Orphans No More - Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sandra Flach
Host Sandra Flach is a mom of 8 children, 5 through adoption—one kinship and 4 international. Her youngest 2 are teens diagnosed with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). With over 30 years of parenting experience and 20 plus years as an adoptive and kinship parent, she’s made mountains of mistakes and learned loads of lessons. She understands the difficult road of parenting children with trauma histories—and she is still in the trenches!
Orphans No More is a podcast to encourage, educate, and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care, and kinship care. We aim to support adoptive and foster families by sharing encouraging real-life stories and equipping them with modern-day research and parenting techniques.
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
We are thrilled to bring you a series of bonus episodes featuring special guest. Dr. Jerrod Brown PhD. In each of these bonus episodes, Dr. Brown will share what every adoptive and foster parent needs to know regarding FASD, trauma, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
On this week’s bonus episode, the fifth in our series, Dr. Brown and host, Sandra Flach discuss FASD, trauma and attachment. Listen in as Dr. Brown shares what every parent needs to know about FASD and trauma as he offers key strategies and steps parents should be utilizing.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
justicefororphansny.org
jerrod01234brown@live.com
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive mom, Kim Scarbrough. Kim is a homeschooling mom of 4 adopted children—3 with an FASD.
Listen in as Kim shares her adoptive parenting journey, how she learned about FASD, and why homeschooling has been the best fit for her kids.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
We are thrilled to bring you a series of bonus episodes featuring special guest. Dr. Jerrod Brown PhD. In each of these bonus episodes, Dr. Brown will share what every adoptive and foster parent needs to know regarding FASD, trauma, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
On this week’s bonus episode, the fourth in our series, Dr. Brown and host, Sandra Flach, discuss the impacts of screen time on all children, especially those with a brain based disability.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
justicefororphansny.org
jerrod01234brown@live.com
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with Judy Smith, a single adoptive mom of three kids diagnosed with Autism and prenatally exposed to alcohol and other substances. Judy is also a homeschooling mom with a very inspiring unschooling story.
Listen in as Judy shares her adoptive parenting journey and how she has navigated the twists and turns along the way.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
We are thrilled to bring you a series of bonus episodes featuring special guest. Dr. Jerrod Brown PhD. In each of these bonus episodes, Dr. Brown will share what every adoptive and foster parent needs to know regarding FASD, trauma, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
On this week’s bonus episode, the third in our series, Dr. Brown will unpack the impact of Complex (Developmental) Trauma—what it is and what interventions and strategies parents can implement to help our kids heal.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
justicefororphansny.org
jerrod01234brown@live.com
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach and Natalie Vecchione of the FASD Hope podcast, collaborate together as they announce the official launch of their Hope for the FASD Journey virtual community.
Listen in as these two adoptive moms, with a combined 42 years of adoptive parenting and FASD experience, share about this essential resource. The Hope for the FASD Journey community includes 2 monthly online support groups, 1 monthly VIP Conversation, and access to their private Facebook group featuring weekly devotionals and connection with the community.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASDHope.org
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
We are thrilled to bring you a series of bonus episodes featuring special guest, Dr. Jerrod Brown PhD. In each of these bonus episodes, Dr. Brown will share what every adoptive and foster parent needs to know regarding FASD, trauma, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
On this week’s bonus episode, the second in our series, Dr. Brown will unpack the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—what it is and what interventions and strategies parents can implement to help our kids heal.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
justicefororphansny.org
jerrod01234brown@live.com
“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with homeschooling adoptive mom, Claire Boeck. Claire has been successfully homeschooling her son, diagnosed with an FASD, since 2020.
Listen in as Claire shares her experience with the public school system and how homeschooling is the right fit or her son. She also offers some great advice to adoptive and foster parents wondering if homeschooling is a possible option.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
embracingthebrain.com
Email: shannon@embracignthebrain.com
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
We are thrilled to bring you a series of bonus episodes featuring special guest. Dr. Jerrod Brown PhD. In each of these bonus episodes, Dr. Brown will share what every adoptive and foster parent needs to know regarding FASD, trauma, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
On this week’s bonus episode, the first in our series, Dr. Brown will unpack prenatal trauma—what it is and what interventions and strategies parents can implement to help our kids heal.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
justicefororphansny.org
jerrod01234brown@live.com
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive mom and IEP Master Coach, Shannon Iacobacci. Shannon specializes in FASD as an educator, trainer, advocate, Certified Facilitator of the FASCETS Neurobehavioral Model, and is an expert on IEPs.
Listen in as Shannon shares her years of experience navigating the public school special education system and homeschooling her children with FASD.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
embracingthebrain.com
Email: shannon@embracignthebrain.com
“Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with Rebecca Tillou. Rebecca is an adult adoptee with FASD, she’s also a wife, mother, author, advocate, and runner - AND the visionary of Run FASD.
Run FASD is a virtual 5K event that can happen at your own pace wherever you are anytime from September 9th-25th, 2022. Run FASD brings awareness to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and encourages people with FASD, their families, and supporters to make this invisible disability, visible.
Listen in as Rebecca shares her inspiration to Run FASD and how you can participate in the virtual 5K. Sandra and Rebecca will also be hosting an in-person meet up for the 5K in Voorheesville, NY. Follow the links in the show notes for details.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
RunFASD.org
FASDUnited.org
Tenacity, by Rebecca Tillou
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive mom, Lindsey Munns—mom of 4, including adopted twins both with FASD. Lindsey is also a TBRI practitioner and soon to be Facilitator of the FASCETS Neuro-behavioral model.
Listen in as Lindsey shares some of the challenges her family struggles with on their adoption journey—including school, sleep, and so much more.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASCETS.org
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach talks with Susan Elsworth. Susan is a mom of 13 children—9 adopted thought foster care and 5 with FASD. She is founder and executive director of Indiana Alliance on Prenatal Substance Exposure and the FASD United Affiliate Director.
Listen in as Susan transparently shares the challenges, grief, and hope from her twenty year foster and adoption journey.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASD United
Indiana Alliance
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode host Sandra Flach encourages listeners to press in to press on. Listen in as Sandra shares how she’s navigating recent challenges including the passing of her dad, her newborn grandson’s heart surgery, and a son’s broken collar bone—all in the span of two weeks!
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASCETS
FASD United
RunFASD
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected." Luke 12:48
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey (formerly Orphans No More) - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
This is the 4th and last episode of our Dad Series for the month of June where we have been featuring adoptive and foster dads.
On today’s show we are thrilled to bring you our conversation with foster and adoptive dad, Peter Mutabazi. Born in Uganda, Peter survived on the streets of Kampala as a kid until one man saw potential in him. Since then, Peter has served as a relief coordinator during the Rwandan genocide, worked for the Red Cross, World Vision, and Compassion International.
After becoming a U.S. citizen, Peter learned he could also be a foster parent. Today, he’s fostered countless children and is a single adoptive parent. Peter is also author of the of the soon to be released book, Now I Am Known—How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worth.
Listen in as Peter shares his foster and adoptive parenting journey and offers advice to fellow dads.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
@FosterDadFlipper (Instagram)
@Peter Mutabazi (FB)
Now I Am Known
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey (formerly Orphans No More) - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
This is the 3rd episode of our Dad Series for the month of June where we will feature special adoptive and foster dad guests.
Today’s show features adoptive dad, Tom Mollo. Tom and his wife Kendra are parents to 7 children—4 adopted through foster care. Tom is a pastor and oversees children’s ministry at Rock Solid Church in Hudson, NY. He is also employed by New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services.
Listen in as Tom shares his foster care and adoptive parenting journey and offers advice to fellow dads.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” Colossians 3:23
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey (formerly Orphans No More) - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
This is the 2nd episode of our Dad Series for the month of June where we will feature special adoptive and foster dad guests.
Today’s show features adoptive dad, Darren Washausen. Darren and his wife Stacia are parents of 1 adult biological daughter and 2 young adult sons adopted internationally. Darren is also Executive Director of Orphan Care Alliance —a nonprofit on mission to equip, connect and mobilize churches to see vulnerable children in families.
Listen in as Darren shares his often challenging adoptive parenting journey and offers advice to fellow foster and adoptive dads.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
orphancarealliance.org
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey (formerly Orphans No More) - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
This episode kicks off our Dad Series for the month of June where we will feature special adoptive and foster dad guests.
Today’s show features adoptive dad, John Vecchione. John and his wife Natalie are parents of two children—one with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. They are fierce FASD advocates. Natalie, a frequent guest on this podcast, is host of the FASD Hope podcast.
Listen in as John shares his experience of parenting a son with FASD and offers advice to fellow foster and adoptive dads.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
fasdhope.com
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a more relevant name.
Our 5th and final May episode in honor of National Foster Care Month features host Sandra Flach talking with adoptive mom Jodi Thomas.
Jodi is familiar with life’s challenges through her experiences with infertility, adoption, and the incarceration of her adopted son. Despite life not working out the way she planned, Jodi is passionate about sharing God’s hope, health, and the abundant life available to women.
Listen in as Jodi shares her journey and be encouraged to not give up when the road is hard.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
jodithomas.net
“I will repay you for the years the locust have eaten…” Joel 2:25
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a more relevant name.
Our 4th May episode in honor of National Foster Care Month features host Sandra Flach talking with former foster youth turned foster mom, Helen Richardson.
Helen shares her experience of bouncing around the foster system until she was on her own at age 18. After putting her faith in Christ, Helen began working at Focus on the Family’s Wait No More program as a Foster and Adoption Advocate. Helen and her husband have also become foster parents.
Listen in as Helen shares her foster care journey and how God truly does restore the years the locust have eaten.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Wait No More
“Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”” Matthew 22:37-39
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a more relevant name.
Our 3rd May episode in honor of National Foster Care Month features host Sandra Flach talking with foster and adoptive mom, Jennifer Ohaneson.
Jennifer, mom of 12, is all about loving our neighbors and teaching our kids how to demonstrate the Gospel in practical ways. She is author of Growing A Servant’s Heart and founder of Blessing Bags International—a Christ centered ministry sharing God’s love through care packages.
Listen in as Jennifer shares her family’s foster care journey and how God uses the hard things in our lives, and then visit our website for a chance to win a copy of Jenn’s book!
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Blessing Bags International
Growing A Servant’s Heart - book
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a more relevant name.
For our second May episode in honor of National Foster Care Month, host Sandra Flach talks with former foster youth now foster mom, Tori Hope Petersen.
