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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My father-in-law was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a maximum of 6 months left to live. We learned this right before our home study for older child/foster care adoption was finalized. Do you have any advice for what we should do with our adoption process moving forward? I am worried if we match before my husband is done grieving, we could add...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you considering adopting or fostering a child with Down Syndrome? Join our conversation with Dr. Sara Williams, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She provides developmental evaluations and follow-up care for children with a variety of neurodevelopmental disabilities, including in the Thomas Center for D...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My 4-year-old foster son moved in 9 months ago. He will likely remain with me permanently, and the application is in progress. I was his 5th foster home when he moved in. There was neglect at his birth parents and abuse in a previous foster home. Last weekend he was being babysat by my sister and brother-in-law. They went to the basement to show him a toy,...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Join our panel of four former foster youth to learn what they wished foster parents and others knew about being in foster care. In this episode, we discuss: Tell us the story of your involvement with foster care and the child welfare system. What was something that your foster parent(s) did that helped you cope? What did your foster parents do that made things harder...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: First, I wanted to thank you for your incredible podcast. I’m not a parent (I only recently graduated from college), but I have volunteered in group homes for foster care children for the past couple of years. Your podcast has not only helped me to work more effectively with the kids I see but has also given me insight into what I want to do in my career. I...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! If you are adopting or have adopted within the last several years you should join our conversation today about claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2024. Our guests will be Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill’s Tax Service; and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at Families Rising. In this episode, w...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I adopted our now seven-year-old son from South Africa two years ago. He is the best. We cannot believe how lucky we are to have this joyful little boy in our family, and we owe much of our success to what we've learned from your show and resources, so thank you. Although our son feels pretty easy compared to some of the challenges we he...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you considering adopting a child this year? We've got answers to all (or most) of your questions. Join our discussion with Teresa Bernu, the Executive Director at Adoption Center of Illinois. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked extensively in the areas of domestic infant adoption, foster care, and guardianship. We will also talk with Stev...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I are licensed to foster/adopt, but there have been no placements yet. We initially thought our age preference was 2-6 year olds, but as we have gotten more information/education we think we may be a good home for teenagers. We have no children (adopted/fostered/biological) between us but this also means we have no one else in the home at thi...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Join our discussion with an adult adoptee about her search for her birth family and her identity. We will talk with Julie Ryan McGue, a domestic adoptee and an identical twin. She is the author of Twice a Daughter, which explores her coming to terms with her adoption and her search for her birth parents, and Twice the Family , which explores more of her relationship...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question:  How do you speak to family members about open adoption? My entire family supports my intention to adopt as a single parent and has been very excited and generous as I have been working towards becoming a parent. My siblings were both adopted and there is a history of adoption in my family, mostly closed adoptions like my brother and sister. I would say my...

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 fostered over 40 kids. In t...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: How can I support siblings who have been separated by foster care or adoption? How can I help them build long-term secure attachments? Resources: Sibling Relationships (Resource page) Working as Part of the Foster Care Team (Resource page) Creating a Family Online Facebook Group Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Children who have been sexually abused can heal. Join our conversation with Dr. Eliana Gil to learn how. Dr. Gil is the founder of the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma in children, especially those who have been sexually abused. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Registered Play Therapist Sup...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: For someone who is looking to become a foster parent should they go with a public or a private foster care agency? Which is best? Resources: Choosing a Foster Care Agency Becoming a Foster Parent Working as a Part of the Foster Care Team Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a nat...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you struggle with getting your child to sleep? Join our conversation with Macall Gordon and Kim West, co-authors of the book, Why Won’t You Sleep?!: A Game-Changing Approach for Exhausted Parents of Nonstop, Super Alert, Big Feeling Kids. In this episode, we cover: This is not a newborn sleep training book. This is for those exhausted parents of kids from about ag...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: I'm interested in adopting an older teenager (16 or 17). An agency worker shared that many older teens don't want to be adopted, and just want to age out of foster care. Is this true, and if so, is adopting an older teen a reasonable goal? Resources: Foster Care Adoption (Resource page) Adoptee & Former Foster Youth Voices Foster Care (Suggest...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Join us for this interview with former NFL Running Back and Super Bowl Champion Ricky Watters. He is an adoptee, an adoptive dad, and author of a new children's book on adoption, A Gift Called Shane . In this episode, we discuss:  How old were you when you learned you were adopted and how did you find out? When you discovered you were adopted, you mentioned in y...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband Sean and I are here in Canada and early in the adoption process. We are looking at private infant adoption through an adoption agency.  My question is around getting ready. When we successfully match it is almost a certainty it will be with a newborn and there’s a 30% chance it’s a no-notice match and we have days rather than months to get ready....

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Can our kids heal from all the hard things they've experienced? Is there something we can do to help? Join us today to learn about the power of positive childhood experiences with Dr. Robert Sege, the director of the HOPE National Resource Center at Tufts Medical Center. He holds a MD degree from Harvard Medical School and a PhD degree in biology from Massachuse...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I were foster parents in the US, and have since relocated to Denmark for his work. We both still feel called to adopt from foster care, and would like to do that from the US. We know that the US and Denmark are both members of the Hague Convention, and can adopt from each other. You have great resources about international adoption, but usual...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you planning to adopt or have you recently adopted? If so, you need to listen to this discussion about what to expect during the first few weeks or months you are home! Our guests are Michelle Kennedy and Deborah Artis. Michelle Kennedy has been a social worker with Methodist Home for Children for 27 years. She has direct care experience in residential and foster...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I adopted our nephews four months ago. The two boys are sons of my niece; she gave her kids to the Family Department five years ago, and last year, we at last knew about the boys. They've been a year with us. I have a daughter, 21, and a son, 17, who were okay with the adoption, but now they say they feel this is not their home; they don...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do your kids drive you crazy over the holidays? Does their behavior escalate? Join our conversation to learn why and what you can do about it. We will talk with Erin Nasmyth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master’s in Social Work. She is the co-founder of Adoption Support Alliance, which provides services and support to adoptive families. She has w...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: I see that you have information regarding prenatal substance exposure. Is there information regarding biological mothers that hate their pregnancy or their baby, but carry it to full term and put it up for adoption? Are there resources that would address the emotional impact on the baby? Resources: Understanding the Birth Mom/Parent's Experience Talkin...