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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you getting ready to adopt or have just adopted? Do you wonder what the experience will really be like and what you can do to prepare? Join our conversation with Dr. Jennifer Bliss, LCSW and Director of Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar and Family Services in Los Angeles; and Molly Berger, MSW and Adoption Social Worker at Adoption Center of Illinois. In...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What's IVF like for the male partner? We spend a lot of time talking about the experience of infertility treatment for the person going through treatment, but what about their partner? We talk with Keegan Prue, the author of "The IVF Dad." He and his wife Olivia went through two rounds of IVF and suffered two miscarriages before welcoming their daughte...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you think your child or your family would benefit from counseling? How do you find the right therapist and how can you tell in advance if they will be a good fit for your family? We talk with Debbie Riley, a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and CEO of the Center for Adoption Support and Education. In this episode, we cover: What type of professional...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Have you ever thought about becoming a foster parent? If so, this is the podcast for you! We talk with Arnie Eby, the Executive Director of the National Foster Parent Association and a foster parent for 22 years; and Angie Jones, a licensed clinical social worker and the Intensive Service Foster Care Recruiter and Trainer at Vista Del Mar, an agency placing foster ch...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk today with Sarah Naish, the CEO of the Center of Excellence in Child Trauma and founder of the National Association of Therapeutic Parents. She is the author of "The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting" and "The A-Z of Survival Strategies for Therapeutic Parents." She is the adoptive mom to a sibling group of 5 who are now adults and she has fost...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you considering donor egg or sperm? When should you consider these options? What choices do you have and what are some of the psychological hurdles you need to consider? We talk with Dr. Angela Leung, a reproductive endocrinologist at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey; and Dr. Poonam Sharma, a Licensed Psychologist specializing in reproductive issues...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Transracial adoption affects all parts of the adoption triad. We will talk today with a transracial adoptee and his birth mom and adopted mom. We will include tips for adoptive parents raising transracially adopted or fostered child. In this episode, we cover: Adoptee’s experience with transracial adoption  Preschool Elementary years Middle and high school years Code...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk today with Dr. Gina Samuels about Trauma and Transracial Adoption. Dr. Samuels is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and In-Coming Director at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture. She is an adult transracial adoptee. She has a newly published article in the journal Child Abuse...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk with Ryan Hanlon, with National Council for Adoption, about the largest survey of adoptive parents ever conducted. We talk about who adoptive parents are, the needs of the kids adopted, and so much more. In the episode, we cover: Who is adopting in the US? How are they similar and how do they differ from the general population of parents in relation to income...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can epigenetic changes affect your fertility or the health of your child conceived by fertility treatment? We talk with Dr. Jason Franasiak, a board certified Obstetrician Gynecologist, board certified Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist, board certified High Complexity Laboratory Director in Embryology and Andrology, and lead physician of RMA’s...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We know our kids have experienced trauma, but how can we help them overcome this trauma to become healthy happy adults. We talk about resilience and overcoming an adverse beginning with Dr. Julian Ford and Dr. Amanda Zelechoski. Dr. Ford is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry and Law at the University of Connecticut where he directs two Treatment and...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk with a panel of former foster youth about their stories and what helped them survive their trauma and succeed in life. In this episode, we cover: What were the two most important things in helping you heal and ultimately thrive after your years in foster care and early life trauma? Was their one or two people in your life who helped you overcome? What did the...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do teachers know about adoption? What are the misperceptions? We talk with two researchers on this topic: Dr. Hal Grotevant, the Rudd Family Foundation Chair in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Dr. Abbie Goldberg, a Professor of Psychology and current Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at Clark University. In this episode, we cove...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can you help you child succeed at school?  We talk with Heather Forbes, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the owner of the Beyond Consequences Institute. She specializes on the impact of trauma and is the author of Help for Billy and Classroom 180 . In this episode, we cover: What are some of the specific issues that parents of foster and adopted kids need to...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk with Dr. Julie Lamb about Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. Dr. Lamb is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist practicing at Pacific Northwest Fertility in Seattle and Bellevue and serves as clinical faculty at the University of Washington. In this episode, we cover: Endometriosis What is endometriosis? What are the symptoms of endometriosis? What is the...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can white parents raise anti-racist children in this time of violence against people of color and protests. We talk with Dr. Ann Hazzard, a clinical child psychologist who was on the faculty at Emory University in Atlanta and co-author of Something Happened in Our Town:  A Child's Story about Racial Injustice; and Dr. Joy Harris, a Full-time Lecturer at Prin...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! One of the hardest parts of being a kinship caregiver is navigating the relationship with the child's birth parent. We talk with Dr. Joseph Crumbley, a social worker, family therapist and author of “An Overview of Kinship Care”. In this episode, we cover: Creating a Family listening sessions with kinship caregivers in rural counties. What are some of the complic...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can churches support kids in foster care and prevent children from entering foster care? Join us for our discussion with Jedd Medefind, President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) and Amber Knowles, the Executive Director of The Riverside Project (formerly Fostering Family). In this episode, we cover: We call it a foster care “crisis”. What does that t...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you considering adopting a baby? On today's show we talk about the legal and medical risk factors you need to consider. We talk with Amy Wallas Fox about the legal risk factors in infant adoption. Ms. Fox is an attorney partner of Claiborne Fox Bradley Goldman, a North Carolina and Georgia law firm and a fellow in the American Academy of Adoption and Assiste...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tia Jackson-Bey about Racial Disparities in Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Jackson-Bey is a Reproductive Endocrinologist with RMA of NY. She speaks frequently on reproductive justice and increasing access to fertility care and she is a member of the Americian Society for Reproductive Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce. I...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What is the future for parent support groups and are online support groups here to stay? How can we make them better? We talk with Dr. Jay Miller, Dean and Dorothy Miller Research Professor at the College of Social Work, University of Kentucky. He is a former foster youth and is now a prolific researcher in what works to support foster, adoptive, and kinship families...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Foster youth or children who have been in the foster care system make up over 80% of children being sexually exploited. What can you do to prevent this from happening to your child? We talk with Audrey Morrissey, Co-Executive Director of My Life My Choice , a survivor-led nonprofit fighting sexual exploitation of youth. In this episode, we cover: What are some of the...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Representative Marjorie Margolies had a busy career as a journalist, author, Congressional Representative, professor, and founder of Women’s Campaign International all while raising 11 kids by adoption, birth, sponsorship, and marriage. She is the author of a new memoir And How Are the Children . In this episode, we cover: How did each of your children join your fami...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Have you conceived through donor conception or are you considering this? Join us for the fascinating dive into disclosing (or not) this information to your child. We will talk with Dr. Patricia E. Hershberger, Associate Professor at the College of Nursing and Affiliate Professor at the College of Medicine, Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology, at the University of Il...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk with a panel of birth moms about their adoption experience. What is the adoption experience for birth mothers and what do they think of some of the controversies in adoption, such as pre-birth matching, adoptive parents at the hospital, adoptive mother breastfeeding, etc. In this episode, we cover: Tell us what your child’s adoption looks like. What are your...