Listen in as Tori transparently shares her experience of growing up in foster care, how she came to Christ, and her heart for kids in care today.
Tune in to Episode 324 to hear from this amazing young woman and visit our website for a chance to win a copy of Tori’s soon to be realized book, Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family Through Foster Care.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
torihopepetersen.com
“Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a more relevant name.
This show kicks off our Foster Care series for the Month of May—National Foster Care Month. In this episode host Sandra Flach talks with foster mom, Jillana Goble. Jillana is the author of A Love Stretched Life—Stories on Wrangling Hope, Embracing the Unexpected, and Discovering the Meaning of Family.
Listen in as Jillana shares her experience as a foster parent walking alongside a birth mom, adopting 2 children, parenting a child with FASD, and starting the nonprofit, Every Child Oregon.
Tune in to Episode 323 to hear Jillana’s inspiring story and visit our website for a chance to win a copy of Jillana’s book.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
jillana-goble.com
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a new name.
On this episode, host and adoptive mom, Sandra Flach, candidly shares about the ups and downs of parenting children and youth with childhood trauma and neurodiversity such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder FASD.
Tune in to Episode 322 to discover how the highs and lows of the second mother parenting become level at the foot of the cross—and sometimes we need to drag each other there to remember where our help comes from.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
Second Mother Bible Study by Jodi Jackson Tucker
Welcome to Orphans No More - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
*As of June 1, 2022 this podcast will have new name: The Adoption and Foster Care Journey. Same host, same great content, just a new name.
“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:3
Adoptive parents and foster and kinship caregivers need a community of support around them. They also must be trauma and FASD informed.
This week, host Sandra Flach, speaks with adoptive mom, Camie Schuiteman about navigating the adoption journey. Camie and her husband have 3 biological kids and 3 children adopted internationally—two from Vietnam and one from Ukraine. Their youngest child is diagnosed with an FASD.
Tune in to Episode 321 as Sandra and Camie discuss childhood trauma, FASD, and other topics relevant to adoption, foster care and kinship care.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
Welcome to ONM - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
“I will never leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
Adoptive parents, foster care, and kinship caregivers need community. We need encouragement for the journey and tools to help us stay the course. Over the past 7 years, Orphans No More has been providing that community, but our name makes it hard for people who need us to find us. That’s why we are changing the name of this podcast to The Adoption, Foster Care & Kinship Journey.
As of June 1, 2022, current subscribers will still receive this podcast on their device, but it will arrive by our new name—The Adoption, Foster Care & Kinship Journey. Our desire is to be a vital resource to those in this community.
Our format will remain this same and we will continue to bring you content and guest interviews relevant to parents caring for children and youth with trauma histories including FASD.
On this week's episode, host Sandra Flach explains the name change in more depth and shares about what she’s been learning in her FASCETS Training of Facilitators.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
Welcome to ONM - a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
“I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.”
Psalm 119:25
At some point in this journey of raising other people’s children, caregivers will experience grief, loss, or sorrow. The little by little disappearance of a life we thought we’d live. Our expectations of family and future seem to evaporate like the morning dew on a hot July day—and we don’t realize it until we’re feeling dry, empty, burned.
This week, host Sandra Flach transparently shares about grief and sorrow from her twenty plus years of experience as an adoptive and kinship parent. Listen in as she talks about her struggles and offers three points of encouragement for fellow adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
“Then Job replied to the Lord, “I know that you can do all things. No purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2
Sometimes our best laid plans fall apart but God’s purposes prevail. Such is the case for adoptive mom, Darlene Larson. During a time when her family should have been growing and thriving, she lost two close family members and her marriage of 25 years unraveled.
On this episode, host Sandra Flach speaks with Darlene Larson about the pain of suffering from emotional and mental abuse and how going deep with God led her to her purpose. Today, Darlene is life coach and founder of Hearts with a Purpose. She passionately coaches women that are harried, hurting and hungry, guiding them to the freedom that discovering their purpose brings.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
HeartsWithAPurpose.com
FB @DarleneLarson
Insta @heartswithapurpose
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
Over the past few weeks, approximately three million people have fled Ukraine—primarily women and children. Entire orphanages are among the Ukrainian refugees now in Poland and Romania. Many of these children were in process of being either hosted or adopted by American families.
On this episode host Sandra Flach speaks with Ukrainian adoptive mom Jill Krenzer. Jill is a team member with the nonprofit hosting organization, Host Orphans Worldwide. Listen in as Jill shares the heartbreak her family and many others are experiencing as they watch the horrors unfold in Ukraine and await the fate of children they were in process to host and/or adopt this summer.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
Host Orphans Worldwide
Sign the Petition
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuine of your faith—a grater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7
If you are an adoptive, foster or kinship caregiver, you may feel as if there are more trials than triumphs.
On this episode, host Sandra Flach candidly shares some of the trials she has faced parenting her teenage adopted son who has FASD. Sandra also highlights three recent triumphs she and her son are celebrating.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
“He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge…” Psalm 144:2
As war rages in Ukraine, the most vulnerable suffer—especially orphans.
This week, Host Sandra Flach, an adoptive mom of four children born in Ukraine, speaks with Kim De Blecourt, also mom of a son adopted from Ukraine. Kim is the founder of Nourished Hearts, a nonprofit serving orphans and vulnerable families in Ukraine.
Listen in as these moms, passionate for Ukrainian orphans, discuss needs on the ground, how listeners can help, and end with prayer for Ukraine.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
JusticeForOrphansNY.org
NourishedHearts.org
Until We All Come Home - book
“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn darkness into light before them; and make rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”
Answering God’s call to foster or adopt children is huge—but sometimes He doesn’t stop there. Often, God will invite us to serve other families in this community. That’s exactly what He did through adoptive mom Kelly Raudenbush.
After adopting her daughter from China, Kelly went on to establish the Sparrow Fund, a nonprofit passionate about supporting adoptive families. Listen in as host Sandra Flach talks with Kelly about her family’s adoption story and about the services offered through the Sparrow Fund.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Sparrow Fund
Together Called Retreat
“…Mercy triumphs over judgement.” James 2:13
The FASCETS neuro behavioral model is based on recognizing an individual’s brain differences and preventing problems instead of punishing them. By focusing on the person’s strengths and providing accommodations—people prenatally exposed to alcohol can celebrate success.
This week on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, talks with adoptive mom and FASCETS Program Director, Suzanne Emery. If you are an adoptive, foster or kinship caregiver or work within the child welfare system—you won’t want to miss this informative and encouraging episode.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASCETS
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Trent Taylor spent his early childhood experiencing horrific forms of abuse and neglect. As a result, he entered the foster care system at age four and endured a tumultuous four-year journey before finding his way to his forever family.
This week on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, talks with Trent Taylor and his adoptive mom, Pam. Listen in as this amazing trauma informed mother-son duo transparently share Trent’s trauma to triumph testimony.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
watchmerise.org
Trust Based Relational Intervention TBRI
“Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb…” Judges 13:4-5
This week on episode 311 of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks about her experiences as a mom of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
She says, “Our prenatally exposed kids - no matter their age - can learn. They might learn differently. But they can learn. While we tend to try everything in an attempt to find something that works (myself included) - diet, exercise, supplements, therapies, medication, etc….there is no magic cure for an FASD. And our kids are not going to turn 18 or 21 and suddenly outgrow it.”
Listen in as Sandra shares about focusing on strengths rather than trying to “fix” a child’s disability. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD.org/50facts
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5
This week on episode 310 of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach speaks with Claudia Fletcher. Claudia is a seasoned foster and adoptive parent of twelve adult children—5 still live at home. She’s a pastor’s wife, Chief Program Officer with Patrick Henry Family Services, and an Area Director for CarePortal.
Listen in as Claudia shares her adoption and foster care survival tips as well as her heart for children and families in crisis. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
BartandClaudiaFletcher.com
Out of Many, One Family - Book
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
CarePortal.org
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm them…” Ephesians 6:10
This week on episode 309 of our Orphans No More podcast, host and FASD adoptive mom, Sandra Flach, shares FAFASD Fact 38—Many behavioral symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are due to a combination of differing brain functions.
Adoptive, foster and kinship caregivers are often familiar with meltdowns and explosive rages. These behaviors could be caused by sensory overload, difficulty communicating, or frustration due to being misunderstood and punished for behaviors related to a child’s disability.
Listen in as Sandra draws from her lived experience and shares how parenting through the lens of FASD—always considering the brain first and making necessary accommodations for success can decrease the frequency, intensity and duration of meltdowns and rages. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASCETS
Trying Differently Rather Than Harder by Diane Malbin
“Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:14
Children with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are highly overrepresented in the child welfare system—including foster care. Most have either been misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. It’s vital for adoptive families and foster and kinship caregivers to be FASD informed.
This week on episode 308 of our Orphans No More podcast, host and FASD adoptive mom, Sandra Flach, shares FAFASD Fact 37—Myths about women who give birth to children with FASD.
Listen as Sandra draws from her lived experience and shares the FASD symptoms and resources every parent and professional needs to understand. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASCETS
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37
The responsibility and complexity involved in raising someone else’s child can seem overwhelming. Regardless whether you’re an adoptive, foster, kinship or stepparent, it is on you to take on the challenge of caring for them, helping them to move forward while also meeting their unique emotional needs.
This week on our Orphans No More Podcast, host Sandra Flach speaks with Debbie Ausburn. Debbie is author of Raising Other People’s Children—What Foster Parenting Taught Me About Bringing Together A Blended Family. Debbie has worked with at-risk children for more than 40 years. She has served as a juvenile court probation officer, criminal prosecutor of crimes against children, a single foster parent, and a stepparent.
Listen as Debbie draws from her vast experience as she shares how to navigate the complicated world of raising other people’s children. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
debbieausburn.com
Raising Other People’s Children Book
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20
This week marks fifteen years since Sandra and Wayne Flach adopted three children from Ukraine. In honor of this milestone, Sandra reads two chapters from her book Orphans No More—A Journey Back to the Father and shares some thoughts about what she’s discovered as an adoptive mom.
Listen to Episode 306 and please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end…” Isaiah 9:6-7
Welcome to the last episode in our Advent series. Each week in December we released an advent focused show to help weary adoptive, foster and kinship caregivers survive the holiday season.
This week host Sandra Flach wraps up our Advent series with supernatural peace from the Prince of Peace.
