Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption & Foster Care

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Question: I've been looking into a lot of resources and communities for foster parents, and it seems like many of them, especially in my area, approach fostering from a Christian perspective. I was raised Christian but am no longer comfortable in Christian spaces. How do I find community?

Resources:

Laura the Foster Parent Partner
Annie E. Casey Foundation
AdoptUSKids
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What are trauma-responsive practices, and how can they impact your child’s behavior, emotional well-being, and success in school? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Brandy-Lea McCombs, founder of STL234 Outreaches and a frequent speaker on reviving resilience in children, drawing from her professional research and her personal journey as an adoptive parent.

Learn practical trauma-responsive practices for building connection during calm moments, responding to meltdowns, balancing empathy with healthy boundaries, and partnering with your child’s school. This conversation offers encouragement and actionable strategies for adoptive, foster, and kinship parents who want to strengthen resilience and help their children feel safe, supported, and ready to thrive.

RESOURCES:

Moving Beyond Adverse Childhood Experiences: ACES and PACES
Wholehearted.org
PACEs Connection
Fostering Resilience in a World of Adversity

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Our adopted son is almost 4 months old and perfectly healthy. He eats well, sleeps well, and seems to be hitting his milestones just fine. We know that he was exposed to cocaine during pregnancy, but he was born only three weeks early, which is still full-term. He had a healthy birth weight, he was not suffering from withdrawal in the hospital, and he has checked out as perfectly healthy at all of his pediatrician visits so far. My question is, does the lack of negative effects of cocaine in these early months of his life give us any indication of whether or not he will have learning difficulties or development issues due to the cocaine when he reaches school age? I am curious whether there is any research showing that a lack of symptoms at a young age following prenatal exposure indicates fewer symptoms at an older age.

Resources:

FASD United
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Exposures
Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure
Prenatal Substance Exposure Training for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Parents

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you parenting teens, or will you be in a few years? Don’t miss this conversation with psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour, author of the book, “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents.“

In this episode, we discuss:

Our society has become afraid of being unhappy. What are the reasons for this?
Studies seem to suggest that teens are unhappier now than in the past. Why?
Three myths about adolescence.
The adultification of black teens.
Why do our teens find us so annoying?
The goal is not always to avoid conflict with our teens; rather, it should be to learn how to have constructive conflict.
You say that spending time online can be both good and bad for teens.
What should parents know about porn?
How carefully should you supervise what your teens are seeing online?
How can parents keep technology in place? What are some common-sense rules?
The importance of small pleasures in modulating the mood of our teens.

Resource:

American Psychological Association: Health advisory on social media use in adolescence

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I feel terrible even saying this, but I am counting down the days until school starts. My kids have trauma histories, ADHD, and prenatal exposure, and summer has been rough. The lack of routine seems to make everything harder—sleep, behavior, arguing, screen time, all of it. We started summer with big plans, but now everyone is cranky, including me. How do we make it through the rest of summer without completely falling apart?

Resources:

Embracing Summer: Supporting Children Through Seasonal Transitions
Empowered to Connect: Summer Survival Resources
Surviving Summer with Kids Impacted by Trauma
5 Tips for Surviving Summer with Kids Impacted by Trauma
Keeping Your Older Grandkids Busy During the Summer

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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When we think about attachment in adoption and foster care, we usually focus on the child. But parents bring their own attachment histories and life experiences into the relationship as well. Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker explores how a parent's past can shape their parenting, influence reactions to challenging behaviors, and impact family connection and healing. Dr. Wirta-Leiker is a licensed psychologist, transnational and transracial adoptee, adoptive parent, creator of the National Adoptee-Therapist Directory, and author of the Adoptees Like Me children’s book series.

In this episode, we discuss:

When we talk about trauma and attachment in adoption and foster care, most of the focus tends to be on the child. Why is it equally important to explore the parents' history?
What do parents sometimes miss about the role their own experiences play in parenting?
Why can it feel uncomfortable or even threatening for parents to turn the lens inward rather than focusing exclusively on the child?
Can you give us a working definition of what you mean by "attachment" so we are all on the same page?
How does that relationship from our childhood influence our parenting style now?
The 4 major adult attachment styles, and what do they look or feel like in our parent-child relationship:
Secure
Anxious/Preoccupied
Avoidant/Dismissive
Disorganized/Unresolved
Many parents hear descriptions of attachment styles and immediately start self-diagnosing. Why is that unwise or unhelpful? And what do you want parents to understand about using these concepts as tools for growth rather than labels?
How do unresolved childhood experiences or trauma shape our parenting responses?
Our kids with their histories of trauma, attachment disruptions, grief, losses, and trauma often bring those into our relationships. When these histories intersect with our unresolved experiences, both parent and child can feel triggered.
What are some common ways our history of trauma may get activated—or "triggered"—by our adopted or foster children?
How can we talk to ourselves when we feel that activation happening? Scripts we can use or messaging we can rehearse?
Are there certain child behaviors that tend to be especially activating for parents with unresolved attachment or trauma wounds?
What is happening neurologically and emotionally when a parent feels disproportionately angry, hurt, rejected, or powerless in response to a child's behavior?
Why do you think parenting in adoption and foster care is uniquely effective at exposing unresolved issues that a parent may not have known were there?
How do our parental expectations—about bonding, gratitude, trust, or family life—sometimes become obstacles to connection?
What are some signs we notice when we are responding from our own history rather than from what the child actually needs in the moment?
- What signs can we notice in our kids to help us see that we may be responding from our own histories?
What does healthy self-awareness look like for adoptive and foster parents?
When parents recognize their own triggers, what practical steps can they take in the moment?
How can parents begin exploring their own attachment history safely and productively?
Is it possible to move toward a more secure attachment style as an adult? If so, how does that happen?
What's one question parents should ask themselves when they find themselves repeatedly stuck in conflict with their child?
Where would you encourage parents to begin if today's conversation has raised some difficult but important self-reflection?

Resources:

Grow Beyond Words
Understanding Attachment Between Parent and Child
Adoptee and Foster Alum Voices resource page
Therapy Resources for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Families

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: What advice do you have for fostering/adopting children with autism, particularly those with limited communication skills? How can we best support them in expressing big feelings and feeling safe to do so? What can we do to help them feel they have some control and feel heard when they can't always communicate what they want and have a harder time understanding what's going on?

Resources:

Setting Up Your Child with Autism for Success
Helping Autistic Kids Shine
What Is Pathological Demand Avoidance and How Do I Parent This Child?
Helping Your Child with Autism Thrive
Parent Support Toolkit (Autism Foundation)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How can storytelling help kids heal? In this episode, we talk to Dr. Sharon Zaffarese-Dippold to explore how story helps children make sense of their experiences, build resilience, and move toward thriving, including simple, everyday ways to begin using it at home. She is a psychotherapist with 27 years of experience in counseling and author of the "Garbage Bag Life" series, which emphasizes her journey through foster care.

In this episode, we discuss:

Can you tell us a little about your own journey and why helping children make sense of their stories became such an important part of your life?
What did you wish the adults around you had understood about what you were carrying as a child?
Why are stories such powerful tools for helping children heal?
What is it about a story that often feels safer than direct conversations, especially for children who have experienced trauma, loss, foster care, adoption, or family disruption?
What happens when children don't have a coherent story about their lives?
What are some of the questions they may silently wrestle with?
Many parents and caregivers are afraid of saying the wrong thing around a child’s story. What do you suggest?
What does it mean when a child moves from "What's wrong with me?" to "What happened to me?"
What are some simple ways parents and caregivers can build storytelling into everyday family life?
Stories can be used for more than understanding a child’s history in adoption, foster care, and relative care. They can also help children recognize their strengths, resilience, and a sense of belonging.
How can parents and caregivers use storytelling to build family identity?

Resources:

How to Talk with Our Kids About the Difficult Parts of Their Stories
How to Make and Use an Adoption Lifebook
Building the Framework for Adopted & Foster Children to Process the Hard Parts of Their Stories
The Healing Power of Storytelling
Suggested Books for Kids: Adoption, Foster Care, and Kinship Care

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: My partner and I parent really differently, especially with our adopted child. I’m more focused on connection and understanding behavior, and my partner is much more strict and consequences-focused. We keep arguing about discipline and routines, and honestly, it’s starting to hurt our relationship too. How do we stop fighting about parenting and work better together?

Resources:

Prioritizing Your Marriage in Adoption, Foster Care, or Kinship Care
When Your Child's Trauma Impacts Your Marriage
Self-Care Isn't Selfish

Related Podcasts:

Strategies for Maintaining a Healthy Marriage or Partnership While Raising Adopted, Foster, or Relative Children
When Parenting Feels Uneven: Helping Your Partner Step In

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Navigating special education can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to do it alone. In this episode, we’re joined by Paula J. Yost, a licensed clinical mental health therapist, special education advocate, lawyer, educator, and author who breaks down IEPs, 504 plans, evaluations, and how to effectively advocate for your child.

In this episode, we discuss:

What led you to focus on helping families navigate the special education system?
For parents and caregivers who may be feeling overwhelmed, confused, or even intimidated by this process, what would you want them to know right at the beginning?
Is there a preferred or more respectful language we should be using—special education, exceptional children education, or something else?
What are the key laws that govern special education in the United States?
- FAPE
- IDEA
What are some of the most common acronyms parents & caregivers will encounter, and what do they mean?
- IEPs
- 504 plans
- LRE
- SDI
- OHI
What are some early signs that a child might need additional support or an educational assessment?
How does trauma impact a child’s ability to learn and show up in the classroom?
What are the first steps a parent or caregiver should take if they believe their child needs to be evaluated?
What is involved in an educational assessment, and what should families expect from that process?
Once a child is evaluated, how do families understand the results and translate them into meaningful support?
Can you explain the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan in terms of the support and accommodations they include?
What kinds of accommodations or supports should parents and caregivers be aware of that they can request in an IEP or 504 plan?
What are some common mistakes or misconceptions parents have when entering this process?
What rights do foster or kinship parents have when it comes to requesting evaluations and services?
Are foster or kinship parents allowed to attend IEP or 504 meetings, and what role can they play in those discussions?
How can foster or kinship parents support a child with learning differences or disabilities at home, to reinforce what is being done at school?
What should parents do if they feel the school isn’t providing adequate support or following through on a plan?
For families just beginning this journey, what are a few practical first steps they can take this week to start advocating for their child?
What message of encouragement or reassurance would you like to leave with parents and caregivers who are walking this path?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: My child is in upper elementary school, and we’ve been together for a while, but they still keep me at arm’s length. What are some concrete things I can do now to help build a more secure attachment?

Resources:

Establishing Secure Attachment with Your New Foster or Adopted Tween or Teen
Understanding and Improving Parent-Child Attachment
The Power of Curiosity: Helping Kids Feel Safe to Grow
Understanding How Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) Help Kids Thrive

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What should you consider when preparing to become a host family to a child who is eligible for international adoption? We talk with Misty Lucas, an International Program Director at Gladney Center for Adoption.

In this episode, we talk about:

For listeners new to this topic, what is a child hosting program, and what are the goals of hosting today?
How have hosting programs changed in recent years, especially around ethics and child welfare practices?
What types of children most commonly participate in hosting programs (ages, sibling groups, common needs, etc.)?
Are children typically already eligible for adoption before participating?
What does it look like to be a host family?
What types of families tend to thrive in hosting programs
What does it mean to advocate for a child during hosting?
What signs may suggest a family is not ready?
What kind of screening, training, and preparation do host families typically complete?
How much information do families usually receive about a child beforehand?
How should families prepare the children already living in their home?
Are there special considerations for families whose children already have trauma histories or who were adopted themselves?
Why is it so important for host families to understand trauma before hosting?
How does trauma commonly show up during hosting, especially in a short-term environment?
What behaviors or emotional responses should families realistically expect?
What are common mistakes well-intentioned host families make?
Hosting programs can raise strong criticisms and concerns. What are the most common criticisms or misunderstandings about hosting?
How do ethical programs work to reduce a child’s feelings of being “chosen” or evaluated?
How are children prepared emotionally before they travel?
How do programs and host families work to avoid creating false hope for children?
What does a typical hosting session look like? How long, what to do, etc.
What activities and support should host families expect during hosting?
What financial realities should families understand before committing?
Can families host even if they are unsure about adoption?
If a family decides they want to pursue adoption, what typically happens next?
- What does that process and timeline often look like?
What is emotionally difficult for families after a child returns home while adoption decisions are pending?
Are the children made aware of a potential adoption plan once hosting is over?
What does a successful hosting experience look like from the child’s perspective?
What’s one thing you hope every prospective host family understands before beginning?

Resources:

Gladney Center for Adoption, Hosting Program
Hosting Package from CreatingaFamilyEd.org
Is Our Family Right for an “Orphan” Hosting Program? 7 Questions to Ask
Prepare for Hosting an International Orphan

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We have applied to adopt a baby. We’re more or less being told that if we don’t agree to an open adoption, we’ll never get chosen by a birth mom. But, I really don’t want an open adoption. I think kids need just one mom and dad and opening up our family to others will just be confusing for everyone. But, I’m afraid that we’ll never get chosen if I say this.

Resources:

Open Adoption (Resource page)
Listening to Adoptee Voices
Understanding the Birth Parents’ Experience

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Parenting neurodiverse tweens and teens can feel overwhelming, especially when traditional parenting strategies don’t seem to work. In this episode, we talk with Carl Young and Joel Sheagren, co-authors of Embracing Hope: Innovative Strategies to Empower Parents Raising Neurodiverse Teens, about practical, brain-based strategies to reduce conflict, support emotional regulation, strengthen connection, and navigate the hard seasons with more hope.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are parents of tweens and teens carrying right now that you know they want people to understand?
Why do the tween and teen years often become especially hard for neurodiverse kids and their caregivers?
One of the themes in your work is “understanding over stigma.” Can you tell us what that means?
What are examples of behaviors parents are often blamed for, or blamed on the child, that may actually be rooted in neurodevelopmental differences?
Many parents feel confused because traditional parenting advice doesn’t seem to work for their child with neurodiversity.
Can you explain executive functioning in a way that helps overwhelmed parents understand what their child is actually struggling with day to day?
What are some real-life ways those struggles show up at home?
What are some common expectations we place on tweens and teens that may not match their developmental abilities?
How can parents shift toward more reasonable expectations without giving up on growth?
What are some practical strategies to reduce conflict at home while still maintaining structure and boundaries?
We understand that self-regulation is a learned skill that comes from years of our own regulation and then sharing it with our kids, called co-regulation. What does co-regulation actually look like with a tween or teen who is escalating emotionally?
How can parents respond differently to behaviors like impulsivity, shutdowns, avoidance, perseveration, or lying?
Many caregivers say they feel like they’re “walking on eggshells.” It’s exhausting and creates so much stress in our homes.
Where do you recommend families start when the home has fallen into a state of constant stress or chaos?
How can parents introduce and maintain the “calm” in spite of the chaos that our kids’ neurodivergence may bring with it?
What helps parents hold onto a connection with their child during seasons when everyone feels frustrated or discouraged?
Sometimes families need help redefining success. How do you encourage parents to rethink what thriving can look like for neurodiverse tweens and teens?

Resources:

Embracing Neurodiversity
Embracing Hope: Innovative Strategies to Empower Parents Raising Neurodiverse Teens
Raising Kids with Neurodiversity (ADHD, Autism, & Learning Differences)
Suggested books for Raising Kids with Learning You

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We’re getting close to adopting our foster child, and I keep worrying there are things we should be asking for before finalization that we don’t even know to request. What information or records should we make sure to get from the agency so we truly understand our child’s history and needs?

Resources:

23 Crucial Questions to Ask at Foster Care Placement Meetings
Are You Considering Foster Care Adoption This Year?
Adopting a Child of a Different Race or Culture

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Many parents raising adopted, foster, or kinship children feel like they’re carrying most of the parenting load alone. Talking about it and changing it can be hard. In this episode, Josh Davis, PhD, shares practical, non-blaming strategies to improve communication, build confidence, and create a stronger parenting partnership when raising kids from hard places. As Father's Day approaches, Josh also offers some downloads for Dads!

In this episode, we discuss:

How common is it for one person in a partnership or marriage to feel as if the parenting load is uneven?
How can we influence the relationship to invite our partners into a more balanced dynamic?
What are the common reasons partners step back instead of stepping in?
What are some signs that maybe criticism—even subtle—is affecting our partner’s willingness to engage?
What do you mean by “lowering the barrier to involvement?”
How can we offer specific, doable examples to our partners without “telling them what to do?”
What scripts can we use, or what language, to invite partnership?
For parents/caregivers raising challenging kids who require a LOT of time, energy, emotional investment, etc., what are some helpful ways to stay emotionally connected and protect their marriage or partnership?
If a listener wants to take what they’ve learned here and invite their partner in to share the parenting load, what are one or two first steps to try?

Resources:

Celebrating & Supporting Men in Foster & Kinship Care
Josh Davis, PhD - www.joshdavisphd.com/www.joshdavisphd.com and www.nlpfordads.com
Why Mentors are Crucial When Raising Relative Kids

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Our daughter is 11 months old and was adopted through an open adoption. We have a relationship with her birth mother, but don't yet feel it's the right moment to ask about family history, and her birth father is completely unknown to us. We do know that both birth parents are Hispanic, but beyond that, we have no additional information about her heritage or background. We want her to grow up with as rich a sense of her identity and heritage as possible. What guidance do adoption professionals offer around using genetic testing like 23andMe or AncestryDNA for adoptees? Is there an age-appropriate time to do this, or is it better to wait and let her decide for herself when she's older? Are there any other considerations unique to the adoptee experience we should keep in mind?

Resources:

Genetic Testing for Adoptees: Key Considerations and Benefits
Genetic Testing for Adoptees - Is It Worth It?
Genetic Testing and Genealogy for Adoptees

Listen here to learn more about our Executive Director, Linda Fiore

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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We talk a lot about the child’s experience in foster care, but what is this experience like for the child’s birth parents? You may be surprised! Join our conversation with Dr. Darcey Merritt, a professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Work who researches this topic.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is a typical scenario, if there is such a thing, of how a parent finds themselves connecting with the child welfare system?
What rights do birth parents have within the system?
What are some of the challenges families face before the child is taken into custody?
What are some of the challenges that they face once the child is in foster care?
How can you become an ally to the child’s parents?
How does poverty factor in?
Who most commonly reports birth parents to child welfare?
How does race factor in?
Research in the area of working memory on parental decision-making.

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We’re new foster parents and have noticed that our child is hiding food in their backpack, closet, and even under the bed. We make sure there’s always plenty to eat, so we’re confused and a little concerned. Is this something we should be worried about? Why might they be doing this, and how should we respond in a way that helps them feel safe?

Resources:

Practical Solutions to Typical Food Issues with Adopted, Foster, & Kinship Kids
Physical and Emotional Health Issues Common with Foster Kids
Panel of Parents Adopting Older Kids: Surviving That 1st Year

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Raising kids while caring for aging parents is more common than ever—and often overwhelming. We talk with Robyn Wind, the GRAND Voices Support Coordinator for the National Center on Grandfamilies at Generations United, about the realities of sandwich generation caregiving and practical ways foster, adoptive, and kinship families can find support.

In this episode, we discuss:

Can we start with a working definition of the term “sandwich generation”?
How have you seen that definition evolve in recent years?
From your work with the National Center on Grandfamilies and Generations United, what are you seeing right now that suggests this is becoming a bigger issue?
What are the most common pressures you hear caregivers talk about?
Where do you see caregivers feeling the most “pulled apart” between generations for whom they are caring? What are the moments when they feel like they can’t meet everyone’s needs at once?
Are there differences in how this shows up for:
- Parents of young children vs. teens?
- Kinship caregivers or grandparents raising grandchildren?
Many of our listeners are already parenting children with trauma or complex needs. How does that layer onto sandwich caregiving?
Do you see unique challenges for kinship caregivers who may already be caring for grandchildren and are now also caring for aging spouses or siblings?
What are some ways systems unintentionally fail these families? Where do they tend to fall through the cracks?
What would better support look like if systems were truly designed for multigenerational families?
What are the early signs that a caregiver is stretched too thin and at risk?
What does realistic self-care actually look like in this season of life?
How do you advise the caregivers you support to balance guilt or feelings of inadequacy, given that there is SO much need on both sides of their sandwich?
What supports should caregivers try to put in place early?
How can families share this sandwich-caring experience more effectively, instead of having one person carry it all?
What resources or programs from Generations United should caregivers know about?
What strengths do you see in sandwich generation families that we don’t talk about enough?

Resources:

'Sandwich generation' caregivers caught between two generations in need
Caring for Those Who Are Caring for Everyone: The Sandwich Generation
Generations United
Grandfamilies.org
GKSNetwork.org
Grandfamilies & Kinship University - Generations United

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Question: I’m in the process of adopting an infant and feeling overwhelmed by the paperwork. How do I get my child’s birth certificate and Social Security number after the adoption is finalized? What steps do I need to take, what documents are required, and how does this vary by state?

Resources:

Where to Write for Vital Records: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Social Security Administration

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you considering residential treatment for your adopted child? We speak with Daniel Hochstetler of Fair Play Camp in South Carolina about preparing our families for residential treatment, navigating the programs, and how to set our families up for success after treatment.

In this episode, we talk about:

Pursuing residential treatment is one of the hardest decisions adoptive families can face. Based on your experience, how should we think about residential treatment within the broader picture of supporting our adopted kids? (i.e., exists on the spectrum of resources and interventions)
Before we get into the details, what do you want adoptive families to hear right away if residential treatment is something they think they may need to consider?
When we say residential treatment in this conversation, what does that mean?
How is it different from other supports families may have already tried, like therapy, out-patient programs, or in-home services?
What kinds of needs is residential treatment for adopted kids designed to meet?
In your experience, how can residential care be helpful for kids and families who are really struggling?
What are some misunderstandings that make this option feel more frightening or confusing than it needs to be?
This is where many parents feel stuck. What are some signs that a family may need to start thinking about a higher level of care?
Who should be part of making this decision? How can adoptive parents make sure they’re not making it in isolation?
When a family finds it necessary to move forward to placement in residential care, how can they talk with their child about residential treatment in a way that keeps the relationship intact?
What reactions should parents expect, and how can they respond in ways that don’t escalate their child’s fear or shame?
How can families stay connected while their child is in care?
What helps parents partner well with the treatment team?
Coming home is an important goal for parents and their kids to work toward. But it’s not a reset button that magically clears the cache. It is, however, another transition. And transitions can be hard on everyone.
What can you help our listeners understand about the transition home from the child’s perspective?
- How should we be talking with our kids before leaving the residential program?
- What are realistic expectations for those first few weeks?
What supports should already be in place before a child comes home? (work with caseworker from treatment, get recommendations, referrals, etc.)
What are some simple ways to rebuild a connection without overwhelming the child?
When old behaviors resurface—and they often do—how should parents respond?
What does progress actually look like in real life during this phase?
This experience affects everyone in the home. How can parents support siblings who may have been impacted by what’s happened?
Parents are often exhausted by this point. What does realistic, doable support look like for caregivers themselves?
If a parent listening today feels like they’re nearing this decision, what’s one step they can take to feel more grounded and prepared for the experience?

Resources:

Parenting Children with Challenging Behavior (Resource Page)
Accessing Residential Treatment Care for Adoptees
Exploring Medication for Adopted Children
Does Your Child Need Residential Treatment
Get Residential Treatment for Your Child

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: The school thinks my foster son may have ADHD, but I know he’s been through a lot of trauma. How do I know what’s driving his behavior and how to advocate for the support he actually needs?

Resources:

The Grandparents' Guide to Back to School
How Do Teachers Understand Adoption and What Can Parents Do About It?
A Parent's Guide to Working with the Schools on Behavior
Back to School with Foster and Adopted Kids
Understood.org

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What if families had support before a crisis led to foster care? In this episode, we talk with Dr. David Anderson, psychologist and founder and executive director of SAFE Families for Children, about a community-based model that helps keep children safe while supporting parents through difficult seasons. Dr. Anderson also serves as Executive Director of Lydia Home Association in Chicago and has been recognized as an Ashoka Fellow and Prime Movers Fellow.

In this episode, we discuss:

For someone new to SAFE Families, how would you explain what it is?
Can you share a little about yourself and what drew you to create SAFE Families?
Who are the families you serve, and what situations bring them to you?
Why is a program like SAFE Families especially needed right now?
What happens to families when this kind of support isn’t available?
How is SAFE Families different from traditional foster care?
What kinds of training and screening do volunteers undergo?
What support do volunteers receive along the way?
What are the main ways people can get involved?
Can you share a story or two that captures the impact of SAFE Families?
What do families or volunteers often say after being part of this?
Who tends to be a great fit for this kind of role?
What hesitations do you hear most, and what would you say to those concerns?
If one of our listeners is interested in serving this community, what’s the first step to get involved?
For a parent or caregiver listening today who feels underwater or overwhelmed, what encouragement can you offer?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: We are seriously considering becoming foster parents. We have 2 children by birth, and I am really worried about how this will affect them and what I can do to prevent some of the negative effects.

Resources:

The Impact of Fostering and Adoption on Kids Already in the Family (Resource)
Talking with your Resident Kids about Foster Care or Kinship Care (Resource)
What You Should Know About Disrupting Birth Order in Adoption & Foster Care

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Foster families are doing significant work to support both the children in their homes and the parents of those kids. What do they need to thrive in this work? We talk with Cathleen Bearse, a licensed therapist, foster mom, and the creator of Fearless Fostering. She supports foster and adoptive parents with practical tools, emotional guidance, and trauma-informed strategies with her real-life experiences and clinical expertise.

In this episode, we talk about:

Your organization is called ‘Fearless Fostering’ – what does that mean to you right now in the work that you do with foster families every day?
What makes fostering profoundly worth it in your life and in your family, even when it’s hard?
What are some unexpected joys in fostering that people don’t hear about enough?
When things feel heavy, how do you recommend resource parents reconnect with their ‘why’?
What are the challenges that catch foster parents off guard the most?
Where do you see foster parents becoming depleted or overwhelmed?
What is often misunderstood about the emotional weight of fostering?
How does isolation show up in foster parenting?
How can fostering strain a household without the right support?
What patterns have you seen in marriages or partnerships under stress?
How does chronic stress show up in foster parents’ mental and physical health?
- What early warning signs should families not ignore?
If you could give every foster parent four supports, what would they be?
- Community
- Therapeutic Space
- Permission to Unschedule
Permission to Focus on “Just You”
What does realistic self-care actually look like for foster parents?
Where should foster parents begin if they realize they need more support?
How can they pursue continuing education without becoming overwhelmed?
What would you say to someone who wants to foster but fears they aren’t strong enough?
What is one message you want every foster parent to hear today?
Finally, what would a strengthened foster family look like five years from now if we truly supported them well?

Resources:

Self-care for Foster Parents
What is Respite Care and How Do I Access It?
What Foster Parents Want You to Know About Fostering

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I’m new to raising my grandchild and still learning about trauma. People keep saying it changes a child’s brain, but I don’t really understand what that means. What does trauma actually do to the brain, and how does that show up in behavior at home or school?

Resources:

The Three Es: Understanding the Impacts of Trauma
A Conversation with Dr. Bruce Perry About Trauma
How Trauma Impacts a Child's Development
Meeting Children Where They Are: The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Have you considered fostering? What might be holding you back? Join us for a conversation with Laura, the Foster Parent Partner, to explore what it takes to be ready to foster, what the licensing and placement process looks like, and how to navigate relationships with the child's birth parents while providing a safe place for the child to land. Laura is the author of First Time Fostering and brings awareness and advocacy for foster families to social media spaces.

In this episode, we talk about:

How can someone tell if fostering might be the right step for them?
What are some common misconceptions about foster parenting that you often hear from people who are just starting to explore it?
What mindset shifts do people often need to make before stepping into foster parenting, especially around trauma and reunification?
Once someone decides to move forward, what does the licensing process look like?
What tends to surprise people about that process?
How should families prepare the people already in their lives—a partner, kids in the home, or extended family—for fostering?
What kind of support system do new foster parents need?
How can they start building that before they get their first placement?
When you're waiting for your first placement, what are some basics you should have ready in their home?
What is it actually like to get that first placement call and welcome a child into your home?
In those first hours and days, what are some practical ways foster parents can help a child feel safe and supported?
It’s important to remember that reunification is the goal of foster care. What does co-parenting mean for foster parents? Why is it a crucial element of fostering?
In foster care, children often still have relationships with their families, especially when reunification is still the goal. How can foster parents begin building a respectful relationship with a child’s parent?
How can foster parents help facilitate connection or healing with the child’s parents?
How do foster parents navigate the reality and emotions of a child leaving their home, for another placement, or for reunification?
How should they support their resident children for that loss?
What are some of the other hard realities of foster parenting that people should be prepared for?
What would you want a newly licensed foster parent to know before they say yes to their first placement?
What keeps you anchored in this work and committed to supporting others?

Resources:

Becoming a Foster Parent
What Foster Care Alumni Want You to Know
23 Crucial Questions to Ask at Foster Care Placement Meetings
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Family

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: How do I delicately share information about my child’s birth parent with my child, when we know their biological parent has a long history of arrest? They are not a safe adult for my child to maintain a relationship with. Our family is struggling with how to balance the message that the adoption plan was made out of love for the child and not wanting to cast a negative message about the child’s birth parent, even though we know there is a history of some very violent acts. We want this child to know and understand why the birth parent is not part of their life.

Resources:

Talking with Young Children about Adoption and Birth Parents
Using Lifebooks to Explain Complex Issues in Adoption to Kids
Building the Framework for Adopted & Foster Children to Process the Hard Parts of Their Stories

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us for this interview with former NFL Running Back and Super Bowl Champion Ricky Watters. He is an adoptee, an adoptive dad, and author of a new children’s book on adoption, A Gift Called Shane.

In this episode, we discuss:

How old were you when you learned you were adopted and how did you find out?
When you discovered you were adopted, you mentioned in your NFL movie that it put a big chip on your shoulder. How has that chip served you well as an adoptive dad?
How has it been a detriment?
Why did you decide to adopt?
Why did you decide to adopt internationally?
Did your experience with finding out late that you were adopted affect the way you discussed adoption with your son?
Do you see any signs of a similar “chip” in your son that you had when you found out you were adopted? How do you help him navigate it for his own success?
How did you prepare your biological son for the adoption of his brother?
How do you support your adopted son in his questions about identity, birth family, etc.?
Are you in reunion with your biological family?
How has your adoptive family handled your reunion with your birth family?
How excited were you for fellow hometown boy Shady McCoy to get into the Eagles Hall of Fame?
What was your experience with playing at Notre Dame?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I’m an intern therapist working with kids involved in DHS and the foster system. Could you guys talk about what a kid in the system needs from therapy? Or like what helped them, what didn’t, what they needed in that space that their therapist didn’t provide?

Resources:

Trauma-Informed Therapy: Finding the Right Fit for Your Family
Therapists: Parents Should Be With Their Kids for Adoptive or Foster Therapy Sessions
Finding an Adoption Competent Therapist

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Could you use a few new strategies to help your child improve misbehavior? Listen to this conversation with Dr. Casey Call, the Associate Director of Education at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU and Associate Professor of Professional Practice in the TCU Department of Psychology. She will help us understand how to maintain connection while correcting challenging behaviors.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why and how should parents and caregivers work toward secure attachment with kids impacted by trauma?
What does it mean when we say we are rewiring the child’s brain for connection?
What is the purpose of discipline?
How can parents and caregivers set a firm foundation of secure attachment if they also need to correct misbehavior or inappropriate behavior?
Why do traditional or punishment-based disciplinary approaches not work for children impacted by trauma?
Why do kids impacted by trauma tend to respond better (meaning an improvement in behavior) to discipline that guides them to think about their choices and consequences?
How can parents and caregivers maintain a safe, loving connection with firmness and kindness while still holding the goal of retraining a behavior?
In this process, what does it mean to share our power?
What is the “IDEAL” approach?
What is a re-do? Why is it so powerful for re-training?
What are a few practical ways that parents and caregivers can maintain attachment during these disciplinary or re-teaching processes?
What are some of the common behaviors that drive parents crazy?
How can parents and caregivers maintain the intensity and pace of disciplining a child who has been impacted by trauma, without burning out?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My 2nd grader, adopted domestically, has some pretty big, hard behaviors, like tantrums, clingy whining, and difficulty cooperating or sharing. We know there was prenatal substance exposure. I feel stuck to help them with their big feelings and big behaviors — what do I do to help them day to day?

Resources:

5 Tips to Save Your Sanity While Raising Kids with Prenatal Substance Exposure
Prenatal Exposure, Part 1: Parenting Babies Through Elementary Ages
Tantrums, Meltdowns, Whining, Oh My! How to Parent Challenging Behaviors
Free E-Guide: Navigating Challenging Behaviors - Practical Strategies for Families

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us for a conversation about why men in foster and kinship care matter - to the family unit, to the system, and most importantly, to the kids. Our guest is Tony Craddock, a Prevention Social Worker in Wake County, NC, with more than 25 years of experience supporting families. For the past decade, he has engaged kinship families and fathers through his co‑facilitation of the Kinship In Action Support Group.

In this episode, we talk about:

What first drew you to working with families, and later to engaging fathers and kinship caregivers?
Why is it so important that we intentionally engage and celebrate men — fathers, grandfathers, uncles, mentors — in foster and kinship care spaces?
What positive differences have you seen in children’s lives when men are actively supported and involved in caregiving?
What unique strengths do men bring to families in foster and kinship roles?
What are some ways that normalizing men as caregivers helps not just families, but the larger community?
What are some of the reasons you hear men sharing about their hesitation to step into these caregiving roles or to seek support when they take on such a role?
Do you see common themes of how they describe their experiences of being welcomed — or not — into support spaces?
What strategies have you found most effective for inviting and retaining men in support groups and similar caregiving networks?
What role do their peers who are already plugged into their roles as caregivers play in encouraging or retaining engagement with newer father figures in your groups?
What have you noticed in children’s emotional, behavioral, or developmental well-being when there’s consistent male involvement?
How does having a balanced caregiving network, one that includes a multi-generational approach and welcomes both men and women, strengthen a family’s resilience?
Who are the men — in your work or your life — who inspire you as caregivers and supporters?
What advice would you give to a man who may already be a foster or kinship caregiver, but who also wants to step more intentionally into that role to make a difference for their child?
If you could change one thing about how the system engages men in foster and kinship care, what would it be?
Looking ahead, what gives you the most hope about supporting men in these spaces?
What’s one message you’d like every listener — caregiver, professional, or community member — to walk away with today?

Resources

Father Engagement Strategies
The Vital Role of Men in Foster Care
Finding Male Role Models for Kids of Single Moms
Normalizing Men as Caregivers Helps Families and Society

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I love my child so much, but lately I feel emotionally worn down and shut down in my parenting. Someone mentioned they recently learned about blocked care, and now I’m wondering if that's what’s happening. What is blocked care, and what can a parent do about it?

Resources:

Understanding and Overcoming Blocked Care
What Is Blocked Care? How Do I Overcome It?
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Building Rhythms of Self-Care Into Our Parenting
Making Self-Care a Priority for the New Year

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you raising a child with known or suspected prenatal opioid exposure? Understanding the impacts and how to parent them will help you set your child up to thrive! We are joined by Lenette Serlo, an adoptive mom of four children impacted by prenatal substance exposure and the founder of Generation O, a nonprofit focused on creating understanding and support for children with prenatal opioid exposure and their families.

In this episode, we talk about:

What are opioids, and what does it mean when a child has been exposed to opioids before birth?
What are some of the short-term and long-term ways prenatal opioid exposure can affect a child’s brain, body, and development?
What were some of the earliest things you noticed that helped you understand that your kids might experience the world differently?
How can parents make the shift from asking “What’s wrong with this child?” to “What does this child need?”
When a child has prenatal opioid exposure, what practical ways can parents help support emotional regulation and nervous system balance for these kids?
What are some everyday challenges families might see at home? And what strategies can parents and caregivers try to support their kids with those challenges?
What tools or routines can help kids succeed with things like organization, memory, and follow-through?
How could a parent or caregiver partner with teachers or schools so that children impacted by prenatal opioid exposure can succeed academically and behaviorally?
What have you learned about helping children build friendships and navigate social situations successfully?
In the baby and preschool years, what supports or parenting approaches can make the biggest difference?
What challenges tend to emerge during the elementary school years, and how can caregivers support learning, independence, and confidence during that stage?
As children move into adolescence, what new challenges can appear, and how can parents continue supporting identity, independence, and life skills?
What is one small change parents or caregivers can make tomorrow that could have a big impact?
You founded Generation O to support families navigating prenatal opioid exposure. What gaps did you see that made you want to start this organization?
What’s giving you hope right now?
What is one message would you most want our listeners to take with them about helping their kids with a history of opioid exposure thrive now and into their futures?

Resources:

Prenatal Substance Exposure Workshop for Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Parents
Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure
Prenatal Substance Exposure Training for Child Welfare Professionals

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Should I tell my nephew that by the time he turns 18, he has to be in school and passing his classes, or have a job, to continue living with us? He will turn 18 at the end of this school year and will inherit a small amount of money that could get him started. He is currently in school, and he doesn’t have a job or any interest in getting one. Anytime someone asks him about his goals or future plans, his answer is “I don’t know” or “I don’t care.” I know that he is depressed and apprehensive about growing up, so part of me worries about pushing him too hard, but on the other hand, without a push, I worry his situation will continue to deteriorate.

Resources:

Prenatal Exposure, Part 2: Parenting Tweens and Teens
Practical Ways to Connect with Your Tween or Teen
Supporting Kids with Prenatal Exposure in the Transition to Adolescence and Beyond
Raising Resilient Kids
Raising Kids for a Lifelong Parent/Child Bond

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Helping young adults in foster or kinship care transition toward adulthood can feel overwhelming for foster parents and relative caregivers. Join us today for a conversation with Vernell Gore of Youth Villages and Nick Sgarlata of Bridge to Brighter, for practical ways to prepare and equip your foster or kin youth for adulthood.

In this episode, we discuss:

What makes this stage of life uniquely challenging for youth in foster or kinship care compared to their peers?
What does a successful transition to adulthood actually look like?
What are some common misconceptions that caregivers or professionals have about youth who are nearing adulthood?
When you think about a young person leaving care and thriving in adulthood, what key elements need to be in place?
Why might a young person leaving foster care or relative care at the same time they are leaving high school feel the weight of this uncertainty more than their peers?
How and where can foster parents or kin carers help youth explore different career paths and possibilities?
What are some practical ways they can research those options and make informed decisions?
What types of programs or pathways will help youth develop skills, discipline, or career direction?
What are the most important money skills young people need before they leave care?
What are some simple ways to start teaching these skills while the youth are still at home?
What are some everyday adult responsibilities that youth may struggle with?
What are some of the benefits of mentors for a young person transitioning out of foster care?
How can they begin finding mentors or supportive role models?
Beyond practical skills, what character traits or skills do young people need to develop to succeed in adulthood?
Many youth in foster care or living with a grandparent or relative are carrying trauma from earlier experiences. How important are healing and identity development in preparing them for adulthood?
How might a foster parent or relative caregiver support their young person toward healing?
What are a few common mistakes adults make when trying to prepare youth for adulthood?
What practical steps can foster or kinship carers start today to prepare their youth for adulthood?

Resources:

Raising Kids with Neurodiversity (ADHD)

Maintaining a Healthy Perspective When Parenting Tweens & Teens

Prenatal Exposure, Part 2: Parenting Tweens and Teens

Supporting Kids with Prenatal Exposure in the Transition to Adolescence and Beyond

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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A Lifebook is the story of how your child came to be yours and the story of his life before he came to you. Adoption is only one aspect of your child, and at some point, his life merges into your life. However, he had a life before he came to your family, and his Lifebook tells this part of his story.

Resources:

Adoption Lifebooks (Suggested Books)
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Home (Resource Page)
Transitioning a Child to Your Home (Resource Page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Raising kids impacted by adoption, foster care, or kinship care can do a number on your marriage or life partnership. Join us for a conversation with Jeremy & Jara Walden, authors of The Heart Work of Foster Care: A Hopeful and Honest Guide to Foster Parenting, about strategies to re-prioritize and strengthen your most significant relationship.

In this episode, we discuss:

How can raising kids together enhance a marriage or relationship?
Why are kids in our community often harder to parent?
- Trauma, loss, neglect
- Prenatal substance exposure
- Challenging behaviors that come from those experiences
Why and how might our kids’ needs test our adult relationships?
What are some of the additional stressors our relationships may face when fostering or adopting kids who’ve been exposed to trauma?
What are some challenging behaviors kids who’ve experienced trauma can bring that might be particularly difficult for the marriage?
What are some signs that we may be neglecting or at least not maintaining our significant relationship?
How does your history impact your marriage, while raising kids with trauma impacts?
Can you offer specific strategies for “going back,” healing, or re-prioritizing our marriages or partnerships if we are listening to this and realize we haven’t done so?
How do single parents prioritize the adult relationships that they value?

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We have two children adopted through the foster care system as infants - an almost 10-year-old (AudHD) and a 4.5-year-old (neurotypical). They both come into our room every night in the middle of the night, and it really disturbs my sleep and my husband's sleep. It seems like we've tried everything to get them to stop. Recently, we told them we were going to start locking our door, but then they just come and knock and knock until one of us gets up. If we try to put them back in their own beds, they make us lie down with them until they fall asleep - then I can't get back to sleep after that. Not sure how to handle this situation.

Resources:

Sleep Issues with Adopted, Foster, or Relative Children
Why Won't My Child Sleep?! (And What Can I Do?)
Help! My Newly Placed Child is Regressing on Sleep

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Would you like to learn how to build a culture of joy, connection, and healing in your home? Join us for a conversation with Bryan Post, an adoptee and therapist specializing in child behavior, adoption trauma, and love-based parenting. He's the founder of Fear to Love LLC, Bondify.ai, and Leaf Wraparound, and the author of several books, including From Fear to Love.

In this episode, we discuss:

Bryan's journey as an adoptee and how that shaped his work with families today.
What do we need to know about trauma, its impacts on the kids, and how it shows up day to day?
Why might we as parents be tempted to misinterpret those behaviors and expressions as defiance, manipulation, or disrespect?
When a child is melting down, shutting down, or pushing adults away, what’s actually happening in their brain and nervous system?
In a very real-life parenting moment — like a slammed door, eye rolls, a screaming match, a refusal to comply — what does the shift from fear-based reactions to love-based responses actually look like?
Can you share two or three concrete strategies parents can start practicing immediately that reflect that mindset shift?
Could you give us an example of words or scripts a parent might use in that moment?
How can a parent calm themselves first when their child’s behavior is triggering them?
What might a “culture of love and joy” actually look like inside a home — especially one that has experienced a lot of chaos?
What are some of the small, daily practices that build trust over time?
What does growth look like in a trauma-impacted home?
One or two examples of how-to or where to capture JOY in the moments when we are feeling challenged about when or where healing may happen.

Resources:

Learn more about Bryan Post
Introduction to Attachment - Online Parent Education course
Raising Kids for a Lifelong Parent/Child Bond - Podcast

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: My husband and I finalized our adoption in December 2025, and we’re still waiting for our son’s birth certificate in the mail. Then we’ll need to take it to file for an SSN and wait for that to arrive. How can we file taxes, including our newborn baby, without a Social Security Number for him? (We didn’t know we could file for a temporary number with the IRS until it was too late - after his finalization hearing).

Resources:

The 2025 Adoption Tax Credit (podcast)
The Annual Adoption Tax Credit Guide: 2025 Edition
IRS.gov: Adoption taxpayer identification number

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Do you worry about what is normal in your child’s sexual development? Join us to talk with Roy Van Tassell, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma and Director of Trauma and Evidence-based Interventions for Centene Health. He co-chairs the National Child Traumatic Stress Networks’ subcommittee on children with problem sexual behaviors.

Warning: We will be using anatomically correct words and talking about sex, so if this offends you or triggers you, you may want to skip this podcast.

In this episode, we discuss:

Typical Sexual Development / Play
- What is typical sexual development in children as they age?
- What type of sexual play is considered “normal?”
- How should parents manage a child’s natural sexual development?
Problematic Sexual Behavior
- What are Problem Sexual Behaviors in Children?
- What causes kids and youth to act in socially unacceptable or destructive sexual ways? What factors influence the development of these behaviors?
Child vulnerabilities
- Behavior problems
- Emotional difficulties
- Developmental delays
- Low impulse control
Family vulnerabilities
- Poor supervision
- Single caregiver
Modeling of coercion
- Harsh parenting practices
- Physical abuse
- Domestic violence
Modeling of sexuality
- Sexual abuse
- Modeling/exposure
- Nudity or poor family boundaries
How common are problematic sexual behaviors?
Suggestions for professionals and parents and how to respond to behaviors.
What should parents and caregivers do?
Rules for younger kids
How effective is therapy?
How to find a therapist?
- What training have they had in this area?
- Child development expertise (including sexual development)
Resources
- Taking Action booklets (two booklets) – for children with problematic sexual behaviors (age 12 and younger) and one for 13+
- Resources at the National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth – really good resources for caregivers and parents.
- National Center for Exploited Children—for kids to understand safety—teaching them safety skills to protect their own body
- Amaze.org—videos for children
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network
  - A.J.’s Story— A Book About Not OK Touches

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: As a single mom, how do I find good role models for my kids?

Resources:

Finding Male Role Models for Kids of Single Moms
Creating a Support Network as a Single Adoptive Foster or Kinship Parent
1 Yes, 4 S's: How a Post-Adoption Support Group Changed My Life

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you raising a child with known prenatal exposure to alcohol? Does your child have a diagnosis for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder? Listen to this conversation with Barb Clark, Founder and CEO of FASD Mosaic. She offers coaching, training, and consulting on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), trauma, neurodivergence, and challenging behaviors, and is the author of Raising Kids and Teens with FASD: Advice and Strategies to Help Your Family to Thrive!

