimes victimizes them. The book is both entertaining and informative. It will make you angry, and it will give you hope."" -Pam Thomas, Senior Fellow, Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, former Juvenile Justice Specialist at the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice ""No one knows how to take a kid who has been dealt a bad hand in life and turn them around like Vicki Reed. I had the privilege of working alongside Vicki, advocating for therapeutic foster care, for many years. She knows how to take a broken system and a wounded child and breathe hope into both. In Sleight of Hand, she brings to life the raw, unfiltered reality of a fractured juvenile justice system and the young people caught in it. Through the eyes of a traumatized, vulnerable, and angry youth, readers experience the fear, self-doubt, and fleeting moments of joy that define the lives of so many at-risk kids. This story is a powerful reminder that it only takes one caring adult to change a child's trajectory forever. Vicki has spent her career being that person and creating positive systemic change in the nation's juvenile justice system. Through this book, she challenges all of us to do the same."" -Beau Necco, Founder and CEO NECCO