Episode 305 includes an Advent Assignment, Song, and Prayer to help you survive the holiday season. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Mission: Joy
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:10-11
Advent means arrival—a time to prepare for the coming of Christ. My hope is that each week leading up to Christmas, I will help point your heart toward hope, faith, joy, and peace as we prepare for the arrival of Jesus.
This week host Sandra Flach shares about the supernatural joy we can experience when we, like the wise men—stop, drop and roll into the presence of Jesus.
Episode 304 includes an Advent Assignment, Song, and Prayer to help you survive the holiday season. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“A voice of one calling:
In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-5
Advent, meaning arrival or coming, is a time to prepare for the arrival or coming of Christ. Our hope is that each week leading up to Christmas, we will help point your heart toward hope, faith, joy, and peace as we prepare for the arrival of our King.
This week host Sandra Flach shares about Christmases past from her 22 years of experience parenting kids with trauma and FASD. She offers a glimmer of hope as she tells how God does indeed make crooked paths straight.
This episode includes an Advent Assignment, Song, and Prayer to help you survive the holiday season. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2
Advent means “arrival” or “coming” in Latin. It’s a time to prepare for the arrival or coming of Christ—the birth of Jesus. Each week in December, we will be bringing you an Advent episode to help you prepare your heart for Christmas.
This week host Sandra Flach shares about hope and offers listeners an advent assignment, a Christmas song, and a prayer to help listeners find some solitude with the Savior through the Christmas season.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
We are wrapping up National Adoption Month with adoptive mom and FASD advocate, Debbie Raymond. Deb is a single mom of two adult children—Lydia, who was adopted from China and is now a college graduate and Wyatt who has an FASD was adopted from South Korea and lives at home with Debbie.
Listen in as host Sandra Flach talks with Debbie about her adoption journey and how she courageously faces each day as a single mom of an adult son with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASCETS
@pawssibilities.withFASD
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
As National Adoption Awareness Month comes to a close, we are celebrating the 300th episode of Orphans No More!
Joining host Sandra Flach is former co-host, Mary Slager—pastor’s wife, biological mom of two adult children, adoptive mom of seven, grandmother, and foster mom to countless children over the past forty years.
Listen in as Sandra and Mary reminisce about their favorite guests, their early radio days, and offer encouragement for fellow foster and adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:16-19
In honor of National Adoption Awareness Month, all of our November episodes focus on adoption. And since December is right around the corner, we’re combining this week’s adoption story with some Christmas gifts.
This week we talk with adoptive mom, Jennifer Elwood. Jennifer is the author of Counting Up to Christmas—Twenty-Four Gifts from the Gospel of Luke.
Listen in as host Sandra Flach talks with Jennifer about her family’s adoption journey as well as her book. Counting Up to Christmas is truly a gift for stressed out moms trying to find joy in the Christmas season.
Like/comment/share this episode's corresponding Facebook post on our Justice For Orphans page by 11/18 for your chance to win a FREE copy of Jennifer's book.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
JenniferElwood.com
"Whenever you are able, do good to people who need help." Proverb 3:27
November is National Adoption Awareness Month. To celebrate, all of our November episodes are adoption focused.
This week we will be talking about the forgotten adoption option—adopting through the foster care system with adoptive mom, Marcy Bursac. Marcy and her husband adopted two children through foster care. She is also the author of The Forgotten Adoption Option—A Self Reflection and How-to-Guide for Pursuing Foster Care Adoption.
Listen in as host Sandra Flach talks with Marcy Bursac about how to navigate adopting through the foster care system.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
forgottenadoptionoption.com
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families… Psalm 68:5-6
November is National Adoption Awareness Month. To celebrate, all of our November episodes will be adoption focused.
To kick off adoption month, we are also celebrating the 20th observance of Orphan & Stand Sunday. Orphan Sunday is an initiative of Christian Alliance For Orphans (CAFO). It is a day for the Church to stand in the gap for orphans, kids in foster care, and vulnerable children. To date, Orphan Sunday has been observed in 120 nations around the world.
Join host, Sandra Flach, along with adoptive mom and International Director for Orphan Sunday, Jodi Jackson Tucker, as they share their favorite stories and most memorable miracles from the past 20 years.
This year Orphan Sunday will be observed on November 7, 2021. To learn more visit OrphanSunday.org.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
CAFO.org
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families… Psalm 68:5-6
This week our Orphans No More podcast takes us across the pond. Host Sandra Flach talks with adult adoptee, Simon Benn—host of the Thriving Adoptees podcast.
Listen in as Simon shares how he navigates the ups and downs of life as an adoptee and why every child needs to know they are precious.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Thriving Adoptees
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for al the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18
This week on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach interviews a very special guest—her son, Slava. Listen in as Slava, a teen with an FASD, shares about homeschooling and his new puppy.
Sandra closes the episode praying for adoptive, foster and kinship care families, especially those parenting children with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4-5
When Ed Stolle and his wife decided to step out in faith and adopt a little girl, they had no idea the wait would last five years. What sustained them through that time? And what was it like to finally bring home their baby girl? Find out on episode 294 of our Orphans No More podcast.
Listen in as host Sandra Flach talks with Ed about adoption and what he learned from saying yes to God.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
Tracey Glenn is a child of God, adoptive mom, author, and co-founder of Caring Connections for Special Needs LLC. She has a heart for God, kids, and all God’s creatures.
Listen in as Sandra Flach, host of our Orphans No More podcast, chats with Tracey about her adoption journey and her soon to be released book, Gathering the Wayward Heart.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
BrandedinFaith.com
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44
In honor of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month, FASD is spotlighted on all of our September episodes. This last show in the series features host and adoptive mom Sandra Flach sharing from her family’s experience and closes in prayer for your family.
Listen in as Sandra shares about homeschooling and other sacrifices adoptive and foster families make—especially those caring for children prenatally exposed to alcohol.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9
In honor of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month we continue our month-long spotlight on FASD with adoptive mom and FASD advocate, Jenn Wisdahl.
Jenn became an adoptive mom while living in Canada where her family received lots of support services. But after moving to Washington State, she discovered a lack of FASD awareness and supports. This experience set her on a path to become a fierce parent advocate. Today, Jenn is the driver behind the FASD Respect Act.
Join us for our Orphans No More Podcast as host, Sandra Flach, talks with Jenn Wisdahl about the symptoms of FASD, parenting strategies, and the FASD Respect Act.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
NOFAS Policy Center
FASD Respect Act FaceBook Group
"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3:13-14
In honor of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month we continue our month-long spotlight on FASD with adoptive mom and marriage and family therapist, Chris Troutt.
As is a mom of 12 children—6 through adoption, Chris came face to face with childhood trauma and the impacts of FASD. Her family experienced isolation and struggled from a lack of support. That experience led Chris to establish The Papillion Center—a faith-based nonprofit therapeutic center utilizing different techniques to bring about hope and healing to children and families in hard places.
Tune in as host, Sandra Flach, talks with Chris Troutt about the challenges families in hard places face and how they can find hope and healing.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
The Papillion Center
TBRI
Chris Troutt on FaceBook
Chris Troutt on Instagram
The Papillion Center on Instagram
The Papilliion Center on FaceBook
In honor of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month we continue our month-long spotlight on FASD with foster and adoptive mom, Shannon Iacobacci. Shannon is an FASD educator, certified facilitator, disability advocate, family coach, and board chair of FASCETS.
As a parent of four children diagnosed with an FASD, Shannon shares the challenges her family faced and the lack of training and supports they received from the foster care system. Listen in as Shannon describes the life-changing training she received through FASCETS and how it not only helped her family but equipped her to help other families also.
Tune in as host, Sandra Flach, talks with Shannon about understanding neurodiversity and parenting children with brain-based disabilities—such as FASD.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Diversely Designed
FASCETS
Shannon Iacobacci - on Facebook
Shannon Iacobacci - on Instagram
FASD 5K
FASD Respect Act
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Ester 4:14
September is National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month. In support of the FASD community which includes much of the adoptive and foster care community—we are dedicating all of our September podcast episodes to the topic.
To kick off our month-long FASD series, we talk with Aubrey Page. Aubrey is a foster and adoptive mom and CEO, collaborator, and trainer at The Change Starts Here Collaborative.
Listen in as host, Sandra Flach, talks with Aubrey about training and equipping families and organizations about brain-based disabilities—especially FASD.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
The Change Starts Here
The Change Starts Here FaceBook page
Aubrey Page FASD Educator FaceBook page
FASD 5K
FASD Respect Act
"As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" John 9:1-3
Many adoptive and foster families step into a new school year with fear and trepidation. Our children face daily challenges which are often compounded in the classroom. Whether we send them to public or private school, provide special education services, or homeschool— children with trauma and/or brain-based disabilities such as FASD, struggle to learn and to launch.
Adoptive moms, Natalie Vecchione and Cindy LaJoy, realized years ago that their teens with developmental disabilities needed an alternative homeschool-highschool path. Through entrepreneurship and apprenticeship, these veteran homeschool moms prepared their teens with FASD to move forward with confidence, hope, and a set of practical life and job skills.
Now, Natalie and Cindy have collaborated together to share their knowledge and lived experience with other families on the same journey. Their new book, Blazing New Homeschool Trails—Educating and Launching Teens with Developmental Disabilities is a resource every homeschooling foster and adoptive family needs.
This week, on our Orphans No More Podcast, both Natalie Vecchione and Cindy LaJoy join host Sandra Flach to discuss their experience and new book. Listen to their conversation and please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASD 5K
FASD Respect Act
FASD Hope Podcast
Blue Collar Homeschool
“…but they who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are highly overrepresented in the child welfare system. Eighty-five percent of children seen in diagnostic clinics are either adoptees or are in foster care. According to the CDC, FASD impacts as many as 1 in 20 individuals in the United States—that’s 2.5 times more than autism.
While FASD is so prevalent, many people, including foster and adoptive parents and professionals, are not informed. Rebecca Tillou, an adult adoptee living with FASD, is on a mission to change that. In collaboration with the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), Rebecca has organized the first ever FASD Run—a virtual 5K to raise awareness about FASD.
On this week’s Orphans No More Podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Rebecca Tillou about her FASD diagnosis, the 5K, and the FASD Respect Act. Listen to their conversation on episode 286 and please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
FASD 5K
FASD Respect Act
Adulting With FASD - Rebecca’s Blog
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
When a family steps into the messy world of foster care and adoption, they are stepping into an opportunity to change the world for a child. The change not only impacts the child but, along the way the family is transformed as they do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
On this week’s Orphans No More Podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with California pastor and adoptive dad, Micah Foster. Micah is host of the podcast - From the Garoffice-Faith in the Digital Space.