In this episode, we discuss:

In your experience, what do caregivers most misunderstand about FASD at first?”
How does prenatal alcohol exposure impact brain development?
What is the difference between FAS and FASD?
Do the timing, frequency, and amount of alcohol all matter in the outcomes experienced by the child? Are there other factors at play?
Why is FASD still so often missed or misunderstood?
Primary neurological impacts on a child who has FASD
Secondary behaviors – which, when viewed through that brain-based lens, are adaptive responses that help them process and cope with their environment
What are a few practical strategies parents and caregivers can implement to help them reframe how they support their child with FASD?
Tantrums or raging as an example of challenging behaviors – how it may look differently across these ages and developmental levels
What are a few of the typical strengths seen in individuals with FASD?
Why do these strengths often emerge inconsistently?
How our home environment and culture set a child with FASD up for success
Can you offer practical suggestions for how parents or caregivers would implement a strengths-based approach to raising a child with FASD?
Practical strategies that parents and caregivers can implement right away when raising their child with FASD
How do you recommend a parent or caregiver handle the process of repair and reconnection with a child with FASD?
What should parents and caregivers consider in planning for the future?
Prioritizing self-care and reframing it as interdependence and community care.

Resources:

Prenatal Substance Exposure Workshops for Parents
Prenatal Substance Exposure resource page
FASD Mosaic

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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This is a second question from a listener named Tabitha who adopted a baby boy last year. Tho the adoption looked like it might be at least semi-open, it's effectively closed for now because the baby's birth mom is no longer communicating even with the agency.

Question: All our training spoke to the benefits of open adoption. We also know (our baby) has two older siblings living with grandparents. There is also a toddler-aged sibling who was adopted. Like us, first mom is in her early 40s, so she’s got life experience. How do we handle questions that arise when baby G is older, with so little info? We seem to be a rarity in this day and age, with a closed adoption not of our choosing. I definitely respect mom’s choices, but I know questions will pop up on our little one’s end down the road.

Resources:

Strategies for Maintaining Sibling Connections
Helping Siblings Separated by Adoption or Foster Care - Weekend Wisdom
Handling Social Media & Birth Family Contact with Your Adopted, Foster, or Kinship Kids

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Is the idea of attachment parenting new to you and your family? Or could you use a refresher on what secure attachment is and why it matters? Listen to this conversation with Samantha Farris, LMSW, from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. She's helping us understand the basics of building secure attachment between parent and child to strengthen our families.

In this episode, we talk about:

How would you describe attachment in the simplest, most hopeful way for a caregiver who’s new to the idea of parent/child attachment? Or who may feel overwhelmed by what they’ve heard and are unsure where to start or start over?
Can you walk us through an overview of the attachment cycle and how it typically develops in infancy and early childhood?
What are some everyday signs caregivers would see that indicate a secure attachment is developing? (even if it’s not “perfect”)
Why does attachment matter so much — not just in childhood, but across a person’s lifespan?
What happens in the brain or nervous system when a child feels securely connected versus chronically disconnected?
How does adding the practice of being “trauma-informed” change a parent or caregiver’s approach to forging that connection with their adopted or foster child?
What are the types of experiences or stressors that kids in our (adoptive, foster, relative caregiving) community may interrupt the natural flow of attachment development?
What are the different attachment profiles or styles, in addition to secure attachment?
What are three common signs that a child might be struggling with attachment?
How might attachment challenges show up differently in toddlers vs school-age children vs. teens?
When a child comes with a history of instability, what helps establish a sense of safety and a foundation of trust?
What are three things newly adoptive or foster parents can do to nurture attachment in the early days of meeting or welcoming a child home?
When a child needs professional help for attachment challenges, what kinds of therapy or supports have you seen be most healing?
If a parent feels disconnected, what are two things they can do starting today to begin building attachment?
What is one piece of advice you’d give to a brand-new parent or caregiver who has never had to think intentionally about forming attachment before listening to this?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: When you are preparing your taxes and working out how to maximize this credit and get that $5,000 back, you might find that you want a tax professional to guide you through the filing process. How do you find a qualified, reputable tax specialist who can handle your claim?

Resources:

Finding a Tax Specialist to File Your Adoption Tax Credit Claim
The 2025 Adoption Tax Credit (podcast)
What Documents Do I Need to File for the Adoption Tax Credit - Weekend Wisdom
Adoption Tax Credit - Resource Guide

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Should you consider adopting or fostering a child who is older than a child already in your family? Are there things you can do to make it easier for all the children? We talk to Elizabeth Bohlken, Director of Education and Support at Children's Home Society and Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, to talk about the preparation, joys, and challenges of disrupting birth order.

In this episode:

What is disrupting birth order?
Why is this a topic that prospective adoptive or foster parents should educate themselves about?
When combining children by birth and adoption, is it better for the adopted child to be the eldest, the youngest, or in the middle?
Is there an age gap that is most recommended or best practice between children when disrupting birth order?
Are there similarities between families that have a blend of children by adoption and birth, and families with blended children from divorce and remarriage?
How much does age really matter?
- At what age is a child least affected by having their birth order disrupted?
- At what age is a child most affected?
- Is it best to disrupt the birth order of the eldest or the youngest in a family?
How should parents handle a situation where the newly adopted child is older in age but younger on an emotional or behavioral level?
What steps can prospective adoptive or foster parents take to prepare children already in the home for the adoption of a sibling, especially an older child?
What type of sleeping arrangements should parents use in the first couple of months at home when they are adopting a child who is older than their other children?
What types of behaviors might a parent or caregiver see in the early stages of this new dynamic?
Why is sibling rivalry a common outcome of disrupting birth order?
- How to handle physically aggressive behavior between children?
Practical tips to ease the transition for all the children in the family.
Parenting mentalities/techniques to help a family adjust to a disrupted birth order?
What is virtual or artificial twinning?
What should parents consider before adopting a child of a similar age (within about 9 months) to a child already in the family?
What are the warning signs that parents need to get help with an adoption that disrupts birth order or involves virtual twinning?
What type of therapies or therapists should families look for to support birth order changes or artificial twinning?
What should parents understand about the risk factors of sexual or physical abuse that a child may have experienced before being adopted or placed in this foster home?
Where and how do parents get help to support their family in the transitions of disrupting birth order?

Resources:

Sibling Relationships (Resource page)
Therapy Resources for Adoptive, Foster, & Kinship Families (Resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: How do we handle an adoption that has been closed from the first mom’s end? We don’t even have a photo of her despite our request.

Our #1 Secret Tip for Navigating Open Adoption
5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
Who Holds the Power in Adoption: Birth Parents or Adoptive Parents?
Where is Mommy? Helping Kids Cope with Absent Parents

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Did you know that the current reigning Miss Kentucky is a foster alum? We spoke with Ariana Rodriguez about her life leading up to the pageant circuit, what motivates her, and how her foundation, The Lucky Ones, is changing foster care experiences for foster kids in Kentucky.

In this episode, we talk about:

You made history as the first Miss Kentucky to have been in foster care. Can you start from the beginning and give us the story that led to this title?
What was it like living with your grandparents? What were the positive changes? What was hardest about this time of your childhood?
How did that time in kinship care help shape who you are today?
Were you able to stay in touch with your siblings?
What gaps or “pain points” for kids in foster care or kinship care did you experience in those years?
How did these lived experiences begin to transform into a passion or mission for advocacy? Was there a pivotal moment when you said, “This is my platform”?
What personal strengths emerged from your past that you leaned on (resilience, empathy, leadership, etc.)?
How do your childhood and care-system experiences continue to inform your daily life, mindset, or choices?
Are there challenges or triggers that still surface for you because of your past experiences? How do you navigate them?
What are your relationships with your siblings like now?
Tell us more about The Lucky Ones
Do you have a specific story you can share that illustrates the impact of your work?
Are you gaining new connections and collaborations to help further the mission of your platform?
What’s next for you, personally (as Miss Kentucky, as an advocate, as a leader)?
What’s next for The Lucky Ones? Are there new programs to launch, etc?
What advice do you have for young people currently in the foster or kinship-care system who may feel uncertain about their future?
For foster or relative caregivers?
If you could speak directly to the decision-makers (legislators, social services, educators) about one thing to make a meaningful difference for foster/kinship care kids, what would that be?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I recently listened to a podcast featuring an adoptee, a birth mother, and an adoptive parent, which was great. The adoptee talked about when it hit her that she was adopted and feeling like her birth mother threw her away. My sons are adopted through the foster care system. One is technically still a foster child. My oldest was removed from his birth mother immediately after being born and placed with us. My second son spent about a year with his parents in a very neglectful situation, and drugs were a factor in both situations. I'm wondering how to respectfully have that conversation with my sons when the time comes. Note, please, that we are a two-dad household, so there's no hiding the adoption from them.

Resources:

Talking about Adoption at Different Ages
How to Make and Use an Adoption Lifebook
Talking with Young Children About Adoption and Birth Parents
Books for Kids Adopted from Foster Care
9 Things Adoptive Parents Must Do Before Age 13

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you familiar with pathological demand avoidance? Do you need helpful strategies to raise a child with the challenging behaviors that characterize PDA? Listen in to this conversation with Dr. Cynthia Martin, a clinical psychologist, the former Senior Director of the Autism Center at the Child Mind Institute, and founder of CM Psychology in Manhattan, NY.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is Pathological Demand Avoidance?
What makes PDA different from typical defiance or resistance?
Is PDA considered an official diagnosis, or is it more of a way to describe a cluster of behaviors that we’re seeing in some kids?
What do we know about the underlying causes?
How does PDA relate to other conditions like autism or ADHD? What are the overlaps with trauma, prenatal substance exposure??
What are the types of behaviors parents or caregivers might see?
How can a caregiver tell the difference between a child who can’t comply and one who won’t comply?
Where do parents start when considering if their child has a PDA profile?
What observations or examples should parents share to help a clinician understand their child’s challenges?
What kinds of strategies are effective for parenting a child with PDA traits?
How can parents reframe their approach so that daily demands — like getting dressed, brushing teeth, or doing homework — don’t turn into constant battles?
What types of therapies or interventions tend to be most helpful?
What do you say to caregivers who are feeling worn down and ineffective? Where do they start?
How can a parent or caregiver set their child up for success even if they do have this PDA profile?
What words of hope or encouragement would you offer to parents and caregivers just starting to investigate?

Resources:

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in Kids - Child Mind Institute
Demand Avoidance: Why Kids Refuse to Follow Directions - Psychology Today
Symptom Tests for Children: Is Your Child Showing Signs of Pathological Demand Avoidance? - ADDitude: ADHD Science & Strategies
Unstuck & On Target - Evidence-Based Curricula and Resources for Professionals and Families to Support Executive Functions.

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: How to talk to your child about their conception story when embryo donation/embryo adoption is involved in forming your family?

Resources:

Embryo Adoption (Resource Page)
Suggested Books for Children Conceived Through Embryo Donation
Disclosing Donor Conception to Our Kids (podcast)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Talking about the difficult parts of our child's story, like abuse or prenatal substance exposure, can be overwhelming. Kelly Weidner, the co-founder and Executive Director of Haven Adoptions & Family Services in Ambler, PA. She has 28 years of experience in foster care, residential care, and adoption, which will help us navigate these challenging conversations with our kids.

In this episode, we discuss:

What kinds of issues do we mean when we say “difficult parts” of a child’s story? What are some of the everyday challenging conversations that adoptive parents must tackle?
Why is it necessary to introduce these potentially painful, complex issues to our kids?
Why are parents reluctant to talk about these issues?
What steps should adoptive parents take when choosing to start these conversations? Where do they start?
What is a Lifebook, and how can parents use them to introduce and build on the story as their child grows?
- What should be included?
- How does a Lifebook differ between the types of adoption?
- What if your child wants to bring their Lifebook to school or show it to people outside the family?
What language can you use with young children to lay the groundwork for later, with more details filled in as they grow?
How would a parent start the conversation about being conceived during a rape or abusive relationship, across several ages or stages, to build understanding?
As another example, should we tell our kids about abuse or neglect that happened to them if they don’t remember it? How?
Should you tell a child that her birth mother’s use of drugs or alcohol during pregnancy might be the cause of their learning disabilities?
How do you help your child understand how much of his story he should share with others outside the family?
What if you don’t believe the birth mother’s story of what happened?
What if you don’t know the details of what happened, just that something “big” did happen?
How can adoptive parents help their children understand that they are more than the difficult parts of their history and that they are not doomed to repeat their birth parents' mistakes?
What are some practical tips for supporting our kids after we’ve had to share hard-to-hear information?

Resources:

Suggested Books for Adoptive Families
Using Lifebooks to Explain Complex Issues in Adoption to Kids
Building the Framework for Adopted & Foster Children to Process the Hard Parts of Their Stories
The Art of Talking with Kids (Free Course)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Having the right documentation, signed, dated, and completed, is crucial to maximizing the claim and avoiding delays or audits. But before we jump into the actual documents, let's start with the big changes to this year's adoption tax credit, because these are important details for families to know this year.

Resources:

Adoption Tax Credit Resource Page
Finding a Tax Specialist to File Your Adoption Tax Credit Claim
Adoption Tax Credit (IRS)
5 Things to Know About the Adoption Credit (IRS)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Let us know about your adoption journey

Did you finalize an adoption in 2025 or within the last several years? Are you eligible to claim the Adoption Tax Credit? Listen to this conversation about the 2025 Adoption Tax Credit. Our guests are Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill’s Tax Service, and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at Families Rising.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2025 federal taxes?
What is different about this year’s Adoption Tax Credit?
How would you claim the Adoption Tax Credit if you get a tax refund every year?
What types of adoptions are included or excluded in the Adoption Tax Credit?
Are kinship adoptions covered? Are kinship guardianship arrangements/expenses covered?
- What if the relative child was never involved with the foster care system?
Can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit for each adoption you complete, even if you completed them in the same year?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit 2025?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit for:
- Domestic Private/Infant Adoption
- International Adoption
- Re-adoption in the US for International Adoption
- Foster Care Adoption
- Kinship Adoption
For purposes of filing the Adoption Tax Credit, what qualifies as a Special Needs Adoption?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care?
What does the IRS accept as proof of “special needs” in foster adoptions?
- What is a $0 subsidy agreement?
Can you reclaim your expenses for an adoption that did not result in a placement (that is, a failed adoption)? How?
What income level (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is excluded from claiming the Adoption Tax Credit in 2025?
How long can the credit be carried over?
What if you didn’t claim the Adoption Tax Credit when eligible?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax?
How does the Secure Act impact us if we are claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2025 taxes?
What should you do if the child’s Social Security Number is unavailable when you file?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employee adoption benefits?
If you adopt, can you still claim the Child Tax Credit?
Do you need to send any documentation for the Adoption Tax Credit to the IRS when you file your taxes?
- What type of documentation should you keep in your records? For how long?
How to advocate for refundability? https://adoptiontaxcredit.org

Resources:

Adoption Tax Credit - Creating a Family Resource Page
Claiming the Federal Adoption Tax Credit 2015-2024 - Families Rising

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: An aspect of adopting that we didn’t hear about was how your mental health is challenged throughout the process. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, and this isn’t discussed as often as organic issues such as drug or alcohol use.

Resources:

Creating a Family Online Support Group
Adoption Process & Important Considerations
Self-Care for Parents and Caregivers

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you considering adoption this year but concerned about how to swing the cost? Join us for a practical conversation about managing the expenses of adoption with Ryan Hanlon, PhD, former president of the National Council for Adoption, an adoption advocacy organization dedicated to research, education, and policy in the service of all members of the adoption community.

In this episode, we discuss:

How much can hopeful adoptive parents expect to pay for adoption?
- Domestic infant adoption?
- Adopting from foster care?
- International adoption?
What do these expenses cover?
Most hopeful adoptive families do not have access to large lump sums of $25,000 and upward. So, what are the different options they can pursue to help them afford an adoption?
- Adoption Subsidies
- Adoption Grants/Loans
- Adoption Tax Credit
What other methods are available to families to afford adoption? And can you explain the pros and cons of each so families can get a well-rounded view of what to consider?
- Increase savings / Decrease spending
- Increase income via a second job, selling things (things you own that you don’t want/need/use; things you can create or offer as services)
- Employee benefits programs
- Crowd-sourcing and fundraising, asking for money from family and friends (can be particularly controversial in some circles; take care in sharing the child’s story, etc.)
If a family chooses to fundraise, can you offer a few tips that might help them protect the child’s story and proceed ethically?
Also related to fundraising, what types of fundraisers do you see as most effective? (offering a service, event, or experience vs. donations only, etc.)
How far in advance do hopeful parents start some of these efforts to afford adoption?
Can you explain the Adoption Subsidy in more detail? How do hopeful parents determine if they qualify?
Where do they go to learn about financial resources to help them afford adoption?

Resources:

The Adoption Tax Credit
Foster Care Adoption Subsidies: What is Reasonable and How to Negotiate
National Council for Adoption

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: How do you deal with the emotions of not being able to adopt or foster because your husband doesn't share the desire?

Resources:

A Reluctant Spouse: When Only One Partner Wants to Adopt
I Want to Adopt. My Partner Does Not.
Creating a Family Online Support Group

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you considering adoption to create your family this year? We’ve got answers to all (or most) of your questions. Join our discussion with Molly Berger, MSW, who has been with the Adoption Center of Illinois for 12 years as an adoption social worker. She counts it an honor to work with adoptive families and expectant parents.

In this episode, we discuss:

Part 1: Domestic Infant Private Adoption in the US

What is the process?
What are the reasons that pregnant moms are placing their children for adoption?
Explain the matching process. How do expectant parents find and choose adoptive parents?
What is The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)?
What is Open adoption? Why do expectant parents need to educate themselves about open adoption?
What special needs are common in domestic infant adoptions?
How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
How do failed matches impact the cost of adoption (that is, when an expectant mom decides to parent rather than go through with an adoption plan)?
What are the differences in adopting via an adoption agency or an adoption attorney?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting a baby?

Part 2: Adoptions From Foster Care in the US

What is the process?
How do you adopt your foster child (one who has already been placed in your home)?
How do you go about adopting a waiting child, or one who is not currently placed with your family?
What are the reasons children come into foster care in the US?
What ages and races of children are most commonly available for adoption from foster care?
What are the typical special needs prospective parents should expect to consider?
How long does it take to adopt from foster care?
How much does adoption from foster care typically cost?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting from foster care?

Part 3: International Adoptions to the US

What is the process to adopt from another country?
What is the Hague Treaty, and why is it important for prospective parents to understand?
What types of special needs do we most commonly see in children available for adoption from abroad?
How long does international adoption take? What factors influence this time?
How much does it cost? What factors influence the expenses?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting internationally?
Understanding Transracial/Transcultural Adoption
What is transracial adoption?
What should prospective parents understand about raising a child from a different culture than their own?
What are racial mirrors, and why are they valuable for a family considering transracial adoption?

Resources:

CreatingaFamily.org Adoption Comparison Charts

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: Hello, thank you sincerely for your podcast and the work you do. It has helped me feel less alone and allowed me to better navigate foster parenting and adopting from foster care. My husband and I have two amazing boys; they have the same bio mom, and two older siblings each in a different family. Our youngest is 5. We met when he was 3 months. Our oldest is 8. We met when he was 3. He was removed at birth, then placed with his bio mom at 2 months, removed at 8 months, moved to a new foster family at 10 months, and placed with his legal father at 2.5. His bio mom took him illegally after a few months (with the legal father's consent). When he and his baby brother were removed and placed with us, he was sad and scared. We formally adopted our boys three years ago. He has grown into a beautiful, highly intelligent, and athletic boy. However, he has never accepted me as his mother.

He refuses affection, pulls away, and looks at me with what I perceive as disgust. We are close with his bio family (siblings and mom), and he is regularly upset that he can't live with his bio mom. Sometimes he blames me. I try to explain, but he shuts me out. His siblings are not with their bio mom either. I keep trying to build a connection, but after 5 years, I am losing hope. It is very easy and natural with my youngest. When we are affectionate, I am afraid my older son will feel left out, but he pushes me away and often won't even let me be near him. When we have special time (just the 2 of us), I plan activities with him that he likes and is excited for, but he often complains and is unhappy during his time with me. He does not remember his life before we met very well, but will recollect things we did and say it was his bio mom.

His professional evaluations report that he is well adjusted, but my husband and I have concerns. I know this may be normal, but I desperately want to connect with him. The constant rejection is painful. Any tips or advice are greatly appreciated.

Resources:

Why Foster Kids Create Fantasy Families
Attachment-Informed Tools for Working with Kids
6 Tips for Creating Attachment
8 Ways to Strengthen Attachment with Your Child
Navigating Challenging Behaviors: Practical Strategies for Parents (Free E-Guide)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Join us to learn about family rituals—how to create and why they can help build strong families. Our guest will be Elizabeth Barbour, the author of a new book, Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life’s Milestone Transitions. She’s also a reunited adoptee and an adoptive mom.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why are rituals important for families?
- Define the culture of family-this is who we are
- This is what we do
What’s the difference between rituals and routines?
What’s the difference between rituals and habits?
Examples of family rituals.
- Family meetings,
- kid/parent dates,
- game nights
- gratitude practices
- prayer and meditation
- family altars
- travel
- volunteering together
When families are created through adoption, any specific rituals that can help them?

Tips

Keep it simple
Get input from all members of the family
Consistency

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We have been matched with an expectant mom due in a couple of months. She is having twins. As we are preparing for the next steps, sleep training has come up frequently in newborn care books. What research is there on the cry-it-out method or other popular sleep training methods in relation to adopted children? We want to make sure they know their needs will be met and build a strong adoption bond, but we also want to eventually work towards them being able to sleep through the night.

Resources:

Did Denmark Actually Ban "Cry it Out?"
Video: The Attachment Cycle - Empowered to Connect
Sleep Issues with Adopted, Foster, or Relative Children
Balancing Attachment with Getting Sleep

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you looking for practical ways to build your child's resilience and sense of safety, and to strengthen your family's connectedness? Listen to this conversation with Ginger Healy, MSW, LCSW, director of programs for the Attachment & Trauma Network and host of the podcast “Regulated and Relational.” Ginger speaks across the nation on trauma-informed schools, therapeutic parenting, and community engagement.

In this episode, we discuss:

What made you decide to write a book for educators?
What were you observing about children’s needs around emotional language, self-regulation, and connection?
Knowing that at home we often deal with a different rhythm, different dynamics (for example, one caregiver rather than teacher + many students), what initial advice do you have for parents and caregivers to translate this book’s classroom tools into a home context?
Why is it essential that children learn social/emotional language — not just “feelings words” but the capacity to talk about self, other, relationships, safety?
How does having more social/emotional language help a child feel “seen, safe, valued” in a family environment?
What are the risks when children don’t have that language or opportunity to practice it?
We often hear culture around us say, “Kids are resilient.” Why is that a misconception, especially in our community of adopted, foster, or relative children?
Why does a child who has experienced trauma need specific, intentional scaffolding to develop their social/emotional language and build their capacity for emotional strength?
What are the themes of the workbook that parents or caregivers can bring into their everyday conversations at home?
- Understanding my story within my family structure
- Reframing my narrative: navigating family challenges and conflict
- Building confidence, hope, and a positive future
Can you suggest a few strategies to get families started with the conversations?
What if we are struggling with or lacking these skills ourselves? How do we learn them so we can teach and model them?
What practical strategies can we use to integrate these skills into our daily rhythms?
How do we know our kids are ready for adjustments in how we practice these skills, or to “level up”?
How will they know if these strategies are effective?
Do you have practical tips for families that want to strengthen their family dynamics but already feel overwhelmed by the long list of To-Dos?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I would love to hear about family profiles for adopting older teens.

Resources:

Adopting a Child of a Different Race or Culture
Adopting Older Kids
Evaluating Risk Factors in Foster Care Adoption

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What is it like to be the only biological child in a large transracial adoptive family? Our guest, Elaine Duncan, shares her story of how transcultural adoption impacted her identity and resilience. She is a writer, speaker, and strategist whose work bridges storytelling, healing, and social change. She has a passion for improving outcomes for underserved young people and is currently working on a memoir of her life journey.

In this episode, we discuss:

What did your home look like growing up, and what was it like for you to be the only biological child in a transracial/transcultural adoptive family?
Families who adopt across race or culture often wonder how to bring all of those differences together under one roof.
How did your family handle conversations about race, culture, and identity? Were these things openly acknowledged, celebrated, or avoided?
How did your parents support (or struggle to support) you in building your own sense of identity — not just as their child, but as an individual?
Did you ever feel overlooked or lost in the mix? How could parents avoid that happening for their kids?
What were some of the biggest challenges you carried from growing up in this transracial/transcultural adoptive family?
- How have those challenges shaped your adult life, relationships, or even your current work?
What are the gifts or strengths you gained from growing up in such a diverse family?
Are there ways your unique upbringing has given you perspective, resilience, or empathy that you now value?

Additional Resources:

Intergenerational Trauma (podcast)
The Impact of Fostering & Adoption on Kids Already in the Family (free on-demand course)
Raising a Transracial or Multicultural Child (resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I have a friend whose 12-year-old adopted son (adopted at age 6) has been sexually abusing his younger siblings. She self-reported to CPS and law enforcement, but they have not done a formal removal yet, and their solutions involved bringing the child back home or kinship (not an option).

The offending child is currently in a temporary behavioral hospital, and a Refusal to Assume Parental Responsibility was opened on my friend because she will not pick him up, especially not until he receives specialized treatment for sexual aggression. The other children deserve a safe home to heal. Has anyone been through this before? If, after treatment, she still does not feel like it's in the children's best interest for him to return home, what are her options?

Resources:

Resources for Finding an Adoption-Competent Therapist
Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery & Education
Helping a Child Heal from Sexual Abuse

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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We're thrilled to introduce you to our new Executive Director, Linda Fiore. Listen to today's conversation about her journey to Creating a Family and where we're heading in this next chapter under her leadership.

In this episode, we discuss:

What first brought you into the world of adoption, foster care, and kinship care?
When you started out, what was your “why”?
What values or goals drove your work in those earliest years?
What was your first introduction to Creating a Family?
When presented with the opportunity to pursue the position of Executive Director, what was it about our mission or the organization’s evolution that drew your interest?
How did you know this was the right next step for you?
What are the pivotal lessons or challenges that shaped your leadership approach?
When you look at where Creating a Family stands today, what are our greatest strengths?
Kinship care has become a growing focus area for us. Why do you think kinship support is so critical right now?
What are some of the plans Creating a Family has to deepen our impact in this space?
Our online education programs reach families and professionals across the country. From your experiences in the field, why is education so crucial in these spaces?
As we continue to raise awareness of who we are and how we serve this community, what message do you want people to associate with Creating a Family?
What stories or values do you hope will come through most clearly?
Where do you think Creating a Family is heading in the next few years?
Your “why” has probably evolved — what keeps you going now?
What’s one thing you’ve learned that you hope every family advocate carries with them from today’s conversation?
Finally, for those listening or reading who are inspired — individuals, professionals, or organizations — what can they do to join the mission of Creating a Family?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Help for a youth dealing with being bullied because they are in foster care?

Resources:

5 Steps to Effectively Advocate for a Child Who is Being Bullied
Are Transracial Adoptees More Likely to Be Bullied?
Helping Our Kids Cope with Bullies at School
StopBullying.gov

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you feel like raising a child with a history of trauma has stirred up your own traumatic past? If you wonder how to parent from a position of healing, listen to this conversation with Dr. Robyn Koslowitz. She is a psychologist, trauma expert, and author of the new book, Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle, Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be.

In this episode, we discuss:

You open your book by saying, ‘It’s not you, it’s your trauma.’ That feels like both a relief and a challenge. Can you unpack that for parents and caregivers who blame themselves for every misstep in their parenting?
When you use the term post-traumatic parent, what do you mean? How does that differ from saying ‘parent with trauma’ or ‘healed parent’?
Many caregivers feel haunted by an internal guilt that says, “How can I give what I never received?” How can parents or caregivers move from guilt to agency—without glossing over the pain?
What are the 5 post-traumatic parenting defaults you identify in your book? What do they look like in real-life moments of parenting?
How does a parent choose not to opt into those old trauma-driven defaults (e.g., yelling, withdrawal, overcontrol) in the moment?
The metaphor of trauma as an app
What is the concept of cycle-breaking versus cycle-making, and how is it valuable for breaking those unhealthy parenting patterns?
What are some practical applications of this post-traumatic parenting reframe?
How can a parent create and maintain trauma-responsive routines or rituals that will increase a child’s sense of felt safety, without being rigid or feeling like a bunch of rules they must follow?

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Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I have been fostering our grandchild since March. It is now almost September. Both biological parents had drug addiction. Bio mom was on a trial home visit, but used this as the reason our grandchild is with us. After the trial home visit ended, bio mom was still getting supervised visits 2x a week. After every visit, the little one was dysregulated and started biting and hitting the daycare kiddos and the provider, and would also act out towards us. She is only 15 months old.

Both parents terminated their rights in May, and that is when I put a stop to the visits. We know bio mom was still using while having her supervised visits. I give weekly updates and photos to bio mom. But she keeps pushing for (in-person) visits, and I can't do visits, as I don't know if bio mom is clean or still using. She has had 13 years of using and has found loopholes in the system to keep seeing her other kids, when she doesn't have custody of them.

Since we stopped visiting, my grandchild has become more stable and regulated and has stopped biting and hitting. Our caseworker has filed the adoption papers, and we will soon finalize the adoption. Bio mom is still using, and she tells me she is an alienated parent, and that I am keeping her from her child. Am I doing the right thing by not letting her see the child?

Resources:

How Do You Manage Relationships with Birth Parents with Substance Use Disorders?
Open Adoption With Addicted Birth Parents
5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
Practical Help for Shared Parenting in Kinship Caregiving

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us for a fun and inspiring conversation with Emily Cole, co-founder and co-owner of Banana Ball, the new sports phenomenon sweeping the country. We're talking with her about Bananas Foster, their non-profit that celebrates foster families all around the nation.

In this episode, we talk about:

Please tell us the story of how Bananas Foster got started.
What was happening in your life that made you say, “We need to do something for foster families”?
What was the biggest challenge in getting things off the ground?
For listeners who might not know you yet, what’s the mission of Bananas Foster?
What are some of the biggest everyday needs you hear about from foster, kinship, or adoptive families?
How do you see Bananas Foster stepping into those areas of need?
What’s your big dream for Bananas Foster — say, five or ten years from now?
You talk about celebrating and supporting foster families — can you share what that looks like at a typical Banana Ball game day?
What kinds of local partnerships do you have in the cities you visit — with churches, agencies, schools, or other groups?
Looking ahead, do you have a plan or goal for building on those partnerships or expanding the care you offer with them?
The celebrations you host are such a bright spot! What do families tell you after those events — how do they feel when they leave?
Is there a particular story, celebration, or family that has really stuck with you?
How do you hope those celebrations will grow or change over the next few years?
What’s one thing you’ve learned from the families you serve that’s changed you personally?
For our listeners, how can people get involved or support what Bananas Foster is doing?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Do you have trainings for children transitioning from foster care to adoption?

Resources:

Transitioning a Child to Your Home
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Family
Helping Your Child Transition Smoothly from Foster Care to Adoption
Using Lifebooks to Explain Complex Issues in Adoption to Kids
Books about being adopted from foster care

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you sometimes feel that self-care is an impossible goal when you are parenting kids who have experienced trauma? There isn’t enough time in the day to do it all, much less take care of yourself. Or is there? Join us to talk about how to find time to take care of yourself. We will talk with Angelica Jones, MSW, Program Director of Intercountry Services and the Intensive Service Foster Care Recruiter and Trainer at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services.

In this episode, we discuss:

“Selfcare” or “take care of yourself” are overused but still vitally important terms for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents.
Why do all parents but especially parents of kids who’ve experienced trauma need to practice self-care?
What is secondary trauma?
Why are kids who’ve experience neglect, abuse and other childhood traumas harder to parent?
- Challenging Behaviors
- Learning disabilities
The busyness of foster and adoptive parenting.
- So many appointments (therapy, OT, tutoring, doctors, IEP meetings, social workers, birth family visits, etc.)
- Helping with education-homework struggles.
- Dealing with the emotional fallout from early life trauma.
What are some of the barriers to taking care of ourselves as adoptive, foster or kinship parents?
The importance of respite care and the barriers to parents using it.
Practical ideas for providing self-care.
Think small when thinking self-care.
Ask for help and accept it when offered. If someone offers to help, say “yes” and suggest something specific.
Parent Support groups

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

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Question: We adopted our son at birth, and he is about to turn one already. I deeply care about his birth parents and have tried very hard to maintain a relationship with them. Even during many months of no contact, I think about them every day. Our only post-placement visit with them was at 2 1/2 months. They have no-showed for all the other visits they asked for, and have gone several months at a time without responding to contact. They missed a visit 2 weeks ago and have finally reached back out asking to plan another. Visits require 6 hours of driving and coordinating time off from work. They do not drive and would not have any means of travelling to us. Our plan was to do visits 2-4 times a year. We offered to plan another visit the week of his birthday. I also offered to send weekly text updates. I work in healthcare and need to be very present in my job and prefer not to be on my phone when I am home with my family, so I do not text anyone much during the week. I am now being asked to provide daily updates and to do visits monthly. I don't even respond to my best friend more than once or twice a week because it is hard for me to keep up with messages. I am also not convinced that increasing the frequency of visits will help them follow through on attending them due to the pattern that has occurred so far. I am feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to move forward in a way that is loving and respectful, but also sustainable for our family and best for our son.

Resources:

5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
Creating Relationship with Birth Parents in Adoption (Even When It's Hard!)
Mama on Earth: A Guest Article on Co-Parenting
Open Adoption Can Be Messy
Our #1 Secret Tip for Navigating Open Adoption

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Why do our kids melt down, act out, or regress during the holiday season? Listen to our conversation with Dr. David Adams to learn what is going on and what you can do about it to make this holiday season more enjoyable for you all. He is an adoptive and foster dad, a licensed psychologist, and a licensed professional counselor. He is the Founding Director and President of New Life Psychology Group in Laguna Hills, California, and an expert trainer of Foster and Kinship Care Education (FKCE) at Saddleback College. He has also recently written and released the book, Trauma-Informed Foster and Adoptive Parenting: Methods for Managing Meltdowns, Mishaps, and Maladaptive Behaviors.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are some of the reasons that holidays are hard for children who are adopted or are in foster care?
What kind of behaviors do parents and caregivers commonly see that are likely related to those challenges around holidays?
- Sleep challenges
- Feeding challenges
- Increased anxiety, fear, insecurity
- Impulsivity
- Dysregulation (louder than usual, bigger emotional response than normal for this child)
How do these behaviors relate to the reasons holidays are hard for our kids? What’s the connection between that outward behavior and the internal need or hurt?
Can you provide us with a few practical strategies for addressing these behaviors? Let’s break them down by age:
- Toddler and preschoolers
- School-aged children
- Tweens and Teens (into young adults)
What trauma-sensitive preparations or preventative actions can we take to minimize the challenging behaviors and help our kids feel safe, supported, and able to find healing?
What is compassion fatigue? What signs should we look for to help us identify our risk during this holiday season?
Strategies to help parents and caregivers plan now for a less-stressful holiday season.

Additional Resources:

Set Your Family Up for Success This Holiday Season
Tips for Managing Your Picky Eater
Strategies to Manage Holiday Stress

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My adoptive child was contacted by the birth mother, never contacted us, it has caused chaos in our family. The parents that adopt kids are never considered after raising a child for over 20 years to give them back.

Resources:

Adoptive Mom Feels Left Out at Son’s Reunion with Birth Mother
What You Need to Know about Open Adoption
5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
Advice to My Pre-Adoptive Parent Self

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How do you handle sleep struggles when raising a child who has been impacted by trauma, prenatal substance exposure, or other challenges? Listen to our conversation with Dr. Chris Winter, a sleep researcher and neurologist who has practiced sleep medicine and neurology since 2004. He is also the author of The Rested Child: Why Your Tired, Wired or Irritable Child May Have A Sleep Disorder--And How To Help, and hosts the podcast Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter.

In this episode, we discuss:

Understanding the value of sleep and reframing the conversation about expectations and what your child needs to support overall health, development, and wellbeing.
What makes adopted, foster, or kinship children particularly vulnerable to sleep challenges?
How might a child’s early trauma and experiences of loss — such as separation from birth families or multiple moves — show up in their sleep patterns?
What effects do frequent environmental changes have on a child’s sleep?
How might prenatal exposure to substances (e.g., opioids, alcohol, others) impact a child’s sleep?
What may be the challenges that children with neurodiversity (Down syndrome, ADHD, ASD etc) experience?
What are the practical strategies you have found successful in helping families with sleep disturbances?
Why is it important to teach our kids the value of rest—even without sleep?
What should we consider when setting up a consistent routine and sleep-friendly setting for our kids?
When is it time to seek professional evaluation—like a sleep study or specialist referral for our kids?
What guidance do you offer caregivers to help them stay consistent, avoid burnout, and model healthy sleep habits?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: How should I deal with an adoptive child with a people-pleasing personality? I want to prevent the anxiety that comes with that, but I'm not sure how.

Resources:

6 Tips for Creating Attachment
How to Cultivate Resilience in Your Kids
7 Character Traits Your Kids Need to Thrive
Signs Your Child Might Be People Pleasing and How to Help

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How do you manage daily expenses and budgeting when you are a foster or kinship caregiving family? We speak with Nicole Valenzuela, a foster parent and founder of Fostering Finances, to learn about simplified budgeting practices and healthy mindsets for managing money.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are the financial challenges that foster and kinship families commonly face?
How do those challenges differ between kinship caregivers and licensed foster parents?
- Are there particular challenges for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC foster or kinship families?
- What about single foster parents or kinship caregivers?
What are the day-to-day costs that aren’t always covered by stipends or allowances?
What hurdles might the informal caregivers face (those not participating in the foster care system while caring for a relative child) in accessing services or support?
What financial supports may be available but underutilized by foster and kinship families?
What are the Kinship Navigator Programs? How can they help — where are they found, etc.?
What are some tax strategies or credits that families caring for foster or kin children may be eligible for?
How can caregivers build a small financial buffer for the inevitable emergency that comes with raising kids?
What advice do you give around savings or flexibility?
Suggestions for simple budgeting or expense-tracking strategies that foster or kinship families might implement right away?
What are some low-cost ways for foster parents or grandparents raising grandkids to meet these kids’ needs while preserving their dignity?
What other effective community-level initiatives or organizations are you aware of that support these families?
How can caregivers locate and tap into similar resources in their own communities?
How do caregivers decide which financial strategies to focus on first?
What practical steps can they take to set in motion a plan to stabilize their household finances over the next 6 months?
What are some early small wins that build confidence—say, saving a few dollars a week, or successfully claiming a benefit?
What is a scarcity mindset and what are signs that a caregiver might be struggling with scarcity mindset?
What are the top three ‘practical financial strategies’ you’d want every foster or kinship caregiver to walk away with from today?
Finally, what’s your best encouragement to caregivers who feel overwhelmed by financial pressures?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I are considering whether we will open our special needs consideration to include children who are HIV+. We have already been approved to adopt from India, and as our home study update approaches, we are taking a good, hard look at the Special Needs list again. I was listening to your podcast episode on this topic from 2013 and wondered if this was worth an updated episode? Has much changed for families living with HIV?

Resources:

Factors to Consider When Adopting from India
Country Comparison Charts
Common Special Needs in International Adoption

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What strategies can parents and caregivers implement in their homes to help reduce the risk that their children may be sexually abused? Learn practical parenting tools from this conversation with Dr. Eliana Gil, the founder of the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma in children, especially those who have been sexually abused.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why should adoptive and foster parents and relative caregivers learn about the risks for sexual abuse of children in our community and how to prevent it?
How can parents or caregivers tell the difference between normal childhood curiosity and behaviors that may signal a problem?
What are some warning signs that might give parents or caregivers a clue to dig deeper into problematic behaviors they observe?
If a child is showing some of these concerning behaviors, what are some practical and supportive ways caregivers can respond?
Why is it preventative for parents and caregivers to use correct anatomical terms with kids?
Can you offer a few practical suggestions for parents and caregivers to get more comfortable with correct terminology, if they find this an obstacle to equipping and educating their kids?
What signs should parents and caregivers be on the lookout for – things that may suggest a child has been abused?
- 5 categories: fear/anxiety, depression, sexual acting out, attachment
- Emphasize that no single sign proves abuse but patterns and context matter.
If a caregiver suspects abuse, what steps should they take?
What is the parents’ or caregiver’s role once they have reported to the proper authorities?
What are some everyday preventative practices families can put in place to keep kids safe while also allowing them to grow in healthy ways?
- Protective, not paranoid
- Open communication in the home
- Supervision by safe adults
- Safe boundaries in the home
- Teaching consent and respect
- Modeling healthy relationships
Any last words of advice for adoptive parents, foster parents, or relative caregivers about protecting their kids from sexual abuse?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I are in the process of adopting a waiting child internationally. This is our first adoption and we will soon be waiting to be matched with a child. I teach in higher education and my schedule is coordinated about nine months out. I am working with my supervisors to try and make sure my schedule for the next year is flexible to account for uncertain adoption timing. It has been so difficult to try and navigate this with my job, especially because my institution has very limited options for paid parental leave.

I'm wondering if you have any insight into how to discuss a few of my questions with my employer:

How to manage unpredictable adoption timelines that may require mid-semester leave on minimal notice,
Explaining the necessity of time off work to bond with our new child, without the physical recovery needs that traditional birth includes, and
That while teaching online is an option, balancing teaching online with international travel and a critical bonding period is very daunting.

If you have any insight into how to discuss these topics with my employer, or any additional details I should be considering, I would love to hear your thoughts. I should say that my supervisors are very supportive and excited for my family, and they are open to creative solutions. These are just uncharted waters at my institution. I love listening to your podcast every week and my husband and I have learned so much from you all while we've been on our adoption journey!

Resources:

How Can I Get Paid Leave for My Adoption?
The Movement Project: Relationship & Parental Recognition: State Family Leave Laws
Center for Parental Leave Leadership

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resilience is more than just bouncing back from a challenge. Join us for a conversation about building resilience in ourselves and our kids, understanding coping tools, and caring well for ourselves while raising kids who may have significant gaps in their resilience. We talk with Kathleen Harnish McKune and her sister, Karen Dickson from Remarkably Resilient, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to partnering to empower healing from trauma.

In this episode, we cover:

How do you define resilience? What does it look like in real life, not just in theory?
What are resilience cups? Why do we need a full cup?
How can parents and caregivers fill their cups while raising kids impacted by trauma, prenatal exposure, etc?
What are your “5 Rs” of resilience?
Regulation
Relationships
Response
Recovery
Reflection
What are some typical challenges – or symptoms – we might see in a child whose resilience is undeveloped or lacking?
When a child is struggling with challenging behaviors that show some gaps in their resilience, how can parents/caregivers practically implement these 5 Rs in the moment?
What are the coping tools you’ve identified to help people implement resilience-building strategies – the 4 Cs:
Calm
Care
Courage
Connect
Strengthening resilience at the individual level ripples out to families, communities, and beyond. What gives you hope as you do this work?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We are currently going through our home study to adopt from foster care, and I'm wondering if it is too early to look at photo listings? I have been looking at photo listings for a long time, but now, when I read the bios, it feels real, and I get slightly attached. I'm curious if you think this is setting myself up for disappointment.

Resources:

Adoptions in the US – Our Annual Update
Adoption Comparison Charts
Foster Care Adoption
Dealing with a Long Wait While Adopting
The Impact of Fostering and Adoption on Kids Already in the Family

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What is human trafficking? Is your child at increased risk of being trafficked? Listen to this conversation with guests Dr. Yolanda Montgomery, a nurse, advocate, and the founder of Zoë Ministries, a nonprofit established in 2012 to combat human trafficking in Delaware and beyond, and Sara Poore, the Executive Director of the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (DATAC), leading statewide efforts to prevent human trafficking, support survivors, and strengthen community partnerships.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is human trafficking, and how does it show up in the lives of children and teens in the U.S.?
Why might children who have experienced foster care, adoption, or relative caregiving be at higher risk for trafficking?
What role do things like running away, online activity, or mental health play in increasing risk?
Are there particular ages or developmental stages when children are most at risk?
What systemic factors—such as placement instability or a lack of adult oversight—contribute to vulnerability?
What signs or red flags should caregivers be watching for in their children or teens?
How does trafficking often begin for vulnerable youth?
What should a caregiver do if they suspect trafficking or exploitation?
If a child discloses trafficking or exploitation, what should a caregiver’s first response be?
What kinds of services or professionals should a caregiver seek out to help a child recover from trafficking or exploitation?
What are some preventative actions parents and caregivers can build into their homes and relationships with their kids?
What can caregivers be sensitive to at home, things that may contribute to increasing risk factors for our kids who are more vulnerable to these risks? (
What conversations should caregivers be having regularly with their tweens or teens about trafficking risks?
What resources, hotlines, or support networks should every caregiver have saved in their phones, or know about?
In addition to being the one safe, stable, nurturing adult in a child’s life, what other practical protective factors can parents and caregivers incorporate into their home’s daily rhythms?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We very recently brought home our second child through domestic infant adoption. We feel very fortunate, and our son is developing well; we are also settling into the new routine. We matched with our Son's birth mother through a local agency, and unfortunately, she decided that she did not want to meet us. She gave no information about the biological father. We know she was caucasian, but honestly, it is unclear whether our son is entirely caucasian or not. The pediatrician said it was a mystery, and he may be caucasian with a darker complexion, or biracial, some amount of Hispanic, black, or any other heritage. We want to do everything in our power to be informed, acknowledge, and celebrate any ethnic background that is presented, but short of doing a DNA ancestry service on a baby that is a few weeks old, I don't really know where to begin- I'd appreciate any guidance you have.

