Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Join us as we talk about various holiday-related situations that can arise with foster, adoptive, and kinship families. Our guests will be Janice Goldwater, MSW, the CEO of Paths for Families; Courtney Tierra, a birth mom, educator, and storyteller; and Christa Hefel, MPH with the State of Iowa Four Oaks Foster and Adoptive Family Connections, and foster mom and mom...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! The Ethics Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine has stated that the correct term for donating unused embryos to another couple for family building is embryo donation rather than embryo adoption. But since many people looking for information on this option continue to call it embryo adoption, we sometimes use both terms to aid in finding our mate...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! You're really going to want to tune in to hear the story of triplets separated at birth through adoption. It is particularly interesting to hear how they have processed the experience differently and how they feel about adoption. In this episode, we talk about: Kathleen’s (the birth mom) experience. Why did she decide to place two of the babies for adoption? Whe...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Resources: Foster Care Adoption Becoming a Foster Parent Choosing a Foster Care Agency This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based con...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! If you are thinking about adoption, you've likely considered the possibility that you will be adopting a child in another state. In this episode, we talk about everything involved with this process. Our guests are Jim Thompson, an adoption attorney and the author of the book South Carolina Adoption Law and Practice . He has been a Fellow of the Academy of Adopti...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Resources: Adoption Comparison Charts Cost of Adoption US Department of State - Intercountry Adoption Find an agency This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following tra...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you worry that you've gotten in over your head by adopting this child. Are you about ready to give up. Or do you want to do everything possible to make sure that your adoption doesn't fall apart? Join us to talk with Dr. Eshele Williams, Director of the Creating Stability During Change Model of Practice for Resource Family Disruption Prevention and Reten...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Q: We’ve applied to adopt an infant but haven’t received a match. What can we do? Resources: What Is An Adoptive Parent Profile (or Dear Expectant Parent Letter) and How To Make One Why is it Taking So Long to Get an Adoption Match? Understanding Expectant Moms Who Are Considering Adoption This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-p...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Does it feel like your child is sabotaging the holidays? Are there more tantrums, sullenness, and anxiety during the holiday season? We explore why and what to do about it with Rebecca Robotham, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Beehive Counseling & Wellness in Connecticut. She is also an adoptee and former foster child. In this episode, we cover: There are ma...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Q: Now that our youngest is in high school, we want to become foster parents but don’t know where to begin. Resources: How to Choose an Adoption Agency (Guide) Becoming a Foster Parent (Resource page) Working as Part of a Foster Care Team (Resource page) Suggested Books for Foster Care Parents This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national n...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you worry about being scammed in a domestic infant adoption? How can you prevent scams and recognize red flags for a failed adoption match? Join us to talk with Colleen Quinn, an adoption attorney at the Adoption & Surrogacy Law Center in Richmond, VA, with 34 years of experience in adoption law. She is the co-author of the last five editions of the VA CLE Ado...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Q. We took in my cousin’s 4-year-old last month. We thought it might be temporary, but it’s looking like it will be for a long time and maybe forever. The problem is that this little boy has gone through a lot because his mom is a drug user and never really was a parent. He is very withdrawn and doesn’t seem to want to attach or let us get close in any way. Any help...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you hoping to adopt from foster care. Don't miss this discussion of adoption subsidies with Josh Kroll, Project Coordinator for the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center at Families Rising (formerly known as the North American Council on Adoptable Children). In this episode, we cover: What are adoption subsidies? What other names are used for “adoption subsidies”...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What factors do you need to consider when budgeting for the cost to adopt a baby? Additional Resources: What type of adoption would be the best fit for you? Cost of working with an agency vs. working with an attorney . Adoption Tax Credit This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire ado...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you suspect or know that your child was prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs? Join us to learn the best ways to advocate for that child, including how to get diagnosed. Our guest is Jenn Wisdahl, the Chief Operating Officer of FASD United and proud parent to 3 young adults with FASD. Jenn leads the FASD United federal legislative and policy agenda. In this episo...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Carole LieberWilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in reproductive medicine, adoption, and family-building options, answers this question with advice for couples. Additional Resources: Adoption Comparison Charts Parenting after Infertility This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do transracial adoptees think about being adopted by parents of a different race? Join us for a panel of transracial adoptees talking about all things adoption. In this episode, we cover: Transracial adoption includes white parents of black, biracial, Asian, and Latinx children, as well as adoptive parents of color adopting white children.  Tell us your adoption...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Q: I just recently found out my 14-year-old has stolen makeup more than once from different stores. I caught her this past weekend, and she said she did it once, but I went through her bedroom and found makeup stashed in a pillow, and I know I didn’t buy it. She gets straight A's in school, and I thought she was a trustworthy person. I just don’t know what to do...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you want to be part of the solution to the inequity that exists in our country? If so, one of the best things you can do is raise your child to be anti-racist. Join our conversation with Tiffany Jewell, the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, This Book is Anti-Racist and The Anti-Racist Kid . In this episode, we cover: At what age do kids notice race? And...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Q: I’m 67 years old. My niece has gotten involved bad with drugs. Her 5 and 3 year old were taken away from her and now the child welfare agency wants to know if I will take them. My niece has been doing drugs a long time and I honestly don’t know if she’s ever going to be able to get them back. I feel like I don’t have a choice. Resources: Kinship Resources Trauma-I...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Is your child scared of school shootings, tornadoes, climate change, and on and on? Do you want to learn how to help them not get stuck in these fears? Join us as we talk with Dr. Melissa Goldberg Mintz is a clinical psychologist based in Houston, Texas.  She is the author of the book, "Has Your Child Been Traumatized: How to Know and What to Do to Promote Heali...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Periodically, we survey our online community, and we asked foster parents about what surprised them about fostering? Resources: Working as a Part of the Foster Care Team Welcoming a New Foster Child Self-Care for Foster Parents Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit wit...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How old is too young for a phone? Is gaming harmful to our kids? How much technology is too much. We talk with Dr. Jay Berk, a licensed psychologist and an expert in working with children and families. He is the author of two books: “A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction” and “Codeswitching: Social Skills in the Screen-Age”. In this episode, we cover: Parent...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Q: We have 3 children by birth and want to adopt a child that really needs a home. Given our kids' ages, this will probably mean that we will disrupt the birth order of at least some of our kids. The agency we have talked with is definitely against this idea. Is this something that is harmful to kids? Resources: Disrupting Birth Order Resources Suggest Books for...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you thinking about stopping infertility treatment and trying to adopt or foster? Join us to talk with Carole LieberWilkins,a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has specialized in reproductive medicine, adoption, and family-building options since 1986, and is the co-author of the book, Let’s Talk About Egg Donation. Carole serves on the Advisory Board of t...