Listen in as Micah shares his family’s story of adopting a three year-old boy from foster care. He also talks about how adoption changed him and offers advice for prospective foster and adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
From the Garoffice-Faith in the Digital Space podcast
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8
Adoption is a heart purifying process. A fact Ginny Wells knows first hand. Ginny and her husband are parents to one adult biological child and two children adopted internationally.
The Wells family first adopted a son from Russia in the nineties after learning of the horrific conditions Russian orphans suffer under. In 2003, they adopted again, this time a daughter from China.
On this week’s Orphans No More Podcast, Ginny shares her family’s story and how adoption has made her more like Christ. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
When she was eight years old, Kaitlyn Fiedler lost almost her entire family in a tragic accident. In a moment she became orphaned. Kaitlyn’s world was shattered and her faith and future hung in the balance.
Today, Kaitlyn is married and a mom to her one-year old son. She’s pursuing her MA in Christian Ministries at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and writes about finding hope in Christ through suffering on her blog—A Beautiful Belonging.
Listen to the episode as Kaitlyn shares her tragedy to triumph story. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
abeautifulbelonging.com
On Facebook @A Beautiful Belonging
On Instagram @Kaitlyn_Fiedler
“Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
After many years of struggling with infertility and longing to be a mom, Natasha Lynn Daniels and her husband Slick adopted their first son. Then came a heartbreaking season of loss due to miscarriage and a failed adoption.
In 2015 the Daniels opened their home to a pair of siblings through an orphan hosting program. Those little boys joined the family in 2017 along with their two biological sisters.
Listen in to episode 282 as Natasha shares her family’s story and a how you too can live by faith and find hope. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
NatashaLynnDaniels.com
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” Joel 2:25
What happens when a seven year old prays for her parents to adopt? They adopt—not once, but twice!
On this week’s Orphans No More Podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive mom, Tyra Grauer. Tyra shares her family’s adoption journey which includes three failed adoptions and the adoption of two daughters from China.
Listen in to episode 281 as Tyra describes why adoption requires radical faith. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper…” Isaiah 54:17
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) affects 75% of the children in the child welfare system. For this reason, it is imperative for adoptive and foster parents to be FASD informed.
This week on episode 280, host Sandra Flach presents information she recently learned while attending a FASCETS (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Consultation Education Training Services) training for parents and professionals.
FASD is an invisible brain-based physical disability which occurs when a baby is prenatally exposed to alcohol. Alcohol, drugs and trauma impact cell growth and cause physical changes to the brain—changes that affect the structure and function of the brain. Many adoptive and foster children exhibit challenging behaviors. These behaviors are actually symptoms of an FASD.
Listen in as Sandra shares her lived experience and parenting strategies as a mom of 2 teens diagnosed with FASD. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
fascets.org
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31:8-9
Throughout the month of June, we’re featuring adoptive and foster dads on our Orphans No More podcast.
This week on episode 279, host Sandra Flach talks with South Carolina adoptive dad, Holland Webb. Holland adopted two young sons who are now twenty and twenty one years old. He’s also coauthor of the book Adventures in Fatherhood—A Devotional.
Listen in as Holland shares why he became a single adoptive dad and what he’s learned over the past 17 years raising a bi-racial family.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Adventures In Fatherhood—A Devotional
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Galatians 4:5
Throughout the month of June, we’re featuring adoptive and foster dads on our Orphans No More podcast.
This week on episode 278, host Sandra Flach talks with an Assemblies of God missionary who currently serves as the missionary in residence and chair of the intercultural studies department at Trinity Bible College and Graduate School in Ellendale, ND—David Jacob. David has been married to Angie for 26 years and they have five children, two of whom are adopted from China.
Listen in as David shares his family’s journey to adoption and what he’s learned about the theology of adoption from the Word of God. Sandra and David discuss the many parallels between physical and spiritual adoption and the contemporary Christian Church’s view on the adoption of children.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
In honor of Father’s Day, we are featuring adoptive and foster dads on our Orphans No More podcast throughout the month of June.
This week on episode 277, host Sandra Flach talks with her favorite adoptive dad—her husband of 34 years, Wayne Flach.
Sandra and Wayne unknowingly began their adoption journey in 1999 when they opened their home to an eight year old relative. A few years later, that placement turned into a kinship adoption. In 2007 the Flach’s welcomed home a sibling set of three from Ukraine followed by a forth sibling in 2010.
Sandra’s book “Orphans No More: A Journey Back to the Father” releases everywhere 6/15, but you can order your very own signed copy now HERE. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families…” Psalm 68:5-6
In honor of Father’s Day, we are featuring adoptive and foster dads on our Orphans No More podcast throughout the month of June.
This week on episode 276, host Sandra Flach talks with Brett Monk. Brett is a movie director and homeschool dad of a daughter he ands wife adopted from foster care. Listen in as Brett shares how they went from having no kids and 2 careers to being homeschooling adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
mounthideaway.com
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” Matthew 1:5
Jenn Uren, host of This Mom Knows Podcast, is a connector of people. In the midst of connecting a potential adoptive family with a child in need, God surprised her by placing the child in her family. Then, He surprised her again when the child came with a sibling!
This week on episode 275 of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Jenn Uren. Listen in as Jenn shares her story of obedience, becoming a trauma-informed parent, and how she learned to survive surprise adoption.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
This Mom Knows Podcast
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” Psalm 25:5
In honor of National Foster Care Month we are dedicating our May Orphans No More podcast episodes to foster parents.
According to Proof Alliance, 80% of children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are in foster or adoptive care and as many as 75% of children in foster care have a family history of alcohol abuse. According to these statistics, foster parents will most likely welcome a child who was prenatally exposed to alcohol. Children in FASD-informed foster, adoptive or kinship families are more likely to have successful outcomes.
This week on episode 274 of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Christie Petrenko, PhD—a clinical psychologist conducting research with individuals with FASD since 2003. Dr. Petrenko is currently a faculty member at Mt. Hope Family Center at the University of Rochester where her research focuses on developing and evaluating interventions for people with FASD. She also runs a multidisciplinary FASD clinic in Rochester, NY.
Listen in as Dr. Petrenko shares about FASD symptoms, diagnosis, interventions, and support services. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Proof Alliance
FASD Clinic Rochester, NY
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1:4
After many years struggling with infertility, Samantha Morgan and her husband adopted two beautiful children. Their son, Rush, is adopted from Russia and daughter, Hope, arrived through domestic infant adoption.
After sharing her testimony with her church family Samantha launched Rush to Hope Ministries. Her website and blog are a place where people sharing similar journeys can connect, cry, and find comfort.
This week on episode 273 of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Samantha Morgan. Listen in as Samantha shares her story of infertility, international adoption, domestic adoption, and finding hope along the way.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
RushtoHopeMinistries
Miraculously Mine Own book
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” Proverbs 31:8
May is National Foster Care Month. To celebrate their selfless service, we are dedicating our Orphans No More podcast episodes this month to foster parents.
Our guest this week is Kentucky foster and adoptive mom, Jeanette Barreiro. Jeanette shares why she and her husband became foster parents and details the highs and lows of fostering and adopting two children from the system.
Listen in as Jeanette describes the challenges of parenting children with trauma histories and how she advocates for educators to be trauma informed as well.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
sandraflach.com
justicefororphansny.org
“Let true justice prevail, so you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16:20
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a topic of extreme importance for adoptive and foster families. Prenatal exposure to alcohol can cause FASDs—a wide rage of conditions including birth defects, brain injury, and physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities. These conditions are lifelong and irreversible.
Eighty percent of children with FASD are in foster and adoptive care. And 86.5% of children with FASD in out-of-home placement have never been diagnosed or have been misdiagnosed. Diagnosis and training for caregivers is vital to an individual’s success. And policy change at the state and national levels are key for families and everyone who comes in contact with individuals with an FASD.
This week on our Orphans No More Podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Susan Shepard Carlson. Susan, Minnesota’s First Lady (1991-1997) is an attorney and retired Hennepin County Juvenile District Court judicial officer. She formed MOFAS in 1998 which is now Proof Alliance. Susan currently is on the Board of Directors of NOFAS (National Organization for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).
Listen in as Susan shares why she is a passionate advocate for the FASD community and discusses the Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act—a bill about to be introduced in the Senate. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Proof Alliance
NOFAS
“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22
Adoption transforms lives. Not just the life of the adopted child. But the lives of parents also.
Through adoption, God opens our eyes and hearts to see and love like He does. We experience beauty in suffering, grace in sadness, and gratitude in grief. And according to adoptive mom, Lisa Murphy—you never feel closer to Jesus.
This week on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach speaks with, Lisa Murphy. Lisa and her husband are parents of five children adopted from China. She is also the founder of Open Hearts for Orphans, a nonprofit created to care for orphaned and abandoned children around the world. Lisa authored the book With an Open Heart, a true story of love, loss, and unexpected blessings chronicling the adoption of their son Daniel who now waits for them in heaven.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Justice For Orphans
Sandra Flach, author
Open Hearts for Orphans
With an Open Heart book
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are brain-based disabilities caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. About eighty percent of children in the U.S. foster care system have an FASD. Foster and adoptive parents must be educated about and trained in FASDs and childhood trauma.
Robbie Seale is an adoptive mom of four children with FASD. She is a Canadian FASD educator, advocate, and host of the new FASD Family Life podcast. This week on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, talks with Robbie about the major challenges she’s faced parenting her kids over the past twenty years.
Listen in as Robbie shares her story and explains how the struggle is real, but so is success. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FASD Family Life podcast
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:3-5
“The cross of Christ is our adoption process. Adoption is not a man-made plan B but God’s plan A from the beginning, even before He made the world. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His family. He would not leave us as orphans. Through Jesus Christ, He would adopt us and make us His children. We would be orphans no more.”
The above words are the opening lines from Sandra Flach’s new book, Orphans No More: A Journey Back to the Father. Sandra, adoptive mom, Exec. Dir. of Justice For Orphans, and podcast host, penned this memoir about her family’s adoption journey and lessons she learned about our spiritual adoption through the lens of an adoptive parent.