Resources:

Raising a Transracial or Multicultural Child
Adoptee Voices
Ethical Issues in Genetic Testing in Adoption
Genetic Testing and Genealogy for Adoptees
Genetic Testing for Adoptees – Is It Worth It?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you worry about the impacts that screen time, social media, or gaming have on your tween and teens' mental health? We spoke to Brittany Anderson, an author, certified play and narrative intelligence practitioner, and the founder of Renala, which helps families become creative, vision-driven leaders—beginning at home.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are the most common concerns that parents and caregivers have about their tween or teen’s tech use?
Are those concerns more about the amount of time kids spend on devices, the content they’re seeking out, or the content they stumble upon?
What are the differences in concerns between parents of pre-teens/tweens (11–13) and older teens (16–18)?
What does current research say about how much screen time is considered healthy—or at least not harmful—for our tweens and teens?
- Is the amount of time as important as how that time is being spent?
- Are there particular times of day when device use is more problematic for mental health (e.g., late at night)?
What types of online content are most worrisome for the tweens and teens in our homes?
What mental health effects are we seeing most often in tweens and teens related to tech use?
What are the symptoms of mental health that parents and caregivers should look for?
Why might kids with a history of trauma and loss, prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs, or neurodiversity be more vulnerable to tech-related mental health challenges?
How do issues like attachment, identity, and resilience intersect with device use?
Are there specific risks associated with online relationships, gaming communities, or social media for these children?
What can adoptive and foster parents, as well as caregivers such as grandparents raising their grandchildren, do proactively to reduce some of these risks before problems arise?
What role do boundaries, monitoring, and co-viewing/co-playing have in prevention?
How can they help their child develop self-protective, self-regulation skills, such as learning to prioritize their own mental health and manage their device use?
If a tween or teen has already had a harmful tech-related experience, what steps should parents/caregivers take immediately?
What does a healthy “tech culture” in a home look like for tweens and teens?
One piece of equipping and empowering advice for leading with purpose and mission around the issues of technology, devices, and tweens’ and teens’ mental health

RESOURCES:

Managing Technology and Screens
What Resource Parents Should Know About Prenatal Exposure
How to Cu

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I have resentment against my (soon-to-be adopted) child’s mom, who is an addict. I get frustrated with his disrespect & disobedience, and bitterness & resentment rise up. He also respects my husband way more than me. I am trying so hard not to let it show or to take it out on him. I need help!

Resources:

Parenting Children with Challenging Behaviors
Prenatal Exposure, Part 1: Parenting Babies through Elementary Ages
Parenting a Challenging Child: A Collaborative Approach

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you dread the teen years? Or, if you're in the midst of parenting teens, do you struggle to find ways to connect? This week, we interview Dr. Melody Aguayo, a parenting coach specializing in working with at-risk children and their families and the founder of Real Child Consulting, LLC. She is the mom of two adopted kids.

In this episode, we discuss:

Parents wonder why their easy and natural connection with their kids changed, and they now feel on the outs and have to work harder. What is the developmental stage that is happening between the ages of about 13 and 18 or 19?
Teens act like they don’t need us, when I believe they need us even more, to be present, but in a distinctly different way. I think that our emotions as a parent can sometimes interfere with connecting with teens.
Change our expectation of what “connection” means with teens.
Parents report feeling powerless in parenting when their kids reach their teen years. What is the essence of our power as parents?
Our goals for our teens are to become responsible and independent. How can we parent in such a way to foster these goals?
Let’s address some common issues we face when parenting teens:
- Arguing. How to turn an argument into a conversation?
- Spending too much time on technology
- Running with the wrong crowd
Tips for connecting and building trust and appreciation with your teen!

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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I spent some time this week thinking about what I’ve learned from my experiences as an adoptive parent and the wisdom of others in our community. In reflection, I've created a list of the things I wish I knew before adopting.

Resources:

8 Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Adopted
Free courses to strengthen your family
Therapeutic Parenting: Strategies & Solutions
Beginner’s Guide to TBRI

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Kinship-led families have unique needs, and finding resources to meet those needs can be a challenge. Today, we're talking with Mike Heath, a Resource Specialist with the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families in Wisconsin. The Coalition is a Resource Center for birth parents, foster families, adoptive families, relative/kinship/and like-kin caregivers, and child welfare and Tribal agency professionals.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are the most frequently reported everyday needs or resource gaps caregivers are experiencing?
What is the most pressing need these kids are facing when they come to a new caregiver?
What are the urgent needs caregivers have when welcoming a child or a sibling group, etc?
Where can families find help with immediate essentials—such as beds, cribs, car seats, clothing, and school supplies?
Which phone numbers should caregivers keep on speed dial?
How should a relative caregiver secure the ability to make medical and school decisions quickly?
What papers or forms should caregivers request on day one? From whom?
Managing the documentation and paperwork can be a significant challenge for a new caregiver. Do you have any recommendations for managing this?
Should school enrollment be a priority in that first week?
How should a caregiver start the process of ensuring medical coverage (dental, vision, prescriptions, and mental health included)?
Where should I start if I find the Medicaid/CHIP process confusing?
Once a kinship-led family is settling in, what additional needs or options should they consider?
Where to go to learn about those options?
What are the possible financial resources that caregivers should look into?
Importance of self-care, mental wellness, and community for both caregivers and the children they support
If a new caregiver listens to this and does only three things this week, what should they be?

Resources:

Free Download Checklist for the first 30 days as a Kinship Caregiver
Virtual Resource Kit for Relative Caregivers - Virtual Resource Kit: Relative Caregiving - Wisconsin Family Connections Center
Relative Caregiver Learning Pathway on Champion Classrooms (Free recorded webinar series) - Relative Caregiver Learning Pathway Link
Collection of Resources for Relative Caregivers - https://wifamilyconnectionscenter.org/how-do-i/find-support-as-a-relative-caregiver/
Coalition for Children, Youth & Families -

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Today, we are tackling a question that comes up a lot for parents and caregivers in our community – what do you do with a picky eater?

Resources:

Food Issues
My Foster Child Only Eats Junk Food
Practical Solutions to Typical Food Issues with Adopted and Foster Kids

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Jackson TerKeurst was born in Liberia and by the age of 7 was a war orphan living in dire circumstances. So how did he end up as an entrepreneur, leader, and now author? Join us for an inspirational conversation about identity, overcoming, and redemption from Jackson's new book, The Only Way Forward is Back.

In this episode, we discuss:

Cultural differences
How challenges like poverty and food insecurity impacted your first experiences in the States
How did your trauma manifest in your behavior at home?
How did your family help heal those impacts?
Discuss the additional unique challenges that being adopted as a teenager may have presented during your early months and years in your new family.
Discuss how you’ve worked on answering "Who Am I?" across the chapters of your life?
What were the helpful or healing experiences that went into pulling all those parts of your identity together to create today’s Jackson TerKuerst, husband, father, son, brother, entrepreneur, and now author?
What would you say to parents or caregivers who are in the thick of it right now, walking with a child who is struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Are there travel restrictions when you are fostering? For example, my family lives out of state, but can I bring the child with me when I travel to visit family?

Resources:

Working as Part of a Foster Care Team
Working with the Birth Parents for the Child's Best Interest
Becoming a Foster Parent

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Are you considering adopting a child over the age of 5? Listen to this interview with Sarah Hansen and Simi Riesner. Sarah is the Director of International Advocacy at the Gladney Center for Adoption, with over 20 years of experience supporting adoptive families and children. She is also an adoptive parent to an older child from Thailand. Simi is the Executive Director of Mazi Adoption and Family Services, as well as a licensed social worker and foster parent. Simi also has lived experience as an adult adoptee, and is passionate about maintaining sibling relationships and promoting transparency within the adoption community.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are the age ranges you see being the most difficult to find adoptive homes for?
Generally the greatest need in both international and foster care adoption is kids 5+
Why are many prospective parents are almost afraid of adopting a tween or teen.
What are the common challenging behaviors parents may face when adopting an older child: (keeping in mind that not all older children will struggle with these behaviors!)
- Lying, stealing
- Lagging social skills
- Acting out physically or sexually
- Sibling rivalry
- Regression of already developed skills (potty training, sleep, communication etc)
What behaviors might parents expect to see in the children already living in the home that are likely impacted by the behaviors of a newly adopted sibling? Or influenced by the new sibling?
Why do older children behave in some of these challenging ways? What’s driving them?
- Grief, loss
- Trauma, abuse, neglect
- Prenatal exposure to drugs/alcohol
- Fear, unpredictability, Fight/flight/freeze response
- Constant hypervigilance
- Coping or survival skills
- Mental health challenges
- Undiagnosed learning challenges
What are a few specific strategies to build trust and felt-safety for a newly adopted older child?
What suggestions do you offer families who are adopting tweens and teens – especially when those young people have had very few limits or boundaries around them prior to adoption?
What are the signs that maybe an older child is not attaching securely or catching on to the idea that they are now part of this family?
Practical tips to implement today when considering Older Child Adoption

Resources:

6 Tips for Older Child Adoption
Maintaining a Healthy Perspective When Parenting Tweens & Teens
Preparing to Blend Kids by Birth and Adoption or Foster/Kinship Care

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Questions: I am a 58 single man and I am considering fostering.

My first question is how much of a bias is there against men?
What are the unique challenges that single foster dads face that discourage so many?
What can we do to get more single foster dads to help families reunify, foster, and possibly adopt?

Resources:

Creating a Support Network as a Single Adoptive, Foster, or Kinship Parent (Article)
Adopting as a Single Parent (Online Parent Training course)
Resources for Adopting or Fostering as a Single Parent

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Are you educated and informed on the issues around weed and vaping, including THC, nicotine, and the signs of addiction? Listen to this interview with Dr. Krishna White. She is an attending physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, with board certifications in Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.

In this episode, we discuss:

Can you explain why kids who’ve experienced trauma, prenatal substance exposure, or who are neurodivergent may be at greater risk for turning to substances like marijuana or vaping?
How are kids typically using marijuana today? (edibles, vaping THC, traditional smoking, oils)
Are kids generally aware of what they’re consuming, especially when it comes to the potency of today’s marijuana?
What are some of the short-term effects of marijuana use in adolescents?
What long-term impacts are you seeing in your clinical practice, especially for kids whose brains are still developing?
Now let’s move to vaping – what it is, why it’s so popular, and what we need to know about how kids are using it.
Can you break down what vaping is and what substances kids may be inhaling?
Why is vaping so appealing to tweens and teens, even those who’ve never used another substance?
What are some of the immediate health concerns tied to vaping in young people?
And long-term—what are you most worried about when it comes to kids who are vaping regularly?
What strategies can adoptive, foster, or kinship caregivers use to help buffer or “substance-proof” their kids?
How early should conversations about marijuana and vaping begin?
For kids who already have a higher vulnerability, what are some protective factors or environments that help reduce their risk?
What are some signs that a child might be using marijuana or vaping—even if they’re trying to hide it?
If a child has already started using, how can caregivers respond in a way that’s both firm and supportive?
When does occasional experimentation cross the line into something that needs professional help?
What are nicotine pouches – why are they appealing and what are the short or long term impacts we should know about?
What would you say to a caregiver who’s feeling overwhelmed or ashamed that this is part of their child’s story?
If you could offer just one piece of advice to a caregiver trying to navigate this with their teen, what would it be?

Resources:

Prenatal Exposure, Part 2: Parenting Tweens and Teens
Are Kids Exposed Prenatally More Likely to Abuse Alcohol & Drugs?
Preventing Teen Substance Abuse - Center for Parent and Teen Communic

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: I have listened to hundreds of adoption-related podcast episodes, but very few of them have talked about talking directly with a potential birth mother. We were matched with an expectant mother who wanted to be able to communicate with us directly. We agreed, believing that it would help us form a better relationship. However, we were mentally unprepared for the wavering she expressed to us. Despite being so certain when we first met with her, as the pregnancy went on, she then had thoughts of parenting. The match ended with disruption, but I would love to hear a podcast about how to handle oneself in that situation. An episode of another podcast talked about how to handle that situation at the hospital during birth, but I felt something dedicated to communication throughout the pregnancy would be helpful. Thanks for such a helpful podcast!

Resources:

Our #1 Secret Tip for Navigating Open Adoption
Signs that an Expectant Woman May Change Her Mind About Placing Her Child for Adoption
Understanding Expectant Moms Who are Considering Adoption

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Are you considering adopting internationally? You need to listen to this interview about the laws and processes that you will be required to follow. We'll be talking with Kelly Dempsey, a partner with Fox Rothschild, who specializes in adoption and assisted reproduction. She is a fellow in the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys and an adoptive parent through both international and domestic adoptions.

In this episode, we discuss:

Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption
1. Purpose
  1. Key Elements of the Hague Treaty:
    1. Central Authority
    2. Determining the child’s eligibility for intercountry adoption
    3. Accredited or Approved Adoption Agencies
    4. Transparency
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
1. INA 101(b)(1)(F) I-600 “Orphan Route”
  1. Child must qualify as an orphan under US definition
  2. Only one parent – incapable of providing support
  3. Deadlines: I600A before child’s 16th birthday -- only have 180 days to file the I-600, after USCIS approves the I-600
2. INA 101(b)(1)(G) I-800 “Convention Route”
  1. Work with CA Art 12, Art 16
  2. Eligibility decided by CA COO, but if consulate does an I-604 investigation that disqualifies child, then case will be denied
  3. Deadlines: Must file I-800A before age 16 and within 180 days of the approval of the I-800A, must file the I-800 (even w/o Art 16)
  4. Children adopted from other countries must first obtain a U.S. visa before they can travel or move to the United States. Visas are issued at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the foreign country where a child resides. Since a child being adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen parent(s) will usually be brought to live in the United States, that child will need an immigrant visa.
International Accreditation Act
Process When Adopting from a Hague Country.
Process When Adopting from a Non-Hague countries.
1. Must qualify as orphans as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) before they can be considered for U.S. permanent residence or citizenship.
2. Get more information at the State Department - Adoption Process/Non-Hague Visa Process.
More information on the Hague Convention and other applicable Federal regulations
1. US State Department - International Adoption
2. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
US Department of State has a section on their website on “Understanding the Hague Convention”
US Department of State has a section on their website on “

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: Hi, my husband, biological daughter and I are in the process of infant adoption. We have passed our home study and have made our profile book. We are at the point where we are viewing expectant moms' profiles. My husband‘s family is very excited and ready for this new chapter in our lives, but my family, however, seems unsure. It’s been hard to communicate with my parents about adoption, and it seems like when they are ready to talk about adoption it’s when I am not in the room and they are alone with my husband. I have sent them a book called “In On It: What Adoptive Parents Want You to Know About Adoption,” but they don’t seem to want to read the book or communicate with me about it. So my question is, should I continue to foster conversations around adoption while we wait to be matched, or since it seems kind of triggering or taboo for them, should I back away and just focus on my immediate family and our journey together? My intent was to offer them support with all of the learning and education that I have gone through during this pre-adoption process, but I’m wondering if I should let them move at their own speed regarding this adoption.

Resources

Winning Over Reluctant Extended Family in Adoption
My Parents Disapprove of Open Adoption – Weekend Wisdom
How to Get Grandparents on Board with Your Adoption Plans

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Most children will experience bullying at some point. What can parents do to help protect their children and to help their children cope if they are bullied? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Brooke Randolph, LMHC, a child and family therapist and author of The Bully Book: A Workbook for Kids Coping with Bullies; and Debora Gish, LCSW, with Adoption Connection with 20 experience working with kids and families.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is bullying?
Distinction between bullying and typical childhood cliquish behavior or “mean girl” behavior or kidding around behavior of middle school boys.
How to help kids not be over-sensitive to teasing or taunting. For example, a first grader having a hard time distinguishing between name-calling meant to bully and the kind of taunts that are part and parcel with schoolyard games like tag (e.g., he went to the teacher over “na na na na na na, you can’t get me”).
What children are at greater risk for bullying?
Why do children bully?
Cyberbullying
Bullying on the school bus.
How effective are the classic things we tell kids about how to handle bullies?
Effective tips for helping kids handle bullying.

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

We frequently hear from waiting parents that they are unsure when to prepare the nursery, what formula is best, or how often they should expect to feed their new baby. It's a huge life transition, and we thought today we could talk about some basic baby care tips to help you think about what's next for you and your family when you get the baby home.

Resources:

I'm Adopting a Baby. When Do I Set Up the Nursery?
Essential Baby Care for Infant Adoption
Stocking Your Medicine Cabinet for Baby
Understanding Post-Adoption Depression and How to Manage It
First 6 Months with a Baby Exposed to Opiates

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Does your child struggle to get or stay organized? Is homework a battle you dread every day? Prepare yourself to support your children for the Back to School season with this interview with Dr. Richard Guare. He's a neuropsychologist and board-certified behavior analyst focused on autism, learning, attention, and behavior disorders, and acquired brain injuries. He is the co-author of Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential.

In this episode, we discuss:

Define executive skills in a way that makes sense to a parent or caregiver who is unfamiliar with the term.
Why are these executive skills essential for school success and independence?
How does early childhood trauma, neglect, or prenatal substance exposure delay or disrupt a child’s executive skill development?
What kinds of executive skill delays are common in children who’ve experienced foster care, adoption, or early adversity?
How might a parent or caregiver begin to see a child’s delays in executive skill deficits in school?
Define the strengths-based approach to teaching executive skills.
How can we structure our homes and daily routines to best support what our kids will face during the school day?
- And practical strategies for supporting your student after school?
What language can parents and caregivers use with our kids, and with teachers and support staff, to frame a child’s behavior in terms of execution skills vs. defiance or distraction?
Why is it important for parents and caregivers to understand their own executive skills strengths and struggles?
Top “takeaways” you want to encourage and support parents and caregivers to consider.

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

How do you know your child with prenatal substance exposure is ready to potty train? How do you start potty training a child with impacts from prenatal substance exposure, like developmental delays? This Weekend Wisdom offers practical strategies and encouragement to help you stay motivated and keep up the good work.

Resources:

Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure
How Do I Potty Train a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure?
Prenatal Exposure, Part 1: Parenting Babies through Elementary Ages

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Join us for a look at where CreatingaFamily.org - and this podcast - began and where we are heading from here. We talk today with Dawn Davenport, the founding Executive Director of the organization, as she prepares to retire from Creating a Family.

In this episode, we discuss:

Tell us how and why you started Creating a Family. Why start a non-profit?
- The Complete Guide to International Adoption: The Step by Step Guide to Finding Your Child
Do any significant moments stand out from those early days of setting a path forward?
Who were the hands-on folks behind the scenes in those early days?
What were some of your hopes and dreams for this new venture when you started podcasting?
- What were some of your most memorable challenges?
How has the world of podcasting changed in the 18 years since you launched this one?
Were there one or two “big fish” you were excited to get?
How have you seen the Creating a Family podcast impact the families we serve? The professionals?
What are the most significant challenges you see facing our community of listeners / adoptive, foster, and kinship families in 2025?
Do you have any lessons you’ll take from this season of your life – as a professional and/or as a parent?
What are you most excited about for the future of CreatingaFamily.org?
Do you have any retirement plans?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: I have a question that may be well suited for a weekend wisdom episode. I'm aware of the reasons that a domestic infant adoption may fail, but I've also read about foster children having failed adoption(s) and then aging out of the system. What are some of the main reasons that a foster child experiences a failed adoption? How does that look different than (or the same as) a failed domestic infant adoption?

Resources:

Failed Adoptions:
- Help, I Don’t Think I Can Continue With This Adoption!
- Adoption Disruptions/Dissolutions – How to Prevent and When to Accept
- Evaluating Risk Factors in Foster Care Adoption
Failed Adoption Matches:
- Predicting and Coping with Failed Adoption Matches
- How Common are Failed Adoption Matches?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

What should you look for when you are considering therapy for your child or your family? How do you find the right fit for your child's needs? We talk today with Kelly Raudenbush, Executive Director of The Sparrow Fund, a non-profit that provides therapeutic services for foster and adoptive children and their grown-ups. She is a child and family therapist with an MA degree in counseling and a certificate in clinical infant and early childhood mental health. She's also an adoptive mom.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are some of the common reasons families seek therapy for their child or family unit?
When is it time to seek a therapist?
What types of professionals can provide therapy?
Is there a difference between therapy and counseling?
What makes a therapist trauma-informed?
What’s the difference between being adoption-competent and adoption-informed?
What should parents look for to determine if a potential therapist is competent to handle the trauma, adoption, or foster issues they are facing?
Where can parents or caregivers go to find a therapist with the lived experience of being adopted? What might the benefits be in seeking a therapist with this lived experience?
Can you list the more common therapeutic models of treatment that adoptive, foster, or relative caregiver families might consider?
When should therapy with our kids involve just the child, or the child and the parent?
What questions can parents or caregivers ask to determine if the therapist is a good fit for the child and family?
Are there additional or specific considerations for therapy that should be addressed if our child has experienced sexual abuse?
What is home-based therapy and what are the advantages to this type of therapy for adoptive, foster, or relative caregiving families?
Is therapy via tele-health or via teleconferencing as effective as in-person for our families?

Additional Resources:

https://sparrow-fund.org/
Therapy Resources for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Families
Adoptee and Foster Alumni Voices
Therapists: Parents Should Be With Their Kids for Adoptive or Foster Therapy Sessions
A Guide to Selecting An Adoption Or Foster Therapist
Family Centered Treatment

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: My husband and I adopted our daughter in 2019, and she is now 5. As of a week ago, we were matched with a birth mother who is due in six weeks. We have explained the process to our daughter (we made a book about our life, and one day someone will pick us), but now that we’ve been chosen, what is the best way to approach this with my daughter? We have several of the books from your (wonderful) book list, but not many pertain to same sex parents who are bringing home an adopted sibling. How do we prepare our daughter for the possibility of having a sibling, while also being open and honest about the possibility that this baby might not be ours to take home?

Resources:

Prepare Children for the Adoption of a Sibling (Suggested Books)
Books for Transracially Adopted Kids (Suggested Books)
Talking with Kids about Adoption (Resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Are you looking for practical strategies to build attachment with your child? Jeanette Yoffe, MA, MFT, is a psychotherapist specializing in adoption and foster care with over 20 years of experience treating children with complex trauma. Her new book, The Traumatized and At-Risk Youth Toolbox: Over 160 Attachment-Informed Interventions for Working with Kids and Families in Foster Care and Beyondoffers specific strategies and tools parents and caregivers can build into their family rhythms to promote regulation and healing in their homes.

In this episode, we discuss:

Overview of trauma’s impacts on the brain, on learning, regulation, and on the ability to trust.
What does co-regulation look like between a caregiver and a child with a trauma history?
What are some simple, everyday things caregivers can do at home to support a child’s self-regulation?
What practical tools – activities or routines – will help us build emotional safety in our homes?
Why is play such a powerful tool for connection and healing?
Trauma often mimics ADHD or overlaps with it. How to help teachers understand what’s really going on.
How can parents or relative caregivers support our kids for homework, without turning the evening into a power struggle?
What kinds of professionals should we look for?

Resources:

Working with Traumatized Children in the Classroom
What is Adoption?
What is Foster Care?
What is Family Court?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: My wife and I adopted a newborn baby almost 3 years ago, and we could not be happier. Now that he is getting a little older, he is talking and starting to understand things. My question is, how can we best normalize his adoption with him? I know it is better for kids to grow up with everyone being open with him and his adoption so it feels like now is a good time to start. But I am not sure how to that with an almost 3-year-old. For context, we do not have any contact with the birth family. We send updates and pictures to the agency, but they have not expressed interest in having contact with us. This always seemed like an avenue to start that conversation (you have a birth family and an adoptive family). Without that, I’m not sure how start talking to him about this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Resources:

Talking with Kids About Adoption (Resource page)
Talking with Kids About Birthparents (Suggested Books)
Adoptee Voices (Resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Are you looking for practical strategies to help your kids face the challenges of a scary world? Join us for a conversation with Melinda Wenner Moyer. She is an author, contributing editor at Scientific American, a regular contributor to The New York Times, and a former faculty member at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her new book is titled Hello, Cruel World: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times.

In this episode we discuss:

Why is raising kids in today’s world is so challenging and potentially terrifying for parents.

What are the fears kids are feeling in today’s culture?

What are some of the clues parents and caregivers should look for to tell us our kids might be struggling with fear or anxiety?

How does a parent or caregiver’s fear impact our ability to raise our kids in what feels like a terrifying world?

How do we balance protecting our kids from the world with equipping them to handle the hard things about today’s world?

When and how do we start “lifting the shield”?

The book’s framework for raising kids in these challenging times includes these three pillars: coping mechanisms, connection techniques, and cultivation practices.

Coping Mechanisms
- How to manage anxiety and fear.
- Self-regulation
- Emotional literacy
- Examples of coping strategies for one or two ages
Connection Techniques
- Parent-child attachment as a protective factor
- Importance of being emotionally available and validating
- Routines, rituals, and conversations that build trust
- Examples of fun and playful connection techniques
Cultivation Practices
- How to practice optimism, gratitude, curiosity, and moral reasoning
- Encouraging healthy risk-taking and autonomy
- Examples for how we parents can model ethical and resilient behavior

What additional or special considerations for those of us raising kids impacted by trauma? How can we adapt some of these strategies?

Examples of how a parent’s approach should evolve as their child grows in age or ability by age/stage:

Infants & Toddlers (0–3)
Preschool (3–5)
Elementary (6–11)
Tweens & Teens (12–18)

Resources for Parents & Caregivers:

Practical Tips to Help Your Kids Manage Stress
Practical Ideas to Boost Your Child’s Social-Emotional Learning

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: My 15-year-old foster daughter, “Anna”, is scheduled to move back in with her mom at the end of the school year. She is currently on my phone plan. I also pay for her access to Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu. Should I ask her mother now how she wants to transition Anna onto her phone plan? Do you recommend continuing to pay for a 3-6 month period until the mother figures it out? Should I just keep her on my account for Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu as long as it doesn't cost me anything extra? She also has some of her own furniture that doesn't fit in my car. Should Anna's mother be responsible for getting those pieces to their home? She is going to live almost 3 hours away.

Resources:

Working with Birth Parent's for the Child's Best Interest
Working as Part of the Foster Care Team
Former Foster Care Youth Voices

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you considering international adoption? If so, this interview will help you decide which special needs are a good fit for your family. We'll talk with Dr. Dana Johnson, MD, PhD. He is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Johnson founded the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota. He is a dad and granddad by birth and adoption.

In this episode, we discuss:

International adoption has become overwhelmingly a special needs adoption program from all countries. Prospective adoptive parents are required to fill out a form stating what special needs they will accept.
Most common special needs. What are they and how involved is the post-adoption care?
- Cerebral Palsy
- Heart issues
- Craniofacial
  - Cleft lip/palate
- Developmental Special Needs
  - Autism
  - Down syndrome
  - Developmental Delays
- Hepatitis B and C
- HIV
- Orthopedic special needs
  - Clubfoot
  - Limb or digit deficiencies
- Albinism
- Hearing loss
- Vision Loss
- Urogenital
  - Kidney abnormalities
  - Urethra issues
  - Bladder issues
  - Imperforate anus
  - Ambiguous genitalia
- Emotional/Trauma
- Older kids
- Sexual Abuse
- Prenatal Exposure
How can adoptive parents support and advocate for children discriminated against due to physical, cognitive, and other disabilities?
What type of special needs do you see from the major placing countries?
- India
- Colombia
- Bulgaria
- Ukraine
- South Korea
- Haiti
- African countries

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: A listener wrote in asking about encopresis and enuresis. These tips are for handling bedwetting or soiling accidents once your child is successfully potty trained.

Resources:

Bedwetting and Related Toileting Issues (Article)
Helping Children Heal from Trauma
Sleep Issues

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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How do you define self-care? Are you establishing a routine of self-care that supports you to meet your kid's needs? Nicole Barlow joins the podcast to discuss how we think about self-care, why it's crucial, and how to create rhythms of self-care in our homes. She is a certified wellness coach, TBRI® Practitioner, and parent trainer for foster and adoptive parents.

In this episode, we discuss:

Re-define self-care
Why is self-care crucial for parents and caregivers?
Why do so many of us resist or neglect self-care?
What are some of the benefits of a well-rounded approach to self-care that might move the needle for someone who says, “I’m too busy…” or “Self-care is selfish, etc.”
What are some of the indicators we might identify in our lives that say we should focus on our wellbeing more intently?
Framing a holistic approach to self-care:
- Physical wellness
  - Emotional & Mental wellness
Spiritual wellness
Where does one start if we’ve never established regular self-care routines?
How can we build from that starting place into overall rhythms of self-care?
Where do practices like meal planning, budgeting, and home management fit into the picture?
What about socialization, building a support network, engaging in respite, etc.?
What do you recommend to parents and caregivers who look up one day and find themselves isolated or without a solid support network?
Where do they start building or re-building that for themselves?
Practical advice to start and maintain a self-care routine
- Walk every day
  - Boost the benefit by walking with a friend
  - Boost the benefit by engaging in quiet time, self-reflection, prayer, etc.
- Engage in strength training
  - Building muscle aids the body in processing stress
- Eat whole foods
  - Nourishing your body aids in regulating and processing stress

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: Today's question is about black parents adopting a white child. This was a question we received from a survey we sent out to issues that our audience wished that we would address.

Resources:

Raising a Child Through a Transracial Adoption
Transracial Adoption Twist: Black Parents Adopting White Kids
Black Families Adopting White Children

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How can we get people of faith more involved in helping vulnerable kids and families and supporting foster and kinship families? Join our discussion with Jason Johnson and Shmuly Yanklowitz. Pastor Johnson is with The Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) and is both a foster and adoptive dad. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder & President of YATOM: The Jewish Foster & Adoption Network. Rabbi Yanklowitz has twice been named one of America’s Top Rabbis by Newsweek and is a foster dad.

In this episode, we discuss:

How can churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith communities step forward to help families?
What are the different ways people of faith can help?
How do we get the rabbis, ministers, and leaders on board?
Better for the church or synagogue
What are the biggest obstacles you see for leadership to want to embrace this ministry or program?
How to get people involved?
What are the biggest obstacles for people wanting to get involved?
How can places of faith circle around grandparents and other relatives caring for children?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I want to know how I can help my child/foster, or adoptee with issues that arise out of the blue. There are things that happen that you’re not aware of, and it just shocks you and throws you off. As an adult, it’s hard to know how to handle some of these things because you can make it worse for the child. Sometimes I feel like I need a therapist to help me navigate being a foster parent.

Resources:

Creating a Family Online Support Group
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma
Therapy Resources

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us to discuss how adoption looks and feels from all sides of the adoption triad. Our guests will be the authors Sara Easterly, Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, and Lori Holden of their book, Adoption Unfiltered.

In this episode, we discuss:

Adoptee Perspective:
- 23 adoptees contributed to this section of the book.
- What are some of the issues adoptees may face?
- Compliance and people-pleasing
- Fantasy Attachments
- Shame
- Interracial Adoptees
- The Danger in the Rescue Narrative
- Role of religionin adoption for adoptees, birth mothers/expectant mothers, and adoptive parents
Birth Mother:
- Before birth mothers get the chance to ask for help, they ask for mercy.
- Advertisements and search algorithms when searching for adoption information
- Lack of neutral support
- Lack of post-placement support—lingering trauma and grief—It’s a different type of grief and trauma.
Adoptive Parent:
- Insecurity—who’s the real parent
Adoption Unfiltered Online

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Adoption Unfiltered: Revelations from Adoptees, Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Allies

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: My wife and I adopted a newborn baby almost 3 years ago and we could not be happier. Now that he is getting a little older, he is talking and starting to understand things. My question is how can we best normalize his adoption with him? I know it is better for kids to grow up with everyone being open with him and his adoption so it feels like now is a good time to start. But I am not sure how to that with an almost 3-year-old. For context, we do not have any contact with the birth family. We send updates and pictures to the agency, but they have not expressed interest in having contact with us. This always seemed like an avenue to start that conversation (you have a birth family and an adoptive family). Without that, I’m not sure how to start talking to him about adoption. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Resources:

Talking about Adoption, Part 1: Talking with 0-5 Year Olds (Article)
Talking with Kids about Adoption (Resource page)
Talking with Kids about Birth Parents (Suggested Books for Young Kids)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Many prospective adoptive families feel anxious about the home study. Our guest, Sheila Kowit, is an adoption social worker with Adoptions From the Heart. She prepares home studies for both domestic infant and international adoptions. She explains what the process is like, what you can expect, and what you will learn in the home study process.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is an adoption home study?
- Is it possible to get one home study that can be used with all types of adoptions: domestic infant, foster care, and international adoption?
What is the purpose of the adoption home study?
At what point in the adoption process is the home study usually done in domestic infant adoption?
- In international adoption?
How long does it take to complete an adoption home study in domestic infant adoption?
- In international adoption
How much does an adoption home study cost for domestic infant adoption?
- For international adoption
What information can the prospective adoptive parents expect to compile for a domestic infant adoption home study? How does this differ for international adoption?
- Medical history
- Statements of income and assets
- Autobiographical statements
- References
What, if any, are the physical health concerns:
- For international adoption, consult our Adoption Comparison Charts
- Do you have to have a current physical?
- What to do about getting a medical physical if you don’t have a regular primary doctor. Can you go to Urgent Care clinics or Minute Clinics for an adoption physical?
Can you do domestic infant adoption if you or your partner/spouse has a mental health diagnosis? What about international adoption?
- For international adoption, consult our Adoption Comparison Charts
Criminal background concerns for domestic infant adoption? For international adoption?
- DUIs, misdemeanors, expunged records?
- It is important to be honest and share it all with your social worker.
What gets included in the financial portion of the home study for domestic infant adoption? For international adoption?
- Income, liabilities, and assets assessment
- Documentation necessary
- Check country listings at our Adoption Comparison Charts or USCIS Intercountry Adoption Information
Writing your personal history for a domestic infant? And for international?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I had a swift match and placement in December. When we were presented with the case, all that was reported for drug use was smoking 12 cigarettes a day. After about a month of trying to get medical records from the hospital for my pediatrician, I discovered my baby’s meconium tested positive for meth. This lab test resulted on Monday, and we were released from the hospital the Friday before, so no one told us about this result. The agency got me the medical records and didn’t mention them when sending them to me. I was also told the birth mom had prenatal care when the medical records say spotty prenatal care. I was shocked when I came across the lab results. We met both of my son’s birth parents a couple of times while in the hospital and had good visits. My husband is usually very good at identifying people on drugs, but he didn’t suspect anything was amiss. We met our son’s siblings, and they all seemed well cared for. My son also did not appear to go through withdrawals. He was never in the NICU and was released from the hospital 2 days after birth. He was of a healthy weight and had excellent Apgar scores. I know I would have passed on this case if I knew meth was involved and so in a way this is a blessing because I love my son and am so glad we were selected to parent him, but I feel some trust has broken between us and his birth parents. I text them weekly with photos and small updates, but I can’t help but feel a little resentful (to both the birth parents and the agency). How do you suggest I deal with this situation?

Resources:

Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure (Resource page)
Evaluating Risk Factors in Adoption (Resource page)
Creating a Family Online Support Group

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you raising a mixed-race child? Join our conversation with Nicole Doyley, a biracial woman raising biracial kids, and the author of What About the Children: 5 Values for Multiracial Families.

Terminology: what is preferred-biracial, mixed race, multi-racial, mixed?
Biracial includes Black/White, Black/Asian, White/Asian, Hispanic/Black, Indigenous/Black/Hispanic. In this interview, we are talking about mixed-race, but families can also be mixed culturally.
Is it true that mixed-race is the fastest-growing group in the US?
Issues facing biracial people in the US. Based on personal experience as well as a 2020 Vox Survey of Mixed Americans.
- No man’s land of racelessness
- Having to always answer the question “What are you?”
- Not fully accepted by either race
- Wanting to ditch one race so as to be fully the other race
- Feeling isolated
- Confused identity
- Rejecting the idea of having to fit into just one box
As a child, you didn’t like the ambiguity that biracial brought to your life. You say you felt a “two-ness”. But you came to view being of mixed race as a blessing rather than a curse. Why, as a child did it feel uncomfortable to you and how did you grow to accept it?
Do you think a mixed-race adopted or foster child being raised by parents of a different race from them but the same shared race with each other will face different challenges?
In the past, it was common to tell adoptive/foster/grandparents that the world was going to treat their child as Black (or another race), so you should focus your efforts on raising a Black child and not emphasize their other race. People in the US see race first. How should parents handle it?
Does it matter if the child’s dominant features make her look like she fits more squarely in one race?
5 values for raising a biracial child:
- Awareness
- Humility
- Diversity
- Honesty
- Exploration
Benefits/advantages to being mixed-race:
- Can function in both majority and minority environments
Tips for Raising a Mixed-Race Child

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: For three months now, we’ve been fostering our 17-year-old son, with the intention of adopting. My question is regarding attachment. How can you tell if the child is setting up boundaries or testing you to see how hard you’ll pursue/run after them?

Resources:

Creating and Cultivating Attachment (Resource page)
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma (Resource page)
Transitioning a Child to Your Home (Resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you a professional working with kinship caregivers? You need to listen to this interview with Dr. Tyreasa Washington, is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar specializing in kinship care families (e.g., grandparents raising grandchildren). She is a Distinguished Senior Scholar for Child Welfare at Child Trends, the leading research organization in the United States focused solely on improving the lives of children, youth, and families.

In this episode, we discuss:

Advantages of keeping children with extended family when their parents are not able to raise them.
How do kids who are raised temporarily or permanently by relatives fare compared to kids placed with unknown foster parents?
One of the biggest questions we receive from professionals is how to engage kinship caregivers. They tell us that they set up programs to support kinship caregivers, but few show up. This seems universal. Why does this happen?
We also hear about institutional trauma-(law enforcement struggles/foster care system struggles- leads to lack of trust--not feeling safe in their community, not trusting DSS.) How does this impact kinship caregivers? How does it impact those of us trying to serve them?
What types of support are the most helpful?
What are some cultural differences you've observed in Black relatives raising children within the family, and how do these differences impact how professionals interact with kin raising children?
What have you found in your research on the impact of caregiving on the health of kinship caregivers?
Need for training for kinship caregivers.
How can professionals support self-care with folks who are so busy just getting by?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: How can prospective parents manage their thoughts and emotions while waiting to be matched with a child (especially in cases where the waiting period is a long one)?

Resources:

Suggested Books for Adoption
Coping Mechanisms for the Waiting (Article)
Creating a Family Online Support Group

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you considering adopting from foster care or becoming a foster parent? Join us to discuss this topic with Dr. Lindsay Terrell, a pediatrician and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center, as well as the Clinical Director of their Foster Care Clinic. She and her husband are licensed foster parents.

In this episode, we discuss:

The common risk factors that foster parents and those wanting to adopt from foster care need to be aware of include physical, emotional, developmental, educational, and behavioral problems rooted in childhood adversity and trauma.
What types of trauma are foster kids exposed to?
What percentage of children in foster care have been exposed to drugs or alcohol prenatally? Creating a Family’s Prenatal Substance Exposure Workshop for Parents
Impact of trauma on physical health.
- Foster parents and caseworkers often have little information about prior health history.
Other common physical health issues that are common in kids in foster care that are not necessarily connected to trauma.
Impact of trauma on mental health.
- Those areas of the brain most affected by trauma, especially early trauma, are those involved in stress response, emotional regulation, attention, cognition, executive function, and memory.
- What types of behaviors are common as a result of trauma?
Medication and over-medication of foster children and youth.
- Research has found that the average number of psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications prescribed were significantly greater for youth and children in foster care.
- Children in foster care are likely to be kept on them longer than other Medicaid-enrolled children who are not in foster care.
- What are psychotropic drugs, and why are they so often prescribed for children in foster care?
Who has the authority to make healthcare decisions for foster children and youth?
Sleep issues common to children in foster care.
Food issues common to children in foster care.
Impact of trauma on a foster child’s education.
- Children in foster care need educational advocates.
Risk factors to consider for children already in the home.
Children can heal, and foster parents can make a difference!

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: On the 2025 Adoption Tax Credit Episode, it was mentioned that they thought this would possibly be the year it becomes refundable. Does that only apply to finalizations in 2025, or will it make previous adoptions (if within the 5-year tax credit range) refundable too? For example, an adoption finalized in 2023 but we haven’t used all of the tax credit available. Does the remaining amount become refundable, too? ~Oklahoma City, OK

Resources:

Understanding the Adoption Tax Credit
AdoptionTaxCredit.org
Josh Kroll, Families Rising (joshk@wearefamiliesrising.org)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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View Details

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Are you considering fostering but are concerned about how it impacts the kids already living in your home? Join us for a conversation with Michelle Snyder, a foster, adoptive, and bio mom, and her son, Ben, to hear their stories of fostering and how it impacted their family. They are co-authors of Beyond Blood: How Being a Foster Brother Shattered My World and Rebuilt It.

In this episode, we discuss:

Ben - How old were you when your parents sat you down to talk about fostering?
- Do you remember how it felt to consider that a child could not safely live with his or her family?
- What do you remember about the time when your family was preparing, taking classes, getting licensed, etc.?
Michelle - When you and your husband felt the desire to begin fostering, what were your biggest concerns?
- What considerations about fostering gave you pause, considering you had two young kids already in your home?
- How did you and your husband handle those concerns or issues?
Ben - Can you briefly share the story of your family’s first placement? We’d love to also hear how you think it impacted you and what you took from that experience for the coming placements.
Ben - What are some of the benefits or advantages you have seen in your development to young adulthood that you can directly trace to being part of this fostering and adoption journey?
Character traits your family developed as you faced those challenges. Can you share a short example for a couple of them?
- Compassion
- Perseverance
- Ability to Adapt/Change
- Perspective
Ben’s diagnoses (“twice exceptional”):
- What did you learn about yourself in that process?
- How do you feel your unique combination of diagnoses equipped you well for being a foster brother?
Saying no to a placement
- Learning how to say no when you know it’s not the right time or circumstance to say yes to a foster placement? How did you develop that skill?
- Ben, what did you learn from your parents over the years about the value of knowing when to say yes, and when it’s okay to say no?
The value of respite for your family and offering it to other foster families
What practical tips can families implement to prepare for a new placement of a foster, newly adopted, or relative child in their home?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: How do I respond in the moment when my child is melting down, including physical or verbal aggression?

Resources:

Practical Tips to Help Your Kids Manage Stress
The Ideal Response: How to Maintain Connection When Correcting Your Child
How to Maintain Connection When Your Child Struggles with Anger

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Have you thought about adopting a baby, but long for the experience of being pregnant, or want to control the intrauterine environment? Join us for this fascinating discussion about embryo donation/adoption with Dr. Craig Sweet with Embryo Donation International, Mark Mellinger with the National Embryo Donation Center, and Beth Button with the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program.

In this episode, we discuss:

The IVF process.
Remaining embryos.
Donating to another person.
How to find embryos available for donation?
What is the medical process of embryo donation/embryo adoption?
What is the success rate of having a baby through a donated embryo? What factors influence the success rate?
What percentage of donated embryos are created via donor egg or sperm?
What information is available about the embryos and the donors?
Can you have twins via embryo donation if that is your preference?
Does it matter how long they’ve been frozen?
Are pregnancies conceived through donated embryos considered high-risk?
Are there long-term health risks for children conceived via frozen embryos?
What is the legal process for embryo donation/embryo adoption?
- Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys
Is there a matching process? Do you have a choice regarding what embryos you receive?
Do the people who donate the embryo continue to have a legal connection to the child? Do they have legal rights to see the child, contact the child, or take the child back?
Openness after the birth? What is the relationship between the embryo donor and the person who receives the embryo and the child conceived?
Is the contact information shared between both parties?
How much does embryo donation/embryo adoption cost?
What factors influence the cost?
Can you use your local infertility clinic to perform the transfer?
LGBTQ+ and single parents
What should you consider when choosing a clinic or organization to facilitate embryo donation/ adoption?
How to talk with children conceived through embryo donation/embryo adoption about their conception?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Is it important to keep a young child or baby’s birth-given name? How often, if ever, do expectant mothers let adopting parents name the baby in private adoptions?

Resources:

Understanding the Birth Parent's Experience
Open Adoption
Creating a Family Online Facebook Support Group

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Do you want to raise kids who you will like and want to hang out with as adults? Listen to this interview with Dr. Ginsburg, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and professor of pediatrics at U Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. He is the author of Lighthouse Parenting: Raising Your Child With Loving Guidance for a Lifelong Bond, and the founder of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication.

In this episode, we discuss:

Definition of Lighthouse Parenting (7 key elements):
1. Stability
2. Modeling & Knowing
3. Communicating
4. Protecting
5. Resilience & Thriving
6. Preparation
7. Reliability
Benefits of Lighthouse/Balanced Parenting
Misunderstanding of attachment/trauma-sensitive parenting as permissive parenting.
Self-care as the foundation of Lighthouse Parenting, “Stability: Finding Your Footing.” Why start there? Why is self-care critical to being a balanced parent?
6 key elements of self-care and examples of how each might look for parents and caregivers who feel they cannot prioritize self-care:
- Love and friendships
- Sleep
- Exercise/Movement
- Relaxation strategies
- Express emotions
- Recognize and reach for support
Offer 1 or 2 practical tips for parenting with this lifelong bond in mind for parents with:
- Elementary-aged kids
- Tweens and teens
- Young adults (college or early career age)

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I started the adoption process a few months ago and we just matched with an expectant mom. We are obviously excited, but we also know that a lot can happen or change between now and her due date. My question is two fold. (1) Although a lot of people in our life know we are going through the adoption process, who should we tell beyond our immediate families? (2) I am a small business owner. Since we are adopting a baby from another state, I am expecting to be out for at least a couple of weeks and then back at work on a limited schedule as my husband and I share caretaking duties. Internally, my team is already aware and on board with when this will happen, and they will handle client requests on my behalf while I am out. But at what point is it appropriate to share with my clients that this change is taking place?

Resources:

Failed Adoption Matches: How Common? How Costly? How to Survive
Signs that an Expectant Woman May Change Her Mind about Placing Her Child for Adoption
Tips for Coping When Your Domestic Infant Adoption is On Hold

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you suspect (or know) that your child was exposed to alcohol or drugs during pregnancy? We discuss tips for how to best work with these children with Dr. Robin Gurwitch, a professor at Duke University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Child and Family Health.

In this episode, we discuss:

How does prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs affect children at different ages?
Oftentimes adoptive, foster and kinship families may not know specifically if their child was exposed in pregnancy to alcohol or drugs? How can a parent determine if their child was prenatally exposed?
What are some of the more common signs, symptoms, and behaviors a parent might see at different ages?
- Birth to age five
- Elementary age
- Tweens and adolescence
- Young adults
Parents, teachers, and other adults working with these children often don’t think about prenatal exposure because of the lag in time between the exposure and when the more disruptive symptoms appear. At what age do you see parents and kids beginning to struggle more?
What are some of the common misdiagnoses that these children receive?
How do the attention and focus issues common with kids who have been exposed to alcohol and drugs differ from ADHD? Is ADHD medication effective to improve attention in prenatally exposed kids?
Is it common for children with prenatal exposure to be uneven in their abilities? For example, average to above average in verbal skills but substantially below average in other areas.
What do we mean by “executive function” or “higher level thinking skills” and how does prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs impact this?
We hear from parents that one of the most frustrating symptoms is not being able to learn from their mistakes. Doing the same thing even though they have been told not to. Not learning from cause and effect. Is this common with kids who have been exposed to alcohol and drugs during gestation?
What are some practical tips for working with kids with prenatal exposure to help them thrive at home and at school?

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Question: Hello, I am a single parent by choice and a hopeful adoptive parent. I've been working with an agency and waiting to be matched for a domestic infant adoption since this summer, and I haven't had much luck. I'm starting to wonder if expectant parents think single parents are not a good choice for their baby. In my profile book, I emphasize my financial stability and support of a network of family and friends, but is that enough? In your experience, do single parents have a harder time being matched? What are the things I should consider as a single parent when trying to match with an expectant parent?

Resources:

Adopting as a Single Parent
Understanding the Birth Parent's Experience
Self-Care for Parents & Caregivers

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you considering adopting or fostering a child who was exposed prenatally to opioids or opioid-use treatment medication, such as Buprenorphine, methadone, and Suboxone? Are you a grandparent or aunt raising a child who was exposed? Join our discussion with Dr. Jennifer McAllister, the Medical Director of the NOWS Follow-Up Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Medical Director of the University of Cincinnati Newborn Nursery.

In this episode, we discuss:

Terminology: What is the difference between opiates and opioids?
What are the most common opioids being abused?
What are the common treatment medications/drugs given to those with opioid use disorder? What are the brand names for these medications?
How do these medications work?
Are substance-use medications safe to use during pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts on infants exposed to opioids?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to opioid-use medications in pregnancy? Do the impacts differ?
Does the dosage of opioid-use medications change the impact they have on the baby?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to fentanyl in pregnancy?
Is there a safer time for a fetus to be exposed to opioids or opioid-use medications in utero?
Is it true that if the child is not born experiencing signs of withdrawal or with drugs in their system, the prognosis is better? Or conversely, if the child is born dependent and has to go through withdrawals, they will suffer more impact from in-utero drug exposure?
How dangerous is drug dependency and withdrawal for the infant?
How are Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) treated in babies?
If a mom is taking opioid-use medications during her pregnancy, is it recommended that she breastfeed the infant to help with withdrawal?
How long does withdrawal in an infant born dependent last?
How do you foster attachment while the baby is experiencing withdrawal?
You often hear that “early intervention is key” and that a baby’s brain can be rewired during the first couple of years with the right treatments or therapy. What exactly does that therapy entail? What strategies should you be using at home with your child with a diagnosis of prenatal drug exposure?
When a child has drug exposure and trauma, is it possible to tell the difference in what is causing specific problems, and is the treatment different depending on the cause?
Are children who are exposed prenatally to any drug, but specifically to opioids, at a greater risk for substance abuse disorder as teens and adults if they were adopted and not raised in an environment that exposed them to drug use?
What are the most common blood-borne diseases that women who have IV drug use?
What is the risk to a baby whose mother has HIV or Hepatitis C?

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: Can you talk about how being transracially adopted effects how adoptee’s children were raised? Both of my parents were transracially adopted and I don’t feel like there’s anyone else who can share this unique experience and I just want to understand better.

Resources:

Generational Impacts of Adoption
Raising a Child Through Transracial Adoption (Resource page)
Suggested Books for Adults on Transracial Adoption

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do your kids fight? Does it drive you crazy. Join us to learn some helpful tips for handling sibling rivalry and fighting. Our guest is Dr. Laura Markham, a clinical psychologist and author of several books, including Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids and Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How To Stop the Fighting and Raise Friends for Life.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why do siblings squabble?
How is sibling rivalry and sibling fighting a good thing for our kids?
How to teach sharing?
What are the warning signs that a sibling fight has gone beyond a useful tool for developing those skills? When do we step in to stop sibling squabbles?
What’s an effective way for parents to step into these sibling fights?
How to handle rivalry based on one child thinking you favor the other?
What about verbal aggression, name-calling, etc?
A struggle common to kids impacted by trauma is a delay in emotional and social skill development. Identifying and managing internal discomfort can be challenging for our kids. Or all feelings are disproportionate to their situation (both bigger and smaller or shut down).
Can you speak to what helps kids develop these skills outside the moments of conflict?
What practical strategies can you offer to help parents cultivate satisfying, loving relationships between siblings?
Would you offer a word about self-care for parents raising kids who fight all the time?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting (The Peaceful Parent Series)

Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How to Stop the Fighting and Raise Friends for Life (The Peaceful Parent Series)

View Details

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Question: I wish I had known what to expect when a child with trauma hit the teen years. Maybe a book suggestion of what to expect or resources on what may show up and how to handle it. Puberty and the teen years have hit our family HARD. I also notice other families with adopted children going through the same or similar things. ~Rebecca from Kansas

Resources:

Therapy Resources for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Families
Center for Parent and Teen Communication
Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Why is kinship care important, and what are some of the challenges? Our guests are Gregory Jones, a granddad raising five grandkids from birth to now ranging in age from 9 to 12; Ana Beltran, an attorney, and director of the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center; and Erica Burgess, a social worker with over 25 years of experience in child welfare, specializing in kinship care.

In this episode, we discuss:

How common is kinship care throughout the US—both formal (child welfare involved) and informal?
Grandparents raising grandkids or aunts and uncles raising nephews and nieces is often complicated and comes with a mix of challenges and blessings.
What are some of the blessings?
What are some of the challenges?
Managing the relationship between the caregiver and the parents.
- What are some common challenges in this relationship?
- What are some common boundaries that need to be set in kinship care?
Lack of preparation and training for raising kids who have experienced trauma, neglect, prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs, etc.
Lack of financial support.
How can social workers and child welfare professionals make sure that kinship caregivers get the full extent of financial support?
Access to resources. What are some typical resources that kinship caregivers should ask about and that child welfare agencies should consider providing?
We see a significant variance between jurisdictions in social workers and child welfare professionals in the embrace of placing children with relatives.
- Why are some social workers hesitant to place kids with relatives?
- From an ethical perspective, why must social workers open their minds to looking for kin first when removing a child from their parents?
Placing children with kin rather than the state taking custody. (Hidden foster care/kinship diversion)
- Legal considerations
- Ethical considerations with the hidden foster.

Great resources:

Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center
Grandfacts: State Fact Sheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children
NCKinshipFamilies.org - Legal Permanency Options for NC Kinship Families website
Free Kinship Legal Clinic
Kinship Caregivers and the Child Welfare System
- https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f-kinshi/
Online Kinship Support Group - email tracy@creatingafamily.org

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I are in the process of growing our family through adoption. It would be a domestic infant adoption, and we are hoping to cultivate a long-term relationship with the future baby’s birth family. I noticed that whenever I feel hesitation when thinking about openness, I can bring myself back down to earth by recognizing that any hesitation results from making things about ME, not the baby or birth family.

The one question I can’t seem to navigate on my own is this...what do adopted children call their birth mothers? How do I, as a future adoptive mom, refer to the baby’s birth mom? I want to respect the baby and birth mom; any insight on how families handle this would be so helpful!

Resources:

What Does Your Child Call Her Birth Mother?
5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
Positive Adoption Language & Why It Matters

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are your child's birth parents struggling with addiction, mental illness, or intellectual disability? If so, join us for this discussion with Teresa Bradley, a psychotherapist with over 17 years of experience in addiction counseling and mental health. She is a Master Addiction Counselor, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, and clinical trainer at Amerigroup.

In this episode, we discuss:

Substance Abuse Disorders

What are some of the challenges that adoptive or foster parents might expect to see when a birth parent is struggling with a substance abuse disorder (SAD) and not able to raise this child?
- How are those issues different for relative caregivers, like grandparents raising grandchildren?
At what age should we start talking to the kids in our care about their parents’ challenges with substance abuse? How do we bring it up? How do we decide what to share and when?
How can parents address that emotional fallout and deal with their own expectations, triggers, or negative feelings about the birth parents’ SAD?
- For relative caregivers, especially grandparents raising grandchildren, adding layers of guilt, shame, and disappointment.
How might an open adoption relationship change across a birth parents’ journey through SAD? How should adoptive parents approach openness in their adoption when SAD is a known issue?
What do you suggest parents or relatives do to process their feelings?

Mental Health Challenges or Intellectual Disabilities

What are some of the specific challenges that adoptive or foster parents might expect when they are trying to support a child of parents with mental illness or intellectual difficulties?
How can parents explain a birth parent’s challenges to children? When? How?
What are some of the questions kids might have but cannot voice?
How do we address a child’s concern that they will “get” this mental illness without scaring the child?
Is this a good reason to limit contact with birth parents?
How might an adoptive or foster parent talk to children and youth about the birth parents’ ability to connect or maintain a relationship?
When a kinship caregiver has a pre-existing relationship with this birth parent, how do they talk about the challenges and how their relationship changes in light of their struggles?
What other issues do we need to consider to maintain a relationship with the birth parents while keeping the child safe and feeling cherished and supported?

Resources:

How Do You Manage Relationships with Birth Parents with Substance Use Disorders?
Open Adoption

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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I have been listening to your podcast and supporting your mission for several years. We adopted our daughter at birth through an open adoption. We began caring for her on day two; she is now 9 years old. She knows she is adopted and has seen photos of her biological parents. Her parents had problems with addiction and the law. We only tell her, “They were not able to care for you.” She has not yet asked questions about her biological parents, but she does opine about being an only child. We have not yet told her about her full biological brother, the full brother who died from neglect as an infant, her five half-sisters, her biological grandmother, or that her biological father died a few years ago, having “fallen” off a bridge. She will obviously know everything eventually, but we are concerned about when and how to tell her.

Resources:

How to Find an Adoption Competent Therapist - resource page
Talking About the Difficult Parts of Your Child's History - online course
Building the Framework for Adopted & Foster Children to Process the Hard Parts of Their Stories - article
Talking about the Difficult Parts of Your Adopted Child’s History - older podcast interview

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you considering adopting a sibling group? Join us for this interview with Deborah Bass Artis, MSW and Senior Program Director of Foster Care to Permanency with Children’s Home Society of NC.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why is it important to keep siblings together when placed for foster care or adoption?
Advantages to adopting siblings.
Special issues to consider
1. Thinking About Adopting a Sibling Group? Things to Consider First
2. Practical Tips for Fostering a Sibling Group
Integrating siblings with children already in the family
1. Involve children already in the family
2. Get your support network in place before you adopt
3. Suggested books for helping siblings understand adoption.
Parentified child
1. Tips for handling a parentified child.
  1. Parenting Tips for a Parentified Child
Overcoming unhealthy dynamics from their past
1. One child was the favorite in their previous family or families.
2. Sibling rivalry
When is it not a good idea to keep siblings together?
Consider your motivation carefully- be honest with yourself and your partner about your desire to adopt a sibling group.
Tips for parents adopting or fostering a sibling group
1. Educate yourself before opening your home to a sibling group- it always helps to have realistic expectations
2. Be patient with yourselves and the children- it’s a big adjustment for everyone.
3. Develop your support system ahead of time.
4. Take care of yourself. Spending time on things that are important to you is not selfish!
5. If married, ensure your marriage/partnership remains strong- it is the foundation of your family’s health.
6. If single, maintain your friendships. You need to have a life outside of your children.
7. Find individual time with each child in the family
8. Pay attention to each child’s interests and personality and create opportunities for those to grow. Don’t treat the sibling group as a unit.
9. Seek out professional support for the family when needed.

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I have a daughter who has dealt with trauma from consistent experiences of neglect and abandonment. While our home is loving and supportive, she continues to exhibit a victim mentality and has a hard time taking responsibility for her actions. She's a sweet girl, but she makes comments to others that insinuate she is not having her most basic needs met, which is simply not the case. How can we help her, and how should we be responding to her self-victimization?

Resources:

Creating a Family Online Facebook Support Group
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma
Self-Care for Foster Parents

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you really struggling with your adoption and feeling you've made a huge mistake? Listen to this interview with Lindsay Lanham, MSW. She works at Holt International and is the author of the online article “Predictors of Adoption Disruption and Dissolution: A Literature Review.”

In this episode, we cover:

Difference between an adoption disruption and adoption dissolution.
What causes an adoption to fail? What causes parents to say: “Help, I don’t think I can continue this adoption?”
Child-related factors:
- Child’s age
- Child’s behavior
  - Aggression or children who sexually act out
- Are sibling placements more stable?
Adoptive parent-related factors:
- Demographic characteristics? (age, marital status, parenting experience, income, race)
- Parental expectations
- Parenting style
- Relationship prior to the adoptive placement
- Characteristics of parents in successful adoptions
Adoption professional-related factors:
- Identify problems quickly and provide support
- How to address children who have experienced sexual abuse. “It is recommended that social workers universally prepare families for behaviors associated with sexual abuse trauma and the possible impact of sexual abuse. Adoptive families should have the language necessary to speak about child sexual abuse and know how to access supportive resources in their community, such as child advocacy centers, prior to placement.”
What should parents do when they realize that the adoption isn’t going as they had hoped/planned?
- Identify the problem quickly and get support.
- Reset expectations
- Self-care
- Get help
What should parents do if they are reaching the point where they want to dissolve an adoption?

Resource: Predictors of Adoption Disruption and Dissolution: A Literature Review

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: I've been an adoption social worker for almost seven years and just experienced my 2nd situation where the birth mother in a match had a stillbirth after selecting a family through our agency. Both situations were such a difficult loss for both parties. I'm curious if you've heard of others who experienced this unusually tragic type of loss during adoption. I'm not sure how common it is, especially given the rate of stillbirths is 1 in 175 births in the U.S. How can adoption professionals (on the adoptive parent AND birth parent side) best walk through such a situation with their clients?

Resources:

Creating a Family Online Support Group
How can you deal with your feelings of grief after a stillbirth? (March of Dimes)
Stillbirth: Surviving Emotionally (American Pregnancy Association)
Find a Local Chapter - The Compassionate Friends

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you thinking about adopting a baby? Are you worried about what risk factors exist that you should know about? Join us to talk about these issues with Dr. Lindsay Terrell, a pediatrician at Duke University Medical Center and an Assistant Professor in their Department of Pediatrics. And James Fletcher Thompson, a South Carolina attorney with extensive experience in adoption.

In this episode, we discuss:

Lack of prenatal care.
- What is covered in prenatal care and how might a lack of prenatal care impact a baby?
Prematurity
- What causes a premature birth?
Prenatal exposure
- Alcohol
  - What are some red flags that a mom might have abused alcohol during her pregnancy?
  - Does the degree of impact differ depending on when in the pregnancy alcohol was consumed?
  - What are the long- and short-term impacts of alcohol consumption on a child exposed prenatally?
  - Creating a Family’s Prenatal Substance Exposure Workshop for Parents
- Opioids
  - List of opioid drugs in increasing degree of strength
    - Codeine.
    - Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Hycodan)
    - Morphine (MS Contin, Kadian)
    - Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percoset)
    - Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
    - Heroin
    - Fentanyl (Duragesic)
    - Methadone, Suboxone
  - Does the degree of impact differ depending on when in the pregnancy the opioid was used?
  - Does the degree of long-term impact differ depending on whether the baby was born dependent or with a diagnosis of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)?
  - What are the long- and short-term impacts of opioid exposure on a child exposed prenatally?
- Cocaine
- Marijuana
- Methamphetamine
- Polysubstance abuse
- Creating a Family has extensive resources to help parent a child exposed to opioids prenatally.
Sexually Transmitted Infections
- What are the common STIs?
- What are the risks of each of them to the unborn child or newly born child?
Mental Health Issues
- What is the genetic connection for the following mental health disorders? How heritable are these mental illnesses?
  - Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias.
  - Mood disorders: Depression, bipolar disorder
  - Personality disorders (antisocial, borderline, narcissistic)
  - Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia
  - ADHD
Legal Risk Factors
- What are the most common legal risk factors when adopting an infant through private adoption?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I've been listening to your podcast for a few years! Our 10-year-old kinship adopted daughter has lived with us since she was 2 months old. For a variety of reasons, there hasn't been any in-person visits or phone calls with her birth mom (my sister). Communication has been limited to holiday/birthday cards and gifts. My sister has schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Because she has been stable on her medications and her behaviors are typically within a somewhat 'predictable' range, we're thinking it's time to begin an in-person relationship. We're planning on writing a letter to my sister to tell her our thoughts on all of this and establish some ground rules and boundaries. After she has some time to digest that letter, my wife and I plan to meet with her in person (without our daughter) to firm up plans, expectations, etc. My questions are:

What are some generally good boundaries to set up?
How can we help prepare my sister for potentially tough questions from our daughter? (My sister is in denial that anything is wrong with her.)
How can we prepare our daughter for all of this?
How can we do this in a way that doesn't feel like we're wagging our finger at my sister and being 'above her'?

Resources:

Working with Birth Parents for the Child's Best Interest (Resource page)
Evaluating Risk Factors in Adoption (Resource page)
Finding an Adoption-Competent Therapist (Resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How do some kids survive a life of poverty, homelessness, abuse, and foster care and eventually thrive? We talk about courage & resilience with David Ambroz who is a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate and the author of the memoir, A Place Called Home. He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. Currently serving as the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, Ambroz previously led Corporate Social Responsibility for Walt Disney Television, and has served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as well as a California Child Welfare Council member. After growing up homeless and then in foster care, he graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is a foster dad and lives in Los Angeles, CA.

In this episode, we discuss:

Poverty and Homelessness:
- His story.
- School
- What made a difference?
- What should adults who encounter or work with homeless children/youth know?
Foster Care:
- His story.
- Youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are overrepresented in foster care (Human Rights Campaign, 2015). While approximately 5 percent of the general population is estimated to be LGBTQ+, studies estimate that about 30 percent of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ+. Why are these young people over represented in child welfare? LGBTQ+ youth are 1.5 -2 times more likely to have a foster placement failure.
- What would you want foster parents to know?
What made the difference in your eventually succeeding? (Going to Vassar and UCLA Law School.)
The lack of available treatments for mental illness.
Why did you become a foster parent?
Why did you title the book “A Place Called Home?”

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: This was a question from someone in South Dakota. She says, "I haven't listened to all your back episodes, but can you address ICWA, the Indian Child Welfare Act, as it pertains to adoption? I live in a state where the majority of children in foster care are Native Americans, and ICWA, the Indian Child Welfare Act, is confusing and divisive. At the end of the day, I just want the children I care for to be safe. I understand the reason for the law, but I hate when the comments on an ICWA story about adoption accuse foster care providers of kidnapping.

Resources:

Indian Child Welfare Law Center - ICWLC.org
Child Welfare Information Gateway - Info on ICWA

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you considering adopting a baby? To understand what is involved legally, listen to this podcast with James Fletcher Thompson, a South Carolina attorney with extensive experience in adoption.

In this episode, we discuss:

What are some of the differences in domestic infant adoption?
1. Agency and independent (direct placement) adoptions.
2. Relative adoptions. (grandparents, aunt/uncles, step-parent).
3. Infants or young children adopted from foster care.
4. In-state and interstate adoptions.
5. Adoptions governed by the federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
Adoption is governed by state law
1. Do the adoptive parents have to comply with the laws of the state where the expectant parent resides, where the baby is born, or where they reside?
2. How do federal laws affect adoption?
3. How does the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children affect adoption?
What are some of the reasons parents make an adoption plan for their child?
Some of the legal issues in adoption from the birth parents' perspective.
1. Voluntary vs involuntary relinquishment or termination of parental rights
2. When can an expectant mother voluntarily relinquish her parental rights?
3. When can an expectant father voluntarily relinquish his parental rights?
4. Do the expectant parents have to have their own legal representations?
5. What if the expectant parent is a minor?
6. How long after they sign the papers do the birth parents have to change their mind?
7. Do they have to have a reason to change their mind?
8. What happens if the expectant mom cannot or will not identify the baby's father?
9. Is counseling important?
Some of the legal issues in adoption from the adoptive parents' perspective.
1. The home study/background check requirement.
2. Can work with an adoption agency or an adoption attorney.
3. What is the process if the agency/attorney finds the expectant parent who is considering placing her baby for adoption?
4. What is the process if the prospective adoptive parent finds the expectant parent?
5. Can adoptive parents “advertise” to find expectant mothers who are considering placing their baby for adoption?
6. What is a legal risk adoption?
7. What rights do the adoptive parents have before the expectant parents relinquish their rights?
8. What are some factors that affect the cost of adoption?
  1. In-state vs. interstate
  2. Expectant mother support
  3. Expectant father identification and cooperation.
  4. Indian Child Welfare Act
  5. Biological father in active military service
Pre-Birth/Pre-Placement Process
1. May be able to meet in person to get to know one another.
2. How much information is exchanged about both the expectant parents and adoptive parents? Medical history, finances, etc.
3. How can adoptive parents know if they are being given all the informatio

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Question: My husband and I have two adopted twin boys who are 8 months old, and we've had them since birth. We've been on the fence for years about a big move outside of the country, but we're currently leaning towards leaving. My husband and, by extension, our kids have dual nationality with the country we'd go to. Thankfully, I'm also allowed to tag along.

We currently live near a large family and support network from both sides of the family and would be mostly on our own except for a few distant relatives after the move. We are also close and in frequent contact with our sons' birth family, but they don't live near us so that relationship has always been planned to be a mostly long-distance relationship.

We would plan on setting aside funds just for visiting our family and our birth family every one or two years, but ultimately all our children's family relationships will become long-distance. We worry about the move exacerbating feelings of abandonment or isolation from all sides of their family as they'd not only be raised in another culture but another language and continent. We all come from similar cultural backgrounds, so we aren't too worried about being able to keep them in touch with their birth culture. But we want to be sensitive to their particular needs as to how this could affect them as adoptees.

Is there any research on how adoptees are affected by being adopted into larger vs smaller families? Or adoptees who move abroad or are adopted into immigrant families? Or is there some advice to be gleaned from families adopting internationally that would apply to our situation?

Our children are our highest priority, and we want to set them up for success whether or not we move.

Resources:

Open Adoption (Resource)
Self-Care for Parents & Caregivers (Resource)
Creating a Family Online Support Group (Facebook)

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Are you considering adopting a child over the age of 5? Join our discussion with Dr. Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero. She has a PhD in Social Work from Fordham University and is co-author of the book Adopting Older Children: A Practical Guide to Adopting and Parenting Children Over Age Four.

In this episode, we talk about:

The greatest need in both foster care adoption and international adoption is to adopt kids 5 and older.
Adolescents have a bad reputation in general in our society and those in foster care or international child welfare institutions have an even worse reputation.
These kids and youth may have challenging behaviors that will be hard to parent. (They also may not have challenging behaviors.)
- Why have they developed these behaviors? (grief and loss, trauma, mental health)
- What are some typical behaviors that are more difficult for parents?
Tips for creating trust and attachment with older children.
How to prevent these behaviors from influencing other kids in the family?
Special issues specific to older kids adopted internationally.
- Lack of ability to communicate.
- Cultural differences.
Safety concerns, especially if there are younger children in the family.
- Sexually acting out.
- Physical abuse.
Sibling relationships when adopting an older child.
Contact with bio family members and former foster parents
Trying to establish rules with teens/tweens who have had too much freedom.
Helping kids academically.
- Neuropsychological evaluations, IEPs,
Support for adoptive families

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My father-in-law was just diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a maximum of 6 months left to live. We learned this right before our home study for older child/foster care adoption was finalized. Do you have any advice for what we should do with our adoption process moving forward? I am worried if we match before my husband is done grieving, we could add additional trauma to the child, but there is no set timeline for grieving. How do we deal with our loss while helping a child get through their loss?

Resources:

Creating a Family Online Support Group (Facebook)
Transitioning a Child to Your Home (Resource Page)
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma (Resource Page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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

In this episode, we discuss:

What is Down syndrome?
How common is it?
What are the different types of Down syndrome? Is genetic testing routinely done when Down syndrome is suspected?
What are some of the common physical traits of a person with Down syndrome?
What are the common developmental disabilities caused by this disorder?
What are the common intellectual disabilities caused by this disorder?
Is there a way to know in advance how intellectually impacted a child may be?
Do the symptoms differ depending on the type of Down syndrome the child has?
What are the common mental health issues that people with this disorder may exhibit?
What are some ways to determine the degree of impact if you adopt a child past infancy?
Interventions that can help.
How do these kids fit within the school system? What is the school system required to do?
What are the common medical conditions that may accompany trisomy 21?
What is the life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome?
Is there a medical specialty that those considering adopting or fostering a child with Down syndrome should seek out?
What are some common mental health issues and behavioral issues that may be more common in people with Down syndrome?
How to find mental health and behavioral treatment for children and adults with Down syndrome?
How does trauma interact with Down syndrome?
Is attachment difficult for kids with Down syndrome who have experienced trauma?
Are people with Down syndrome able to live independently in adulthood?
What makes a difference in the prognosis for children with Down syndrome?
Why should people consider adopting or fostering a child with Down syndrome?

Resources:

National Down Syndrome Society (list of specialized centers)
Global Down Syndrome
Reece’s Rainbow
- National Down Syndrome Adoption Network
- Project Search
Understanding Down Syndrome
American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report: Health Supervision for Children With Down Syndrome

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My 4-year-old foster son moved in 9 months ago. He will likely remain with me permanently, and the application is in progress. I was his 5th foster home when he moved in. There was neglect at his birth parents and abuse in a previous foster home. Last weekend he was being babysat by my sister and brother-in-law. They went to the basement to show him a toy, and he saw a large dog cage they were planning to sell online. He was immediately triggered, ran upstairs, hid under the pillows in a bed, and it took 10 minutes to feel safe. He was obviously placed in a dog cage at some point. How do I support him, talk to him about what happened, and make him feel safe? How should I support him and help him calm his nervous system if he is triggered again?

Resources:

A Conversation with Dr. Bruce Perry About Trauma
6 Crucial Things Every Adoptive Parent Must Do
Using Scripts to Build Trust with Foster & Adopted Kids
Suggested Book List - Kids Who Have Experienced Trauma

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Join our panel of four former foster youth to learn what they wished foster parents and others knew about being in foster care.

In this episode, we discuss:

Tell us the story of your involvement with foster care and the child welfare system.
What was something that your foster parent(s) did that helped you cope?
What did your foster parents do that made things harder for you?
What are some of the myths that you hear about kids in foster care?
If listeners are considering becoming foster parents, what should they consider to help them decide if they are the right fit to be foster parents?

Resources:

The Faces of Foster Care Volume 1, 2, and 3

Resources - Dave Armstrong

Why Me My Fight For Life (Book)
From Gangs To Greece (Book)
www.SenseiDave.com (Speaking page)
www.upna.net (Coaching/Mentoring)

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: First, I wanted to thank you for your incredible podcast. I’m not a parent (I only recently graduated from college), but I have volunteered in group homes for foster care children for the past couple of years. Your podcast has not only helped me to work more effectively with the kids I see but has also given me insight into what I want to do in my career. I hope to research and work with families involved with the foster care system in the future, and your podcast has allowed me to learn from so many interesting and diverse perspectives. My question is: how do you balance giving children who have experienced trauma both a sense of control and structure? From the kids I’ve worked with, I’ve noticed that many of them tend to act out the most when they feel like they don’t have control. This makes sense to me, as I imagine almost all kids in foster care have had a severe lack of control in their lives. However, I’ve also heard that kids who have experienced trauma benefit from having a strict structure in their lives. These two ideas seem somewhat antithetical to each other, but both seem important. How do you recommend parents and practitioners give children both a sense of control over their lives and provide them with structure so they have a sense of safety? Thank you again for your wonderful podcast, it truly has made such a difference in how I think about the foster care system. I look forward to listening to your podcast every week.

Resources:

Free E-Guide: Parenting a Child Exposed to Trauma
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma
Parenting Kids with Challenging Behavior
Raising Foster Children

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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

In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2024 federal taxes?
What is a “credit,” and how does it differ from a deduction or tax savings?
How would you use the Adoption Tax Credit if you get a tax refund every year?
Should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes if you don't have any federal tax liability?
What types of adoptions are included or excluded?
Are kinship adoptions covered? Are kinship guardianship arrangements covered? What if the child never was involved with the foster care system?
Can you get credit for each adoption you complete even if completed in the same year? What about adopting siblings at the same time?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit 2024?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
Special Needs Adoption:
- How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care? What does the IRS accept as proof of “special needs”?
- What is a $0 subsidy agreement?
- Special needs child for international adoption
Can you reclaim your expenses for an attempted adoption that did not result in a placement (failed adoption)? How?
What income level (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is excluded?
How long can the credit be carried over?
What if you didn’t claim the Adoption Tax Credit when eligible? Is the Adoption Tax Credit something you can amend your tax return for, and if so, how do you amend it, and how many years back?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax?
How does the Secure Act impact claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2024 taxes?
What should you do if the child’s Social Security Number is unavailable when you file? Should you use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN #) if you don’t have the child’s social security number?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employee adoption benefits? For special needs adoption?
If you adopt, can you still get the Child Tax Credit?
What do you need to get the Child Tax Credit for your adopted child?
Do you need to send any documentation to the IRS when you file your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
How do you find a tax specialist knowledgeable about Adoption Tax Credit?
The Adoption Tax Credit used to be a refundable credit. Do you think the new administration will impact the refundability legislation?
Advocate for refundability

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Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I adopted our now seven-year-old son from South Africa two years ago. He is the best. We cannot believe how lucky we are to have this joyful little boy in our family, and we owe much of our success to what we've learned from your show and resources, so thank you. Although our son feels pretty easy compared to some of the challenges we hear about, he still requires a lot. A lot of time, patience, energy, school appointments, doctor's appointments, therapy appointments, etc. In any case, we are now considering whether to embark on a second adoption of an older child three to six years old from South Africa. While I see a lot of resources for preparing siblings and managing birth order disruptions, which is not the case for us, we are wondering what parents of adopted kids should consider when deciding whether to adopt another child. For example, is it better for our son to have all of the resources, meaning time, patience, energy, et cetera, and stability we can provide an only child given his needs and the fact that he was adopted later? Should we expect more of the same with a second child or are there different challenges to raising new siblings who both have trauma? What should we be aware of or thinking about when making this decision?

Resources:

Sibling Relationships
Parenting Adopted Children
Self-Care for Parents and Caregivers

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you considering adopting a child this year? We've got answers to all (or most) of your questions. Join our discussion with Teresa Bernu, the Executive Director at Adoption Center of Illinois. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked extensively in the areas of domestic infant adoption, foster care, and guardianship. We will also talk with Steve Valdez, the Chief Operating Officer at Hand in Hand International Adoptions. He holds a Master of Divinity and an M.A. in Psychology. He’s an adopted dad of 5 kids through foster care adoption.

**In this episode, we discuss:

Domestic infant private adoption in the US**

What is the process?
What are the reasons that pregnant moms are placing their children for adoption?
Matching-Expectant parent choice
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
Open adoption
Special needs of children available
How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
How do failed matches when an expectant mom decides to parent rather than go through with an adoption plan impact the cost of domestic adoption?
Adoption agency and adoption attorney
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting a baby?

Adoptions from foster care in the US

What is the process?
Adopting your foster child
Adopting a waiting child
What are the reasons that children come into foster care in the US?
What age and race of child is available for adoption from foster care?
Special needs? Trauma, prenatal substance exposure
How long does it take?
How much does it cost?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting from foster care?

International adoptions to the US

What is the process?
What types of special needs do children available for adoption from abroad have?
How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting internationally?

Additional resources:

Adoptions in the US: How Many? How Much? How Long?
Choosing an Adoption Agency or Attorney

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I are licensed to foster/adopt, but there have been no placements yet. We initially thought our age preference was 2-6 year olds, but as we have gotten more information/education we think we may be a good home for teenagers. We have no children (adopted/fostered/biological) between us but this also means we have no one else in the home at this time. We are still interested in fostering (and adopting should the opportunity arise) younger children as well at some point. My question is would it be "better" for us to start with teens and move to younger children after the teens have left our home (for college, work, general adulthood independence) or would we be better prepared for teens after having younger children first?

Resources:

Becoming a Foster Parent
Foster Care Adoption
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Home

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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

In this episode, we cover:

Tell us your adoption story.
What role did adoption play, if any, in your childhood?
Feelings of needing to be perfect.
Fantasizing about birth family.
When did you begin to search for your birth parents?
Was searching for your birth family something you knew you would do from a young age?
After considerable effort, you located your birth mother. At first, she said she did not want contact. How did that leave you feeling?
After you had phone calls and met, you didn’t want to tell her much about your adoptive parents.
How did your mom (your adoptive mom) react to your search and when you found your birth mother?
How do you wish she had reacted?
What happened with your search for your birth father?
Did you feel the same sense of shame, embarrassment, and rejection?
Your birth mom’s reticence to help you find your birth father and your continued search caused a rift in your relationship. How is the relationship now?
The tension between the birth parents’ right to privacy vs. the adoptee’s right to know.
Your experience with online adoptee forums.
The primal wound.
Importance of adoptee support groups.

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: How do you speak to family members about open adoption? My entire family supports my intention to adopt as a single parent and has been very excited and generous as I have been working towards becoming a parent. My siblings were both adopted and there is a history of adoption in my family, mostly closed adoptions like my brother and sister. I would say my parents were ahead of their time in how they spoke openly about adoption and really worked hard to make us all feel loved and special. They shared with my siblings as much information about their birth parents as they had and supported my sister even to seek out a connection with her birth mother. However, despite all of this my parents seem to question open adoption. Do you have any tips for educating parents and family members about open adoption?

Resources:

Adoptee Voices (Resource page)
Interview with Pioneer Researchers in Open Adoption (Podcast)
Open Adoption (Resource page)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

We talk today with Sarah Naish, the CEO of the Center of Excellence in Child Trauma and founder of the National Association of Therapeutic Parents. She is the author of The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting and The A-Z of Survival Strategies for Therapeutic Parents. She is the adoptive mom to a sibling group of 5 who are now adults and she has fostered over 40 kids.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why are some kids harder to parent and why especially are kids who have experienced trauma, including prenatal trauma, often harder to parent?
Understanding the cause of the behavior is the root of parenting harder to parent kids.
Establish the basics to make their lives predictable so they can feel safe and grow and heal. The elements for establishing this base:
- Routines
- Establish yourself as a safe base-empathetic and nurturing but in control
  - Respond to the child, not to the child’s demand
Be honest about their story, contact, etc. – be factual, but don’t fill in the gaps
Establish strong, clear boundaries- what to do when these boundaries are crossed?
Use natural or life consequences
- Our kids may not recognize cause and effect.
  - Early trauma, including prenatal exposure, can hinder a child’s ability to recognize cause and effect
  - Our kids may be developmentally younger than their chronological years which also impacts understanding.
- Natural consequences help children recognize that they can make an impact on the world-helps them make sense of the world
- Combine natural consequences with nurturance.
How to handle incidents when they happen. PARENTS model.
- Pause-to allow you to respond with intention not emotion.
- Assess-is anyone in danger or serious damage.
- Reflection-quick reflection to identify the trigger.
- Empathize rather than ask questions
  - use empathetic commentary-
  - respond to their feelings rather than the behavior.
- Nurture-examples of nurturing in the heat of the moment.
- Think about next action to take.
  - What strategies might I use to resolve this? Do you need to do anything else?
  - How can we avoid this situation in the future?
- Self-care
Other parenting strategies for harder to parent kids. Other tools for your toolkit.
- Identify your triggers.
- Set realistic expectations.
- Use silliness or playfulness.
- Remove the audience.
- Help kids show they are sorry rather than demand they say they are sorry.
- The phone strategy.
- Watch what the child is doing rather than what she is saying.
- Payback time.
- Admit it when you made a mistake.

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Question: How can I support siblings who have been separated by foster care or adoption? How can I help them build long-term secure attachments?

Resources:

Sibling Relationships (Resource page)
Working as Part of the Foster Care Team (Resource page)
Creating a Family Online Facebook Group

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Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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

In this episode, we cover:

What type of abuse is considered “sexual abuse”?
Parents often don’t know before fostering or adopting or taking in their grandchild that the child has experienced sexual abuse. What behaviors might indicate that a child has been abused sexually?
What kids are at greatest risk for being sexually abused?
Brief refresher on typical psycho-sexual development in children without abuse and how sexual abuse can alter this.
How does the impact of the abuse differ on the child depending on their relationship to the abuser?
Children can and do heal from sexual abuse.
What are the long-term impacts of having been sexually abused?
Not all kids who were sexually abused become sexual abusers. Is there research on this? How common is this?
Guilt because they may have enjoyed part of the experience—physically or the attention.
The presence of a supportive adult who believes the child can make a difference in how a child recovers.
How should a parent respond if a child discloses sexual abuse?
How can parents help children heal from sexual abuse?
What protective factors in children or families make recovery more likely?
What are some practical tools and talking points to assist a child in the re-learning of healthy boundaries and expressions of healthy affection?
How to find a therapist to help a child heal from sexual abuse?
What safeguards should a family have in place when accepting placement of a child who may have been sexually abused? How to protect other children in the home?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: For someone who is looking to become a foster parent should they go with a public or a private foster care agency? Which is best?

Resources:

Choosing a Foster Care Agency
Becoming a Foster Parent
Working as a Part of the Foster Care Team

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you struggle with getting your child to sleep? Join our conversation with Macall Gordon and Kim West, co-authors of the book, Why Won’t You Sleep?!: A Game-Changing Approach for Exhausted Parents of Nonstop, Super Alert, Big Feeling Kids.

In this episode, we cover:This is not a newborn sleep training book. This is for those exhausted parents of kids from about age 1-6 who have tried it all and their child still won’t fall asleep easily or put themselves back to sleep when they awake in the night.

Why are some kids just harder to get to sleep or harder to keep asleep?
Why is sleep so hard for some kids?
How does trauma impact a child’s ability to fall and stay asleep?
What are the biggest sleep issues for these kids and what can we do about them?
- Overtiredness
- Problems with the lead-up to lights out (transitions and routine)
- Parent is a required part of the go-to-sleep and back-to-sleep pattern
- Past inconsistency (trying a method then stopping too soon or only partly trying)
Parents worry that if they don’t immediately respond to their child’s cry, they will damage the attachment or that their child will feel unloved.
Thoughts on co-sleeping or the family bed.
Thoughts on books on tape or video?
AD has been with us since she was 1, is now almost 7. She's always required us to be with her to fall asleep, occasionally waking in the night. Now for about 2 months she basically needs my husband or I to sleep in her room. If we aren't there, she wakes multiple times, crying for us.
She says she's afraid of bad dreams and bad thoughts inside her head, so no lights, monster spray, soothing music, etc. have helped. There is no event we can recall that started this, the only thing that fits time-wise is an age-appropriate storybook we read about adoption, with a happy ending.
We are happy to give her the connection she needs but we are also tired... Any ideas on how to help?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I'm interested in adopting an older teenager (16 or 17). An agency worker shared that many older teens don't want to be adopted, and just want to age out of foster care. Is this true, and if so, is adopting an older teen a reasonable goal?

Resources:

Foster Care Adoption (Resource page)
Adoptee & Former Foster Youth Voices
Foster Care (Suggested Books)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us for this interview with former NFL Running Back and Super Bowl Champion Ricky Watters. He is an adoptee, an adoptive dad, and author of a new children's book on adoption, A Gift Called Shane.

In this episode, we discuss:

How old were you when you learned you were adopted and how did you find out?
When you discovered you were adopted, you mentioned in your NFL movie that it put a big chip on your shoulder. How has that chip served you well as an adoptive dad?
How has it been a detriment?
Why did you decide to adopt?
Why did you decide to adopt internationally?
Did your experience with finding out late that you were adopted affect the way you discussed adoption with your son?
Do you see any signs of a similar “chip” in your son that you had when you found out you were adopted? How do you help him navigate it for his own success?
How did you prepare your biological son for the adoption of his brother?
How do you support your adopted son in his questions about identity, birth family, etc.?
Are you in reunion with your biological family?
How has your adoptive family handled your reunion with your birth family?
How excited were you for fellow hometown boy Shady McCoy to get into the Eagles Hall of Fame?
What was your experience with playing at Notre Dame?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband Sean and I are here in Canada and early in the adoption process. We are looking at private infant adoption through an adoption agency. My question is around getting ready. When we successfully match it is almost a certainty it will be with a newborn and there’s a 30% chance it’s a no-notice match and we have days rather than months to get ready. How would you recommend preparing? Do you think getting a crib, clothes, etc. is overkill? I’m a planner, so I love to be prepared! Thanks!

Resources:

Suggested Books for Adoption
Creating a Family Online Support Group
Transitioning a Child to Your Home

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the benefits to kids from having positive childhood experiences?
You have identified four building blocks for positive childhood experiences. What are they and give us specific examples of what parents and caregivers can do in each block to promote these experiences?
How do these positive childhood experiences differ by age of the child?
Can positive childhood experiences mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences?
How can we help our kids be more resilient?
Are all stress and negative experiences in childhood bad for our kids?
Are there particular ages where kids are more receptive to the healing impact of positive childhood experiences?
Our audience includes foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. While adoptive parents have a lifetime with the kids (and kinship caregivers may also have the same), foster parents are usually a temporary landing place for a child while their parents work on getting them back. How much impact can you have if you only have the child for a few months or a year?

Resources:

HOPE National Resource Center

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I were foster parents in the US, and have since relocated to Denmark for his work. We both still feel called to adopt from foster care, and would like to do that from the US. We know that the US and Denmark are both members of the Hague Convention, and can adopt from each other. You have great resources about international adoption, but usually from the perspective of a person in the US adopting from a foreign country. I'm wondering if you would consider doing a podcast episode on the process of a US citizen habitually resident in a foreign country adopting from US foster care.

Resources:

Foster Care Adoption
Choosing a Foster Care Agency
The Creating a Family 3-Step Process for Choosing an International Adoption Agency

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you planning to adopt or have you recently adopted? If so, you need to listen to this discussion about what to expect during the first few weeks or months you are home! Our guests are Michelle Kennedy and Deborah Artis. Michelle Kennedy has been a social worker with Methodist Home for Children for 27 years. She has direct care experience in residential and foster care services and has been working with youth and families in the foster-to-adopt process since 2005. Deborah Artis is a social worker and the Senior Program Director of foster care, adoption, and post-adoption with Children’s Home Society, where she has worked for 30 years.

In this episode, we cover:Adopting a Newborn

What are some common emotions when adopting a newborn?
What are some common stresses when adopting a newborn?
How may the revocation period affect the transition to new adoptive parenting?
Expectations of extended family during this transition period.
How do the stresses of newly adopted families differ from a family that gives birth to their child?
How does the pre-adoption process affect this transition to new parenthood?
What are some feelings that come up about birth parents after the baby comes home?
Handling grief of the birth family.
Realities of open adoptions.
Feeling like the presence of a birth mom makes the adoptive mom less of a “real” mom.
The balance of power shifting from the expectant/birth mom to the adoptive mom.
How much of your child’s “story” should you share?
How can infertility struggles impact the transition period?

Adopting a Child Past Infancy

What are some common emotions when adopting a child from foster care or through international adoption?
What are some common stresses when adopting a child past infancy?
Integrating the new child into a family with other kids.
How to help your child and you settle into becoming a new family.

Post Adoption Depression

What is post-adoption depression?
What are the symptoms?
Blocked care.
How can post-adoption depression impact parenting?
How common is post-adoption depression?
Can fathers also have post-adoption depression?
Who is at risk for post-adoption depression? Are there ways to predict which people are more prone to post-adoption depression?
What are some steps to take to prevent post-adoption depression?
What should you do if you think you are suffering from post-adoption depression?