This week on her Orphans No More podcast, Sandra shares about the inspiration for writing the book and reads some excerpts. Orphans No More—A Journey Back to the Father releases in June. Tune in to learn how you can join Sandra’s Book Launch Team and be among the first to read her e-book.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
SandraFlach Author on Facebook
SandraFlach.com
Justice For Orphans
“O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from lapis lazuli. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious stones. I will teach your children, and they will enjoy great peace.” Isaiah 54:11-13
What does the Lord do with a life that experienced a challenging childhood, painful loss, and life threatening illness? He rebuilds it.
That’s exactly what God did for adoptive mom, Jennifer Andrews. Tune in to this week’s inspiring episode of Orphans No More. Host, Sandra Flach, talks with Jenn about her early struggles, the loss of her infant daughter, adoption, and nearly dying from Covid-19.
Learn how you can join Sandra’s Launch Team for her soon-to-be released book Orphans No More—A Journey Back to the Father.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
relentlessjoy.org
Jennifer Andrews FB
Positive Adoption Podcast
“The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:5-6
Sandra Flach, host of our Orphans No More podcast, states, “I need the Lord to sustain me AND I need His wisdom and knowledge to navigate this adoptive parenting journey.”
This week on the show, Sandra shares some of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder knowledge she’s gained. She also dives into why FASD knowledge is important for foster and adoptive parents and how to apply it. Sandra closes the episode with prayer for families.
Tune in and learn how FASD is not “just” a behavioral problem but a lifelong developmental disability and why everyone involved with a person with FASD must be FASD informed.
Listen in to episode #267 HERE as Sandra, an adoptive mom of five kids, shares from her lived experience of parenting two kids diagnosed with an FASD. .
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Justice For Orphans
FAFASD.org/50facts
Trying Differently Rather Than Harder - book
Positive Adoption Podcast
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Shame, stigma, and myths surrounding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders create barriers to helping individuals on the spectrum. The more caregivers are educated about FASD and the more equipped they are to parent children with an FASD, the more successful the outcomes will be for our kids.
This week on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, dives into two more FASD Facts from the FAFASD website. Tune in and learn how to navigate the shame and stigma associated with FASDs and how to tackle the myth that conveys a message of hopelessness surrounding those with an FASD.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD.org/50facts
FASCETS
Positive Adoption Podcast
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33
Caring for individuals with trauma, including brain-based disabilities, is a difficult road to navigate. Daily struggles managing behaviors, educational and medical needs, and lack of support often takes a toll on marriages, siblings, and caregiver’s health.
On this week’s episode of Orphans No More, host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive mom, Gwen Bartley. Gwen struggled to meet the needs of her three adopted children, each with various mental health and intellectual disabilities. Fighting for services led her to establish Amazing Grace Advocacy—a nonprofit organization supporting families affected by brain disorders.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
AmazingGraceAdvocacy.org
FASCETS
Positive Adoption Podcast
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
Caregivers of individuals with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder experience high levels of stress. Some of that stress is directly related with a lack of educated and informed systems and supports. However, parents of children with an FASD make fierce advocates.
On this week’s episode of Orphans No More, host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive dad, Joel Sheagren. A film director and producer by trade, Joel is passionate about bringing awareness to FASD. His current project, Embraced—Truth About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders , is a documentary created to shed light on the subject.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
EmbracedMovement.org
FASCETS
Positive Adoption Podcast
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Children suffering from childhood trauma experience big feelings. They need help learning how to appropriately express big emotions. Asking for help and trusting other people require a huge amount of courage. Kids healing from difficult life experiences need a safe space for conversations about complex thoughts and feelings. Riley the Brave creates that safe space.
Jessica Sinarski is the author of Riley the Brave—a book about a little bear with big feelings. On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Jessica about equipping parents and professionals to be healers for hurting children.
Listen in to their conversation as Jessica shares about Riley the Brave and other Brave Brains resources.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Riley the Brave
Brave Brains
FASCETS
Positive Adoption Podcast
“LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, somber people can no longer terrify them.” Psalm 10:17-18
Eighty percent of the children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are in the foster care system. The average age that children with an FASD begin having trouble with the law is 12.8 years old. Fifty percent of individuals with an FASD have a history of confinement in a jail, prison, chemical health treatment facility, or psychiatric hospital.
According to Proof Alliance, FASD behaviors that contribute to these poor outcomes are confabulation, memory challenges, difficulty with impulse control, inability to understand consequences, difficulty connecting cause and effect, and vulnerability to peer pressure. Caregivers of individuals with an FASD are familiar with these behaviors. What can be done to help assure the success of our kids?
On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with Albany County Court Judge Andra Ackerman about FASD and the criminal justice system. Over her career, Judge Ackerman has fiercely advocated for vulnerable children in the system. Born to an alcoholic mother, Andra spent time in the foster care system. Her experience fuels her passion for justice for vulnerable youth.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Proof Alliance
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
FASD Statistics
“Whenever my busy thoughts were out of control, the soothing comfort of your presence calmed me down and overwhelmed me with delight.” Psalm 94:19
Remote learning has put an immense strain on families of school age children. Foster and adoptive parents are especially challenged. Imagine navigating the logistics of multiple children with special needs all needing to be online on different devices at the same time.
On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach talks with adoptive mom, Sherrie Wixtrom. Sherrie knows first hand about the challenges of parenting and educating children with trauma histories. She and her husband, Karl, are parents to eight adopted children. Six kids still live home ranging in ages from 14-22 years, five of whom have an FASD.
Listen in to their conversation as Sherrie shares advice and offers hope to help families struggling in this season.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
FASD Statistics
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
Fifty percent of newly certified foster parents resign from fostering after the first year. For many, caring for traumatized children is daunting, isolating, and heartbreaking. However, those who receive support from the community around them tend to thrive, as do the kids placed in their homes.
Foster Well is a Delaware based nonprofit working to connect the foster care community with those who want to love and support them. On this week’s Orphans No More podcast episode, we talk with Foster Well founder, Christine Robinson. Listen in as Christine shares practical ways volunteers can help a foster family to foster well.
Host Sandra Flach also shares two more Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder facts from FAFASD.org. FASD discussion bookends the guest interview. So be sure to listen to the end.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media. Links mentioned in this episode:
Foster Well
Foster Well FB Page
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
FASD Statistics
“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to you. When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:1-2
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a common topic on this blog and our Orphans No More Podcast. That’s because 80% of children with FAS are in foster or adoptive care. We believe caregivers of individuals with diagnosed or suspected FASD must be equipped and encouraged for this often overwhelming journey.
This week on our podcast we talk with adoptive mom and host of the FASD Hope podcast, Natalie Vecchione. Listen in as Natalie brings 19 years of lived experience parenting a son with an FASD. She offers her top five best parenting pointers:
| FASD presents differently in every individual
| All of our kids have gifts
| Change your perspective to grace-based parenting
| Accommodate
| Don’t lose hope
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
FASD Statistics
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
Cindy La Joy is an adoptive mom of five internationally adopted kids who are now all young adults. Along her adoptive parent journey, Cindy discovered her children had special needs which included dysgraphia, dyscalculia, auditory processing, FASD, information processing, executive function disorder, and giftedness. She realized early on that homeschooling would be the best fit for her family.
Cindy combined the wisdom and experience she gained along the way and created Blue Collar Homeschool as a resource for homeschooling families. Foster and adoptive parents are often frustrated by traditional curriculum and educational methods that just don’t work with struggling learners. The Blue Collar Homeschool website and Facebook group is a valued resource for these families.
This week, host Sandra Flach, talks with Cindy La Joy on our Orphans No More podcast. Listen in as they discuss adoption, homeschooling, and FASD.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
FASD Statistics
Blue Collar Homeschool
“…but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD refers to a range of conditions including birth defects, brain injury, and physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities. These conditions are lifelong and irreversible.
One in twenty children in the United States has an FASD. Eighty percent of the children with an FASD are in the foster care system. And 75% of children in foster care have a family history of alcoholism. Because of the above mentioned statistics, we at Justice For Orphans believe it is imperative to bring awareness of FASD to foster and adoptive families.
JFO co-founder and host of our Orphans No More podcast, Sandra Flach, has been on a mission to educate families, professionals, and educators about FASD. Sandra is mom of eight children, five through adoption, and two diagnosed with an FASD.
She understands the daily challenges caregivers face, but also believes God has hidden treasure in each child. On this week’s podcast, Sandra shares four encouraging FASD Facts from the FAFASD.org website focusing on the strengths of individuals with an FASD.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
FASD Statistics
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11
According to the scriptures, all believers are called to care for orphans and the vulnerable among us. While not every family is called to foster or adopt, those that do step out in faith find that God equips them for the journey—even if it feels more like on-the-job training.
Most parents raising children with trauma histories would agree, it’s the hardest work they’ve ever had to do but also the most rewarding. Adoptive mom and veteran homeschooler, Linda Nasman, agrees. Linda and her husband have raised four biological sons before adopting three children from Ukraine.
Linda shares her story of adoption and raising and homeschooling children with FASD, on this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast. Tune in and hear Linda share how she’s learned to walk by faith and parent with patience.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Adoption in the Rearview Mirror - book
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16
January is Sanctity of Human Life Month. We believe that adoption and the sanctity of life are deeply woven biblical principles. In honor of both life and adoption, we are featuring adoptive parents, Pastor Rick and Heather Hanna, on our first January 2021 episode of our Orphans No More podcast.
The Hanna’s have three grown biological children, three children adopted internationally, and one medically fragile daughter adopted domestically. Listen in as they share about the sanctity of human life, adoption, and homeschooling their large family.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
New Hope Family Services
Hanna Family Video
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
“On coming to the house, they (the Magi) saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11
After the birth of Christ, the Wise Men presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold represented royalty, frankincense signified Jesus’s role as High Priest, and myrrh—used for embalming, was a prophetic gift for it was used to anoint the body of Jesus after his death on the cross.
As we enter 2021, what can we take away from these three gifts to re-gift back to Jesus? We can bring Him our worship, our focus, and our relationships—beginning with our relationship with Him.
The gifts the Wise Men presented to Christ were rare, valuable, and intentionally chosen. This week, on our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach challenges listeners to be intentional about investing in our most precious treasures—our relationship with Jesus and with others. These are the greatest gifts we can present to our King.
“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9
On Christmas, God sent his Son, born in a manger, as the greatest gift of all. The gift of Christ is the greatest demonstration of love to each of us.