Additional Resources:

4 Tried and True Tips for a Smooth Transition Home with Adopted Kids
Transitioning Home with Your Newly Adopted Baby

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I adopted our nephews four months ago. The two boys are sons of my niece; she gave her kids to the Family Department five years ago, and last year, we at last knew about the boys. They've been a year with us. I have a daughter, 21, and a son, 17, who were okay with the adoption, but now they say they feel this is not their home; they don’t feel at peace in their house and think It was not a good idea to adopt, because of the hard situations with the kids. How can we affirm to our biological children that we did the correct thing to give the kids a family and that there is a process we must go through as a family to adapt?

Resources:

Sibling Relationships
- Handling Negative Impacts of Adoption on Children Already in the Home
- Preparing Children Already in the Home for Adoption
- How Does Adoption Affect Siblings Already in the Home

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

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

In this episode, we cover:

Is it common to see behavioral changes for the worse during the holiday season?
What are some of the behaviors you might see that allow our kids to drive us crazy?
What are some of the stressors that we may not recognize that cause these behaviors?
- New things
- New people
- Change in routines
- Parental distraction
- Past history with holidays
- Too much of everything-sensory overload
Practical ideas of how can we make the holidays smoother for our kids and for you
Ideas on how to get our family onboard for making these changes to our holidays to make it easier for our kids?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I see that you have information regarding prenatal substance exposure. Is there information regarding biological mothers that hate their pregnancy or their baby, but carry it to full term and put it up for adoption? Are there resources that would address the emotional impact on the baby?

Resources:

Understanding the Birth Mom/Parent's Experience
Talking with Kids About Adoption
Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Do you wonder if your child was prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs? There may be nothing in the files, but something feels not right? We talk about diagnosing and treating these kids with Dr. Larry Burd, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and the Director of the North Dakota Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center.

In this episode, we cover:

Most of our audience is foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and professionals. Often they don’t know for sure if a child has been exposed. The US government estimates that about 10% of all children in the US have been prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs. Do you have a feel for the percentage of children in foster care or who have been involved with the child welfare system? International adoption? Domestic infant adoption?
Does prenatal exposure increase the likelihood of a disruption to a foster or adoptive placement?
How is prenatal exposure to alcohol detected or diagnosed?
What type of training do pediatricians receive during their education or residency on prenatal exposure and on how to diagnose?
Can you tell at birth or in infancy if a baby has been exposed to alcohol in utero?
How is prenatal exposure to drugs detected or diagnosed?
How does birth order change the likelihood that a child who is at risk has been exposed during pregnancy?
What are the long-term impacts of alcohol exposure? What are the symptoms that are most noticeable to parents, teachers, and other professionals working with these children?
Alcohol exposure affects multiple systems in the body.
Does it matter what type of alcohol was consumed?
Who can diagnose a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?
What are the long-term impacts of the following drugs?
- Opioids
- Heroin and Fentanyl
- Depressants (benzodiazepines, such as Valium, Xanax)-Prescribed and unprescribed
- Stimulants-Prescribed and unprescribed
- Methamphetamines
- Marijuana
- Tobacco/Nicotine
Do pediatricians have a body of resources to offer parents regarding raising a child with prenatal exposure?
Tips for parents.

Tronick's Still Face Experiment

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: I will ultimately decide on whether to try induced lactation to breastfeed an adopted baby on other factors, but I would like to make my decision with my eyes wide open. I like my breasts as they are, but I have been told all my life that pregnancy and breastfeeding change the breasts (making the breasts saggy and the nipples larger). Do adoptive parents who induce lactation suffer from similar issues? I have also heard of mothers who enter a depressive state during breastfeeding. Can you outline any other negative side effects of induced lactation?

Resources:

Breastfeeding the Adopted Child
Creating and Cultivating Attachment with Your Adopted Child
Post Adoption Depression

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Should you adopt a child of a different race? What things should you consider? Join our conversation with Dr. Gina Samuels, an adult transracial adoptee and a Professor at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago. She is also the Faculty Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture. Her scholarly interests include transracial adoption and mixed-race and multiethnic identity formation. We are honored to have Dr. Samuels as the Chair of the Creating a Family Board.

In this episode, we cover:

If you are a White parent, are there different issues you need to consider depending on the race of the child you adopt?
Some families prefer to adopt a bi-racial child rather than a child who is all Black or all Latinx. What are the issues to consider?
Is there a difference between transracial and transcultural adoption?
What does it take to raise a child to have a healthy self and racial identity? How do they differ?
Unconscious overlap between self and racial identity for White people.
What are some of the issues parents should think about to determine if they are a family that should adopt across racial or ethnic lines?
What should parents be prepared to do in order to help their children develop a healthy sense of self?
Adoption is a family affair, so how should prospective adoptive parents prepare their extended family members for the adoption of a child of a different race or culture?
How do you protect your child from family members who may not approve or are racist?
What to do if you have someone in your family that you fear will not be accepting or will not treat your child fairly or is a racist?
How do you find role models that racially mirror your child?
Politic of transracial adoption in minority communities.
What does the research show on how transracially adopted children are doing?
What issues may come up with open adoption when adopting across racial lines?
Preparation for transracial adoption goes beyond hair care; hair and skin care are important. What should parents know?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I are nearing finalization of our five-month-old adopted son. We don't currently have any other children. Throughout our time in the adoption process, I have spent time learning about adoption trauma and the complexities of adoption. I want to be well-informed as our son grows up and aware of the difficulties he may face. However, my question is, are there stories of adoptees, especially males, who have experienced emotional health and emotional success in life? I have heard many stories, both about and from, adoptees who have challenges with identity, maladaptive behavior, and experiences with other trauma, which make them at risk for suicide, addiction and depression. Are there any adoptive parents out there who are doing it right, whose adopted kids grow up to be well-adjusted adoptees, emotionally healthy adults who can form good relationships? Is our child doomed for a future of emotional trauma and struggle? I would love to hear their stories and learn from them as well.

Resources:

Adoptee Voices
Parenting Adopted Children
Talking with Kids About Adoption

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Does your child struggle with planning/organizing, time management, and impulse control? Join us for our interview with Dr. Joyce Cooper-Kahn, a clinical child psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD, executive functioning challenges, and other learning disabilities. She is the author of Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning.

In this episode, we cover:

What is executive functioning?
Example of executive functioning skills?
What is it like for kids, youth, and adults who struggle with executive functioning?
What is the experience of families with a child/youth with executive functioning difficulties?
Why do some kids struggle with executive functioning? What other disabilities often occur with this deficit?
At what age do we usually expect executive functioning skills to start developing?
Who can diagnose an executive functioning disability, and why is it important to get a diagnosis?
What can parents do to help kids improve their executive functioning skills or learn to live without them?
- Use real life to teach
- Teach rather than punish
- Collaborate with the child or youth
- Behavior modification
- Adjust expectations
When should you allow your child to experience natural consequences for behavior?
Practical tools for helping kids plan and organize.
Practical tools for helping kids shift gears or handle transitions.
Practical tools for helping kids with working memory challenges.
Practical tools for helping kids control impulses.

Additional resources:
Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning

Boosting Executive Skills in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Weekly articles/blog posts
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Question: My niece has been living with her paternal grandparents for two years. She is now four and they have decided that it is getting too hard for them. We’ve agreed to take her in. She knows us, but we haven’t spent much time with her. What’s the best way to move her to our home that will cause the least psychological damage to her. She is very attached to her grandparents.

Resources:

Kinship Parenting Resources
Transitioning a Child to Your Home
Creating and Cultivating Attachment

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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View Details

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Join us to talk about how kids understand adoption and how best to talk with them about adoption. Our guest is Camillia Whitehead, is a MSW and a licensed clinical social worker, and the Founder of Wise Care Consulting, LLC.

In this episode, we cover:

How does a child’s understanding of adoption differ by age?
- Toddlers & Preschoolers
- School Age
- Tweens/Teens
- Young Adults
How does openness or lack of openness impact a child’s understanding of adoption?
How does transracial adoption impact a child’s understanding of adoption?
How to talk about adoption at different ages?
- What are the important points you want to make sure your child understands at each stage?
What are some common questions children ask at different developmental stages?
- Why didn’t my birth parents parent me?
- Can I go back to my birth parents?
- Do my birth parents think about me?
- Did my birth parents love me?
- Who do I look like?
- Why did they parent my sibling?
- How am I like my birth parents, and how am I different.”
Why not wait for your child to ask questions and then talk with them?
What if your child shows little or no interest in their adoption story?
What to say when you know very little about the birth parents?
How can you talk about adoption and the role of the birth father with young children who do not understand the concept of sex?
How to handle the “You’re not my real mom or dad” statement?
How to handle hard birth parent stories?
What to do when your cultural or ethnic background is strongly prejudiced against adoption?
- Don’t outright lie.
- Think through carefully what you are afraid of by telling the child.
  - That the child will be rejected by extended family?
  - That you will be judged or rejected by extended family?
  - That the child will share the information to others in your community?
- Accept that the odds are extremely high that the child is going to find out from over-the-counter DNA testing or someone in the family will tell or from 8th grade biology assignment.
- Accept that at some point the failure to tell is the same as lying. When adult adoptees who were not told by their parents were interviewed later in life they almost universally say that it was the lie that hurt the most and did the most damage to their relationship with their parents.
- Start laying the groundwork at an early age.
  - Families are formed in different ways.
  - All types of families are good.
  - We had trouble having kids and we were so happy when you arrived.
  - Try to establish connections with other adoptive parents
  - Point out adoptive families when you see them in real life or TV or movies
- Review your reasons for not wanting to tell and decide on an age that you will tell.
- Explain their adoption story.

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

View Details

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Question: Do you have any suggestions for articles or posts on telling a sibling that their new baby sibling is third-party conceived (e.g. donor egg)? We haven't told our 5-year-old son that we are pregnant yet, and I'm wondering if it is appropriate to tell him we used donor eggs at the same time we drop the big news that he will be a big brother. He will already have questions about conception. Too much info all at once?

Suggested Books on Adoption
- Books for Children Conceived Through Embryo Donation
More information on Embryo Donation/Embryo Adoption

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Teens and sex are a scary topic for lots of parents. How can we impact our kids' decisions and what do we say? Join our conversation today with Dr. Debby Herbenick, a Provost Professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, where she leads the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior. She is the author of Yes Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know About Today’s Teens and Sex.

In this episode, we cover:

What do you believe a parent's role should be in sex education?
How do you become an askable parent?
How to talk with our kids about sex without sounding overly judgmental but also convey your values.
5 minutes a week conversations.
The importance of having high-quality books on puberty and sexuality around the house.
When to start talking about sex with kids?
How to talk with young people about consent
Impact of technology (internet, social media, ubiquitous cell phones, etc.) on sexual development.
What are reasonable parental rules surrounding technology usage?
Taking and sharing sexual images--how common?
- How should parents even start talking with their child about nude images?
- At what age should we start this conversation
- How to share the downside
Pornography or sexually explicit media
- How common do kids access porn, and at what ages?
- Is viewing porn bad for kids?
- At what age should parents start talking with kids about pornography?
- What should parents say about porn?
- How to keep our kids from viewing porn?
- How to respond if we catch our kid watching porn or know that they have viewed it?
Having these discussions when we haven’t had a lifetime of raising this child?

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Question: We are seriously considering becoming foster parents. We have 2 children by birth, and I am really worried about how this will affect them and what I can do to prevent some of the negative effects.

Resources:

The Impact of Fostering and Adoption on Kids Already in the Family (Resource)
Talking with your Resident Kids about Foster Care or Kinship Care (Resource)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you often bewildered by your child's behavior? Check out this interview with Dafna Lender, a LCSW and a certified trainer and supervisor/consultant in both Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. She is also an EMDR therapist. She is the author of “Theraplay® – The Practitioner’s Guide” and “Integrative Attachment Family Therapy: A Clinical Guide to Heal and Strengthen the Parent-Child Relationship.”

In this episode, we cover:Impact of Trauma

What is trauma?
Trauma vs PTSD vs. Development Trauma Disorder
Neglect
How does trauma impact the brain?
How does this impact affect the child?
Does the age of the child, when they experienced trauma, or the type of trauma affect the degree to which the child will be impacted?
Impact of preverbal trauma- before the child has language and memory.
If a child is able to leave the abusive situation, can it lower the impact of trauma or PTSD?
Attachment trauma.

How to Best Parent a Child Who Has Experienced Trauma

What is a typical behavior for a child who has experienced trauma?
Internal working model formed with earliest caregivers that forms a template for future relationships with caregivers.
The children often “reject you before you can reject them.”
Importance of awareness of one’s own vulnerabilities and insecurities that may be triggered by caring for children with a history of trauma.
How to help our kids heal and attach? Tips and Techniques.

How to Discipline a Child Who Has Experienced Trauma

See behavior as developmental, not moral.
Don’t spin into the future by predicting the worst. Deal with your fears.
Recognize that ultimately, you can’t control your child. Understand what you can control, and you can only control yourself.
Provide a balance of structure and nurture.
Time-out?

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I wanted to bring up something about your article on the risks for an expectant mom changing her mind. You have a point that says any placement before five months into the pregnancy is a risk. We recently had a match with a woman who was only four months along. We asked about this, and our agency tells us that there is no correlation between the time of the match and disruption. What is the truth?

Resources:

Understanding the Birth Parent's Experience (Resource)
Evaluating Risk Factors in Adoption (Resource)
Choosing an Adoption Agency (Resource)

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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One of the hardest parts of being a kinship caregiver is navigating the relationship with the child’s birth parent. We talk with Dr. Joseph Crumbley, a social worker, family therapist, and author of “An Overview of Kinship Care.”

In this episode, we cover:

Creating a Family listening sessions with kinship caregivers in rural counties.
What are some of the complicating factors in the relationship between kinship caregivers and the child’s parents?
Grandparents and other caregivers sometimes feel that the child’s parents will threaten them with taking the child away if they do something that the parent disapproves of.
How to not enable the child’s parent but still have a relationship.
How to set healthy boundaries for the caregiver’s and child’s best interest when you have years of experience not setting healthy boundaries?
How to handle others in the family who interfere with the boundaries you’ve established?
I don’t know if this is a question, but I really struggle with getting my kids opportunities to see their mom and siblings. All other siblings have been reunited, and I gather it’s painful for their mom to see the two that were adopted by us (she surrendered her rights). Although we live relatively close to them, we have only managed 2-3 visits a year, mostly because of long periods of no responses to my texts or last-minute cancellations of planned visits. Sometimes our adopted kids can’t even remember their siblings’ names and it just breaks my heart. I’d love for them to have a closer relationship, but I have only limited control.
How to handle the anger, shame, guilt you feel at the child’s parents?
How to support co-parenting when the child’s parent is still not in a healthy place?
How to support reunification?

For more information please refer to www.drcrumbley.com.

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Question: Can I use my home study for a different type of adoption?

This question arises in the following types of situations. Someone is applying to adopt an infant domestically and gets a home study from a domestic adoption agency. They then decide that they want to adopt from foster care and ask if they can use their domestic home study for foster care adoption. Or, they have applied to adopt internationally and want to know if they can use their international home study for a domestic adoption or an adoption from foster care. Or getting a home study from a foster care agency and wanting to use that for domestic infant or international adoption.

Resources:

Types of Adoption
Adoption Agencies
Adoption Attorneys

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Are you an aunt or uncle raising your nephew or niece? Or are you curious about the unique challenges these families face? Check out today's podcast with a panel of four aunts raising their sibling's child.

In this episode, we cover:

Who are you raising? How old were they when they moved in? How long have they been with you?
Didn’t ask for this.
- Less of a feeling of obligation than grandparents feel.
Navigating relations with the child’s parents.
- Frustration with your sibling (the child’s parent)
- Long-standing resentment of the child’s parents.
- Navigating boundaries.
Resentment if it’s your spouse’s niece/nephew.
Navigating relations between other family members who have an opinion.
Raising your own kids while raising your nephews and nieces.
- Jealousies
- Behaviors rubbing off on kids already in the family
- Lack of time for the kids who aren’t acting out
Complications of being single and raising nephews and nieces.
Putting off having children because of the cost and time commitment to raising nieces and nephews.
Disagreement between parents on whether or not to take in the children.
Uncertainty of how long the children will be living with you.
Joys of raising your nephew or niece

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: I’m a single 38-year-old woman. I’ve always been interested in fostering, but I thought I’d wait until I got married. That doesn’t seem to be on the horizon, and I’m tired of waiting. Is it possible to foster as a single woman? Will it be too hard? I prefer a baby placed with me since I'm new to parenting.

Resources:

Becoming a Foster Parent
Fostering as a Single Parent
Self-Care for Foster Parents

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How can something that happened in past generations impact us now and affect the way we parent? Join our conversation with Beth Tyson, a childhood trauma consultant and former family-based trauma therapist. She is the author of the children’s books A Grandfamily for Sullivan and Sullivan Goes to See Mama.

In this episode, we cover:

What is intergenerational trauma? In essence, intergenerational trauma is the passing of the emotional pain of one generation to another.
What are some other names it goes by? (generational trauma, historical trauma, or multigenerational trauma)
What types of events can cause intergenerational trauma? (personal and more widespread events)
How can trauma that happened 100 years ago impact us now?
What are the symptoms of intergenerational trauma that we might see in future generations?
How to recognize behavior that is triggering intergenerational trauma?
Researchers are also looking into the possible role of “epigenetic changes.”
How do we know if what we are doing or how we are responding is the result of intergenerational trauma? Questions to ask ourselves about us or our relatives.
ACEs Adverse Childhood Adversity study.
How to heal from this type of trauma?
- Recognize that it exists.
- Basic background info can be used in understanding trauma.
- Become a detective of your past.
- What brings up big emotions in you from your child’s behavior?
- Apologize when we make mistakes. Acknowledge your mistake.
- Positive childhood experiences.
- Children need to be “claimed.” They need to belong and have one person who is committed to them.
- Traditions.
- Connecting to their history—cultural, religious, family.
- Put as many of their family connections in their life as is possible.
- Resiliency through moderate and predictable stressors. Ex. sports.
Practical tips that can help you when you’re in the heat of the moment.
- Somatic stimulation.
- Recognize the arc of the behavior.
- Have mantras to help you cope. “My child is a good child who is having a hard time. I’m a good parent who is having a hard time.”
For kinship families (although it can be applicable to all families), how do you deal with guilt that you potentially passed on your trauma to your child, and now the child you are raising is suffering as a result?

Support the show

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Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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A Grandfamily for Sullivan: Coping Skills for Kinship Care Families

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Question: My husband and I have been married two years. I'm 44 and he’s 61. Is there an age limit to be able to adopt a baby?

Resources:

Domestic Infant Adoption (Resource page)
Foster Care Adoption (Resource page)
Adoption Options

Support the show

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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What should you expect when adopting internationally or bringing a child into your home from foster care? Check out our discussion with Dr. Robin Gurwitch a licensed clinical psychologist with close to 30 years of experience in evidence-based treatments and the impact of trauma/disaster/terrorism on children. She is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and the Director of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) Training at the Center for Child & Family Health. She has been a National Child Traumatic Stress Network member since 2001.

In this episode, we cover:

While there are some distinctions, children adopted from US foster care and children adopted internationally have much in common.
We say that the vast majority of children adopted through foster care or internationally have special needs. In addition to the medical or physical needs we might see, there are also emotional and behavioral needs, and today, we will focus on those needs.
What are some of the factors that influence the behaviors of children adopted from foster care or adopted abroad?
- Neglect (lack of stimulation)
- Abuse
- Maternal substance abuse and subsequent prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs
- Multiple caregivers
- Institutionalization (multiple caregivers, neglect, removal from birth family)
  - Does the length of time in the institution impact psychological and physical development?
  - May have entered the institution after having lived in a family first.
  - What different types of care are available, and how do these different types of care impact the child’s behavior and development?
- Lack of education
- Child leaving familiar ties and surroundings
What are some expected or typical behaviors common in children who have experienced these?
- Attachment issues
- Food insecurity-how does that look
- Sleep issues
- Attention Issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Impacts of prenatal substance abuse
- Specific Impact of Institutionalization
  - Lack of understanding of the meaning of family
Parentified children and not seeing adults as a source of meeting needs
Impacts of neglect
Impacts of abuse (often, we don’t have reports of abuse in the child’s file)
How common is sexual abuse in foster care or children in orphanages or institutions abroad? What are the behaviors that might result from sexual abuse?
Impact of the child leaving familiar ties and surroundings
What type of parenting is effective at helping kids adjust?
Setting reasonable expectations.

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Resources:

Adoption Comparison Charts
Adoption Agencies (Resource page)
- International Agencies (Creating a Family partners)
Types of Adoption (Resource page)

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Have you ever wondered what adult adoptees really think about adoption? Join us to hear about the Profiles in Adoption: Adult Adoptee Experiences report, based on research by the National Council for Adoption.

In this episode, we cover:

Who did you interview for the Profiles in Adoption: Adult Adoptee Experiences report, and how did you find them?
You separated your responses by type of adoption.
How satisfied are adult adoptees in general—life satisfaction?
Did they think that adoption could and did work in their best interest? In the best interest of their birth family? In the best interest of their adoptive family?
What were their thoughts on openness in adoption?
For transracial adoptions: Do you believe your adoptive parent(s) did a sufficient job at discussing issues of race/ethnicity with you?
What were their thoughts on whether to allow transracial adoptions?
Were adoptees in favor of their families having an annual recognition of adoption?
Specific questions for those adopted from foster care. P. 25
Specific questions for those adopted as infants domestically. P. 28
Specific questions for those adopted internationally P. 30
Advice for future adoptive parents. P. 32
What adoptees wish their parents had done differently. p. 41

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Question: We have two boys, ages 10 and 12. We’ve been told that if we become a foster family, the foster children will have to have a room to themselves. Our boys can share a room for another year, but then we want to separate them. Can we just foster for one year? How long do foster kids usually stay?

Resources:

Becoming a Foster Parent
Raising Foster Children
Working with Birth Parents for the Child's Best Interest

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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There is a huge need for foster and adoptive homes for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care. We interview Holly Harridan and Dr. Shelly Ronen. Holly is a Senior User Experience Researcher at Bloom Works and an applied Anthropologist with a background in queer and feminist studies. Dr. Shelly Ronen is a Senior User Experience Researcher at Bloom Works. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology and specializes in gender and sexuality.

In this episode, we cover:

Terminology. LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA2S+, queer. What does each of the letters mean, and what is correct?
What is the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity?
What are some of the unique challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ youth in foster care?
What does it mean to have an” affirming” home?
Some foster and adoptive parents know in advance that the child that they are fostering or adopting identifies as LGBTQ+, but other times, it is something that they find out later. If they know in advance, what are some things they can do to prepare?
Age-dependent- how to allow exploration without pigeonholing a child too soon?
How should parents handle it if they suspect their child is queer, but their child or youth does not want to talk about it?
Are the issues different depending on whether the youth or young adult is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender?
How can parents encourage healthy romantic relationships?
What if you’ve been raised to believe that homosexuality is a sin?
How do you think agencies should balance a commitment to kinship caregivers against a commitment to the safety and affirmation of LGBTQ+ children and youth?
What is your response to people who say that since many foster parents are motivated by religious faith, requiring families to affirm LGBTQ+ children and youth would create a placement crisis?
What resources can foster parents look to for guidance on being affirming of LGBTQ+ children and youth?

Our goal is to provide a nurturing and supportive environment where LGBTQIA+ foster youth can grow, thrive, and develop a strong sense of self-worth and belonging.

For a list of resources from this episode, visit our post on Creating a Family.

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: My husband and I want to adopt a baby. We are working with an adoption attorney, and we have to make a book about us and our lives to be shown to women and girls who are considering adoption for their baby. My husband has full-sleeve tattoos on both arms and on his neck. I am worried that it might be a turnoff for a girl choosing a family. Should we use pictures where his tattoos don’t show to up our chances?

Resources:

Preparing an Adoptive Parent Profile (video)
Creating Your Adoptive Parent Profile (article)
How To Create a Compelling Adoption Profile (1 hr. CreatingaFamilyEd.org online course w/ certificate of completion available)

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Does your child struggle with anger, and do you struggle with how to help them? Tune in to our discussion today with Jessica Sinarski, a certified adoption therapist and author of the picture books Riley the Brave and Your Magic Backpack series. She also serves on the editorial board for The Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma.

In this episode, we cover:

All kids get angry, in fact, all people get angry, so how do we know if our kid has bigger issues with anger management?
Why do kids who have experienced trauma often struggle with anger?
Does it matter the type of trauma: abuse, neglect, adoption?
Does the prenatal environment that is not ideal (maternal stress, alcohol or drug exposure, poor nutrition) impact a child’s or youth’s emotional regulation?
Why do kids seem to overreact—big feelings for what feels like a small issue?
What are some typical triggers that elicit big responses?
Steps for managing natural feelings of anger.
- Name with few words.
- Working our way back to calm. Co-regulate back to calm. Suggest a break, model deep breath, let’s stop and think, etc.
- Give a chance to re-do. Fixing the thing that they broke.
- Read books about regulating emotions.
- Lots of physical activity.
Steps for maintaining connections with big angry feelings.
- Compassion for yourself. It feels hard because it is hard. They have a lot to be angry about.
- PACE-playful, acceptance, curious, empathy (from Daniel Hughes)
What do you mean by upstairs and downstairs brains? (from Dan Seigel)
How do we help our kids understand why they are reacting the way they do and how to handle their feelings better?

Resources:

Brave Brains
Hands Are Not for Hitting by Martine Agassi (ages 0-6)
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss (ages 0-6)
Ravi’s Roar by Tom Percival
Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
Gorilla’s Muscles
The Riley the Brave series (including Riley the Brave’s Big Feelings Activity Book)
Hello, Anger (age 7-13)
Samantha Snowden’s Anger Management Workbook for Kids (age 7-13)
Your Amazing Brain: The Epic Illustrated Guide (age 8+)
“Unpacking Anger” (blog post with additional recommende

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Hands Are Not for Hitting (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series)

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Question: My husband and I are starting the adoption process, and so I recently reached out to Human Resources at my place of employment and learned that I do not qualify for short-term disability (STD), so I am not eligible for any type of paid time off when baby eventually comes. Are there any advocacy groups working on getting something similar to short-term disability for adoptive parents, where at least some portion of their salary is paid during the leave? I mean, there is research out there on the importance of bonding and attachment for the future health of children!

Resources:

Dave Thomas Foundation's Adoption-Friendly Workplace program
5 Ways Leaders Can Support Adoptive Parents (Article)
Movement Advancement Project - State Family Leave Laws
Creating a Family Online Support Group

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Does your teen seem overly concerned about how they look? Do they seem to overeat or restrict their food intake without worrying about the consequences? This interview with Dr. Charlotte Markey will help. Dr. Markey is a professor of psychology and chair of the Health Sciences Department at Rutgers University, and a research scientist who has published over 100 scholarly articles and chapters about mental health issues. She has been conducting research on eating behavior and body image for over 25 years. She is the author of The Body Image Book for Girls, Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys, and most recently, Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life.

In this episode, we cover:

What do you include when you speak of body image?
I think of it now more about weight, but wouldn’t it include having straight teeth, fewer pimples, and a cute haircut?
Have young people always struggled with body image, or is this something new to our modern times?
When should parents begin to worry that a teen’s concern over body image is becoming too much?
My 17-year-old is beginning to gain quite a bit of weight, and her doctor is concerned. She doesn’t seem to be worried about it, but I am worried that she is establishing bad habits. We eat “normal,” relatively healthy food at home and have some “treats,” but not a huge amount, so she’s not gaining weight from what she is eating at home. She is driving now and stops frequently to eat fast food and then doesn’t eat much of what we serve for our meals. She also buys a lot of chips, sodas, and cookies and eats them in her room all evening. This is beginning to feel like disordered eating to me.
Parents worry that if they say anything, they are drawing attention and casting too much emphasis on weight.
I have a 16-year-old girl who is very aware of her weight. I think some degree of that is normal, but I see that she is adding more exercise to her routine even though she has always been active in sports. I also see that she is eating less and less at our meals, but then she eats an entire pint of ice cream. She loves clothes and is very pleased when she drops a size. Should I be worried?
What is intuitive eating?
Are the body image issues for boys different than for girls?
What teens are at the greatest risk of developing an eating disorder?
Are youth who have experienced trauma or food insecurity at greater risk?
Are teens with ADHD at greater risk for eating disorders, especially overeating?
What protective factors should we add to our kids' lives when we see them struggling?
Where do you go first for help when your teen is in trouble?
The impact of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy on body image of teens.
What are the impacts of social media and mainstream media on body image

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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The Body Image Book for Girls: Love Yourself and Grow Up Fearless

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Question: I just became a foster parent of a 14-year-old girl. She came with a cell phone paid for by her prior foster family. I told them I wanted to take over payments. I also want to sit down with her periodically and spontaneously and ask her to show me what she’s been doing on her phone while I show her what I do on my phone. I hope she will realize she can tell me anything and that I won’t hide things from her. Is this a good idea? How should I approach it? Do you think it will build trust, or will she resent it?

Resources:

Managing Technology & Screens (Resource page)
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Home (Resource page)
Raising Foster Children (Resource page)

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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If you are considering domestic infant adoption, you need to listen to this show to better understand the possibility that the expectant mom may change her mind. Our guest is adoption attorney, Lila Bradley, who has practiced law relating to adoption and child welfare law for the past 20 years.

In this episode, we discuss:

Distinction between failed match and adoption dissolution or sometimes known as disruption.
What is the “typical” process for domestic infant adoption whether the adoptive parents are using an adoption agency or an adoption attorney?
When do the adoptive parents legally become the baby’s parents?
When can a mom change her mind and decide to parent the baby?
Keep in mind that what prospective adoptive parents see as a “failure” very well may be seen as a “success” by the biological parents.
Creating a Family resource: Failed Adoption Matches: How Common? How Costly? How to Survive
What are some signs that an adoption match may fail and the mom will decide to parent?
When is the most common time for a mom to change her mind and decide to parent?
Does it matter what stage of pregnancy the match was made?
How often do biological moms change their mind about placing their baby for adoption?
Do adoptive parents lose money if the adoption match fails?
Suggestions on how adoptive parents can cope when an adoption match falls apart?
Do adoption matches with foster children disrupt?
Do adoption matches in international adoption disrupt?
Do adoptions disrupt after finalization?

Resources:

Failed Adoption Matches: How Common? How Costly? How to Survive
State laws on when expectant parents can change their mind about relinquishing their child for adoption.
Children's Bureau

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: I’m a foster-to-adopt mom. I have 3 children. Two have already been adopted, and we are in the process of adopting one. My oldest son, who is 5 years old and turning 6 in Aug, had parental visits, but they were terminated when the parental rights were terminated, and he no longer sees them. It's been a year since the last visit. My daughter never had visits and doesn’t see her bio family, but I send the family a twice-a-year email with photos and updates. My current foster child, who is 4 years old, has once-a-week phone calls with his mom, who is in prison. My 5-year-old son is really struggling with seeing his younger brother getting phone calls with his bio Mom since he no longer sees his bio parents, and it’s hard for him to understand why his brother talks to his mom, but he does not. Each one of my child's stories is very different, but my oldest one notices the differences and doesn't understand why they're in the same family but have different relationships with past foster families and biological parents. How do I navigate this as he gets older?

Resources:

Working with Birth Parent's for the Child's Best Interest
- 5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
- Open Adoption and the Holidays
Foster Youth Voices
Sibling Relationships

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Does your child have a disability or have some label? If so, you need to listen to this interview with Dr. Deborah Winking, an educational psychologist and a special education teacher. She is the author of Capable: A Story of Triumph for Children the World Has Judges as “Different” and Raising Capable Kids. She is the mother of four, including one adopted child and one child with a neurological disorder.

In this episode, we cover:Many of our kids have hidden disabilities caused by trauma. These disabilities can look like so many different things, including behavior problems.

You say these 12 habits are to change yourself, not your child. Why?

Habit 1: Believe that effort creates ability
Habit 3: Set a vision of capability with your child and adjust it over time
Habit 6: Send capable messages: Use words and act in ways that let your child know that you think they are capable
Habit 8: Challenge your child in ways that regularly take them (and you) outside your comfort zone.
Habit 10: Allow your child to make choices and experience the consequences of those choices
Habit 11: celebrate your child’s persistence to build a narrative of strength

Order your copy of Raising Capable Kids&use code: Capable20 for a 20% discount and free shipping.

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Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: I was just asked to take on a Spanish-speaking teen with a baby. Do you have any resources to address fostering a teenager with a language barrier, as well as supporting her in developing adult skills and independence? She comes with a complicated history involving immigrating here on her own.

Resources:

Welcome an Older Child to Your Home (Resource)
Former Foster Youth Voices (Resource)
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma (Resource)

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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What do teachers understand about adoption? What are the misperceptions? We talk with two researchers on this topic: Dr. Hal Grotevant, the Rudd Family Foundation Chair in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Dr. Abbie Goldberg, a Professor of Psychology and current Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at Clark University.

In this episode, we cover:

How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of trauma?
How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of attachment?
How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of adoption?
How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of prenatal exposure?
Was there a perception that adopted kids were “troubled”?
What did they know about open adoption?
How accepting were teachers to the idea of modifying assignments to reflect diverse families, including those formed by adoption?
Do teachers know whether kids are adopted? Do they need to know? Do they feel comfortable asking for this information?
Did teachers present lessons that included the diversity that adoption represents?
Does teacher training, either formal or in-service, often include information on adoption?
What can parents do to help their child’s teacher be more adoption-aware or adoption-sensitive?
Where can listeners get more information on your research?
- The “Teachers and Adopted Children” Survey and the Factsheet for Teacher can be found here.

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We have applied to adopt a baby. We’re more or less being told that if we don’t agree to an open adoption, we’ll never get chosen by a birth mom. But, I really don’t want an open adoption. I think kids need just one mom and dad and opening up our family to others will just be confusing for everyone. But, I’m afraid that we’ll never get chosen if I say this.

Resources:

Open Adoption (Resource page)
Listening to Adoptee Voices
Understanding the Birth Parents' Experience

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Do you have a child who acts out at school? Do you struggle with how to work with the school to help your child? If so, don't miss today's interview with Sarah Naish, the CEO and Founder of the Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma and the author of many books on foster parenting, including The A-Z of Trauma-Informed Teaching.

In this episode, we cover:

Why do our kids often have behavioral problems?
What are some typical behaviors that are problematic in school?
What is it about school that exacerbates behavior issues?
How much training does the average teacher have on the long-term impact of trauma on a child?
How much training does the average teacher have on the long-term impact of prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs on a child?
Many of our kids will have an IEP or 504 Plan. How to address behavioral issues in these plans?
Let’s say you have a child who is acting out (i.e., being defiant, not following rules, disrupting class, and other externalized behavioral issues); what would be your suggestions for a parent to work with the school on these behaviors?
Let’s say you have a child who is withdrawing or fading into the woodwork (i.e., internalized behavioral issues); what would be your suggestions for a parent to work with the school on these behaviors?
That doesn’t mean that there doesn’t need to be consequences.
Question from our audience: Child is being defiant in school and refuses to finish her assignments. Teacher sends the unfinished assignments home to be completed by the next day, in addition to the child’s homework. Parents are spending the entire evening working with child to finish the work. How would you suggest handling it?
Thoughts on homework?
Blame, embarrassment
Homeschooling
What are some ways parents can start the school year off right to set the stage for working with the school to help their child succeed?
Tips for parenting in working with the schools.
1. Share info
2. Share trauma-informed teaching resources.
3. Be honest and upfront about what you will and won’t do. Ex. Homework.

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Question: We are planning to adopt our third child. We have reason to believe that my husband’s parents will oppose this idea. Do you have any advice on how to approach them?

Resources:

Transitioning Your Child to Your Home
Winning Over Reluctant Extended Family to Your Adoption Plans
Sibling Relations (Combing Children by Birth & Adoption)

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us for this discussion with Dr. Gretchen Sisson, the author of Relinquished, the Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.

In this episode, we cover:

Book focuses on private adoptions between 2000-2020. Not on parents where parental rights were terminated by the state and not on international adoptions.
Full of first-person stories from birth moms.
How many women are currently placing a child for adoption compared to the number of births?
How does this compare to the number of women who decide on abortion? Only 25 % considered adoption, and only 9% relinquished. Turnaway Study
90% of relinquishing moms considered parenting, but only 40% considered abortion.
What is the demographic of the mom who relinquishes her child for adoption between 2000-2020?
Why do women relinquish or choose adoption?
What does the research show on how many women who decide against abortion or can’t have an abortion because their pregnancy is too advanced opt for adoption?
Why do so few women who are considering an abortion not consider adoption?
Very often, the moms in your book and in your research describe adoption as their only option. Why were the other options not seen as viable? “When women have more options available to them, they are less likely to relinquish.”
Options counseling.
How has openness in adoption changed things?
Some research shows birth moms are mostly happy with their decision to place a child for adoption. NCFA Adoption Profile: Birth Parents Experience (1400 birth parents)
The issues of substance abuse disorder, acute mental illness, or extreme poverty are real. Why is it not in the child’s best interest for the mom to choose adoption?
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997- “fast-tracked termination of parental rights”—failed to talk about the reality of kids growing up in foster care.

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Prior to Russia invading Ukraine, it was possible to adopt from Ukraine. In fact, depending on the year, it was one of the top 10 placing countries to the US. However, the government of Ukraine has said that intercountry adoption will not fully resume while martial law is in place. However, the government of Ukraine confirmed they will process intercountry adoptions in limited circumstances.

Resources:

Top Ten Placing Countries to the US
Factors to Consider When Adopting from Ukraine
International Adoption (Resource page)

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Join this interview with Dr. JaeRan Kim, an adoption researcher who also blogs at Harlow's Monkey.

In this episode, we cover:

Research:
- Intercountry adoptees with adoption disruption and displacement histories – Adoptee perspectives
- Korean adoptees as parents
- Adoptees who adopt
- Transracially adopted Korean American adults raising multiracial children
- Adoptive parents of children with disabilities

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Summer break is just around the corner for families of school-aged children – whether you are ready or not. You may already be planning your annual vacation, buying pool passes, and buying tickets online for local venues to enjoy together as a family. However, you may also dread your child’s hours of unscheduled time. It’s understandable – transitioning from your predictable, regimented school-year routine to a less structured summer routine can shock your kids’ systems. How do you plan to survive the summer with your kids impacted by trauma?

Resources:

Surviving Summer with Kids Impacted by Trauma (Article)
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma (Resource page)
Raising Foster Children (Resource page)

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Join this inspiring discussion with two former foster youths who talk about their time in foster care and how that experience shaped them. Lanitta was a pregnant and parenting teen growing up in the North Carolina foster care system. In May of 2022, she joined the 2% population of former foster youth that graduate from post-secondary education with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance. Mayia Warren was in foster care and later adopted by her grandmother. She has multiple invisible disabilities, albinism, and is visually impaired. In the spring of 2021, Mayia graduated with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology. She is an advocate in multiple fields such as: disability, foster care, children and families, and wellness. She is also an independent recording artist, poet, author and philanthropist.

In this episode, we cover:

Synopsis of your life story.
What were the hardest parts of being in foster care?
What were the better parts, if there were any?
What would you want foster, adoptive, and kinship parents to know about how it feels to be in foster care?
What have been the long-term impacts of sexual abuse?
What helped you heal from the sexual abuse if you consider yourself healed?
What would you want foster, adoptive, and kinship parents to know about how to help a child or youth heal from sexual abuse? What can these safe adults do to help?
You have both “succeeded” despite many obstacles. What do you contribute your success to?

Snippet of Mayia’s new album: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t9j1coN76ZarHnTDkDClXYuPZm2ya-t3/view?usp=drivesdk

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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A Lifebook is the story of how your child came to be yours and the story of his life before he came to you. Adoption is only one aspect of your child, and at some point, his life merges into your life. However, he had a life before he came to your family, and his Lifebook tells this part of his story.

Resources

Adoption Lifebooks (Suggested Books)
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Home (Resource Page)
Transitioning a Child to Your Home (Resource Page)

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you considering adopting internationally. If so, you really should listen to this interview with the great Dr. Dana Johnson, MD, PhD. He is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Johnson founded the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota.

In this episode, we discuss:

Prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs: How common in international adoption? How much and when in the pregnancy? What does the impact look like in an infant, preschooler, school-aged child, and older?
- Alcohol
- Opioids
- Cocaine
- Methamphetamine
- Marijuana
- Cigarettes
Prenatal stress: Does maternal stress during pregnancy have a long-term impact on the child? Is this something that adoptive parents will know other than by assuming from reading the files?
How heritable are mental illnesses?
- Depression
- Bi-polar
- Schizophrenia
How heritable are the following?
- ADHD
- Intelligence or academic success
Attachment issues: How common with international adoption, and what are the recognizable symptoms of attachment struggles?
- Disinhibited social engagement disorder. What is it, and how common?
- How common is Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)?
Impacts of neglect: How common is neglect in international adoption?
Impact of institutionalization in international adoption.
Impacts of physical abuse: How common in international adoption? How often do referrals report physical abuse?
Impact of sexual abuse: How common in international adoption? How often do referrals report sexual abuse?
Impact of lack of prenatal care.
How common are the following:
- Hepatitis B: Where is it most prevalent? Long-term prognosis?
- Hepatitis C: Where is it most prevalent? Long-term prognosis?
- HIV: Where is it most prevalent? Long-term prognosis?
- Congenital Syphilis: Where is it most prevalent? Long-term prognosis?
- Prematurity: Where is it most prevalent? Long-term prognosis?
- Low Birth Weight: What is the long-term prognosis of a child who was born with low birth weight?
- Cleft lip/palate: Where is it most prevalent? Long-term prognosis?
- Congenital heart issues
- Missing limbs/digits-amniotic band syndrome
- Albinism
- Dwarfism
Most common special needs you are seeing.
What is the risk to the child if the birth mother has/had tuberculosis?
Other risk factors to be aware of.
Tips for evaluating risk factors in international adoption.
How to find a clinic that specializes in evaluating international adoption referrals?

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Question: We’re 5 years in trying to conceive and I’m TIRED. I have an opportunity to adopt an unborn baby girl. My question is, does it get any easier dealing with the infertility, the failure, the empty feeling? Does your heart stop breaking every month when you know you’re not pregnant? I’m so afraid that I’m gonna get this little baby but still need more…. hope I didn’t offend anyone!

Resources:

Coming to Terms with Infertility Grief Before You Adopt (Suggested Books)
Parenting After Infertility
Breastfeeding the Adopted Child

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us to talk with Cam Lee Small about his new book, The Adoptee's Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment.

In this episode, we talk about:

You wrote this book for Christian adoptees. Why that specific audience?
Adoptees have been objectified, scrutinized, and infantized. Can you give examples of where you see this?
The narrative surrounding adoption, especially international adoption: you were saved, you are better off, God called us, etc.
Loss and grief that is inherent in adoption. Ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief.
Is trauma a part of all adoptions?
What are the stages of recovery from trauma and how can adoptive, foster, and kinship parents help with this recovery?
“The cost of gratitude-driven silence is high.”
I am adopting (kin) a two-year-old girl and planning to keep her basic birth story as part of open conversation. She has details in her story that may be difficult to hear and I would like to keep those from her until she is much much older. Do you agree or disagree with this idea and why? How old were you when you learned your full adoption story?
Your parents gave you full access to your records, which you could look at with them or alone. Was this helpful, and do you recommend this approach?
3-5-7 model for preparing children for permanency
The reunion experience. Dr. Susan Branco’s seven themes of emotions that participant report from their reunion experience.

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Question: Hello! I’ve been listening to the podcast for a little while now as I consider my desire to adopt. I’ve had many models around me who adopted their children, and although the process is difficult, I have a desire to provide a home to children in need. It seems like now adoptions are declining for various reasons, and I’m trying to consider my motivations and whether it is right for me and my husband. One of our considerations is that my husband has a physical disability, and I wonder if there is anyone or data about how likely/quickly it’s possible for someone with a significant physical disability to adopt (domestic infant or international). My husband is very physically independent and is the breadwinner in our family. We have not started seriously contacting agencies as we hope to wait a few years before considering starting our family.

Resources:

Types of Adoption (Domestic, International, Foster Care)
Choosing an Adoption Agency
Affording Adoption

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Do you want to help your adopted or foster child work through the big issues they may face in life? Join our discussion of the seven core issues with Allison Davis Maxon, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the co-author of Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency, The Seven Core Issues Workbook for Parents of Traumatized Children and Teens, and The Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency Workbook for Children and Teens.

In this episode, we cover:

The 7 core issues in adoption and foster care: Loss, Rejection, Guilt/Shame, Grief, Identity, Intimacy, Mastery/Control
These 7 core issues impact all adoptees and foster kids to some degree and are crucial for adoptive and foster parents to understand.
They also impact all members of the adoption or foster care triad: adoptee or foster child or adult, birth parent, and adoptive/foster parent. Today, we will focus primarily on how these 7 core issues impact adoptees and those who spent time in foster care and what role parents can play in helping their children process these issues.
These core issues can manifest themself differently in children at different ages and stages.
Parents can provide guidance and support, allowing the child to feel every emotion deeply. They can also use education, understanding, awareness, and acceptance tools to encourage the child to move forward.
Loss.
- What have adopted and foster kids lost?
- What can parents do to help?
Rejection.
- How have adopted and foster kids been rejected?
- What can parents do to help?
Guilt/Shame.
- What causes adopted and foster children or adults to feel guilt or shame?
- What can parents do to help?
Grief.
- What can adopted and foster children or adults grieve?
- What can parents do to help?
Identity.
- What are the universal identity issues faced by adopted and foster children or adults?
- Additional issues for transracial adoptees.
- Having the label “foster” to your identity is shaming.
- Does openness in adoption “cure” this issue?
- What can parents do to help?
Intimacy.
- What issues with intimacy are common with adopted and foster children or adults?
- What can parents do to help?
Mastery and Control.
- What mastery and control issues are common with adopted and foster children or adults?
- What can parents do to help?