The fourth episode in our Orphans No More Podcast Advent series focuses on love, not romantic love, all warm and fuzzy because we feel it from our fingers to our toes. But Real love. Love expressed when we don’t feel like demonstrating it. Love when we’re weary from sibling squabbles, meltdowns, sensory issues, and virtual school and therapies…but we show up anyway.
This is the sacrificial love God sent as the greatest gift ever given. We received this love when we received Christ. And if you’ve received Christ, you have the power to love like God—sacrificially, when you’re not loved back and when you don’t feel like it. This is the love that transforms lives, homes, and the world.
This week, as we celebrate the arrival of the Gift—we pray you will receive it, put it on, wear it, and wrap it around everyone you know. We pray you and your family enjoy a very Merry Christmas.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
How to Have Peace When Your Kids are in Chaos - book
25 Days of Thriving Through Christmas-An Advent Devotional for Foster & Adoptive Parents
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
Empowered Parent Podcast/One Big Happy Home Podcast
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” Luke 2:10-11
Where do you get your news from? Throughout 2020, between Covid-19 and the election—merely turning on the TV news could send us into despair. But the shepherds received news that will bring great joy to all people—the Savior, the Messiah had arrived!
The third episode in our Orphans No More Podcast Advent series focuses on how we can experience this good news of great joy—even during this crazy-Covid-Christmas season.
In episode #251, host Sandra Flach, unpacks the theme of joy woven throughout Luke 2. Discover how you can experience the joy of the Lord throughout the holiday season and into 2021.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
How to Have Peace When Your Kids are in Chaos - book
25 Days of Thriving Through Christmas-An Advent Devotional for Foster & Adoptive Parents
Dwelling Places—Words to Live By, by Lucinda Secrest McDowell
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
Empowered Parent Podcast/One Big Happy Home Podcast
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…”
Isaiah 9:6
The second episode in our Orphans No More Podcast Advent series focuses on how we can experience peace during this crazy-Covid-Christmas season.
Advent means “the arrival.” By now, we’re all anxious to say good-bye to 2020 and hello 2021—hoping the new year will bring peace, joy, and love.
In episode #250, host Sandra Flach, dives into the first chapter of Luke to discover where true peace comes from. We can all learn a little something from a teenage girl who experienced an unplanned pregnancy two-thousand years ago.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
How to Have Peace When Your Kids are in Chaos - book
25 Days of Thriving Through Christmas-An Advent Devotional for Foster & Adoptive Parents
Dwelling Places—Words to Live By, by Lucinda Secrest McDowell
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
Empowered Parent Podcast/One Big Happy Home Podcast
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine…For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…” Isaiah 9:2, 6
Christmas trees are up, homes are decorated, and Christmas music is streaming—all before Thanksgiving. It appears everyone is in need of the joy and hope Christmas brings.
For the month of December, we’re offering a 4-part Orphans No More podcast series inspired by the season of Advent. Advent means the arrival. Most of us are anxious for the departure of 2020 and the arrival of 2021. But first we have to navigate this crazy Covid Christmas season. To guide you on your journey, we offer our Advent series focused on hope, peace, joy, and love—specifically for foster and adoptive parents.
The first Advent episode focuses on the thrill of hope.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2
As November 2020 and National Adoption Awareness month come to a close, we’d like to take the time to be thankful, stay educated, and arm ourselves with prayer. On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, unpacks Colossians 4:2.
A mom of eight children, five through adoption, Sandra shares a personal update of gratitude for some 2020 blessings she and her family have experienced. In an effort to be alert and educated in trauma parenting and FASD, she shares parenting tips for caregivers of children with an FASD. Sandra rounds out the episode with a prayer for foster and adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD 50 Facts
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
When we allow ourselves to be in close proximity to poverty and pain, God can break our hearts. With broken hearts, we are in a position to do justice.
Kristin Langrehr and her husband, Trent, visited Haiti several times. Their proximity to orphans and their belief in the Gospel notion of adoption, led them to adopt. After a five-year wait, the Langrehr’s brought home two young sons from Haiti.
Kristen, a social worker and child advocate, believes the local church is the bridge between children and families in crisis and community supports. In her efforts to bridge that gap, Kristen helped to launch CarePortal in Baldwin County, Alabama. She’s now also an Area Director for CarePortal in Florida. Her role there is to connect child welfare agencies with churches to meet the needs of children in FL.
On this week’s National Adoption Month episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, sits down with Kristin Langrehr to discuss how the church can enter into the brokenness of children in crisis. Listen in to their conversation about adoption and CarePortal in this episode.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
CarePortal.org
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
What’s it like growing up adopted and struggling though life with challenges you thought were because you were adopted? Then, as an adult, you receive a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This is the life experience of adult adoptee, Rebecca Tillou.
Rebecca shares her story in her book, Tenacity. She describes navigating awkward relationships throughout high school, difficulty managing college pressures, and balancing marriage, children and career—all with an FASD. While she views her adoption as positive, Rebecca also details her search for her birth family.
On this week’s National Adoption Month episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, sits down with Rebecca Tillou. Listen in to their transparent conversation about adoption and FASD from the perspective of the adoptee.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Tenacity, by Rebecca Tillou
FAFASD.org
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast
The Whole House
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
About 70% of children in the U.S. foster care system have been exposed to alcohol in the womb and, according to FAFASD.org (Families Affected by FASD), 2-5% of babies born in the U.S. have FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). We can expect similar stats with children adopted internationally. FASD plays a huge roll in the lives of most foster and adoptive families.
JFO Executive Director and podcast host Sandra Flach is mom of 8 children, 5 through adoption including 2 diagnosed FASD. She believes it is vital for foster and adoptive parents to understand trauma and its impact on brain development and behavior—and exposure to alcohol in the womb is a trauma to an unborn baby.
On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, Sandra shares some FASD facts from the FAFASD website and weaves in personal stories about her family’s adoption journey with FASD kiddos. She discusses why parents must learn everything they can about trauma and FASD (or whatever diagnosis your child has or you suspect they may have).
As parents, we must pay attention to our kids and become experts in advocating for them. When we pray for our children, the Lord will show us what they need and how to parent them. He knows the plans He has for them. Plans to prosper them and give them a good future. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode: FAFASD.org FASD Success Podcast FASD Hope Podcast
Positive Adoption Podcast The Whole House
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables. Proverbs 24:3-4
Children are our most valuable resource. Parents need wisdom to raise them, especially in this season of Covid-19.
One major area of stress for families involves education. While some schools have reopened, the school day in most communities has been modified. And many parents are navigating the uncharted territories of remote learning or traditional homeschooling. Whatever route families have chosen this year, stress levels are high.
For foster and adoptive families, the journey is even more challenging. Children with trauma histories and/or capital letter syndromes (ADHD, ADD, FASD, etc.) are struggling more than ever. Parents are forced to balance working from home, ridiculous school schedules, home educating, and managing their child’s anxiety.
This week Sandra Flach speaks with Kathleen Guire—mom of seven children, four through adoption, former National Parent of the Year, former homeschooling mom, author, teacher, speaker, and host of the Positive Adoption Podcast. Join them as they tackle the tough and timely subject of schooling through the pandemic.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Positive Adoption
The Whole House
KathleenGuire.com
The Whole House on FB
The Whole House on Instagram
Book: How to Have Peace When Your Kids are in Chaos
Article: Homeschooling Mom are You Stuck in the Comparison Trap?
Article: School, Schedules, and Grace
Eighteen years ago, Laura and Steve Poissant became foster parents. Over the years they adopted five babies who are now teenagers. The Poissant’s, like most foster and adoptive parents, face many challenges raising children with trauma histories and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
FASDs are brain-based disabilities caused when a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. Two to five percent of babies born in the United States have an FASD—that’s nearly nine million Americans. Studies show about 70% of children in the U.S. foster care system have been exposed to alcohol in the womb. And the numbers are higher in children adopted from eastern European countries where alcohol consumption is generally high.
Unfortunately, 99% of people with FASDs are not correctly diagnosed. It is vital for foster and adoptive parents to educate themselves about FASD, advocate for their children, and arm themselves with the tools and resources to help them and their kids navigate the tedious journey of FASD.
Recently, Sandra Flach sat down with Laura Poissant. Enjoy their informative conversation as Laura shares her family’s story.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Orphans No More Podcast
FASD Success podcast
FASD Hope podcast
Honestly Adoption
Positive Adoption
Empowered Parent Podcast
FAFASD.com
Becoming a foster parent is a tangible way to minister to families in crisis. That ministry opportunity is why, Kelly and Andrew Hughes, began fostering in 2013. Over the past seven years, they’ve fostered eight children and adopted two of them.
Kelly sees foster care as a way to build bridges with struggling biological parents. These bridges can lead to family preservation and successful reunification of children with their birth families.
In 2016, Kelly established the Foster Love Project—a Pittsburgh based nonprofit which seeks to provide love in action to kids in foster care as well as support to the families who are providing care for them.
Recently, Sandra Flach sat down with Kelly Hughes to hear her story and talk about foster care and the Foster Love Project.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Foster Love Project
Orphans No More Podcast
“If you’re in it for yourself, adopt. If you’re in it for the kids, foster.” That statement, spoken during a foster care informational class, catapulted Danielle and Chris Wright into becoming foster parents. Seven years later, the Wright’s have fostered over thirty children. They adopted their very first placement, a baby boy who is now seven years old.
Danielle’s passion for children in crisis has led her to become an Area Director for CarePortal in Florida—a state with over 24,000 children in foster care.
Through CarePortal, a technology platform, child welfare agencies connect churches with local families in crisis. These families are often struggling birth parents, while some are kinship, foster or adoptive homes. Every connection involves a child in crisis and a church that has the potential to transform that child’s life.
CarePortal has been implemented in 21 states nationwide. So far, more than 2,300 churches have touched the lives of over 75,000 children.
Sandra Flach sat down with Danielle Wright to hear her story and talk about CarePortal.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
The majority of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are not raised by their birth parents. Children in foster care are 10-15 times more likely to be affected by prenatal alcohol exposure than other children (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome NOFAS). Studies also indicate that 30% of children adopted from Eastern Europe have FASD.
Children with FASD are easily frustrated and require a highly structured home and school environment. Adjusting to a new home, family, and school can be especially difficult. These children often have difficulty:
- Translating body language & expressions
- Understanding boundaries
- Focusing their attention
- Understanding cause and effect
- Controlling impulses
Parents of children with FASD often find themselves frustrated, lacking resources, and feeling isolated—but there is help out there!
Host, Sandra Flach, sat down with Jeff Nobel, Founder & CEO of Nobel Initiatives which provides resources and support to help caregivers of someone with FASD. Jeff also hosts the FASD Success podcast and leads workshops for frontline workers, educators, and caregivers—including foster and adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FASD Success
National Org. on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
The Covid-19 pandemic extends beyond the physical illness caused by the virus. The resulting shutdown has infected businesses, schools, churches, and nonprofits. But the most catastrophic impact has been on families. Financial stress, food and housing insecurity, educational challenges, and anxiety triggered by a future of unknowns has wreaked havoc on families—especially those with foster and adoptive children.
How do families facing mounting challenges adjust to the new reality forced upon us by a pandemic? That’s the topic of this week’s Orphans No More podcast. Join host, Sandra Flach, as she talks with New Jersey foster and adoptive mom, Elizabeth Occhipinti. Elizabeth is mom of five children—two adopted internationally. She’s also President and co-founder of Miriam’s Heart, an organization that radically supports foster and adoptive children and families.
Sandra and Elizabeth’s conversation will inspire parents to run and not be weary as we pivot our parenting during a pandemic. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
By now most children have returned to school—or at least some form of educational instruction. Depending on the state and school district, kids are either masked up and back in the school building, at home connecting to online classrooms, or navigating a combination of the two referred to as the “hybrid” option. But not all children are receiving the education they are entitled to.
Recently, Sandra Flach, sat down with upstate NY adoptive mom, Jessica Hurlbut. Jess is mom of five kiddos—two of whom are adopted and 2 have autism. During their conversation, Jess shared how her family has struggled since March, especially her children with special needs.
The Hurlbut family’s story is not unique. Across the country, foster and adoptive families and those with children with special needs are struggling to manage life in limbo. Parents are advocating for their child’s education and services while school districts are trying to figure out how to open and operate in the new reality caused by Covid.
“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He (Jesus) was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”
Are you feeling the wind and the waves threatening to overtake your boat like the disciples experienced in Mark 4:37-41? Take heart—we are not destined to drown in the storm but to walk on the water.
Focusing on the wind and the waves—our circumstances—will only make us anxious. Instead, praying with thanksgiving calms the storm and settles our hearts and minds with the peace of God.
This week host, Sandra Flach, shares a storm-calming message of encouragement so you can experience the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Foster and adoptive parents understand the unique challenges Covid-19 has brought upon families. As the new school year approaches, it brings increased uncertainties and changes which causes stress and anxiety levels in both children and parents to rise. Many of us find ourselves feeling as if we’re drowning in our own homes.
My prayer for my own family and yours is that we will not become overwhelmed by the waves of life, but that we will walk on the water with Jesus. Keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord instead of our circumstances will give us strength and serenity even in the midst of troubling times.
In this episode you will find a message of encouragement so you can be soul strong and experience the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Links to content mentioned in Episode #236:
LucindaSecrestMcDowell.com
"All my dreams had come true, but I was drowning in them,” writes Lucinda Secrest McDowell in her new book Soul Strong—7 Keys to a Vibrant Life. McDowell’s statement refers to a time in her early thirties when she married a widower with three young children. She formally adopted the children and dove into being a new wife and mom to a hurting family—within a year she was drowning.
Thirty-six years later, not only has she persevered, Lucinda shares her story to encourage women how to live vibrant lives in Christ. She highlights seven keys to becoming soul strong: Live Loved, Be Authentic, Dwell Deep, Pray Always, Overcome Pain, Extend Kindness, and Share Stories.
Links to content mentioned in Episode #235:
LucindaSecrestMcDowell.com
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Having walked a difficult path of childhood abuse and neglect, Tanya Glanzman found healing and her true identity in the love and acceptance of her Heavenly Father. Today, Tanya is the founder of My Father’s Daughter ministry and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She specializes in women’s trauma recovery.
Recently, Sandra Flach, host of our Orphans No More podcast, sat down with Tanya Glanzman to discuss her new book, My Father’s Daughter—Embracing Your Identity as a Daughter of the King. You can find their conversation on Episode #234 HERE. Listen in as Tanya shares how women can recognize whose they truly are and be empowered to live the life of worth, value, and purpose for which they were created.
Links to content mentioned in Episode #234:
MyFathersDaughter.com
My Father’s Daughter - Book
My Father’s Daughter - Podcast
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Limbo is not an easy place to live, especially for a child with a trauma history. But limbo is exactly where we find ourselves during this season of Covid-19. For foster and adoptive families—limbo is a stressful road to navigate.
We find ourselves in a world where nothing seems predictable or stable. For children who’ve experienced trauma, these insecurities can cause them to become anxious and hyper-vigilant. Stress increases cortisol levels in the brain which puts our kids on high alert and triggers their fight-flight-freeze responses.
How can stressed-out parents help their stressed-out children?
Host, Sandra Flach, discusses practical parenting strategies and shares inspirational stories to encourage and equip our listeners through the stressors brought on by Covid-19.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Adoptive and foster parents must navigate several challenges along their family’s journey. Trauma, mental, emotional, and physical health, and racism are sensitive topics parents tackle on a daily basis. These families need the support of safe people, community members, and professionals.
Tennessee adoptive mom, Tona Ottinger is co-founder of Memphis Family Connection Center—offering holistic care and therapy based on Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) principles. She and her husband, Mark, are also the new directors of Empowered to Connect. Tona understands the unique challenges foster and adoptive parents face, especially in today’s climate of Covid-19 and racial tensions.
Listen in as host, Sandra Flach, talks with Tona Ottinger about parenting through these trying times.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Covid-19 and its resulting shutdown and social isolation are causing developmental trauma in America’s children. This is especially the case with foster and adopted children who have already experienced childhood trauma. Overwhelmed and exhausted parents not only have to deal with Covid-19 triggered stress themselves, but are also caring for children who, in many cases, are reverting back to behaviors they’d seemingly already overcome.
Ruby Johnston, professional trauma informed trainer says, “Wounded people cannot help wounded people.” Johnston, co-founder of LaMB International and Global Capacity Building Network, also serves on the World Without Orphans executive team as the Capacity Building Coordinator. Ruby travels the world training caregivers, ministry leaders, and orphanage staff in best practices to bring healing to children who have suffered trauma and loss.
Sandra Flach, host of the Orphans No More Podcast, recently interviewed Ruby Johnston to discuss how anxious parents can help anxious children navigate through the new reality brought on by Covid-19. Flach and Johnston covers topics such as trauma-informed parenting strategies and self-care.
Stress Buster Video Series HERE.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America’s Children
On June 24, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America’s Children. His administration believes every child deserves a family and the best foster care system is one that is not needed in the first place. Health and Human Services has been focused on prevention strategies that keep children safe while strengthening families so that children do not enter foster care unnecessarily.
The Executive Order sights challenges that still remain such as too many young people who are in our foster care system wait years before finding the permanency of family. More than 400,000 children are currently in foster care. Of those 124,000 are waiting for adoption.
In recent history, approximately 20,000 young people have aged out of foster care each year. Research has shown that youth who age out are likely to experience significant life challenges such as homelessness, unemployment, PTSD, and pregnancy by age 21. These are unacceptable outcomes for our nation’s young people.
Sandra Flach, host of the Orphans No More Podcast, recently sat down to discuss the President’s Executive Order with Dr. Sharen Ford, the Program Director for Foster Care & Adoption for Focus on the Family. Flach and Ford discussed the Executive Order and the President’s call to action.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
The uncertain times we’re living in have delivered unique challenges to the doorstep of every family. On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, host Sandra Flach, offers inspiration, encouragement, and hope for parents—especially parents of foster and adopted children.
An adoptive mom with two teenage sons at home, both with trauma histories, Sandra understands the difficulties many families are facing. In this episode, she shares some of her family’s struggles as well as her own challenges with working from home and running a nonprofit in the uncharted territory of Covid-19. Sandra closes the show with prayer for parents and children who find themselves on the same precarious journey.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
"I smirked. That doesn’t happen anymore." This was the reaction, then prospective foster parent, Deana Zoeller, had when her mentor warned about racism. She didn’t believe the veteran adoptive mom of bi-racial children. But now, ten years and 3 adoptions later—Deana and her family have experienced racism first-hand.
Today, Deana and Doug Zoeller lovingly refer to themselves as white chocolate parents of three—dark chocolate, caramel, and coffee ice cream sons. All adopted from foster care. Deana shares, “A diverse family is the most beautiful way to show God’s workmanship and share the Gospel. Instead of being divided by our differences, we must be united in His beauty.”
Deana Zoeller joins host, Sandra Flach, to discuss her family’s experience with racism. Listen to their conversation as they talk about how white parents can help their black children navigate racism, embrace their identity, and celebrate their differences.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Jason Weber, National Director of Foster Care Initiatives at Christian Alliance For Orphans (CAFO), states that two of the most common words associated with foster care in the U.S. are “not enough.”
- Not enough resources to meet all of the needs
- Not enough support for struggling biological, kinship, foster, and adoptive families
- Not enough families for kids who need them.
According to Weber, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are easily more than enough resources, support, and families in every community to solve the national foster care crisis.
Over the past two decades a foster care movement has emerged from faith communities across the country. Local foster care movement is made up of families (foster, kinship, adoptive, and biological) cared for by churches working collaboratively with each other and other community partners (government, placement agencies, bridge and service organizations, and local businesses).
Jason sites that if 10% of the churches in every county actively engage in foster care ministry by the end of 2025, there will be more than enough resources, support, and families—in fact we could see more families waiting for children than there are children waiting for families.
Host, Sandra Flach, recently sat down with Jason Weber to discuss his new book, Until There’s More Than Enough—Working Together to Transform Foster Care Where You Live. The book is an excellent resource for those who care about children in foster care and want to engage their church in the movement.
Links to resources discussed in this episode:
www.morethanenoughtogether.org
www.cafo.org
www.mtebook.com
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
In recent months, because of Covid-19 and the resulting shut-down, two topics have organically risen to the surface of our Orphans No More podcast: the impact the national crisis is having on children (especially those with trauma histories) and the importance of self-care for parents and caregivers.
In addition to the trauma caused by the pandemic, information overload, the myth of multi-tasking, and the blurred lines between work and home responsibilities have many of us experiencing toxic levels of stress. As wounded healers, parents and caregivers must pay attention to our own mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. If we are going to help our children navigate through this season, we must rejuvenate and nourish our own souls.