Our children can heal!

*As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, but we only recommend books that we value. Thanks for your support!

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Are you in infertility treatment but possibly considering adoption? Dawn outlines what couples may be considering, which indicates they are ready to consider adoption.

Resources:

Parenting After Infertility
Types of Adoption
Affording Adoption

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Join us to talk with Dr. Kimberly McKee about her book, Adoption Fantasies: The Fetishization of Asian Adoptees from Girlhood to Womanhood.In this episode, we cover:This book explores how Asian women and girls, specifically Asian adoptees in the US, negotiate the sensationalism and fictional portrayal of adoption in US popular culture.

“Modern Family” and “Sex and the City” (and “And Just Like That…”)
“Sideways”
Soon-Yi Previn and Woody Allen
The limits of multiculturalism
How does adoption play into the fetishization of female Asian adoptees?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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As a mom of four children through birth and adoption, I’ve been there and done that in terms of parenting. I’ve made more than my share of mistakes and have had my share of successes as well. I’ve also had the privilege of interviewing the top parenting experts over the last almost 17 years we’ve been doing the Creating a Family podcast. It can be hard in the heat of the moment (and there are plenty of hot moments in parenting) to remember too many “rules”. Listen for my top two tips for parenting.

Resources:

Parenting Kids with Challenging Behavior (Resource page)
Raising Kids with Neurodiversity - ADHD, Autism, & Learning Differences (Resource page)
Managing Technology & Screens (Resource page)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Children adopted from foster care or from abroad have often experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These children require a different form of parenting. In 2015, we interviewed Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family, and the founder and Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development.

In this episode, we cover:

Why is parenting kids who have been abused or neglected different from traditional parenting?
What are the 3 most important things I should do during the first 6 months home with a newly adopted child?
How can we discipline our children while still remaining connected and creating attachment?
How can we help a child who has tantrums whenever he hears the word “no” or is told he can’t do something?
How long should parents stay home (if possible) when you adopt?
An adult adoptee asks: I’ve seen before where you say that “Adoptive parents become the biological parents through connection. We change their Biology.” I’ve seen adoptive parents now call themselves biological parents because of this statement. I wonder if it isn’t important for adoptive parents to accept they aren’t their child’s biological parents? Does their lack of acceptance affect how the child adjusts and reacts?
You talk a lot about being proactive with children who have experienced abuse and neglect in order to help them and to improve their behavior. Can you explain what you mean?
Parenting kids adopted from foster care and internationally can be hard on the marriage, especially when one of the parents is the one getting educated on the type of parenting these kids need and the other one has not “bought into” it yet. How to help that parent get with the program.
Suggestions for maintaining a strong marriage when adopting older kids?
How to handle criticism (implied or direct) about your parenting style when you are trying to follow the empower-to-connect style?
Practical tools for encouraging attachment.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family

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Question: My foster child only likes junk food and will not eat anything that doesn’t come out of a box. We aren’t fanatics, but we try to eat pretty healthily. I don’t want to feed the rest of my family the boxed junk, and I don’t want to feed him separate stuff. Help!

Resources:

Food Issues (Resource page)
Raising Foster Children (Resource page)
Creating a Family Online Support Group

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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We talk a lot about the child's experience in foster care, but what is this experience like for the child's birth parents? You may be surprised! Join our conversation with Dr. Darcey Merritt, a professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Work who researches this topic.

In this episode, we cover:

What is a typical scenario, if there is such a thing, of how a parent finds themselves connecting with the child welfare system?
What rights do parents/birth parents have within the system?
What are some of the challenges birth parents face before the child is taken into custody?
What are some of the challenges that they face once the child is in foster care?
How can you become an ally to the child’s parents?
How does poverty factor in?
Who most commonly reports a family to child welfare?
How does race factor in?
Research in the area of working memory on parental decision-making.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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What are the red flags that may alert that a potential agency may not have the child’s or your best interest in mind? Your adoption agency will guide your international adoption, so choose wisely. Dawn highlights some of the red flags to be aware of and Creating a Family has a 3-step process for finding an adoption agency, and we include a list of questions you must ask agencies before you select. Note that all international adoption agencies must have Hague accreditation to place children in the US.

Resources:

US Dept of State Complaint Registry
International Adoption (Resource Guide)
Questions to ask an international adoption agency

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Have you ever considered being a foster parent but thought that it was just too hard? You need to listen to this podcast with a group of experienced foster parents sharing the joys of being a foster parent.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why did you become a foster parent?
We talk a lot about the challenges of fostering because we want people to go into it with realistic expectations, but we also need to talk about the many joys you have experienced as a foster parent. Let’s go around round-robin style to share some of the joys.
Does the pain of when a child leaves outweigh the joys?
Does it bother you that many of the children you love and care for won’t remember you?
How to build a support system.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: My husband and I have been matched with a mom expecting twins any day now. One topic that was a particular stress point for us that we found difficult finding resources on was the logistics of flying/traveling with a true newborn, let alone two, and handling the waiting period for ICPC (Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children). We're working with a national agency and in our particular case, we live in Texas and our twins are being born in New York. We have a lot of questions.

Is it better to fly or drive?
Weighing the risk of communicable disease in an airport vs the risk of driving cross-country while sleep deprived
What the options if flying - carseat, plane bassinet, or carrying the infant?
How to travel and feed the infant - powdered or pre-mixed formula?
What is needed for the stay away from home while waiting for ICPC?

Resources:

Adopting a Child from Another State (CreatingaFamilyEd.org Online Course)
Basic Baby Care (CreatingaFamilyEd.org Online Course)
Adoption Resource Guide

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Join us to talk about the very important topic of youth suicide. Our guest will be Dr. Angela Tunno, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. One of her areas of specialty is trauma-informed suicide prevention.

In this episode, we cover:

Suicide is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the US.
How prevalent is suicide in the US for all ages?
How common is suicide for people under 21?
How common is suicide for children and youth in foster care or otherwise connected to child welfare?
Why are youth in foster care at greater risk for suicide?
What are some warning signs that a child or youth may be considering suicide?
What are the risk factors for a youth or child who may be at greater danger of suicide?
Are youth with other diagnoses more at risk for suicide? (For example, ADHD?)
Who is in the position when a child is in foster care to recognize these signs?
If you are worried that a child/youth may be contemplating suicide, what are the evidence-based steps you should take? How to be trauma-informed when helping to prevent a child or youth from committing suicide?
Get support or therapy for yourself to help you cope and to help you support the youth better.
When should we take the youth to the hospital?

Resources

AFSP: https://afsp.org/
SPRC: https://sprc.org/
TREVOR: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
International Association for Suicide Prevention https://www.iasp.info/
The Jason Foundation https://jasonfoundation.com/
The Jed Foundation https://jedfoundation.org/

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Question: I was the one who wanted to adopt. My husband agreed because I wanted it so bad, but now, I’m the one who wishes we hadn’t done it. We adopted a 5-year-old little girl, who is now 7. The awful truth is that I don’t love this child. I don’t even like her very much. I wish I could turn back the clock.

Resources:

Creating and Cultivating Attachment (Resource)
Understanding and Overcoming Blocked Care (Free Course)
Creating a Family Online Support Group

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you confused about having an open adoption? Do you worry about what this means for your family. Join us today to talk about open adoption with Sara Easterly, an adoptee, Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, a birth parent, and Lori Holden, an adoptive parent. In addition to co-authoring the book, "Adoption Unfiltered", they host a podcast of the same name.

In this episode, we cover:

What is meant by the term “open adoption”?
Contact vs. openness.
What open adoption is not:
- Co-parenting
- A courtesy to birth parents
- Confusing to the kids
- About/for the parents
What are some of the challenges of open adoption from the birth parents’ perspective?
- Lack of understanding of what open adoption means when they place their child.
- Renewed pain after each contact
- Two vs. one
- Lack of power
- Fear
What are some of the challenges of open adoption from the adoptive parents’ perspective?
What are some of the challenges of open adoption from the adoptee's standpoint?
What are some of the benefits of open adoption from the adoptee’s perspective?
What are some benefits of open adoption from the birth parent’s perspective?
What are some of the benefits of open adoption for adoptive parents?
How to establish healthy boundaries with an open adoption, including both ways.
- Examples of healthy boundaries from the adoptive parents’ perspective.
- Examples of healthy boundaries from the birth parents’ perspective.
- Examples of healthy boundaries from the adoptee standpoint.
- Keys to establishing healthy boundaries.
How do you handle “openness” when birth parents are unreliable?
How to maintain an attitude of openness or the spirit of openness without contact.
Importance of birth siblings. How the existence of children that the birth parents are parenting affects adopted children.
Allow space for change and growth on all sides of the adoption constellation: birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Question: Hubby and I are finally ready to take the plunge and become foster parents. We wanted to wait until our youngest was in high school. We’ve started listening to your podcast, and you’ve mentioned on several of the shows that we would likely have a choice between the local county child welfare agency and a private agency. Which should we choose?

Resources:

Choosing a Foster Care Agency (Resource page)
Becoming a Foster Parent (Resource page)
Working as Part of a Foster Care Team (Resource page)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you worry about applying the Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard as a foster parent? Check out this interview with Rhonda Serrano, a senior attorney at the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Kate Schultz, the Deputy Director at Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina and a licensed foster parent.

In this episode, we cover:

Where does the concept and term for “reasonable and prudent parent” come from?
What were the problems that the reasonable and prudent parent standard is trying to address?
The intent is to promote and support normalcy. Why is normalcy so important for foster youth?
Who does this standard apply to?
Does it apply to all children and youth in foster care?
Why is the distinction between an “activity” vs. a “service” important?
What is included in extracurricular activities?
What is included as an enrichment activity?
What is included in cultural activities?
What is considered a social activity?
Would these activities usually be included?
- Phone and computer use
- Being on social media
- Reasonable curfews and rules for dating and socializing
- Driver’s licenses and learner’s permits
- Social activities with friends and peers, including unsupervised social activities, such as:
  - Going to the movies
  - Dating
  - Visiting friends’ houses overnight
Would background checks be needed to spend the night at a friend's or foster grandparent’s house?
Are there some activities that are inherently too risky for the foster parent to make the decision on whether to participate?
The activity is supposed to be age or developmentally appropriate. Who makes this decision?

Factors to consider when applying this standard.

Does the child/youth want to do this activity? Does it fit with their interests, likes, and dislikes?
Is this activity appropriate for their age and something other kids their age get to do?
Can this youth/child participate safely for their selves and others, given their behavioral history?
Is there appropriate adult supervision for this activity?
Does this activity encourage the child’s emotional and developmental growth?
Does participating in this activity normalize life for this child/youth? Does it provide a more family-like experience?
Does this activity provide a way for the child to further their self-identity (including ethnic, cultural, religious, etc)?
Does it provide an opportunity for healthy risk-taking?
Will the youth gain adult skills for transitioning?
Does the biological parent want the child to participate in this activity?
Can you afford this activity?
Risk factor
Mental health: are there any triggers to be aware of?
What liability does the resource parent have if things go wrong at the activity?
How can biological parents be included in decisions about the reasonable and prudent parent standard?
What happens when the biological parent objects to an activity, but the foster parents are in favor of allowing the child to participate?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly a

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Question: We’ve been waiting for 15 months for an expectant mom to choose us to adopt her baby. We finally got chosen, but I’m filled with fear. Are we the right family for this baby? Are we up to parenting her? Will we be ruining our lives and maybe hers?

Resources:

Evaluating Risk Factors in Adoption (Resource page)
Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure (Resource page)
Explaining Prenatal Substance Exposure, ADHD, and Autism (Suggested books)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you parenting an adopted teen or young adult? Check out our interview about important conversations we need to make sure we have. Our guest is Katie Naftzger ,an LICSW, an adult adoptee, and the author of Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years. She also has a course for adoptive parents: The Four Paths To Securing The Relationship With Your Adopted Teen Or Young Adult.

In this episode, we cover:

What are two conversations we should have about adoption with our youth?
What conversations should we have about mental health?
What are some conversations we should have about race with our youth who are of a different race than we are?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Question: My husband and I are seriously considering domestic infant adoption. In my research I have found grants are available for people who want to adopt. We make decent money, but do not want to spend all of our savings on adoption fees when we know expenses will only go up when we have a child. Will filling out applications for grants be a waste of time for us or will they consider us even though we make decent money?

Resources:

Affording Adoption (Resource page)
Adoption Tax Credit (Resource page)
Welcoming an Older Child to Your Family (Resource page)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the different forms that sexual exploitation can take?
What is included in sexual trafficking?
Internet exploitation.
How does grooming take place?
Are foster children disproportionately represented in the sexually exploited population?
Are children who have experienced trauma over represented?
Seeking love and connection.
Sexual exploit of boys?
What can parents do to protect their children?
What resources are available to parents and young people?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Question: I am a nurse and am very aware of the benefits of breast milk. I always imagined I would get breast milk from a milk bank if I adopted. Just recently, I read there aren’t many milk banks around, and they can have a supply issue and be very expensive. I then stumbled upon adoptive parents inducing lactation to feed their adopted baby. How common and easy is this? Is it successful? Does never being pregnant before and having small breasts have an effect?

Resources:

Breastfeeding the Adopted Child (Resource page)
Creating and Cultivating Attachment (Resource page)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you think your child was exposed to alcohol or drugs during pregnancy? If so, a diagnosis can help your child access services and support. Check out this show with Dr. Yasmin Senturias, a developmental-behavioral pediatric specialist with 28 years of experience in developmental pediatrics and prenatal substance exposure. She worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics on developing their FASD Toolkit.

In this episode, we cover:

Prenatal Drug Exposure

Do the impacts differ depending on what drug the child was exposed to?
What’s the difference between Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS).
Short-term impacts?
Is the impact less severe for legal drugs, such as nicotine and marijuana?
Is the impact less severe for legal medications used to treat substance abuse disorders in pregnant women?
What are the medical disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) for prenatal drug exposure?
Do these diagnoses have to be made at birth?
What diagnosis is available if the child was exposed to drugs in utero but was not born dependent and didn’t go through withdrawal, and therefore did not have a diagnosis of NAS or NOWS in their medical record?
Do these diagnoses help the child and youth receive more services?
What type of doctor can make this diagnosis?

FASD:

It is estimated that 1% to 5% of children in the United States may have an FASD.
How common is drinking in pregnancy? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicate that approximately 12% of pregnancies may have alcohol exposure.)
Is the severity of the impact on the child, youth, or adult directly correlated to the amount of alcohol the mother consumed when pregnant?
What are the actual diagnoses that exist on this spectrum of FASDs?
Explain the differences in these disorders.
Is one diagnosis better than another in terms of getting services and support for the child in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood?
Are these different disorders linear on the spectrum from lesser to greater life impacts?
Why is it important to get a diagnosis?
Is it possible to get a diagnosis without mom admitting to using alcohol or drugs during her pregnancy? What to do if the child’s record doesn’t reflect that the mom drank during pregnancy?
If you suspect or know that your child or youth was exposed to alcohol in utero, how can you get a diagnosis?
What are some common misdiagnoses that kids and adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure may get?
What type of doctor can diagnose?
Do you need a referral from your pediatrician to get an appointment with a specialist?

Dual Exposure to Alcohol and Drugs

How common is the dual use of alcohol and drugs?
How can drugs and alcohol together affect the child both in infancy and throughout life?

Impact of Trauma

How does trauma interplay with prenatal substance exposure?

Resources:

American Academy of Pediatric Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
The American Academy of Pediatrics FASD Toolkit was developed in coordination with the CDC to raise awareness, promote surveillance and screening, and ensure that all children who possibly have FASDs receive appropriate and timely interventions. Focused primarily o

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Question: We adopted our son at two, but we were his foster parents since he was three months. He is now in second grade and is really struggling in school both academically and with bad behaviors. His teacher is not open to hearing me talk about trauma and how his trauma is impacting his learning and behavior. I think she thinks that since he’s been with us for almost his entire life that he hasn’t had trauma. We seem to be getting nowhere with her. Do you have any suggestions for helping her understand that there may be a cause for his struggles other than just being bad?

We welcome our guest Sarah Naish, the CEO and Founder of the Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma in the UK to contribute to answering this question. Sarah is the adoptive parent of five siblings, a former Social Worker, and the author of many books on foster parenting, including The A-Z of Trauma-Informed Teaching.

Resources:

Helping Our Children Heal from Trauma (Resource page)
Parenting Kids with Challenging Behaviors (Resource page)
Back to School Resources

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you struggling to feel connected to your child? Do you sometimes wish you could turn the clock back and not be parenting this child? If so, you need to listen to this interview with Melissa Corkum, adoptee, adoptive mom, and co-author of Reclaim Compassion: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Overcoming Blocked Care with Neuroscience and Faith.In this episode, we cover:

What is blocked care, and how does it differ from blocked trust?
What is the attachment cycle?
What is the blocked care cycle?
Does it only happen when parenting children with more extreme behavior issues?
What causes a well-meaning parent not to be able to attach and bond with their adopted child?
Is it more common with kinship caregivers—especially non-grandparents?
What are the common emotions for parents who are experiencing blocked care?
Ten signs of blocked care. To take the free assessment.
What can we do about this feeling of not liking or loving our child? We’ll give some specific examples.
- Be kind to your body.
- Establish a healthy mindset.
- Surround yourself with life-giving people.
- Connect with your child.
Can the situation have gone too far?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Question: We are close to adopting two kids from foster care. Is there somewhere that shows the possible options for things we should ask for in adoption assistance? I don’t want to rely just on the child welfare office to hopefully tell us all the possible options.

Resources:

Josh Kroll, Adoption Subsidy Resource Center, Families Rising (Formerly NACAC)
- joshk@nacac.org
- 651-644-3036, extension 115
Foster Care Subsidies: What is Reasonable and How to Negotiate (On-Demand course on CreatingaFamilyEd.org)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you thinking about domestic infant adoption? This is an interview you must listen to! We talk with adoption medicine pediatrician, Dr. Todd Ochs, about common risk factors you should know about before adopting an infant.

In this episode, we cover:

Common Risk Factors in Domestic Infant Adoption
- Lack of prenatal care.
  - Why do expectant moms who are considering making an adoption plan often have limited prenatal care?
  - What is covered in prenatal care and how might a lack of prenatal care impact a baby?
- Prematurity
  - What causes a premature birth?
  - Poor prenatal care?
  - Are expectant moms who are considering making an adoption plan more likely to have a premature birth?
  - What are the risks with a premature birth based on the degree of prematurity?
- Prenatal exposure
  - Alcohol
    - What are some red flags that a mom might have abused alcohol during her pregnancy?
    - Does the degree of impact differ depending on when alcohol was consumed in the pregnancy?
    - What are the long- and short-term impacts of alcohol consumption on a child exposed prenatally?
    - Very often, you will not have a diagnosis of FASD and won’t be detected in the hospital post-natally.
    - Resources to help parents of a child exposed to alcohol. Creating a Family has a facilitated interactive training for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents to help recognize kids who may have been prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs, and best practices for helping this child thrive, on-demand courses, and additional resources on the long- and short-term impacts of prenatal substance exposure – visit the Raising a Child with Prenatal Exposure for find more information.
  - Opioids
    - List of opioid drugs in increasing degree of strength
      - Codeine.
      - Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Hycodan)
      - Morphine (MS Contin, Kadian)
      - Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percoset)
      - Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
      - Heroin
      - Methadone, Suboxone
      - Fentanyl (Duragesic)
    - Does the degree of impact differ depending on when in the pregnancy the opioid was used?
    - Does the degree of long-term impact differ depending on whether the baby was born dependent or with a diagnosis of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome?
    - What are the long- and short-term impacts of opioid exposure on a child exposed prenatally?
    - Does the impact differ depending on what drug was involved or whether it was a legal or illegal drug?
- Methamphetamine
- Cocaine
- Marijuana
- Hallucinogens, including Ecstasy
Mental Health Issues
- What is the genetic connection for the following mental health disorders? How heritable are these mental illnesses?
  - Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias.
  - Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders.
  - Personality disorders (antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive)
  - Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia
  - ADHD
- Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Legal Risk Factors
- Most often in domestic infant adoption, the primary legal risk factor is an unknown or unidentified birth father
- Controlled by state law
- Work with your agency or attorney to understand the risk and what must be done to reduce your risk.

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Listener Response: An aspect of adopting that we didn’t hear about was how your mental health is challenged throughout the process. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, and this isn’t discussed as often as organic issues such as drug or alcohol use.

Resources:

Creating a Family Online Support Group
Adoption Process & Important Considerations
Self-Care for Parents and Caregivers

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Do you want to raise a child that can bounce back from all the hard stuff life throws at them? Join us to talk about this with Dr. Caroline Leaf, a communication pathologist and clinical and cognitive neuroscientist. She is the author of several books, including Switch on Your Brain, Think Learn Succeed, and How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess.

In this episode, we cover:

The mind/brain/body connection.
The neurocycle.
5-step process to build resilience in your child.
How to apply this process to children who have experienced trauma?
How can social media affect a youth’s resilience?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: We’ve been waiting for a little over a year, and so far, no birth mom has asked to meet with us. I think we need to revamp our profile book.

Resources:

What is an Adoptive Parent Profile? (Resource page)
Understanding the Birth Parent's Experience (Resource page)
Adoption Process & Important Considerations (Resources)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know, has done it again with another wonderful memoir about growing up as a transracial adoptee and then losing both her adoptive parents. A Living Remedy is a story about family love and loss, regardless of how the family is formed.

In this episode, we discuss:

Family love.
- You were well, if not always perfectly, loved.
- You were temperamentally different from your parents, especially your dad. This may be more common in adoption. How did these differences impact you growing up?
- Things my mom sent me, I sent my mom, my mom gave me.
Growing out of the socioeconomic level you were raised in.
- Your mother thought you were ashamed of them.
What is middle class?
- There is a big difference between being working class and middle class.
- “Our “broke” bore no resemblance to my parent's “broke.” …We always had options.
The impact of lack of money on health.
Impact of Covid on families trying to care for loved ones.
Your sister Cindy.
- Cindy wasn’t well-loved. How did she deal with the differences in her life vs your life?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: We are adopting an 8-year-old little girl from the country of Georgia. I would love some concrete tips on how our family (four bio kids) can best communicate with her and foster attachment despite the language barrier. Are there any tools you can recommend or strategies to help non-English speaking adoptees feel more comfortable in their new environment?

Resources:

Creating and Cultivating Attachment (Resource Guide)
Sibling Relationships (Resource Guide)
Traveling With Newly Adopted Children (Podcast)
Preparing Children for the Adoption of a Sibling (Suggested Books)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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We talk to our kids all day, but how can we use these conversations to help them reach their full potential? Our guest is Rebecca Roland, a speech pathologist, Harvard lecturer, and author of the book The Art of Talking with Children.

In this episode, we discuss:

What is rich talk, and why is it important?
You talk about different types of conversations. What are some of the different conversations we should have with our children?
Conversations for learning.
Conversations for empathy.
Conversations for social skills.
Conversations for confidence and independence.
Conversations for building relationships.
Conversations for openness.
Conversations to promote joy and creativity.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: Last week my husband and I flew across the country to meet our potential adoptive baby. We had been matched 5 weeks earlier and were full of happiness. We’ve always known the risks of having a fall through but based on the case, we didn’t think it would be the case. It was. Despite being in contact with birthmom via email and text, getting her updates and baby pictures, she ghosted us and the agency. We met her and birthfather, she let us take pictures holding the baby and gave the agency’s social worker some missing paperwork. She had a change of heart last minute which is fine, but what made things more painful was that she never informed us.

Resources:

Failed Adoption Matches: How Common? How Costly? How to Survive?
Twelve Signs that an Adoption May Fail
A Panel of Birth Moms Talk About Adoption

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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What are the microaggressions or stigmas in the world of adoption and how do they impact adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents? We talk with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor and the Doctoral Program Director at Montclair State University in the graduate counseling program and a licensed psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. She is an adult adoptee from Hong Kong and an adoptive parent of a daughter from China.

In this episode, we cover:

What are microaggessions in general and how do they apply to adoption?
These microaggressions apply to all members of the adoption kinship network (adoptees; adoptive parents, grandparents, siblings; first/birth parents/grandparents).
Where do some of the unconscious attitudes and stigmas toward adoption come from?
Common microaggression themes for adoptees:
- biology is best/normative is based upon the belief that biological ties are superior, more permanent, and more authentic than ties formed through adoption or foster care
- bad seed adoptees or damaged goods
- grateful adoptees, a third theme, refers to the idea of adoptees as both lucky and privileged to have been adopted
- cultural limbo and invalidation of heritage
What are some of the microagressions against birth parents?
What are some of the microaggressions against adoptive parents?
Lack of intent to hurt.
How can microsaggressions impact the mental health?

Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: Is it possible to adopt a child from another state, provided that all parental rights were terminated on both mother and father’s sides? What extra complications or legalities do families adopting out of state face?

Resources:

Adopting a Child Out of State (Parent Training Education Course)
Foster Care Adoption
Domestic Infant Adoption
Working with an Adoption Attorney

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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How can you create an adoptive parent profile to help you stand out and show what makes you unique? To find out, join our guests Erin Quick, the Founder and CEO of PairTree and an adoptive mom, and Jess Nelson, the profile creation provider at Pairtree and a two-time birth mom.

In this episode, we cover:

What are Adoptive Parent Profiles?
What other names might they go by?
Each agency or attorney has their own preference, but the goal is to be yourself and to represent your family honestly.
What are the different ways that agencies use profiles?
Do agencies share your home study with the expectant mom or couple?
How many profiles is an expectant mother or couple usually given to look at?
Does each adoption agency or adoption attorney have different info they want you to share?
What are the elements of a “good” profile?
What should be on your cover?
What sections/topics should you include?
Should you discuss your thoughts on openness in adoption?
Is a “closing “important?
How many pictures should you include in an adoptive parent profile?
Are captions to the pictures important?
Quality of the pictures.
Should you include a video if your adoption portfolio is digital?
What type of pictures should you avoid?
How to handle pictures with alcohol in them?
Is there anything different you would suggest for single prospective parents? female and male
Is there anything different you would suggest for LGBTQ+ prospective adoptive parents?
How do you show your family support when you do not have a close family because of death or estrangement?
What if your house or apartment does not look good or does not photograph well?
What format should you use: hardback book, booklet, online, or stapled together?
How many copies should you print?
How important is the adoptive parent portfolio in the expectant parent’s decision-making?
What is the experience like for an expectant mom or couple to go through profiles.
- Birth Parent Experiences in Adoption (1 hour Creating a Family podcast)
- A Panel of Birth Moms Talk About Adoption (1 hour Creating a Family podcast)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: How are pre-adoptive matches made in foster care? I’ve heard that families may even need to network with social workers to be noticed when possible matches come up, but I’m not sure how matches are made.

Resources:

Working as Part of a Foster Care Team
Foster Care Adoption
Practical Tips for Fostering a Sibling Group

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Join us for a wonderful discussion with author and performer Susan Kiyo Ito about her new memoir, I Would Meet You Anywhere. This is a book adoptive parents should read!

In this episode, we cover:

It felt like much of the tension between you and your birth mother was due to her desire to keep you a secret and your desire to be seen. And also her desire to be in control of this relationship.
The harsh reality that adoption reunions between adoptees and birth families can be fraught with lots of conflicting emotions. In the book I Would Meet You Anywhere, you describe this tension. “Once again, I was the secret held by our mother. I was wilting under the weight of all the not telling. Still, I couldn't resist Yumi’s siren call. I would crash on the rocks of her.”
It’s not about us—the adoptive parents. It was your quest to be whole. Talk with us about your relationship with your parents—your adoptive parents –and yet still feeling a longing to understand and connect with your biological parents and roots.
Did reunion change your concept of what family is?
Primal wound.
Why is the phrase “You’re so lucky” so off the mark, even for someone like you who had what seems like a loving, not idyllic, but fine upbringing?
Japanese American parents raised you, but you sometimes felt not Japanese enough because of your white biological father. How have you made meaning out of your “biracialness”?
The importance of being in a community with other adopted people.
Has your birth mother read the book, and if so, has it impacted your relationship?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: We are in the process of deciding whether to adopt, we have decided to give up on fertility treatment. As I listened to your podcast, I thought it would be good to ask you what you wish you had known before you had adopted?

Resources:

Creating and Cultivating Attachment
Helping a Child Heal from Trauma
Post-Adoption Depression

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Could you qualify for the Adoption Tax Credit? Find out by listening to this podcast with Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill’s Tax Service, and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at Families Rising (formerly the NACAC).

In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2023 federal taxes?
What is a “credit” and how does it differ from a deduction or some other form of tax savings?
If you get a tax refund every year, how would you use the Adoption Tax Credit?
If you don’t have any federal tax liability, should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes?
What type of adoptions are included or excluded? Stepparent adoption? Embryo adoption? Same-sex partner second parent adoption? Unmarried heterosexual second parent adoption? Surrogacy?
Can you get credit for each adoption you complete even if completed in the same year? What about adopting siblings at the same time?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit 2022?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
- Domestic private adoption
- International Adoption
- Re-adoption in the US for international adoption
- Foster Care Adoption
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work with kinship adoptions? What if the child never was involved with the foster care?
Special Needs Adoption: How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care? What does the IRS accept as proof of “special needs”?
$0 subsidy agreement
Special needs child for international adoption
Can you reclaim your expenses for an attempted adoption that did not result in a placement? How?
What income level (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is excluded from claiming the Adoption Tax Credit in 2022?
How long can the credit be carried over?
Are you able to amend previous year tax return to claim adoption tax credit? Is adoption tax credit something you can amend for, and if so, how do you amend and how many years back?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax?
How does the Secure Act impact claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2023 taxes?
What should you do if the child’s Social Security Number is unavailable when you file?
- Should you use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN #) if you don’t have the child’s social security number?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employee adoption benefits? For special needs adoption?
Qualified Birth or Adoption Distribution from Qualified Retirement Plan without penalty. Under Secure Act.
If you adopt, can you still get the Child Tax Credit?
What do you need in order to get the Child Tax Credit for your adopted child?
Do you need to send to the IRS any documentation for the Adoption Tax Credit when you file your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
How to find a tax specialist knowledgeable on the Adoption Tax Credit? https://adoptiontaxcredit.org
How to advocate for refundability?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts

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Question: What questions should a pre-adoptive family ask about a possible match when adopting from foster care to determine whether the match would be a good fit for the family?

Resources:

Adopting from Foster Care
Foster Care Resource Guide for Parents
Creating a Family Facebook Support Group

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you considering adopting this year? Don't miss this podcast on how to adopt in 2024. Our guests are Teresa Bernu, the Associate Director at the Adoption Center of Illinois, and Steve Valdez, the Chief Operating Officer at Hand in Hand International Adoptions. Teresa Bernu has over 13 years of experience in the child welfare field, dealing with a wide range of cases, including domestic infant adoption, foster care, and guardianship. Steve Valdez holds a B.A. in Public Relations, a Master of Divinity, and an M.A. in Psychology. He’s an adopted dad of 5 kids through foster care adoption.

In this episode, we cover:
Domestic infant private adoption in the US

What is the process?
What are the reasons that pregnant moms are placing their child?
Open adoption
Expectant parent choice
Special needs of children available
How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
Adoption agency and adoption attorney
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting a baby?

Adoptions from foster care in the US

What is the process?
Adopting your foster child
Adopting a waiting child
What are the reasons that children come into foster care in the US?
What age and race of child is available for adoption from foster care?
Special needs?
How long does it take?
How much does it cost?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting from foster care?

International adoptions to the US

What is the process?
What types of special needs do children available for adoption from abroad have?
How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting internationally?

Additional resources:

Adoptions in the US: How Many? How Much? How Long?
Choosing an Adoption Agency or Attorney

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Adoption:

Cost of Adoption: How Much? How Long?
Adoption Comparison Charts

We surveyed our Facebook community, and we discuss how our members paid for their adoptions.

How to Save for Adoption the Dave Ramsey Way

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Have you thought about adopting or fostering as a single parent? Join us to listen to a panel of single adoptive parents share the joys and challenges of this option.

In this episode, we cover:

What were your biggest worries when you were thinking about fostering or adopting as a single person?
Adopting or fostering a child of a different gender—what are some things parents need to consider?
Who is a part of your “village” in helping you?
How do you handle the work/life balance as a single parent?
Change in friend groups.
What has been your biggest blessing or joy as a single adoptive or foster parent?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Question: I want to foster children, but my husband is against it. Our kids are 5 and 3 years old, and I really want to keep on having kids through fostering. I think I’m a good mom, and I think I’d do great at fostering. My husband thinks we have our hands full with 2 kids. He thinks adding other kids with possible behavioral problems will sink us.

Resources:

Welcoming a New Child into Your Home
Helping Children Heal From Trauma
Parenting Kids with Challenging Behaviors

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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How can we raise joyful resilient kids? We talk with Dr. Mona Delahooke, a clinical child psychologist and the author of Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids.

In this episode, we cover:

“Too often we are focused on the child’s behavior instead of the child. We are concerned about solving problems rather than cultivating the relationship.”
A child’s behavior is a clue for us parents to understand what is going on inside the child.
No one-size fits all approach to child rearing. What’s most important isn’t the rules, but the child. We must understand how our parenting is landing on our child. Personalize our parenting.
Three pathways to the mind-body platform.
Body budgeting.
The distinction between behaviors that seems to be defensive but are actually protective.
How do you approach tantrums in a preschooler?
How to co-regulate with our child and why?
How to build resiliency in our children?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Parenting kids exposed to trauma is hard. Sometimes, it is very hard, but these families can thrive. In an interview with Creating a Family, Dr. Ross Greene, a Harvard Psychology professor, stressed that it was crucial for parents of children exposed to trauma to realize that kids want to do well, and if they are struggling, it is likely because they are lacking a specific skill needed to succeed.

Resources:

Helping Children Heal from Trauma
Practical Guide to Parenting a Child Exposed to Trauma
The Explosive Childby Ross Greene

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Join us to learn about family rituals—how to create and why you should. Our guest will be Elizabeth Barbour is the author of a new book “Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life’s Milestone Transitions”. She’s also a reunited adoptee and an adoptive mom.

In this episode, we cover:

Why are rituals important for families?
- Define the culture of family-this is who we are
- This is what we do
What’s the difference between rituals and routines?
What’s the difference between rituals and habits?
Examples of family rituals.
- Family meetings,
- kid/parent dates,
- game nights
- gratitude practices
- prayer and meditation
- family altars
- travel
- volunteering together
When families are created through adoption, any specific rituals that can help them?

Tips

Keep it simple
Get input from all members of the family
Consistency

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Question: How do you know when it is time to stop infertility treatments and move on to another option, including adoption?

Resources:

Parenting After Infertility
Adoption Options
Adoption Comparison Charts

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you dread the teen years? Or, if you're in the midst of parenting teens, do you struggle to find ways to connect? This week, we interview Dr. Melody Aguayo, a parenting coach specializing in working with at-risk children and their families and the founder of Real Child Consulting, LLC. She is the mom of two adopted kids.

In this episode, we cover:

Parents wonder why their easy and natural connection with their kids changed, and they now feel on the outs and have to work harder. What is the developmental stage that is happening between the ages of about 13 and 18 or 19?
Teens act like they don’t need us when I believe they need us even more to be present, but in a distinctly different way. I think that our emotions as a parent can sometimes interfere with connecting.
Change our expectation of what “connection” means with teens.
Parents report feeling powerless in parenting when their kids reach their teen years. What is the essence of our power as parents?
Our goals for our teens are to become responsible and independent. How can we parent in such a way to foster these goals?
Let’s address some common issues we face when parenting teens:
- Arguing. How do you turn an argument into a conversation?
- Spending too much time on technology
- Running with the wrong crowd
Tips for connecting and building trust and appreciation with your teen!

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Additional Resources:

Virtual Twins Through Adoption: An Adoptee's Perspective
Adopting More Than One Child
Adopting Out of Birth Order and Artificial Twinning

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have you ever considered adopting a child from foster care? Check out our interview with Erica Jourdan, the Founder of Adoption Options Consulting, where she provides support to families looking to adopt older children from foster care. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate (LCSWA) at Flourish Counseling and Wellness. And Angelica Jones, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and the Intensive Service Foster Care Recruiter and Trainer at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services in Los Angeles. She is a current foster parent and has experience working with prospective and adoptive parents in the foster care program.

In this episode, we cover:

What are the different ways to adopt from foster care? (adopting children whose parental rights have already been terminated or adopting a child who you have been fostering when their parental rights are terminated)
What types of kids are available for adoption from foster care? Age, gender, race, sibling group?
Is adopting a very young child or baby from foster care possible?
What are the special needs that these children might have? Trauma, prenatal exposure, ADHD, etc.
Can you adopt a child from foster care across state lines?
What should prospective parents think about when considering different ages of children to adopt?
What should prospective parents think about when considering a sibling group for adoption?
How to find children currently available for adoption? AdoptUSKids, State Heart Galleries, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
What are the basic differences between adopting and fostering in foster care?
Who can adopt from foster care?
- Can singles men and women adopt from foster care?
- Can LGBTQ+ parents adopt?
- What are the education requirements? Do you have to have graduated from high school, or college?
- Can you adopt if you have a criminal background?
- Do you have to own your own home?
- Do you have to make a certain amount of money in order to adopt from foster care?
How much does it cost to adopt from foster care?
Is an adoption subsidy usually available?
Medicaid is usually available.
What happens if you think the child might have problems in the future due to things, such as prenatal exposure, but is not currently showing any issues due to age? (if you have questions, contact Families Rising (Formerly known as NACAC, North American Council on. Adoptable Children))
How does the Adoption Tax Credit apply to adoptions from foster care?
What is the process for someone wanting to adopt from foster care?
Home study requirements?
How much education or training is required?
Do you have to use the state agency or can you use a private agency? What is the difference between the two? Does it depend on what state you live in?
What are some questions to ask when choosing an agency?
How to transition a child into your home for adoption (if you aren't the foster parent) in the most child-centric way?
Post-adoption contact or openness with birth parents, siblings, or birth grandparents.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Support the show

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Question: My nephew came to live with us last March. He’s a great kid who deserves better than he had, but his pickiness with food is driving me crazy. He eats only white carbs. Even his mac and cheese has to have white cheese on it.

Resources:

Food Issues with Adopted, Foster, and Kinship Kids
Picky Eating and Other Food Issues
Practical Ideas to Help Your Child Overcome Food Issues

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Join us for a discussion of how adoption looks and feels from all sides of the adoption triad. Our guests will be the authors Sara Easterly, Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, and Lori Holden of their new book, Adoption Unfiltered .

In this episode, we cover:

Adoptee Perspective:
23 adoptees contributed to this section of the book.
What are some of the issues adoptees may face?
Compliance and people-pleasing
Fantasy Attachments
Shame
Interracial Adoptees
The Danger in the Rescue Narrative
Role of religionin adoption for adoptees, birth mothers/expectant mothers, and adoptive parents
Birth Mother:
Before birth mothers get the chance to ask for help, they ask for mercy.
Advertisements and search algorithms when searching for adoption information
Lack of neutral support
Lack of post-placement support—lingering trauma and grief—It’s a different type of grief and trauma.
Adoptive Parent
Insecurity—who’s the real parent
Adoption Unfiltered Online

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Q: I adopted my son four months ago. It took me almost 3 years, and I am supposed to be living my dream. Instead, I feel frustrated, sad, and sometimes even angry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s not like my hormones are all messed up from giving birth.

Resources:

Post Adoption Depression
Creating a Family Online Facebook Support Group for Adoptive, Foster, & Kinship Parents
Parenting After Infertility

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Join us as we talk about various holiday-related situations that can arise with foster, adoptive, and kinship families. Our guests will be Janice Goldwater, MSW, the CEO of Paths for Families; Courtney Tierra, a birth mom, educator, and storyteller; and Christa Hefel, MPH with the State of Iowa Four Oaks Foster and Adoptive Family Connections, and foster mom and mom of 10 children through birth and adoption.

In this episode, we talk about:

Incorporating very different traditions around the holidays. Differences in gift-giving styles.
Managing expectations of gifts
Incorporating birth family
How do we handle grandparents/older relatives who are very vocal about current affairs, race issues, politics, government systems (foster system) in earshot of kids?
Child is of a different religion or no religion. If the holiday is religious, how to handle with adoption or fostering?
What do you do when grandparents show a clear preference for biological grandchildren?
And we answer some of our listeners questions.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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The Ethics Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine has stated that the correct term for donating unused embryos to another couple for family building is embryo donation rather than embryo adoption. But since many people looking for information on this option continue to call it embryo adoption, we sometimes use both terms to aid in finding our materials. Further, there are a few adoption agencies that have an embryo donation program; they follow an adoption model, and they call it embryo adoption.

Resources:

Embryo Donation
Disclosing Donor Conception to Our Kids
Suggested Books for Kids Conceived Through Donor

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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You're really going to want to tune in to hear the story of triplets separated at birth through adoption. It is particularly interesting to hear how they have processed the experience differently and how they feel about adoption.

In this episode, we talk about:

Kathleen’s (the birth mom) experience. Why did she decide to place two of the babies for adoption?
When did you find out you were triplets?
What was the agreement at the time of adoption about the degree of openness?
Was this openness agreement followed, and how do you feel about that?
The podcast focuses on the loss of the sibling connection. How did the separation affect each of you?
How do/did Kendall and Julianne feel the loss of your birth mom and not being parented by her?
Primal Wound?
The focus in the podcast, understandably, was on the reunion of the three sisters. However, I’m curious about the reunion between Jules and Kenny and Kathleen, their birth mom.
Feeling the odd one out?
Donor conception? Who was the driving force behind finding the sperm donor?
Did connecting with the donor fulfill anything for you?
What are the lingering impacts of having been separated at birth?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Resources:

Foster Care Adoption
Becoming a Foster Parent
Choosing a Foster Care Agency

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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If you are thinking about adoption, you've likely considered the possibility that you will be adopting a child in another state. In this episode, we talk about everything involved with this process. Our guests are Jim Thompson, an adoption attorney and the author of the book South Carolina Adoption Law and Practice. He has been a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys since 1993 and Joan Smith, the District Supervisor of the Pittsburgh office of Adoptions From the Heart.

In this episode, we cover:Infant Adoption

Is it possible to adopt an infant in another state?
How does a prospective adoptive parent find an expectant mother in another state?
What things must prospective adoptive parents be cautious of when looking for expectant parents in another state, especially if they are not working with an adoption professional?
How does the domestic infant adoption process differ when the adoptive parents and the expectant moms live in different states?
What is the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC)?
What are the steps on the ICPC as it applies to domestic infant adoption?
What state’s adoption laws will be used for the adoption?
How long should adoptive parents expect the ICPC process to take?

Adopting from Foster Care (relative adoption and non-relative adoptions)

Is it possible to adopt a child from foster care in another state?
Can you foster a child in foster care in another state?
How do you find a child in foster care in another state legally free to adopt?
How does the foster care adoption process differ when the prospective adoptive parents and the child live in different states?
What are the steps with the ICPC as it applies to foster care adoption?
How do visitations between the adoptive family and the child work?
How are adoption subsidies handled when adopting a foster child from another state?
Which state pays the adoption subsidy?
How are health care benefits or Medicaid handled?

Resources:AdoptUSKids Understanding Interstate Adoption

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show

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Resources:

Adoption Comparison Charts
Cost of Adoption
US Department of State - Intercountry Adoption
Find an agency

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you worry that you've gotten in over your head by adopting this child. Are you about ready to give up. Or do you want to do everything possible to make sure that your adoption doesn't fall apart? Join us to talk with Dr. Eshele Williams, Director of the Creating Stability During Change Model of Practice for Resource Family Disruption Prevention and Retention. She was also a birth child in foster adoptive kinship family. Dr. Eileen Pasztor is a Prof. Emerita, California State University at Long Beach School of Social Work, and foster and adoptive parent.

In this episode, we cover:

What terms do we use for an adoption that falls apart? What is the distinction between adoption dissolution and adoption disruption?
What does the research show about how common adoption dissolutions are?
What are the stages a family goes through before they decide to end an adoption?
Why do families struggle post-adoption to the point of considering dissolving the adoption?
- CWLA's new Compendium book chapter on adoption in the section on Trending Topics and Issues relating to disruption and dissolution. “Studies that have examined the risk factors related to disruption and dissolution reveal multiple reasons for postadoption instability, including factors relating to the children, their families, and the agencies (White, 2016).
- Unrealistic expectations. Not fully understanding the impact of trauma.
  - How can we help families manage expectations and form realistic expectations prior to the adoption?
  - It’s easy to “blame” the child, but what can parents do to prepare in advance for some of the possible realities of adopting a child?
- Child behavioral issues (Physical issues are seldom the cause for an adoption failing. Emotional issues are a far more common cause.)
- Issues between children already in the family with the new child.
- Lack of adequate resources and support and a family’s ability to pay for them.
- Lack of insurance coverage for mental health.
- Marital strains caused by parenting a child who has challenging behaviors.
Steps to Stability
Prevention/Intervention strategies?
Where should families go for help if they are struggling?
How can families know when they have given it enough time?
If you believe that an adoption is going to fail, what steps should a parent take to make it less damaging to the child?
Who should the families first contact when they have made up their minds?
How to dissolve an adoption legally?
Parents worry about being found negligent and/or paying child support. How realistic is that fear?
What if parents want to dissolve the adoption to get help in paying for the treatment that their child needs but would still like to remain in the child’s life?
How can we support families before they give up?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show

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Q: We’ve applied to adopt an infant but haven’t received a match. What can we do?

Resources:

What Is An Adoptive Parent Profile (or Dear Expectant Parent Letter) and How To Make One
Why is it Taking So Long to Get an Adoption Match?
Understanding Expectant Moms Who Are Considering Adoption

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Does it feel like your child is sabotaging the holidays? Are there more tantrums, sullenness, and anxiety during the holiday season? We explore why and what to do about it with Rebecca Robotham, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Beehive Counseling & Wellness in Connecticut. She is also an adoptee and former foster child.

In this episode, we cover:

There are many sources of trauma for children, and many adopted and foster children have experienced trauma before they come to our homes. We’re talking neglect, prenatal exposure, abuse, domestic violence, and the actual act of being removed from your parents.
How can trauma impact children? Both physically and emotionally?
What is it about the holidays that makes it hard for kids with trauma? (change in routine, lots of people, bringing up memories, over-stimulation, change in diet, distracted parents, build-up of anticipation, let down after the fact…)
What type of behaviors might you see? (more tantrums, dysregulation, “sabotaging” the holidays, sibling bickering, depression, sullenness, anxiety, …)
How can families do the holidays differently to help kids who have experienced trauma?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show

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Q: Now that our youngest is in high school, we want to become foster parents but don’t know where to begin.

Resources:

How to Choose an Adoption Agency (Guide)
Becoming a Foster Parent (Resource page)
Working as Part of a Foster Care Team (Resource page)
Suggested Books for Foster Care Parents

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show

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

In this episode, we discuss:

Adoption scams can fall into four general categories:
- those against adoptive parents by expectant or supposedly pregnant women,
- those by brokers or facilitators who are not licensed or may not be legal,
- those by adoption agencies and attorneys agains adoptive parents.
- those done by adoptive against expectant/birth parents.
What are the typical adoption scams perpetrated by expectant women against prospective adoptive parents or adoption agencies or attorneys?
How much can adoptive parents pay an expectant mother for living expenses, clothes, transportation, food, etc.?
What are some ways to prevent being scammed. Red flags for an adoption scam?
- Insist on Video calls and then move to in-person meetings.
- Ask for HiPPA release to see medical records
- Don’t provide cash directly to the expectant parent.
- Work with an experienced adoption agency or adoption attorney.
What should adoptive families know and ask about unidentified birth fathers?
What are ways adoptive parents can prevent becoming a victim of an adoption scam or adoption fraud?
What are warning signs that an expectant woman does not plan to go through with the adoption? Note that this is not necessarily or even commonly the same thing as an adoption scam.
- Watch for the placing parents wanting to name the child.
- Wanting to take the baby home for a few days.
- Terms used by the expectant parent—your baby vs. my family.
- If placing their 3rd or 4th child more often not to place a full sibling and the couple is still to
- Secrecy Not telling her mom
- Grandmom doesn’t agree with placement
- How soon they fill out the forms that we send.
- Slow walk the Hippa forms.
- Not following through with their attorney
- More fall through with adoptive parents
- Not getting good adoption options counseling in person that asks the hard questions. This type of counseling really help her think through.
- Overly or under-emotional about the adoption plan.
While not necessarily a scam, how common is it for expectant mothers to not be fully open about prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol?
Acts by brokers or facilitators who are not acting legally?
Acts by adoption agencies and attorneys against adoptive parents.
Adoption scams/fraud against expectant parents or birth parents? (open adoption, fertility treatment, back out of the arrangement)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingaf

Support the show

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

Resources:

Attachment Help (Resource)
6 Tips for Creating Attachment (Article)
Parenting the Challenging Child While Maintaining Attachment (Free Course)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you hoping to adopt from foster care. Don't miss this discussion of adoption subsidies with Josh Kroll, Project Coordinator for the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center at Families Rising (formerly known as the North American Council on Adoptable Children).

In this episode, we cover:

What are adoption subsidies?
What other names are used for “adoption subsidies”? Adoption Agreements, Adoption Assistance, AAP, monthly stipend. Is there a difference between these?
Who is eligible for foster care adoption subsidies?
Are private adoptions eligible for adoption subsidies? What if the private adoption is of a child with special needs?
Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Is there an income limit for receiving an adoption subsidy?
How is the dollar amount of the subsidy determined, and by whom?
Can kinship providers receive foster care adoption subsidies?
What other things can be included in an adoption subsidy agreement other than a monetary monthly stipend?
Does the money have to be spent directly and solely on the foster child, or can it be used to benefit the whole family or the foster child only tangentially—such as adding a bedroom so that kids don’t have to share or a family vacation?
What about situations where the child is either too young to be displaying needs or is not displaying needs, but the parents have reason to believe that the child will have needs as they age? How can they negotiate for future needs?
How to handle adoption subsidies when you are adopting an infant with prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs?
What other type of things might be included in adoption assistance? College tuition assistance/grant/tuition waiver?
How is residential treatment covered?
What if you face a difficult negotiation?
How can people get information about what particular states usually grant for adoption subsidies? https://nacac.org/help/adoption-assistance/
How are adoption assistance/adoption subsidies handled if I’m adopting a foster child from another state?
What should adoptive parents do if they believe that the adoption subsidy that is being offered is not enough?

Resources:

Families Rising (formerly NACAC)
- Josh Kroll contact info:
  800-470-6665 ext 115
  joshk@nacac.org
Ndrn.org

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What factors do you need to consider when budgeting for the cost to adopt a baby?

Additional Resources:

What type of adoption would be the best fit for you?
Cost of working with an agency vs. working with an attorney.
Adoption Tax Credit

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

In this episode, we cover:

Why is it important to get a diagnosis of one of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) or prenatal drug exposure for your child?
- In the US, FASD is not a diagnosis but rather an umbrella term that encompasses a range of life-long diagnosable medical and mental health conditions that can occur when there is prenatal alcohol exposure, even prior to recognition of pregnancy.
  - Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE)
  - Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND)
  - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
  - Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS)
  - Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD)
Increase in alcohol use during the pandemic.
Why is it so hard for parents to get a diagnosis of FASD for their child?
What should parents do to get a diagnosis?
What is the average age of diagnosis of FAS or FASD?
How does getting a diagnosis or prenatal drug exposure differ from getting a FASD diagnosis?
Another opportunity for parents to advocate for their child is in the school system. What are some of the typical issues a child with prenatal substance exposure to alcohol and drugs may face in school?
What are some of the ways a parent can advocate for their child in the education system?
Another way parents can advocate for their child is through the Registry of Unmet Needs and Innovation waivers.
FASD Respect Act. (Go to FASD United’s website and click on the policy center to get started.)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Carole LieberWilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in reproductive medicine, adoption, and family-building options, answers this question with advice for couples.

Additional Resources:

Adoption Comparison Charts
Parenting after Infertility

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What do transracial adoptees think about being adopted by parents of a different race? Join us for a panel of transracial adoptees talking about all things adoption.

In this episode, we cover:

Transracial adoption includes white parents of black, biracial, Asian, and Latinx children, as well as adoptive parents of color adopting white children.
Tell us your adoption story.
How did your parents treat adoption? How did and does that make you feel about being adopted?
When did you realize that you were a different race from your parents?
How did your parents treat race, specifically your race, when you were young?
What is wrong with taking a color-blind approach to transracial adoption?
Was it a struggle for you to identify as an adult of your race?
What did your parent do to aid your racial identity formation?
Transracially adopted children need tools to maneuver through life as a member of their racial group. When they are young, they are protected from this reality, but this changes as they enter adolescence. What tools did your parents use and what tools did you need?
How can transracially adopted people or their parents find mentors and role models of color?
Were you ever embarrassed by being of a different race than your parents?
Importance of finding a community of other adopted people.
What is the most important thing, if any, your parent did to ensure/instill racial identity and pride as Caucasian parents who adopt a Black or Asian or Latina child?
Tips for parents either considering transracial adoption or already in the midst of parenting transracially adopted kids.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

Additional Resources:

Podcast: Parenting Tips for Lying, Stealing & Other Annoying Behaviors
Article: Lying & Stealing: How to Parent Challenging Behaviors
Prenatal Substance Exposure Resources

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

At what age do kids notice race? And does this age differ in the US depending on the child's skin color?
Why not teach our kids to be colorblind?
How do the books we read, the movies we watch, the friends we make, the doctors we visit, and the conversations we have at home all shape our children’s views of race?
What’s the difference between not being racist and being anti-racist?
Is there a difference between how a White parent and a Black parent should approach raising an anti-racist child?
Practical Tips for Parents

Resources:

The Anti-Racist Kid by Tiffany Jewell
4 Tips to Raising an Anti-Racist Kid by Creating a Family
Resources for finding great children’s books:
- Diverse Book Finder is a fantastic website that allows you to search for children’s books based on specific categories (e.g., biographies, oppression/resistance; crossing divides, etc.), race/culture (e.g., African American, brown-skinned but race unidentified, Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern, Bi/Multiracial, etc.), country, religion, etc.
- The Brown Bookshelf highlights Black voices writing for young readers.
- The Conscious Kid is an education, research, and policy organization that promotes children’s books centered on underrepresented and oppressed groups. They have a book of the month subscription service and a terrific list of books by Black authors that center, reflect, and affirm Black children of all ages. You can also follow them on Instagram to learn about these books.
- Jane Addams Peace Association, Children's Book Awards
EmbraceRace.org – Resource site formed by black and multi-racial parents with tools for parenting kids of color.
One Talk at a Time – Providing support for Latinx American, Asian American, African American, and Black youth and their families to have conversations about race and ethnicity. In recognition that the issues may differ depending on the ethnicity, they have a separate section for Black, Asian, and Latinx parents.
Creating a Family’s Transracial Adoption resource page – a variety of resources specific to families created through transracial adoption. We have an extensive collection of blog posts, news articles, expert Q & A’s, and radio shows/podcasts specific to multi-racial families formed through adoption.
Between the World and Me – by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Written as a letter to his teenage son about being Black

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

Resources:

Kinship Resources
Trauma-Informed Parenting
Suggested Books for Kinship Care

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

In this episode, we cover:

The world feels scary.
- Covid
- School shootings
- Police shootings
- Weather event
- Wildfires
Our kids are struggling.
- Pediatric mental health hospitalizations have increased and intensified. More than eight in 10 public schools have seen stunted behavioral and social-emotional development in their students since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 57 percent of teen girls and 29 percent of teen boys reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” over the past year.
Many of the children being raised by the parents in our audience have experienced trauma before, but it feels like more kids are being shaken by current events.
Is there a distinction between trauma with a “T” and little “t” trauma?
How do we know if our child has been traumatized, regardless of whether it is an event outside of their personal world or an event that they are involved in?
What are the symptoms of trauma and how to they vary by age of the child? (pre-school, school-aged, adolescents)
Why do some kids seem to take all the troubling world events in stride while others struggle? And why do some kids seem to bounce back quickly from troubling events that happen to them directly? What makes a child resilient?
The top question on most parents’ mind is, “Will my child be OK?”
What can parents do to help when their child is struggling with coping with all the scary things in our world?
It’s tempting to be lenient and not enforce rules when we see our child struggling. Is this the best approach?
What life skills can parents teach that will help their child be more resilient and able to cope with scary world events?
How do we know if our child is stuck and not moving past their fears with our help?
What types of therapy are available and how can parents decide which one would be best for their child?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Periodically, we survey our online community, and we asked foster parents about what surprised them about fostering?

Resources:

Working as a Part of the Foster Care Team
Welcoming a New Foster Child
Self-Care for Foster Parents

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

In this episode, we cover:
Parents from time immemorial have worried about the impact of the “new technology” and this goes back to our great great great grandparents worrying about the influence of novels to parents of the 50’s worry about too much time on the phone, to parents of the 80s worrying about too much TV, and on to the present where we worry about screen time, texting, and gaming.

We parents are digital “immigrants” while our kids are digital natives. How does this dynamic present challenges?
How to keep up with what our kids are doing?
What are the general best practices for elementary aged kids using digital technology?
- What age should kids be given a phone?
- What are reasonable rules for phone use?
How do things change as our kids each around age 11 or 12 and on into their teen years
How important is the use of digital media to socialize for this generation?
When should parents worry?
- Is the child getting enough sleep?
- Are they eating well?
- Are they getting enough exercise?
- Are they doing well in school?
- Do they have real life friends?
- If so, they are probably just fine.
What are the signs that our kids may be too involved with digital technology or gaming
How much screen time is too much for tweens? For teens?
Do different types of technology have different risks and benefits? Internet? Gaming? Porn?
What are some reasonable rules for families to set in regards to technology, screen time, and gaming?
How to get buy-in from our tweens and teens?
App-tell kid
A challenge particular to families adopting or fostering older children or teens is that often our kids come to us with having had little supervision or rules about internet use? How can we establish healthy habits when the rules are new to them?

Resources:

A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction by Dr. Jay Berk
Center for Parent and Teen Communication: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting In the Digital Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aNtRhYfA3k
Creating a Family’s Navigating the Internet with Adopted or Foster Tweens and Teens https://creatingafamily.org/adoption-category/adoption-blog/navigating-the-internet-with-adopted-or-foster-tweens-and-teens/

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

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Q: We have 3 children by birth and want to adopt a child that really needs a home. Given our kids' ages, this will probably mean that we will disrupt the birth order of at least some of our kids. The agency we have talked with is definitely against this idea. Is this something that is harmful to kids?

Resources:

Disrupting Birth Order Resources
Suggest Books for Kids on Preparing Children for the Adoption of a Sibling

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you thinking about stopping infertility treatment and trying to adopt or foster? Join us to talk with Carole LieberWilkins,a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has specialized in reproductive medicine, adoption, and family-building options since 1986, and is the co-author of the book, Let’s Talk About Egg Donation. Carole serves on the Advisory Board of the US Donor Conceived Council, and is an active member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine Mental Health Professional Group. She is also a mom through adoption and egg donation.

In this episode, we cover:

Adoptive parenting is the same as, and very different from, genetic parenting. Ways in which raising adopted children is different. Ways in which it is the same.
Fostering has some significant differences from genetic parenting, including adopting from foster care.
What are the losses of infertility?
How to know when you are ready to stop fertility treatments and move to adoption or fostering? What are the signs of readiness?
The myth of needing to do everything that you can to become pregnant before moving to adoption or third-party reproduction.
How have the advances in infertility medicine changed the landscape of moving to adoption or fostering?
Accepting Plan B without making the child feel like second best.
How to know when you are ready to foster or adopt from foster care.
How to grieve the loss of the biological child that you never had?
Tips for coping with the losses of infertility.
Coping with the unknowns of adoption or fostering and lack of control.
Adopting while staying in treatment.
Should you go back into infertility treatment after having adopted a child?
How to find a mental health professional that specializes in infertility.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Q: My wife and I plan to adopt a child under the age of 9 from foster care. We have just started taking the classes. My wife has a 9-year-old from a previous relationship, and we want to do everything we can to prepare him in advance for this adoption. Any help is appreciated.

Additional Resources:

Blending Children by Birth and Adoption
Suggested Books for Preparing Your Child for the Adoption of a Sibling
Free Course: The Impact of Fostering & Adopting on Kids Already in the Family

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you worry about what is normal in your child's sexual development? Join us to talk with Roy Van Tassell , a Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma and Director of Trauma and Evidence-based Interventions for Centene Health. He co-chairs the National Child Traumatic Stress Networks’ subcommittee on children with problem sexual behaviors.

Warning: We will be using anatomically correct words and talking about sex, so if this offends you or triggers you, you may want to skip this podcast.

In this episode, we cover:

Typical Sexual Development / Play

What is typical sexual development in children as they age?
What type of sexual play is considered “normal?”
How should parents manage a child’s natural sexual development?

Problematic Sexual Behaviors

What are Problem Sexual Behaviors in Children?
What causes kids and youth to act in socially unacceptable or destructive sexual ways? What factors influence the development of these behaviors?
Child vulnerabilities
- Behavior problems
- Emotional difficulties
- Developmental delays
- Low impulse control
Family vulnerabilities
- Poor supervision
- Single caregiver
Modeling of coercion
- Harsh parenting practices
- Physical abuse
- Domestic violence
Modeling of sexuality
- Sexual abuse
- Modeling/exposure
- Nudity or poor family boundaries
How common are problematic sexual behaviors?
Suggestions for professionals and parents and how to respond to behaviors.
What should parents and caregivers do?
Rules for younger kids
How effective is therapy?
How to find a therapist?
- What training have they had in this area?
- Child development expertise (including sexual development)

Resources:

Taking Action booklets (two booklets) – for children with problematic sexual behaviors (age 12 and younger) and one for 13+
Resources at the National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth – really good resources for caregivers and parents.
National Center for Exploited Children—for kids to understand safety—teaching them safety skills to protect their own body
Amaze.org—videos for children
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
- A.J.’s Story— A Book About Not OK Touches

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Q: I’ve applied to adopt a waiting child from foster care. We are open to all races, kids up to age 13, and sibling groups up to 3 kids. We applied and then heard nothing. We also applied through AdoptUSKids and also heard nothing. I know the social workers are busy, but this is getting to be ridiculous. How do I get their attention without making them angry at me?

Additional Resources:

Adopting from Foster Care
Working as Part of the Foster Care Team

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you considering adopting a baby? Join us today to learn more. Our guests will be Karlee Wagner, a Program Supervisor for Infant Adoption and Birth Parent/Pregnancy Services at Children’s Home and LSS in Minnesota (CH/LSS); Erin Quick, the Founder and CEO of PairTree - the organization dedicated to helping families navigate private adoption in the healthiest way possible and mom of two through adoption; and Courtney Lott, the owner and founder of Faithful Adoption Consultants, a consulting service that seeks to walk adoptive families through the adoption process from beginning to end. She is a mom to eight children: six through adoption and two biologically.

In this episode, we cover:

How many domestic private infant adoptions happen in the US each year?
Average cost of adopting a baby in the US.
Average length of time prospective parents wait for an adoption match.
- Creating a Family article: Adoption in the US: How Many? How Much? How Long?
What is the domestic infant adoption process at your agency or organization?
How does the process differ when using an adoption attorney rather than an adoption agency?
How do domestic infant adoptions today differ from how many people think about adoptions?
What type of expectant mom considers adoption for their child?
How many adoptive parent profiles are usually shown to an expectant mom?
What do you see that expectant moms or couples look for when choosing adoptive parents?
Is it harder for single women to be selected by expectant moms or couples?
Is it harder for same-sex couples or singles to be selected by expectant moms or couples?
After an expectant mother or couple chooses an adoptive family, what is the next step?
What type of counseling is available for expectant parents both before and after the adoption is finalized?
What are the ways that different adoption agencies and attorneys handle birth parent expenses?
How early in the pregnancy do adoption agencies and adoption attorneys match expectant moms with adoptive families?
What does open adoption look like?
What percentage of domestic infant adoptions in the US are open?
What are some typical "special needs" that prospective adoptive parents may be faced with in matches? What situations are the hardest for adoptive parents to decide about?
How much information will adoptive parents have in deciding whether they should accept a match?
What factors influence the cost of adoption?
What factors influence how long families wait for an adoption match?
What’s your best advice if someone has applied to adopt an infant and is not getting selected by an expectant mom?
Failed Adoption Matches: How Common? How Costly? How to Survive

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review

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There are several ways to adopt a baby in the US.

Adopt a newborn or young infant through private adoptions.
Adopt a baby in the US through the foster care system.

Additional resources on infant adoption:

How to Adopt in 2023
Adoption in the US: How Many? How Much? How Long?
Cost of Adoption
Domestic Adoption
Foster Care Adoption

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you considering adopting or fostering? Or taking in a relative's child? Do you suspect or know that the birth mom used drugs or alcohol during pregnancy? Join us today to learn how these substances might impact the child and how you parent. Our guest is Dr. Lisa Prock, a Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician, Director of the Developmental Medicine Center at Children’s Hospital, Boston, and Clinical Director of the Translational Neuroscience Center at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

In this episode, we cover:

Foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and caregivers often need to consider whether they are the right family to parent a child with prenatal alcohol and drug exposure.
The US government estimates that about 10% of children born in the US have been prenatally exposed to alcohol, drugs, or both. How common is prenatal substance exposure for foster and adoptive children, as well as those kids living with grandparents and other relatives?
Are there signs or symptoms with a child that may have been exposed to alcohol and drugs in utero, absent confirmation from the mother?
What is known about the amount or timing of alcohol or drug use and the impact on the baby or child?
Short-term and long-term impacts of the following substances:
- Alcohol-does it matter the type of alcohol?
- Methamphetamines
- Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin or other ADHD medication
- Opiates/opioids-prescription
- Opioids-illegal
- Heroin
- Fentanyl
- Methadone, Suboxone, Subutex, Buprenorphine
- Marijuana
- Ecstasy, inhalants
- Tobacco-smoking cigarettes or vaping
How common is dual exposure/polysubstance exposure—alcohol and drugs?
Do children who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs have a greater risk of abusing drugs in adolescence or adulthood?
How do you get a child diagnosed with prenatal substance exposure?
What should parents consider when trying to decide if they are the right family for a child with prenatal exposure?
Creating a Family’s Prenatal Substance Exposure Trainings for Parents, Daycare/Preschool Teachers, and Afterschool Staff.

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This is a perennial question that is often asked: Help, I have an older child moving in. How do I make them comfortable and make the transition as easy as possible for us all? We offer 3 tips to help you welcome a new young person into your home.

6 Parenting Tips for Older Child Adoption
Suggested Books on Older Child Adoption for Adoptive Parents
Welcoming a New Foster Child

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Are you expecting the placement of a newborn? Don't miss our conversation about the latest information on baby care with Kristen O’Dell, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with almost two decades of working with over 10,000 newborns and their families in her hospital practice of Neonatology and Newborn Medicine.

In this episode, we cover:

Feeding
- The vast majority of adoptive parents will bottle-feed their baby. How to choose a formula.
- Is liquid or dry formula better for the baby?
- How to sterilize the dry formula?
- Do you need to sterilize bottles?
- What type of bottle is best?
- Does the bottle type differ if the baby is born premature or has Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome?
- Does the temperature of the formula matter?
- Can you make the bottles up once a day, or do you have to make it fresh for each feeding?
- When should you consider a specialized formula, and what options do you have?
- How often should a baby eat?
- Other feeding options: adoptive mother induce lactation to breastfeed; donated breast milk.
- How do you know if your baby is getting enough food?
- If your baby spits up a lot, when should you worry that they aren’t getting enough food?
- When to introduce solid food?
Sleep
- What is a typical wake/sleep pattern for a newborn?
- When should you expect your baby to sleep for 5-6 hours?
- Is the wake/sleep cycle affected by prematurity or Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)?
- At what point can you start trying to get your baby to not wake up many times for a feeding at night?
- Will introducing solid food, even if watered down, help your baby sleep through the night?
- How can you establish healthy sleeping habits for your baby?
- When do most babies start sleeping through the night and what is “sleeping through the night”—how much sleep?
- Safe sleep practices: sleeping on the back, no pillows, blankets, bumpers, stuffed animals
- Sleep training
Poop
- How often should babies poop? What is normal?
- What does the typical healthy newborn baby poop look like?
- How do you know if there is a problem?
- How can you tell if your baby is constipated? And what should you do?
- What type of diaper is best?
- What type of baby wipes are best?
- How to treat diaper rash?
- How can you tell if your baby has a yeast diaper rash?
What is colic?
How do you treat colic?
What is the current thinking on circumcision?
Tips for new parents.

Free Resource Guide from New Mommy Guru

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Are you raising an internationally adopted child or a child of another race? Join our fascinating discussion with Dr. Hollee McGinnis, an Assistant Professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. She focuses on mental health and identity for internationally adopted people. She is also an intercountry adoptee from South Korea.

In this episode, we cover:

How are racial, ethnic, and cultural identities different for international adoptees?
Why is racial, ethnic, or cultural identification important for the emotional development of a child adopted internationally?
At what age does cultural and racial identity develop?
For children adopted internationally, what are some of the acculturation and assimilation issues that these children face? Including those issues arising from factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, and culture.
Does this differ by race?
Does international adoption itself potentially create acculturation or assimilation issues?
How can parents walk the balance between wanting the child to fully assimilate and acculturate to their new life while also identifying with their culture of birth?
Does this change depend on the age of the child at adoption?
What is the experience like for a child whose name doesn't fit their ethnicity? Do you recommend that parents think about this when naming their child?
How to handle if a child is born into a family of one religion but adopted by a family of a different religion?
What are the long-term implications for a family that has become multi-cultural through international adoption? How does this impact each family member: adopted person, siblings, parent, or grandparents?
What does a healthy cultural identity for an internationally adopted child look like?
What does a healthy racial identity for an internationally adopted child look like?
Tips for how adoptive parents can help their children develop a healthy cultural and racial identity?
- Read books about the history of your child’s culture and country, starting at a young age.
- Read books to provide the language and tools to help your child deal with racism. Again, start young.
- Talk about racism with your child. See resources below.
- Create connections for your child to people who look like them, as well as other adoptees.
- Incorporate people of your child’s race or culture into your friend group.
- Consider a homeland tour.

Resources:

Also Known As The mission of Also-Known-As is to build a community that empowers the voices of adult international adoptees, while providing resources and space to acknowledge the loss of birth country, culture, language, and biological family.
Beyond Culture Camp: Promoting Healthy Identity Formation in Adoption, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
How to Raise an Anti-Racist Child, Creating a Family podcast
4 Tips to Raising Anti-Racist Kids, Creating a Family article
Resources for Extended Family
- Winning Over Reluctant Extended Family in Adoption
- Pre

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Do you suspect your child has ADHD? Don't miss today's show with Dr. Tamara Rosier. She is the author of “Your Brain’s Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD.” She runs the ADHD Center of West Michigan and is president of the ADHD Coaches Organization.

In this episode, we cover:Understanding ADHD

What is ADHD?
What are the symptoms?
Are foster, adoptive, and kinship kids more prone to ADHD?
How to tell if our child’s behavior is ADHD or caused by the trauma they’ve experienced?

Treating ADHD

Importance of early diagnosing and intervention.
To medicate or not?
Should you take a medication break/holiday?

Parenting Challenges with Raising a Child with ADHD:

Managing expectations.
Emotional management is key.
Stop comparing your child and yourself to other parents and their “perfect” kids.
Self-control/Impulsiveness.
Sticking to an activity - the challenge of finding the balance between encouraging a child to persist and letting go.
Why can my child focus on a video game but take 3 hours to finish a 30-minute homework assignment? And what can I do about it?
What to let go and what to not. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Looking for the Positives of ADHD

ADHD is not a disorder but rather a trait or neurological difference.
Strength of divergent thinking.

Tips for parents raising a child with ADHD.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Do you have a child receiving special education services or one that you think may need these services? In this podcast, we talk about navigating this process. Our guests will be Lisa Eisenberg and Gaile Osborne. Lisa Eisenberg is a social worker, education advocate, and consultant. She is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, an organization whose goal is to secure high-quality educational services for all and to promote excellence in advocacy. Gaile Osborne is the Executive Director of Foster Family Alliance, the foster, kinship, and adoptive parent association in North Carolina. She has her masters in special education with certifications in five areas, including emotional disabilities. Gaile and her husband are parents of children adopted from foster care and have fostered over 28 children. Foster Family Alliance provides educational advocacy support for NC foster, adoptive, and kinship families.

In this episode, we cover:

What language is preferred: special education, exceptional children education, or something else?
What laws govern special education?
What are the most common acronyms that parents will see, and what do they mean?
- IEPs
- 504s
- LRE
- SDI
- OHI
How does trauma impact a child’s ability to learn?
How can you tell the difference between the impact of trauma from a learning disability or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
What are the signs that a child needs to have an educational assessment?
What is involved with an educational assessment?
What are the first steps that a parent or caregiver should take to get an educational assessment?
What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan? Which one provides the most protection and accommodations for the child?
What accommodations should parents and caregivers be aware of that they can ask to be included in either the IEP or 504 plan?
What can foster/kin parents do if they believe the child in their care needs to be assessed? What are their legal rights?
Are they allowed to be in the IEP or 504 meeting?
Can they directly influence the IEP or 504?
How can foster or kinship parent be of the most help when working with a child with learning disabilities or other disabilities?
Tips for Parents and Caregivers when a child is struggling academically in school.
- 38 School Accommodations for Children Who Have Suffered Trauma, by Debbie Ausburn
- Special Education Acronyms and Glossary

Resources:

Calming the What If’s: Parenting Kids Who Don’t Fit the Mold
Understood.org
Wrightslaw.com
ADHD vs PTSD
Center for Parent Information and Resources
A Day in Our Shoes
National Disability Rights Network

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster &

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How can parents help their transracial adoptees transition to college, and why can this transition be hard for both teens and parents? We talk with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Montclair State University. She is an active researcher and currently leads their Adoption Research Team. She is also a transracial adoptee and a member of the Creating a Family board.

In this episode, we cover:

Acknowledge that this will likely be a strange year for preparing anyone to go to college.
What are the major developmental milestones for all adolescents that happen during the 15-20 age frame?
What are some of the additional developmental milestones for adolescent adoptees?
What are the additional developmental milestones for transracial adoptees during the late teen years?
Why is the transition to college sometimes a difficult one for transracial adoptees?
What do you mean by “honorary whiteness”?
Is the experience of transitioning to college different depending on the race of adoptees?
Some adoptees feel like the bridge between the race/culture of their adoptive family and the race/culture of their birth. What are the issues with being the bridge?
Are there specific things parents and transracially adopted teens should look for when choosing a college?
The complexities of using the “transracial adoption story” as part of the college essay.
How can the feeling of rejection that some adoptees feel be exacerbated in the college application process?
How does the college experience impact adoptee identity development?
Can the transition to college be especially difficult for parents of transracial adoptees?
Parents are concerned about whether their child will leave and emotionally not return.
Birth parent search is usually open to adolescents at age 18, which is right during this time of transition.
How can parents help their transracial adoptees make a successful transition to college?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Everyone connected to adoption needs to listen to this show. We talk about a new research report on how birth parents experience adoption. The results will surprise you! Our guest are the two main authors: Ryan Hanlon is the Executive Director of The National Council for Adoption, the national adoption organization providing resources and education for all people and organizations in the adoption world and advocating for sound adoption policies; and Laura Bruder is the Executive Director of Brave Love, an organization dedicated to changing the perception of adoption by acknowledging birth moms for their brave decision.

In this episode, we cover:
The Birth Parent Experiences report is based on the responses of 1,160 birth mothers and 239 birth fathers.

Were these all domestic infant adoption rather than adoptions from foster care?
Birth mothers who placed their child for adoption in 2010 or later were much more likely to report satisfaction with their decision than birth mothers who placed their child before or during the 1970s. Birth mothers’ levels of satisfaction with their adoption decision increased each decade since the 1970s.
The vast majority of birth mothers report experiencing stigma associated with their status as a birth parent. In fact, the percentage of birth mothers who experience some level of stigma about their decision to place their child for adoption has risen 20% since 1970.
What is the demographic of the birth moms and dads who completed the survey? (age, race, education, number of adoption placements
How has birth parent involvement in the adoption process changed?
What factors were important to expectant moms and dads when choosing adoptive parents?
What were the main concerns that birth moms had after placement?
Looking back, do birth parents believe they made the right decision?
What type of services and support do birth parents want and need post-placement?
78% of birth moms have contact with their child, and about 74% of birth fathers do. We don’t know if these are open adoptions or if the “child” is now an adult. Are they satisfied with this contact?
Are they satisfied with their decision to place a child for adoption? What factors influenced their level of satisfaction?
The research found that birth parents’ receipt of accurate information was significantly associated with adoption satisfaction for both birth mothers and birth fathers. What do you mean by accurate information?
What percentage of birth parents reported that they were actively involved in choosing the adoptive parents, and did that influence their overall satisfaction with their decision?
Three variables (receipt of accurate information, non-coerced decision-making, current contact with the child) were found to be the most strongly associated with levels of adoption satisfaction.
Stigma of being a birth parent.
Has stigma increased since the 1970s?
Does stigma differ by race of the birth parent?
Interesting that stigma increased from the 1970s to now for healthcare workers.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Weekly articles/blog posts

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Are you thinking about adopting internationally? Don't miss this interview covering the common health, developmental, and emotional issues found in kids adopted internationally. Our guests are Dr. Kimara Gustafson, M.D., M.P.H., an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School, a Faculty Member in the Division of Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience, and a pediatrician at the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota. We will also talk with Dr. Katie Stone, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at The University of Minnesota Medical School. She is part of the Psychology team at the Adoption Medicine Clinic.

In this episode, we cover:The best place to get information on the country-specific laws and the adoption process is your agency and the US State Department website on intercountry adoption, in the country information section.

Each year the US State Department prepares an Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption that includes the length of time and cost for adoptions from specific countries. The country-specific pages at the US State Department website also has some of this information.

What are some of the general characteristics and needs of kids waiting for adoption abroad?
Generally, what factors across the world lead children to be in state care and to need adoptive families?
What are the most frequent medical or psychological problems you see in children adopted internationally?
What are some common environmental toxins currently seen in the primary placing countries to the US and how might they impact children?
For the main placing countries to the US how common is:
- Prenatal substance abuse
- Malnutrition
- Emotional issues
- Genetic abnormalities
- Developmental Delay
- Other known health risk factors
What is the impact on a child of leaving familiar ties and surroundings?
What is the experience of most children leaving their family of origin?
How does institutional care impact children?
How does institutionalization affect child development?
What children are at the greatest risk for attachment disorders?
What are the psychological issues children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma may face?
What are some of the acculturation and assimilation issues children may face post international adoption?
How does adoption itself impact children, adolescents, and adults? Resources for parents and professionals:
- Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self, co-authored by David Brodzinsky
- The Primal Wound by Nancy Verrier are resources for parents and professionals to read.
- Seven Core Issues in Adoption by Sharon Roszia and Allison Davis Maxon
Post-adoption reports are an essential part of intercountry adoption. Your adoption agency should provide information on the specific reporting requirements. You can check the US State Department Intercountry Adoption website in the country information section.

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Join us to talk with Angela Tucker about her new book You Should Be Grateful: Stories of Race Identity, and Transracial Adoption. Angela is a black woman adopted from foster care to white parents. She was the subject of Closure, a documentary that chronicles her search for her biological parents. Angela has consulted with NBC’s "This Is Us", supported the lead actor of Broadway musical "Jagged Little Pill", has over 15 years of experience working within adoption and foster care agencies, and has mentored over 200 adoptees, leading her to found the Adoptee Mentoring Society.

In this episode, we cover:

The Adoptee Manifesto
What adoptee centrism. What do you mean by that?
The complexities of loving your adoptive parents and wishing you weren’t adopted.
Why is the spoken or unspoken “you should be grateful” so hard on adopted people?
How to share the hard parts of our child’s story?
What is the Ghost Kingdom that adoptees create about their birth family?
The adoptee as the Plan B child because their parents didn’t get their Plan A child.
Colin Kaepernick: “Since the day I was born, I've never been anyone’s first choice.”
What happens when adoptees can’t talk about their feelings of loss and their feelings of longing for their birth families?
Race:
- Feeling like a racial fraud.
- Comfort in white spaces.
- Color-evasiveness vs. color blindness.
Susan Harris O’Connor, a biracial person adopted by white parents says that transracial adoptees have 5 dimensions to their racial identity: genetic, imposed, cognitive, visual, and feeling.
White privilege by osmosis.
Have you received flack for marrying a white man? And is this common for transracial adoptees?
Search:
- The fear of searching or even talking about birth family because adoptees don’t want to hurt their adoptive parents. And conversely, the fear of some adoptive parents that they will be replaced once their child finds their first parents.
- Focus on birth mothers over birth fathers.
- Things adoptive parents should know about the search.
Red Table Talk –Facebook Watch show with Jada Pinkett Smith, her mother, and her daughter. What were your feelings then and how do you feel about that appearance now.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Do you sometimes feel like screaming because you can't keep up with all that you think is expected of being a mom? If so, you're in good company. Join us to listen to our interview with Jessica Grose about her book Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood. Grose is an opinion writer at the New York Times. She writes a popular newsletter on parenting and was named by Glamour Magazine as a Game Changer in 2020 for her coverage of parenting during the pandemic.

In this episode, we cover:

What brought you to write this book?
The pressure to feel a certain way and do everything right feels inherent in modern motherhood, but is it new? Have things changed?
In what areas are moms in America struggling? Expense

Work and Role of Fathers:

Our society’s views of working motherhood from the 1990’s to now.
“There is the expectation for working women to want to become moms. Then when we do become parents, we are expected to be our best at work and attend to our children. I was the first call from the schools instead of my stay-at-home husband. There was a reason we had him stay-at-home. Schools still called "mom" first.”
“That’s happened to us now that we are both working from home. The other day, they needed to reach us. Three messages for me & no one called Dad. It wasn’t an emergency, but still.”
What is “radical flexibility,” and how common is it in the US.
Are women who were raised by working moms opting for a different path?

Role of social media:

“It's frustrating because so often you never see them having to deal with their kids, while trying to meal prep, help with homework, break up a sibling squabble, all the while trying to get out of the house for an appointment. I guess that doesn't make compelling viewing.”
“So! Many! Opinions! And so much facade. It’s challenging to navigate unless you are seriously self-confident or have already experienced a few ups & downs that give you perspective.
The curated reels can give such a false viewpoint and it’s easy to assume that’s their real life. But real life is not nearly as compelling as the perfectly crafted short clips.”

Is this a uniquely US issue?

Do moms in other countries feel the same pressures to be perfect and do it all?

Unique struggles of foster, adoptive, and kinship parents:

I was told recently that my feelings about how hard it was to mom my last three (adopted as a sibling set from foster care) were just a part of my “mindset”. Because all the moms she knew had the same struggles. So foster and adoptive moms also have unbelievably unrealistic expectations upon them. We aren’t allowed to struggle differently. Then another person told me that “I signed up for this.” So, the underlying meaning is when you adopt kids from hard places, you aren’t allowed to struggle.
Had to work hard to get this family.
Trauma, whether it’s big T trauma or little t trauma is common in our kids, and this impacts any notion of picture-perfect parenting.
Have had to go through being examined and trained and our homes inspected to even get to be parents.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you parenting teens, or will you be in a few years? Don't miss today's conversation with psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour, author of the book, "The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents."

In this episode, we cover:

Our society has become afraid of being unhappy. What are the reasons for this?
Studies seem to suggest that teens are unhappier now than in the past. Why?
Three myths about adolescence.
The adultification of black teens.
Why do our teens find us so annoying?
The goal is not always to avoid conflict with our teens; rather, it should be to learn how to have constructive conflict.
You say that spending time online can be both good and bad for teens.
What should parents know about porn?
How carefully should you supervise what your teens are seeing online?
How can parents keep technology in place? What are some common-sense rules?
The importance of small pleasures in modulating the mood of our teens.

Resource:
American Psychological Association: Health advisory on social media use in adolescence

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Join us as Dr. Bruce Perry answers your questions about how trauma impacts adoptive, foster, and kinship kids and families. Dr. Bruce Perry, is a child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, the principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago. He is the author the numerous books including co-author along with Oprah Winfrey of What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, and co-author of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog.
In this episode, we cover:

The shift in perspective from what’s wrong with you to what happened to you--the ability to understand seemingly senseless behavior by looking at what’s behind it.
What do you include as “trauma”? How severe does it have to be to impact us later in life?
We hear foster, adoptive, and kinship parents say, “she was only neglected.” Is neglect less harmful than abuse?
When siblings are separated in foster care and parents are taken completely away from seeing the children for a year at a time does this lack of contact count as trauma and how does this type of no-touch abuse effect the child's brain?
How common is trauma? ACE study.
Does trauma at a young age have longer lasting impacts?
We have a child who is chronologically 3yrs, who had a non-accidental TBI at 3 months of age. He is a sweet boy but prone to rages and is very loud. Could this be from the trauma or is it his age and frustration?
How can parents help their child manage trauma if they don’t know what the trauma was?
The times of healing are often very short but very powerful. And that the more times our kids experience healing, even in short bursts, the more their brain "re-develops" in healthier ways.
Is there is an association between trauma and sensory processing and if so, do we know why?
How do you become “unstuck” on being a victim? My daughter is 18 and is struggling to become an adult, but constantly feels and acts as though she is still a victim from her past.
Can you discuss how trauma is related to the sabotage of relationships, family events, life events, and opportunities?
Prenatal trauma—
- in utero exposure to alcohol or drugs
- maternal stress
Can generational trauma be passed down genetically through the various forms of DNA?
Resilience and Healing: My question is coming from the perspective as an adoptive and foster mom of some kids who have some pretty big behaviors. Can we really grow these kids and help them live happy, well-adjusted lives? Not problem free, but a life where after many years of love, they will come to find peace within themselves?
I have two children who are currently in foster care because their father was abusive and I stayed with him and allowed my children to witness the abuse. Is there any way to reverse the trauma?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you thinking about adopting from foster care or adopting a child you are already fostering? Are you wondering how to help the child transition to adoption? Our guests are Hope Middlebrook, a foster parent recruiter for Arrow Child and Family Services, and Jennifer O’Brien, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Regional Director for Arrow’s Foster Care Programs.

In this episode, we cover:

Two different scenarios:
- You are the foster parents of the child you are going to adopt.
- You are adopting a child who is living with another foster family.
At what age do kids understand the concept of adoption and what it means in their life?
If you are adopting a child you are fostering.
- How is adoption different from fostering?
- What are some typical emotions (positive and negative) a child might feel? Grief is to be expected.
- How far in advance should the child be informed?
- What are some typical behaviors you might see?
- What are some typical emotions and behaviors you might see from other children already living in your home?
If you are adopting a child living with another resource family or group home.
- What are some typical emotions (positive and negative) a child might feel? Grief is to be expected.
- How far in advance should the child be informed?
- How long should the process take?
- What can the adults do to make the process less stressful for the child?
- What are some typical behaviors you might see from a child that is moving to yet another home and another parent?
- What are some typical emotions and behaviors you might see from other children already living in your home?
What are the pros and cons of changing the child’s name? First name? Last name?
What are some tips for parents to help their child transition from foster child to adopted child? Some of these will apply to a child you are fostering and some to a child whom you are not fostering.
- Get all the information on the child available from his file, caseworker, and previous foster parents.
- Decide what type of relationship you can have with your child’s birth family. Come up with ways to help your child maintain safe connections to their biological roots.
- Work with the former foster family and the child or youth to determine what type of relationship can continue with the foster family after the child moves to your home.
- Go slow. Ideally, visit the child first in their foster home, then take the child out for the day, then have the child spend the night with the adoptive family, then the weekend before they finally move in.
- Give the child/youth as much voice in the process as possible.
- Anticipate problems and come up in advance with ways to work through them and outside resources to use.
- Create a Lifebook for your child and use this book to help explain some of the differences between foster care and adoption. Get pictures from the foster family and the caseworker.
- Prepare children already in the home for an adjustment period and how kids who have experienced trauma might behave.
- Think about how you will maintain a tie to their cultural, racial, or ethnic roots.
- Identify support for yourself. You will, at some point, likely feel discouraged, frustrated, and maybe even regretful. Where will you turn for support?
- Rite of passage at finalization.
What to do if the tween or teen does not want to be adopted?
- How to explore the youth’s reasons?
- Allow space to change their mind.
- What other options are available outside of adoption?

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Is your child more intense and more challenging than other kids? Do you worry about the future for this child and your ability to help them learn to behave? You will love this interview with Tina Feigal, M.S., Ed., the Director of Family Engagement at Anu Family Services and founder of the Center for the Challenging Child, where she works with families throughout the US. She is the author of the book Present Moment Parenting: The Guide to a Peaceful Life with Your Intense Child.In this episode, we cover:

What makes some kids more challenging?
What is the impact of trauma on children’s behavior?
We often parent the way we were parented. How can we overcome this?
What do we mean by “attachment,” and why is it important for children and parents?
“Parent the child in front of you in the present moment"- not the one that did ____ yesterday or the one that you fear will do or be ____ in the future.”
Ten Tenets of Parenting
How can parents work with children to improve these behaviors with different aged children while maintaining attachment?
- Frequent and intense tantrums
- Inflexible
- Can’t accept the word “no”
- Lying
- Stealing

Watch Tina’s TEDx Talk: How to Stop Kids’ Meltdowns and Gain Their Cooperation.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you parenting a child on the autism spectrum. This interview will give you insight and hope. We talk with Dr. Lynn Koegel, a clinical professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and author of Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the variations in the way autism presents in humans?
What are some of the symptoms or signs of autism at different ages?
We so often focus on the weaknesses of children with autism and overlook their strengths. Why is this a problem for children on the autism spectrum?
How is autism diagnosed, and what are the limits to this testing?
What can parents do to make sure that the testing more clearly reflects their child’s strengths as well as weaknesses?
The absence of speaking starting at around age one and struggles with communicating are common with people with autism. What can parents do to help improve spoken language?
How to teach social connectedness?
The inability to express their needs verbally can lead to behavioral issues such as screaming, aggression, and tantrums. What works to help the child and improve these behaviors?
- The first question is what the behavior is trying to communicate.
- Teach replacement behaviors. How do you find and teach this?
- Environmental manipulation. Change what you can.
- Priming
- Self-management
Working with the school
Prognosis
Causes of autism

Resource:
Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Have you thought about adopting a child of a different race or ethnicity? Are you up for the job? How can you be the best family for this child? Join us when we talk with Meggin Nam Holtz, a Licensed Master Social Worker, and a Korean adoptee. She has a private counseling practice specializing in adoption. She created an award-winning documentary film, Found in Korea, about birth search, country of origin travel, identity, and adoption.