Sandra Flach, host of our Orphans No More podcast, sat down with Amy Willmann, Director of Whole Hearted Soul Care to discuss why soul-care is vital and how we can enter into the shalom presence of God to find rest for our souls.
Links to resources discussed in this episode:
Email Amy at Amy_Willmann@yahoo.com
On FaceBook @Whole Hearted Soul Care
Book: Every Breath We Take by Terry Wardle
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Karen Springs spent more than fourteen years living in Kyiv, Ukraine, advocating for orphaned and at-risk children. She hosted hundreds of families as they traveled to Ukraine to adopt. Through years of ministry and connecting with adoptive families, Karen had a front seat view of adoption at the beginning of a family’s journey. Down the road, as she began hearing from parents, months and even years after their adoptions, she discovered that adoption isn’t always a happily-ever-after adventure.
In an effort to gain a more thoughtful and educated approach to adoption advocacy, Karen embarked on a 14,200-mile road trip across the United States. She visited 63 families whom she had hosted in Ukraine to get their perspective on adoption—after their children came home. She asked questions and parents transparently shared their stories. The result is Karen’s book, Adoption Through the Rearview Mirror—Learning from Stories of Heartache and Hope.
Links to resources discussed in this episode:
KarenSprings.com
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Adults and children are experiencing higher levels of stress as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Loss of routine, separation from friends and extended family, and increased anxiety are having a devastating impact on all children, especially those with trauma histories.
This week, Sandra Flach, host of our Orphans No More podcast, sat down with Jayne Schooler—child development specialist, trainer, speaker, and author of Wounded Children, Healing Homes and Telling the Truth to Your Adopted Child. In Episode #224, Jayne shares how social distancing and extended distance learning can be more damaging to our children than the virus itself.
Jayne and Sandra also discuss how toxic stress in parents can spill over onto their children. It’s imperative for caregivers, especially in this high-stress season, to care for their own emotional health. Jayne references the book The Sacred Rest, by Saundra Dalton-Smith. While this book does not specifically focus on foster or adoptive parents, it details the seven areas of rest for recovery, renewal, and restoration every one of us needs at this time.
Links to resources discussed in this episode:
Back2Back.org
TraumaFreeWorld.org
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Adoptive and foster parents often struggle with their children’s difficult behaviors. Trauma caused by neglect, abandonment, abuse, and loss impact the brain development of our children which, in turn, can present in their daily lives as out-of-control behavior. Now, especially during these tumultuous days in which we live—from Covid19 and the resulting shutdown to escalating racial tensions kids and parents are experiencing stress and fear in greater capacity than ever before.
Host, Sandra Flach, recently sat down with adoptive mom, Melissa Corkum, to discuss how parents can both help their children and care for themselves as together we navigate this uncertain season. Melissa is a transracial adoptee and a transracial adoptive mom. She’s also an Empowered To Connect Parent Trainer and co-host of The Adoption Connection podcast.
On Episode #223, Sandra and Melissa discuss how current events can trigger our children and even cause them to regress back into behaviors once healed. They also talk about the importance of parental self-regulation and self-care to be able to more effectively meet the needs of their children.
Links to resources discussed in this episode:
- Thecorkboardonline.com
- The Adoption Connection podcast
- Compassion Challenge
- On FaceBook @corkboardonline
- On Instagram @corkboardonline
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
The Connected Child,authored by the late Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross, has been a life saver for multitudes of foster and adoptive families. Through Trust Based Relational Intervention(TBRI), Drs. Purvis and Cross have provided parenting tools unique to the challenges presented in parenting children with trauma backgrounds.
Dr. Purvis passed away in 2016 leaving a huge hole in the heart of the foster and adoptive community. But her legacy lives on in a new book about to be released in July 2020. The Connected Parent, co-authored by Purvis and adoptive mom and TBRI practitioner, Lisa Qualls, offers hope to every child, every parent, and every family.
Our own Sandra Flach sat down with Lisa Qualls for a conversation about her book. Listen in as Lisa, mom of twelve, shares her painful adoption journey and how Dr. Purvis’s TBRI methods changed her family.
Links to resources discussed in this episode:
OneThankfulMom.com
The ConnectedParent book
The Adoption Connection podcast
EmpoweredtoConnect
Just Say Yes and God Does the Rest Jaime Richardson is mom to 13 children--six from foster care, 1 embryo adoption, 1 domestic, and 5 international special needs adoptions. In January 2020, Jaime and her husband Chris, were in Ukraine to finalize the adoption of 3 children when complications arose. The Richardson's were forced to leave one of the children behind in a hospital. They planned to return for their son in a few weeks, then the worldwide pandemic closed international travel. Join host, Sandra Flach, as she talks with Jaime Richardson about foster care, special needs adoption, and how God moved mountains in the midst of the Covid19 crisis. Episode #221 features discussion about: -Foster Care -Adoption -China Adoption -Ukrainian Adoption -Special Needs Adoption -AdoptUSKids -Reese's Rainbow -Special Angels Adoptions -CheaperBytheBakersDozen
Foster youth face overwhelming adversity which, statistically, few overcome. Many kids remain stuck in a system that perpetuates futures filled with hopelessness. But that's not the case for former foster youth, Carrie Relf. Though her foster care experience was typical, her outcome has been extraordinary. Carrie attended college earning her Masters in Social Work, married, and pastors a church with her husband. Her passion to help others shines through in her career as a social worker and entrepreneur. Join us as Carrie tells her story and shares what made the difference in her life. Episode 220 features discussion about: * Foster care * Vanderheyden * carrierelf.com * Anchor LIfe LLC * Foster Can * Rhema Revealed Ministries
Foster and adoptive moms face unique challenge everyday as they pour out and parent children with trauma histories. During this time of national crisis, these challenges are compounded by the need to homeschool children with special needs, sheltering in place, and the stress brought on by the Covid19 shutdown. Now, more than ever, parents must carve out time for some self care.
Join us for Episode #219 as host, Sandra Flach, talks with guest, Tracie Loux. Tracie is an author, artist, teacher and adoptive mom. She recently created the beautiful illustrations for the Second Mother bible study for foster and adoptive moms.
This episode features discussion about: -The Second Mother Bible Study -Adoption -Special Needs Adoption -Grief -Loss -Tracie's book for children about tracheostomy, Mattie Breathes -Tracie's website thehealingbreath.org -Self care
Did you know there are at least six recorded adoptions throughout the Scriptures? God made adoption a central part of the lives of Moses, Samuel, Esther, Ruth, Jesus, and John. They are the focus of a new Bible study--Second Mother written especially for foster and adoptive moms and authored by the amazing Jodi Jackson Tucker, International Director for Orphan Sunday and Stand Sunday.
Join us for Episode #218 as host, Sandra Flach, talks with guest, Jodi Jackson Tucker. This episode includes: -the needs of foster and adoptive moms -why Jodi wrote Second Mother -a deep dive into all six lessons in Second Mother -Adoption in the Bible -Orphan Sunday -Stand Sunday -Second Mother Facebook Group -Second Mother on YouTube -Purchase the Book HERE
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Helping foster & adoptive teens understand their identity in Christ
In this episode, host Sandra Flach talks with foster and adoptive parent, Arthur C. Woods. Listen as they discuss: -Failed adoption -Foster Care -Adoption -The impact of Covid19 -Trusting the God of the Gospel -Teaching foster and adoptive teens about their identity in Christ -The concept of Father -God's love -Being an orphan -Trust -Identity -Forgiveness
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless... Isaiah 1:17 is the foundational verse for guest, Ronda Paulson and her ministry--Isaiah 117 House, a nonprofit caring for children awaiting foster placement. A foster and adoptive parent herself, Ronda founded Isaiah 117 House after recognizing the plight of children suddenly removed from their homes and placed in foster care. A traumatic experienced compounded further when children end up spending the night in a county conference room or office cubicle while caseworkers scramble to secure a foster home.
In this episode, host Sandra Flach and Ronda discuss: * Foster care * Isaiah 117 House * God's miraculous provision * Eli's Law * Impact of Covid19 shutdown on vulnerable children * Saying yes to God when there's mess in the yes
Parenting Kids with Trauma Histories in Times of Crisis Most parents are navigating through the stress and life changes brought on by the Coronavirus shutdown. But foster and adoptive parents face unique challenges as our children already struggle with anxiety and fear triggered trauma histories. In this special episode of Orphans No More, we sat down with Ryan and Kayla North, adoptive parents with 10 years of foster care experience. They are TBRI practitioners and hosts of the Empowered Parent Podcast. Kayla is a trauma-competent caregiver, and Exec. Dir. of Tapestry. Ryan is President of Tapestry and leads One Big Happy Home. Listen in as we discuss: * How the body responds to stress * Homeschooling kids from hard places * Why parents need to self regulate * Strategies for surviving stress during Covid19 * Illuminate - Trauma Master Class using Justice coupon
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Host, Sandra Flach, talks with Renae Denbow - the Greater Cincinnati Ambassador for CarePortal. Join the conversation as they discuss: * National and Local Impact of CarePortal * Using CarePortal to take Church to a community in crisis * Schools in impoverished communities * CarePortal as a ministry and discipleship tool * The sower and the seed * Covid19 the Church's time to shine * Be found an acceptable Bride * Minister to the least of these
On this episode host, Sandra Flach, talks with adoptive mom and orphan advocate, Rebecca Radicchi. Listen in as they discuss: * Special needs adoption * International adoption * China Adoption * What is a Life Book and why and how to make one * Serving through Love Without Boundaries * Rebecca's blog: rebeccaradicchi.com
It’s Time for the Church to Shine
There are children and families already in crisis in every community. These neighbors are hit hardest by the coronavirus shutdown. We are all inconvenienced by the impact of Covid19, but for struggling families these inconveniences can have tragic consequences. Single moms, grandmas raising grandchildren, and foster families are now faced with a decrease in income and resources and an increase in expenses and stress.
In this episode host, Sandra Flach, shares about the impact this season of Coronavirus is having on children and families in crisis. Listen as she shares about:
- An encouraging word from Isaiah 54:10
- It's time for the Church to shine
- Impact on children and families in crisis
- The Church has been called to such a time as this
- God is our oxygen mask
- WWJD
- Love our neighbors
- Help via the CarePortal.org platform
- This is the Church's finest hour