In this episode, we cover:

If you are a White parent, are there different issues you need to consider depending on the race of the child you adopt?
Some families prefer to adopt a bi-racial child rather than a child who is all Black or all Latinx. What are the issues to consider?
Is there a difference between transracial and transcultural adoption?
What does it take to raise a child to have a healthy self and racial identity. How do they differ?
What are some of the issues parents should think about to determine if they are a family that should adopt across racial or ethnic lines?
What should parents be prepared to do in order to help their children develop a healthy sense of self?
Adoption is a family affair, so how should prospective adoptive parents prepare their extended family members for the adoption of a child of a different race or culture?
How to find role models that racially mirror your child?
Research on how transracially adopted children are doing.
What to do if you have someone in your family that you fear will not be accepting or will not treat your child fairly?
What are some issues that may come up with open adoption when adopting across racial lines?
Preparation for transracial adoption goes beyond hair care; hair and skin care are important. What should parents know?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Does your child struggle with controlling their big emotions? Do they seem angry or frustrated most of the time? We've got some answers! Join us to listen to this interview with Dr. Stuart Shanker, a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology at York University and author of several books, including Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society. He is also an adoptive dad.

In this episode, we cover:

3 basic principles of self-regulation:
- There is no such thing as a bad or lazy kid.
  - No matter how difficult, out of control, distracted, or exhausted a child might seem, there’s a way forward: self-regulation.
- All people can learn to self-regulate in ways that promote rather than constrict growth.
- There is no such thing as a "fixed outcome": trajectories can always be changed, at any point in the lifespan, if only we have the right knowledge and tools.
How can parents help their children become calmer when we live in a stressful, frantic, and over-stimulating world?
How can parents calm themselves down in the hectic world?
Five-step method for managing stress
- 1. Reframe behavior by learning the difference between misbehavior and stress behavior and the signs of each. (Why and why now?)
- 1. Recognize stressors.
  2. Some typical stressors broken out by age.
  3. Some “hidden stressors” that their children are struggling with - physiological as well as social and emotional.
- 1. Reduce stress (deep breathing (pizza breath), exercise, touch, music, pets)
- 1. Reflect on what it feels like to be calm and what it feels like to be overstressed.
- 1. Restoration- energy, balance, and relationship.
These steps are not a program for managing a child’s behavior. Rather, these are five steps to promote understanding a child’s behavior.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you wonder how to talk to your child about adoption? What if they don't seem interested? How do you talk about some of the hard stuff? This episode explores talking with children about adoption at different ages with Mari Itzkowitz, with the Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE). She is an adoption-competent therapist and leader of the CASE Training Team, providing training and education to professionals and parents.

In this episode, we cover:

How does an adoptee’s understanding of adoption differ by age?
- Infants
- Toddlers & Preschoolers
- School Age
- Tweens
- Teens
- Young Adults
- Older Adults
How to talk about adoption at different ages?
Should you wait for the child to ask questions before you tell them about their adoption story?
What if your child or youth shows little or no interest in their adoption story?
How does openness or lack of openness impact a child’s understanding of adoption?
Should adoptive parents bring up the idea of searching for birth family?
How does transracial adoption impact a child’s understanding of adoption?
Our focus is often on birth mothers. How can you talk about adoption and the role of the birth father with young children who do not understand the concept of sex?
What to say when you know very little about the birth parents? How to handle hard birth parent stories? Should you tell a child that they were conceived by rape or that their birth mother is in jail or birth father suffers from addiction? At what age should you share this information?

Additional Resources:

Resources on Talking about Adoption
Building the Framework for Adopted & Foster Children to Process the Hard Parts of Their Stories
Suggested books on talking with kids about birthparents

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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How does parenting an adopted teen differ from parenting teens that come to us through birth? What are some of the unique challenges adopted teens or young adults face? Check out our interview with Katie Naftzger, an LCSW, Korean adoptee, and the author of “Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years.”

In this episode, we cover:

Why is parenting an “adopted” teen any different from parenting a child who comes to you by birth?
What issues related to adoption come to the front during the teen years?
What issues that relate to early neglect or abuse, or loss come to the fore in adolescence?
In your book, “Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years,” you talk about adoptive or foster parents taking a learning stance when working with teens. What is a learning stance?
Many of our kids have experienced early life adversity and carry the scars of this early trauma. Parents often naturally feel bad for their teens because of this. How can these feelings of pity interfere with the healthy parenting of teens? When to step in and help and when to let our teens figure out how to handle things on their own?
Some adoptive parents adopt out of a feeling of needing to save the child. How does the savior narrative impact parenting teens?
Birth family issues:
- Birth parents search
- Handling hard birth parent situations
- Identity formation-nature vs. nurture
- Navigating an open adoption with teens
Identity formation as a transracial adoptee.
Transitioning into adulthood.
We hear that adopted teens are more likely to have mental health issues and more likely to commit suicide. How do adoptive parents support their adopted teens?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Did your child experience trauma or loss before they came to you? Do you want to help them heal? Join our conversation with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor and the Doctoral Program Director at Montclair State University in the graduate counseling program and a licensed psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. She is an adult adoptee from Hong Kong and an adoptive parent of a daughter from China.

In this episode, we cover:

What is trauma?
What types of events/things create trauma?
Why are trauma, abuse, and neglect so harmful to children?
Is neglect a form of trauma?
How trauma impacts children, and what factors influence how much the trauma impacts the child later in life?
How to tell the difference between typical developmental behavior and behavior that is the result of trauma or loss?
What is triangulation?
How to break the triangle?
Helping our kids integrate their birth, adoptive or foster, and self-identities. Many children who do not live with their birth families struggle to incorporate parts of their birth families, foster or adoptive families, and who they innately are into a whole that is their identity. How can parents help their children form a healthy, complete identity?
Practical tips for helping children heal. Often, we do not know exactly what trauma our children have experienced. Either they don’t remember, or it happened before they were verbal, or they cannot or have not told us. How can we help them if we do not know what happened to them?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have you wondered if you could be the right place for an LGBTQ+ youth or child to land? Join us to talk about how to be an affirming and supportive home for LGBTQ+ youth. Or guest will be Angela Weeks, the Director of the National SOGIE Center at the Institute for Innovation and Implementation. Under the Center, she directs the Center of Excellence for LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity and the National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ2S Children and Youth in Foster Care.

In this episode, we cover:

Why are these young people over represented in child welfare?
LGBTQ+ youth are 1.5 -2 times more likely to have a foster placement failure. Why?
What does the research indicate about how sexual orientation and gender identity are formed?
Are LGBTQ+ youth more likely to have a mental health diagnosis or behavioral issues.
Are LGBTQ+ youth more likely than heterosexual or cisgender young people to sexually abuse or otherwise pose a threat to others, including children?
How to help youth evaluate the safety of their communities, schools, social networks, and homes to decide whether to disclose their LGBTQ+ identity, when to do so, and to whom.
Parents often think, especially with younger kids, that this is just a phase. And kids are coming out (acknowledging their sexual orientation/gender identity to themselves and others) at younger and younger ages. And there is some fluidity. So how’s a parent to know how to handle?
- Studies by the Family Acceptance Project have found that most people report being attracted to another person around age 10 and identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual by age 13 (on average). Most children have a stable sense of their gender identity by age 4
Sexual orientation vs sexual behavior.
How can parents create a welcoming and affirming home?

Additional Resources:

Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/lgbtqyouth.pdf
Glossary of Terms (Human Rights Campaign)
The National SOGIE Center. The National Center for Youth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, & Expression provides a centralized site for accessing resources on providing culturally responsive care to children, youth, and young adults with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) and their families across systems, including child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health (including school mental health), substance use systems, and housing and homelessness. https://www.sogiecenter.org/
Family Acceptance Project® LGBTQ Youth & Family Resources To Decrease Mental Health Risks & Promote Well-Being https://lgbtqfamilyacceptance.org/
Learning About Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression (SOGIE) (Video)
A Guide for Understanding, Supporting, and Affirming LGBTQI2-S Children, Youth, and Families
Support for LGBTQ Youth Starts at Home (Video)
Be True and Be You: A Basic Guide for LGBTQ+ Youth

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How do you handle a birth parent showing up to a meeting with the child stoned or drunk? What do you do when a birth parent often breaks promises to the child? Join us to talk about nine sticky situations that adoptive parents often find themselves in. Our guest is Lori Holden, the author of The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole.

In this episode, we cover:

What do we mean by openness and why is openness or some form of a relationship considered best for adopted kids?
Difficult/Sticky Situation #1: Birth Parent Addiction to drugs or alcohol.
- How to handle things when a birth parent shows up for a meeting with a child high or stoned.
- How to set healthy boundaries with birth parents who are addicted? How to set these boundaries when you have an open adoption with a birth parent dealing with addiction?
- Explaining drug addiction of birth parents to children.
Difficult/Sticky Situation #2: Failing to show up for meetings/visits or showing up late?
- Determining the cause.
- How do you protect your child from disappointment?
- How to handle it if the parents are struggling with substance abuse disorder.
Difficult/Sticky Situation #3: Making promises they can’t or won’t keep.
Difficult/Sticky Situation #4: Should you maintain any type of relationship with a birth parent who abused or neglected the child?
Difficult/Sticky Situation #5: How should parents deal with the obvious difference between openness in multiple adoptions within the same family?
Difficult/Sticky Situation #6: DNA testing. If the birth parents have not told others about the child, what obligation do you have to their desires regarding DNA testing on the child? What if there are medical reasons for doing the testing?
Difficult/Sticky Situation # 7: When the adoptive parent is the problem. Over-reacting, assuming the worst intentions, etc.
Difficult/Sticky Situation #8: Birth family doesn’t want contact.
Difficult/Sticky Situation #9: Birth siblings being parented by the birth parents.
Why should parents try to maintain relationships with the birth family in difficult situations?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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When should your child get a smartphone? What can you do if your child spends too much time playing video games? How can we protect our kids from the downsides of social media? Join us to talk about parenting and technology with Krista Boan, co-founder of the nonprofit Screen Sanity.

**In this episode, we cover:

Digital Health**:

Screen Sanity’s 5 Rules of Thumb.
Ride, practice, drive” approach for device and app introduction.
How to handle a foster, adoptive, or kinship placement of a child that has already gone down that slippery slope of too much screen time and tech. How do you establish reasonable boundaries?
Is it still recommended that parents establish a "no expectation of privacy" policy for online activity? At what age/stage should that start to change?
How to handle when your family has vastly different rules from your child’s friend’s families when you don’t want your child to feel left out?

Screentime:

What is a reasonable rule of thumb for how much screen time a child should be allowed by age?
What is considered screen time?
- School work?
- Facetime with family or friends?
- Drawing or coding games?
- Social media?
How do we handle cell phones and tablets when we see more negative behavior from any usage?

Smartphones:

At what age should a child be given a smartphone? What questions should you ask before you give a child a smartphone?
What are the alternatives to a smartphone? What are good starter phones?

Video Games:

How to manage the addictive nature of video games?
How to strike the balance between limiting the time of video games when this is where many kids socialize.
Screen Sanity’s Video Game Decision Tree

Social Media:

What are the pitfalls, and how can we protect our kids?
When should kids be allowed to be on social media?
How can parents keep up with what their kids are doing on social media?
The Social Media Playbook is a parent-child workbook for starting powerful conversations about social media. Families are prompted to dig deeper into the purpose of social media in their lives and question the false standards it places on its users.

Pornography:

How do we protect our kids and youth from pornography?
Good Pictures, Bad Pictures book

Screen Sanity has parent guides, training, webinars, and study groups.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Kari Dady joins us to talk about applying the guiding principles of Trust-Based Relational Intervention® to typical parenting situations. Kari Dady is a Regional Training & Consultation Specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. She is also an adoptive mom who uses the TBRI® approach daily in her family.

In this episode, we cover:

What is parental attachment style, and how does it influence how we parent?
How does trauma affect the developing child?
What are some of the different types of trauma that impact a child?
What are the core principles of Trust-Based Relational Intervention®(TBRI®)?
TBRI® talks about parents needing to make a mindset shift when looking at challenging behavior. What is this mindset shift?
How can parents apply Trust-Based Relational Intervention®(TBRI®) to the following common behaviors:
- Inability to accept rules, restrictions, or the word “no”
- Tantrums,
- Whining
- Sleep issues
- Lying
- Stealing

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What happens when identical twins born in Vietnam are separated by adoption, with one adopted by a US family and one adopted by a Vietnamese family? Join us to talk with Erika Hayasaki, a journalist and author of Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity and the Meaning of Family.

In this episode, we cover:

The story.
Twin studies.
Adoption studies.
The similarities of the twins in your story and in twin studies.
The differences between the twins in your story and in twin studies.
Reuniting
How did the twins' reunion affect them, their family in Vietnam, and their adopted family in the US?
Complications that the disparate degrees of wealth caused.
Adoptive parents’ role in reunion.

Twin studies referenced:

Polderman, T., Benyamin, B., de Leeuw, C. et al. Meta-analysis of the heritability of human traits based on fifty years of twin studies. Nat Genet 47, 702–709 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3285
Website based on the research cited above: MaTCH. This website provides a resource for the heritability of all human traits that have been investigated with the classical twin design. The traits have been classified into 28 broad trait domains, as well as according to the standard classification schemes of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) or the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). Currently, the database includes information from 2748 papers, published between 1958 and 2012, reporting on 17804 traits on a total of 14,558,903 twin pairs. https://match.ctglab.nl/#/home

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have mealtimes become a battleground in your house, is your child a picky eater, or do you have a child who eats too much? We provide lots of tips in our conversations with Dr. Katja Rowell, a family doctor and author of Love Me, Feed Me, 2nd edition, and Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating. She has a special interest in supporting foster and adoptive parents.
In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the typical food issues for adopted or foster kids, especially those who have experienced trauma?
How does trauma impact feeding?
Responsive eating leaves space to recognize what the body needs.
What do you mean by felt safety and focusing on connection?
What is a responsive and flexible framework for feeding kids with brain-based differences?
How to best deal with kids who are significantly underweight.
How to best handle extreme pickiness.
How to handle children who are eating too much, emotional eaters, or who are overweight.
Why do kids from foster care or institutional settings often become larger than optimal for their health?
Practical tips for establishing healthy eating patterns in adopted or foster kids
- modified family style serving
- supporting nutrition
- sensory support at mealtimes
- food “exposure” therapy

Additional Resources:

Love Me, Feed Me
Blog: Parents on dessert with dinner
Follow Dr. Rowell on Instagram

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating

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Are you planning on claiming the Adoption Tax Credit when you file your taxes this year? If so, this is the podcast for you! We talk with two of the top experts in the US on the Adoption Tax Credit: Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill’s Tax Service, and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2022 federal taxes?
How to advocate for refundability?
What is a “credit” and how does it differ from a deduction or some other form of tax savings?
If you get a tax refund every year, how would you use the Adoption Tax Credit?
If you don’t have any federal tax liability, should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes?
What types of adoptions are included or excluded? Stepparent adoption? Embryo adoption? Same-sex partner second-parent adoption? Unmarried heterosexual second-parent adoption? Surrogacy?
Can you get credit for each adoption you complete even if completed in the same year? What about adopting siblings at the same time?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit 2022?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
- Domestic private adoption
- International Adoption
- Re-adoption in the US for international adoption
- Foster Care Adoption
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work with kinship adoptions? What if the child never was involved with foster care?
Special Needs Adoption: How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care? What does the IRS accept as proof of “special needs”?
$0 subsidy agreement
Special needs child for international adoption
Can you reclaim your expenses for an attempted adoption that did not result in a placement? How?
What income level (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is excluded from claiming the Adoption Tax Credit in 2022?
How long can the credit be carried over?
Are you able to amend the previous year's tax return to claim the adoption tax credit? Is the adoption tax credit something you can amend, and if so, how do you amend and how many years back?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax?
How does the Secure Act impact claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2022 taxes?
What should you do if the child’s Social Security Number is not available when you file?
- Should you use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN #) if you don’t have the child’s social security number?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employee adoption benefits? For special needs adoption?
Qualified Birth or Adoption Distribution from Qualified Retirement Plan without penalty. Under Secure Act.
If you adopt, can you still get the Child Tax Credit?
What do you need in order to get the Child Tax Credit for your adopted child?
Do you need to send to the IRS any documentation for the Adoption Tax Credit when you file your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
How to find a tax specialist knowledgeable on the Adoption Tax Credit? https://adoptiontaxcredit.org

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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Are you thinking about adopting this year? You don't want to miss this discussion of how to adopt and current trends in private infant adoption, foster care adoption, and international adoption. Our guests are Chris Peszka, MSW, Regional and District Supervisor at Adoptions From The Heart Adoption Agency, and Robin Sizemore, Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions.

In this episode, we cover:

Domestic infant private adoption in the US
- What is the process?
- What are the reasons that pregnant moms are placing their child?
- Open adoption
- Expectant parent choice
- Special needs of children available
- How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
- How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
- Adoption agency and adoption attorney
- What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting a baby?
Adoptions from foster care in the US
- What is the process?
- Adopting your foster child
- Adopting a waiting child
- What are the reasons that children are available for adoption from foster care in the US?
- What age and race of child is available for adoption from foster care?
- Special needs?
- How long does it take?
- How much does it cost?
- What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting from foster care?
International adoptions to the US
- What is the process?
- What type of children are available for adoption from abroad?
- How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
- How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
- What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting internationally?
- What are some of the shifts in adoption in the last 5 or so years?
- What are some of the changes anticipated for 2023 and beyond?

Additional resources:

Adoptions in the US: How Many? How Much? How Long?
Choosing an Adoption Agency or Attorney

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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How do you know when enough is enough? What do you do when infertility treatment and adoption don't end up with you having a child. Join us to talk with Rebecca and Sallyann Majoya, co-authors of the memoir Uncertain Fruit, and Carole LieberWilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist providing individual and couples counseling, as well as psychoeducational consultations, for those moving into alternative paths to parenthood and living child-free.

In this episode, we cover:

Deciding to live child-free is becoming increasingly common in the US. Research has found that 30 percent of women of childbearing age identifying wanting to live child-free. However, that is not reflective of the people we are speaking to who have likely tried infertility treatment or adoption and it hasn’t worked for them.
What is the right name: childfree or childless? Are you childfree by choice or childfree not by choice?
Age is less of a biological cut off point than in the past and that complicates the decision of whether to stop trying to have a child.
How do people know when it is time to stop trying? What are the signs that it is time to stop. How do you know when enough is enough?
Is making the decision to live childfree ‘giving up’?
Are there predictable steps for reaching the decision of when it is time to stop fertility treatment or adoption?
Determining when you should stop.
How to decide to stop?
- ‘Trying on’ the future
- Seeking new goal/vision
- Therapy
How can “giving up the dream” of children impact a couple’s relationship?
How to handle when both partners are not on the same page.
Once you’ve made the decision, should you take steps to not get pregnant? The “not-try-but-not-prevent” approach.
For many, the decision to live child free not by choice causes grief, but this loss is invisible. It’s hard for others to see or understand, so we mourn without the support of our community.
What can people do to help themselves resolve the grief of not having kids?
- Writing a letter to the child you will never know.
- Giving this dream child a “funeral.” Doing something with the letter that is akin to a funeral. Concrete reminders that the person is gone.
- Create a ritual to say goodbye.
- Writing a memoir.
- Create a new life goal. A new vision for your future.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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We talk with Isaac and Julie Etter, a mom and son, about what they have learned about transracial adoption and what they wish they had known at the beginning. Isaac is the founder of Identity, a startup focused on using technology to help adoptive and foster families thrive. Julie Etter is a mom of five and a humanities teacher.

In this episode, we cover:

Isaac, tell us your adoption story from your perspective. Why were you placed for adoption? What were the first two years of your life like? Where you were raised?
Julie, what was your motivation for adopting? Were there other children in the family?
What was the racial demographics of your community?
Julie, what were you taught about transracial adoption before you adopted?
Isaac, how did you identify racially as a young child? When did you start identifying as black?
Did you experience racism growing up?
Julie, did you see racism directed towards Isaac as a child?
Did you tell your parents?
Julie, what do you wish you had known before you adopted a Black child? Would you have done anything differently?
Isaac, what do you want transracial adopted parents to know?
Julie, what advice would you give other parents who have or are considering adopting tranracially?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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How do some kids survive a life of poverty, homelessness, abuse, and foster and eventually thrive? We talk with David Ambroz is a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate and the author of the memoir, A Place Called Home. He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. Currently serving as the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, Ambroz previously led Corporate Social Responsibility for Walt Disney Television, and has served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as well as a California Child Welfare Council member. After growing up homeless and then in foster care, he graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is a foster dad and lives in Los Angeles, CA.

In this episode, we cover:

Poverty and Homelessness:
- His story.
- School
- What made a difference?
- What should adults who encounter or work with homeless children/youth know?
Foster Care:
- His story.
- Youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are overrepresented in foster care (Human Rights Campaign, 2015). While approximately 5 percent of the general population is estimated to be LGBTQ+, studies estimate that about 30 percent of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ+. Why are these young people over represented in child welfare? LGBTQ+ youth are 1.5 -2 times more likely to have a foster placement failure.
- What would you want foster parents to know?
What made the difference in your eventually succeeding? (Going to Vassar and UCLA Law School.)
The lack of available treatments for mental illness.
Why did you become a foster parent?
Why did you title the book “A Place Called Home?”

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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How much do you really know about your fertility, menstrual cycles, and conception? Join us to learn more with Dr. Joyce Harper, a Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London, and the head of the Reproductive Science and Society Group. She is the author of Your Fertile Years.

In this episode, we cover:

Understanding the menstrual cycle
Understanding the basic of conception
Predicting ovulation
Basics of Infertility
What percentage of infertility is caused by the female partner, the male partner, or both?
What causes a woman to not ovulate?
Initial workup for women who meet the definition of infertility
Workup for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
Treatment Options for Infertility
How does the infertility workup differ for the LGBTQ+ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non-binary, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Gender Nonconforming Individuals)?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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Are you a foster or adoptive parent whose child is taking mood altering medications or medications to help them sleep? You will learn a lot about these medications and what you can do to make them as effective as possible. We talk with Dr. Adam Langenfeld, a Developmental Pediatrician at Children's Minnesota Hospital. He also has a Ph.D. in chemistry.

In this episode, we cover:
* What are psychotropic medications? * What are the classes of psychotropic medications? * What are some commonly prescribed medications in each class? * What mental health issues are these medications addressing? * Symptoms of anxiety and depression in children. * Situational anxiety or depression. + SCARED checklist anxiety + Childhood Depression Inventory * How do psychotropic medications work? A basic overview of Psych Pharmacology. + Simulation of a brain synapsis * How are medications in each of these classes administered? * Does timing of the day matter? * How effective is melatonin? * Does proximity to meals matter when administering these medications? * What are some of the side effects of the most commonly used psychotropic medications? + Psychedelics? + Supplements (such as CBD)? * Why are children in foster care more likely to be on psychotropic medications? * Does use of psychotropic medications in childhood increase the likelihood of substance abuse in adolescence or adulthood? * What can parents do to help these medications be as effective as possible? * How to know when a child should taper down or get off of psychotropic medications? * If parents believe that the child is on too many psychotropic medications, what should they do?

Additional Resources:
* Children in Foster Care Much More Likely to be Prescribed Psychotropic Medications Compared with Non-Foster Children in Medicaid Program * National Alliance on Mental Illness, Quick Reference to Psychiatric Medications * Common Medications Used in Psychiatric Treatment * Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) * Children’s Depression Inventory 2nd Edition (there is a fee for this inventory) * Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children * Simulation of a brain synapsis

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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Do you wonder if your child was prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs? There may be nothing in the files, but something feels not right? We talk about diagnosing and treating these kids with Dr. Larry Burd, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and the Director of the North Dakota Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center.

In this episode, we cover:

Most of our audience is foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and professionals. Often they don’t know for sure if a child has been exposed. The US government estimates that about 10% of all children in the US have been prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs. Do you have a feel for the percentage of children in foster care or who have been involved with the child welfare system? International adoption? Domestic infant adoption?
Does prenatal exposure increase the likelihood of a disruption to a foster or adoptive placement?
How is prenatal exposure to alcohol detected or diagnosed?
What type of training do pediatricians receive during their education or residency on prenatal exposure and on how to diagnose?
Can you tell at birth or in infancy if a baby has been exposed to alcohol in utero?
How is prenatal exposure to drugs detected or diagnosed?
How does birth order change the likelihood that a child who is at risk has been exposed during pregnancy?
What are the long-term impacts of alcohol exposure? What are the symptoms that are most noticeable to parents, teachers, and other professionals working with these children?
Alcohol exposure affects multiple systems in the body.
Does it matter what type of alcohol was consumed?
Who can diagnose a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?
What are the long-term impacts of the following drugs?
- Opioids
- Heroin and Fentanyl
- Depressants (benzodiazepines, such as Valium, Xanax)-Prescribed and unprescribed
- Stimulants-Prescribed and unprescribed
- Methamphetamines
- Marijuana
- Tobacco/Nicotine
Do pediatricians have a body of resources to offer parents regarding raising a child with prenatal exposure?
Tips for parents

Additional Resources Mentioned in Interview:

Still Face Experiment

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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Are you a transracial adoptive or foster parent? Have you wondered how you can help your child form a healthy racial identity. Does racial identity formation change depending on the race of the child? Today we talk about all this and more with Dr. Gina Miranda Samuels, a professor at the University of Chicago and Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture. She is a transracial adoptee and co-author of the book Multiracial Cultural Attunement.

In this episode, we cover:

How do children in the US come to understand race at different ages and developmental stages?
How early do children develop a racial bias? How early do children associate certain characteristics to race and show a preference towards a person of a certain race?
How does transracial adoption or fostering or kinship care impact a child’s understanding of race?
How does transracial or transcultural adoption or fostering or kinship care impact children?
- Racial identity formation: How does being adopted transracially impact the adoptee’s racial identity formation?
- Coping with racism
In your research and in your experience, do you see a difference in the experience of race is perceived by both transracial adoptees or adoptive or foster parents depending on the race of the child? Asian, Latinx, Black, Bi-racial?
Why is taking the colorblind approach to parenting not helpful?
“It’s About More Than Hair”
Transracial parenting requires the family to be fluent in “race talk” – socialization is not a conversation, it is a daily, incremental, and developmental family process.
As our kids age, what is it like for our tweens, teens, and young adults to have parents of a different race?
How does transracial adoption or fostering impact siblings in the family who are the same race as the parents?
How does transracial adoption or fostering affect extended family members, such as grandparents and aunts and uncles?
Practical tips for parents raising a child of a different race or ethnicity.

Additional Resources:

Diverse Book Finder
The Brown Bookshelf – highlights Black voices writing for young readers.
The Conscious Kid
Multiracial Cultural Attunement by Gina Miranda Samuels and Kelly Faye Jackson, 2019
Tips for parenting your transracially adopted child by Dr. Gina Samuels
EmbraceRace was founded to create the community and gather the resources they needed (need!) to meet the challenges faced by those raising children in a world where race matters.
Dr. Erin Winkler, Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race
Hamilton ER, Samek DR, Keyes M, McGue MK, Iacono WG. Identity Development in a Transracial Environment: Racial/Ethnic Minority Adoptees in Minnesota. Adopt Q. 2015;18(3):217-233. doi: 10.1080/10926755.2015.1013593. PMID: 26300622; PMCID: PMC4540225.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the profes

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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What are the common health issues foster parents and those adopting from foster care should expect? We talk with Christy Street, Program Director of Fostering Health NC, which is a program of North Carolina Pediatric Society.

In this episode, we cover:

Term “health” broadly to encompass physical, emotional, mental, behavioral, developmental, educational, and oral health.
Impact of trauma on kids physical and mental health.
Those areas of the brain most affected by trauma, especially early trauma, are those involved in stress response, emotional regulation, attention, cognition, executive function, and memory.
An issue with foster care parenting is limited access to health care before entering foster care and lack of knowledge about previous health care. How does this impact care and what can foster or adoptive parents do?
The role of transience and uncertainty for kids in foster care provides challenges for foster parents and doctors in providing health care to kids in foster care.
Immunizations
Medicaid Care management
Foster kids often come to us with a bag full of medications that have been prescribed somewhere along the line and a host of diagnoses. What role can foster or soon to be adoptive parents play?
What are psychotropic drugs and why are so many foster children on them?
What can foster parents do if they question the amount or type of medication their foster child is taking or even the underlying diagnosis?
What role does a foster parent have in seeking a change in medication for their foster child?
What doctor do you take your foster child to? Your pediatrician? Their previous doctor, if they had one? The doctor that has prescribed the medication?
Pre-natal exposure to alcohol and drugs: impact, diagnosis.
One of the most confusing aspects of caring for a child in foster care is identifying who has the authority to consent for health care on behalf of the child or adolescent. Varies by state (caseworker can tell you).
Sleep issues with foster children. What causes sleep issues? What can foster parents or parents adopting from foster care do to help children in foster care sleep better?
How common are weight issues in foster children? Why is obesity and being overweight an issue? What can foster parents or parents adopting from foster care do?
Dental care for foster children. How much and how soon?
Coping with feelings of “why bother” when a foster child will return to the same chaotic household they came from.

Additional Resources

Guide for Use and Monitoring of Psychotropic Medications in Children & Adolescents
Tips to Help Your Child Sleep
NCPeds.org - Fostering Health
NCPeds.org - Library

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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Are you thinking about using donor sperm, egg, or embryo or using a surrogate? We talk about the current trends in third party reproduction with Corey Burke, an embryologist and Tissue Bank Director at Cryos International Sperm & Egg Bank.

In this episode, we cover:

What do we mean by third-party reproduction?
What are some of the current trends in sperm donation?
What are some of the current trends in egg donation?
What are some of the current trends in surrogacy?
What are some of the current trends in embryo donation?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the showDo you want more expert-based information? Check out our free resources at CreatingaFamily.org.

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Is your child more challenging than most? Do typical parenting approaches not work? We talk about how to parent harder-to- parent kids with Dr. Ross Greene, the originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions parenting model, a non-punitive, non-adversarial, trauma-informed model of care. Dr. Greene is a clinical psychologist, former Harvard professor, and the author The Explosive Child and Raising Human Beings.

In this episode, we cover:

Why are some kids “harder to parent”?
How does trauma impact a child’s behavior?
How does innate temperament or genetics impact behavior?
What is the collaborative partnership approach?
3 Steps to the Collaborative & Proactive approach are:
- The Empathy step – involves gathering information so as to achieve the clearest understanding of the kid’s concern or perspective about a given unsolved problem.
- The Define Adult Concern step involves the adult sharing their perspective.
- The Invitation step involves having the adult and kid brainstorm solutions so as to arrive at a plan of action that is both realistic and mutually satisfactory…in other words, a solution that addresses both concerns and that both parties can actually do.
“Kids do well if they can.” Kids are challenging because they’re lacking the skills not to be challenging. If they had the skills, they wouldn’t be challenging. That’s because – and here is perhaps the key theme of the model — Kids do well if they can. And because (here’s another key theme) Doing well is always preferable to not doing well (but only if a kid has the skills to do well in the first place).
How would you apply this approach to work with kids who have experienced trauma?
Is Collaborative partnership permissive parenting?
Practical applications:
- A child who struggles with transitions.
- A child who won’t accept “no” and tantrums or argues.
- A child who doesn’t handle change and can’t be flexible.
- Tattling
- A teen who disregards curfew or other house rules.
- How to deal with aggressive behaviors towards pets, siblings, or parents?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have you ever thought about adopting a child from abroad? What does it take and what type of kids are available? To learn more, listen to our interview with Robin Sizemore, Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions, who has worked in the international adoption field for 27 years and Debbie Price, Executive Director of Children’s House International and who has worked in international adoption for 28 years.

In this episode, we cover:

Outline of the typical international adoption process.
What type of kids are available for international adoption?
What is the youngest child available?
Is it possible to get a young healthy child or baby?
International adoption regulations.
What governmental entities are involved in international adoption?
How to decide on what country to adopt from? Will the country accept you? Does the country place children that you think your family is a good fit for?
What are some of the country-specific requirements for adoptive parents?
Can adoption agencies have different or more stringent requirements than the foreign or US government?
What are the health risks for children adopted internationally? What type of special needs do children have?
What type of care do children have before adoption? Institutional vs foster care.
How to find children abroad who are waiting for adoption? How to adopt a child on a waiting child website?
How much information will you have on the health of the child when you receive a referral?
How big of a risk is it that a country will close down to international adoption once you apply? How do you mitigate the risk of losing the money you invested?
What to look for in an international adoption agency?
Pre-adoption education requirements.
How much does international adoption cost?
Are grants available?
What is the Adoption Tax Credit and can it be used for an international adoption?
How long does it take to adopt internationally?
Is it possible for single women, gays, lesbians, or other members of the LGBTQ+ community to adopt internationally?
Importance of post-adoption reporting.
How do internationally adopted children acquire US citizenship?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

In this episode, we cover:Domestic Infant Adoption:

Process
Typical stresses adoptive parents feel
Lack of sleep
Not deserving to complain
Feeling like a babysitter
Not feeling love at first site
Impact of infertility struggles on transitioning into parenthood
Stresses with parenting a child with neonatal abstinence syndrome
Stresses with open adoption

Older child adoption through foster care or international adoption:

Process
Typical stresses adoptive parents feel
Unrealistic expectations of the child and of yourself
Love at first site
Feeling like a babysitter
Language issues
Cultural issues
Parental attachment styles-How the way we were parented influences how we parent.
Challenging behaviors
Sibling issues

Change is stressful and adding a child to your family is a huge change regardless of how the child joins the family. What can newly adoptive parents do to prepare in advance and to cope in those first few months?

How has the idea of cocooning impacted stress?

Additional Resources:

Doc McStuffins, "Baby McStuffins" (Season 3)
Sesame Street, "Gina Adopts a Baby"
Suggested Book List on Preparing Children for Adoption of a Sibling
Suggested Book List on Explaining Adoption To Birth Siblings of Adopted Children
Creating a Family resources on Disrupting Birth Order
Creating a Family courses on Combining Kids by Birth and Adoption

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily
Support the show

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

In this episode, we cover:

Tell us your story to parenthood.
The imagined role of the male partner: strong, supportive, and not needing support.
Media messages about men that impact how they can respond to infertility: men take action to fix problems, showing emotion makes you weak, real men don’t ask for or need help, real men are virile, being a father is part of what makes you a man.
What are some things that you learned that the male partner can do to improve the quality or quantity of sperm.
What are some common emotions men or those supporting a person trying to get pregnant might feel when they start infertility treatment: anger; embarrassment; jealousy; fear that is won’t work; worry (over costs, impact of the treatment on their partner and their relationship), feeling less manly.
How can the supporting partner take care of themselves during treatment?
The partner’s role in giving the shots. What are some common feelings they experience?
Tips for staying connected with your partner through the stress of fertility treatment.
Dealing with miscarriage yourself while supporting your partner.
The role of infertility nurses. You wanted to nominate your infertility nurse for sainthood. What did she do that made the stressful experience of infertility and its treatment more bearable for you as the male partner.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you think your child or your family would benefit from counseling? How do you find the right therapist and how can you tell in advance if they will be a good fit for your family? We talk with Debbie Riley, a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and CEO of the Center for Adoption Support and Education.

In this episode, we cover:

What type of professional can provide therapy to an adopted or foster child or family?
What’s the difference between being adoption competent and adoption informed?
Why is competency in adoption or foster issues important?
What do we mean be an “adoption competent therapist”? What makes a therapist adoption competent?
Is adoption/foster competence the same as trauma competence?
How can you tell if a therapist is competent to handle adoption or foster issues? Are there specific trainings that provide adoption competency?
Creating a Family provides a list of ways to find an adoption competent therapist on our Adoption Therapy section.
Is one type of therapeutic model of treatment more effective for adoptive children and families? Theraplay, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Narrative therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), etc.
Should therapy with adopted kids on adoption issues involve just the child, or the child and the parent?
What is home-based therapy and are there advantages to this type of therapy for adoptive and foster families.
How can you find a therapist that will provide therapy within the home? (One source is http://www.familycenteredtreatment.org/)
Is therapy via tele-health or via teleconferencing as effective for adopted children? For families? How to know if it will work for your family? Ways to make it more effective.
How can a parent determine if the therapist is a good fit for the child and family? What questions should they ask?
How many sessions to try?
When to seek a therapist?
How to find a therapist with lived experience of being adopted?

Resources

How to find an adoption competent therapist?
A Guide to Selecting an Adoption or Foster Therapist
10 Reasons for Parents to be in Child’s Therapy Session
Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens & Beneath the Mask: For Teen Adoptees: Teens and Young Adults Share Their Stories

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

In this episode, we cover:

What is the goal of the foster care system?
How to become a foster parent?
What are the typical requirements for becoming a foster parent?
What disqualifies you to become a foster parent?
What type of pre-service training is involved?
How long does it usually take to become a licensed foster parent?
Who licenses foster parents?
What types of questions should parents ask when deciding on which agency to work with?
What are the different levels of licensing for foster homes?
Do foster parents get paid?
Can you foster if you rent your home or apartment?
Does one parent have to be at home if they want to have infants or young pre-school aged children placed with them?
How much control do foster parents have on which child is placed with them?
What is expected of foster parents when a child is placed with them?
Can you travel with a foster child? Out of state? Out of the country?
What is shared parenting or co-parenting?
What type of support should foster parents expect from the agency they are licensed through?
Is it possible to adopt your foster child?
How do you foster and adopt?
How much control do foster parents have on visitation, medical treatment, mental health care, and reunification?
How to cope with the grief when a foster child leaves?
Where can foster parents turn for support?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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We talk today with Sarah Naish, the CEO of the Center of Excellence in Child Trauma and founder of the National Association of Therapeutic Parents. She is the author of "The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting" and "The A-Z of Survival Strategies for Therapeutic Parents." She is the adoptive mom to a sibling group of 5 who are now adults and she has fostered over 40 kids.

In this episode, we cover:

Why are some kids harder to parent and why especially are kids who have experienced trauma, including prenatal trauma, often harder to parent?
Understanding the cause of the behavior is the root of parenting harder to parent kids.
Establish the basics to make their lives predictable so they can feel safe and grow and heal. The elements for establishing this base:
- Routines
- Establish yourself as a safe base-empathetic and nurturing but in control
  - Respond to the child, not to the child’s demand
Be honest about their story, contact, etc. – be factual, but don’t fill in the gaps
Establish strong, clear boundaries- what to do when these boundaries are crossed?
Use natural or life consequences
- Our kids may not recognize cause and effect.
  - Early trauma, including prenatal exposure, can hinder a child’s ability to recognize cause and effect
  - Our kids may be developmentally younger than their chronological years which also impacts understanding.
- Natural consequences help children recognize that they can make an impact on the world-helps them make sense of the world
- Combine natural consequences with nurturance.
How to handle incidents when they happen. PARENTS model.
- Pause-to allow you to respond with intention not emotion.
- Assess-is anyone in danger or serious damage.
- Reflection-quick reflection to identify the trigger.
- Empathize rather than ask questions
  - use empathetic commentary-
  - respond to their feelings rather than the behavior.
- Nurture-examples of nurturing in the heat of the moment.
- Think about next action to take.
  - What strategies might I use to resolve this? Do you need to do anything else?
  - How can we avoid this situation in the future?
- Self-care
Other parenting strategies for harder to parent kids. Other tools for your toolkit.
- Identify your triggers.
- Set realistic expectations.
- Use silliness or playfulness.
- Remove the audience.
- Help kids show they are sorry rather than demand they say they are sorry.
- The phone strategy.
- Watch what the child is doing rather than what she is saying.
- Payback time.
- Admit it when you made a mistake.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

In this episode, we cover:

Sperm Donation:

What are the possibilities of getting pregnant when the male partner has an abnormal semen analysis? Does it depend on whether sperm count, motility, or morphology are abnormal?
When should patients consider sperm donation from a medical standpoint?
How and when should medical providers bring up the possibility of using donated sperm? Does it matter that the “patient” is usually the female partner?
What are some of the psychological issues that may arise for the female partner using a sperm donor?
What are some feelings the male partner commonly experiences?
What type of impact does “asymmetry of parenthood” in which there will be a biological motherhood and social fatherhood have on couples?
How do these issues differ if the patient is part of a heterosexual couple, a lesbian couple, or a single parent?

Egg Donation:

When should patients consider egg donation from a medical standpoint?
What medical conditions make egg donation appropriate?
How and when should medical providers bring up the possibility of using donated eggs? Who on the medical staff is the one that usually introduces the topic?
What are some of the psychological considerations for the female partner?
What are some of the psychological considerations for the male partner?
What type of impact does “asymmetry of parenthood” in which there will be a genetic father and biological mother who is carrying but not using her own eggs?

Donor Selection:

What are some general medical considerations when selecting any type of donor? (i.e., egg or sperm bank vs. live donor)
What advice would you give intended parents about psychological considerations when selecting a donor?
Do medical providers or mental health professionals talk with patients about the use of anonymous vs. open donors/identified donors?
What issues to consider when using known/directed donors? (i.e., friends, relatives)
Should you tell the child?

Embryo Donation:

When should patients consider using donated embryos?
How to discuss this option with patients?
What are some of the psychological considerations for the intended parents?

Additional Resources:
American Society of Reproductive Medicine Guidance Regarding Gamete and Embryo Donation

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Transracial adoption affects all parts of the adoption triad. We will talk today with a transracial adoptee and his birth mom and adopted mom. We will include tips for adoptive parents raising transracially adopted or fostered child.

In this episode, we cover:

Adoptee’s experience with transracial adoption
- Preschool
- Elementary years
- Middle and high school years
  - Code switching
  - Feelings
  - Identity formation
- College
- Adulthood
- Reunion with birth family
- Birth Father?
Birth Mother’s experience with reunion and transracial adoption
- Her role in identity formation
- Her feelings on reunion
Adoptive Mother’s experience with transracial adoption
Tips for adoptive and foster parents

Additional Information:

Kyle Bullock’s Instagram: kb_2090
Short documentary based on story of Kyle and his birth family and adoptive family. “Finding identity: Growing up a transracial adoptee”

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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We talk today with Dr. Gina Samuels about Trauma and Transracial Adoption. Dr. Samuels is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and In-Coming Director at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture. She is an adult transracial adoptee. She has a newly published article in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect tilted “Epistemic trauma and transracial adoption.”

In this episode, we cover:

How do you define trauma? What is complex trauma?
What is epistemic trauma and how does it differ from the trauma caused by abuse or neglect or witnessing violence?
The article, “Epistemic trauma and transracial adoption”, asks how might the theory of epistemic injustice highlight conditions endemic to the experience of adoption, and specifically transracial adoption, that mark a distinct type of trauma? How does this apply to all adoption and how specifically to transracial adoption?
The article posits that the condition of being transracially adopted can represent intersectional minoritized statuses.
What are some other life experiences that can result in epistemic trauma and intersectional minoritized status? Mixed race? First generation immigrant?
What are ways in which transracial adoption is traumatic? Racism? Adoption based microaggressions? Racial microaggressions?
What are ways in which the institution of adoption aid in this epistemic trauma?
“Hermeneutical smothering”—the deployment of dominant meanings that drown out, distort, or obscure one's own meaning making processes. How does this apply in adoption? How does it apply in transracial adoption? (How adoptees experience racism; how adoptees experience adoption)
“TRA does not adopt children out of racism. In fact, TRA can place children right in the center of it.” Being transracially adopted, also amplifies a person of color's proximity to whiteness, and to the meanings of race and racism that exist within in these spaces.
The feeling of being more fully understood with other transracial adopted people.
How can we do better?
The Creating a Family Facebook Support Group had an interesting discussion from all sides of the adoption triad (adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents) of the following quote: “Adoption loss is the only trauma in the world where the victims are expected by the whole of society to be grateful.” ~Rev. Keith C. Griffith
- Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/creatingafamily/posts/10159843117386168/

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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We talk with Ryan Hanlon, with National Council for Adoption, about the largest survey of adoptive parents ever conducted. We talk about who adoptive parents are, the needs of the kids adopted, and so much more.
In the episode, we cover:

Who is adopting in the US? How are they similar and how do they differ from the general population of parents in relation to income and education level?
What are the primary motivations for parents to adopt? Does it differ based on domestic infant adoption, international adoption, and foster care adoption?
What type of special needs or diagnoses do adopted children have?
- How well are adoptive parents meeting these needs?
How are adopted kids doing in school?
What degree of openness or contact with birth families is common for infant adoption, intercountry adoption, and adoptions from foster care?
How do adoptive parents view their relationship with birth families?
How common are attachment issues in adoption and what factors contribute to attachment problems?
How are parents meeting the needs of transracially adopted children?
How satisfied are adoptive parents with the decision to adopt? Knowing what they know now, would they do it again?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How can epigenetic changes affect your fertility or the health of your child conceived by fertility treatment? We talk with Dr. Jason Franasiak, a board certified Obstetrician Gynecologist, board certified Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist, board certified High Complexity Laboratory Director in Embryology and Andrology, and lead physician of RMA’s Marlton Clinic and Lab in South Jersey. He has authored and contributed to over 100 peer reviewed publications, published chapters and abstracts. He serves on the Editorial Board for Fertility and Sterility and the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In this episode, we cover:

What is epigenetics?
What factors can influence or affect the epigenome?
Can we “see” epigenetic changes?
How do epigenetic factors impact our health?
What are the genetic and epigenetic factors associated with female infertility?
What are the genetic and epigenetic factors associated with female PCOS?
What are the genetic and epigenetic factors associated with endometriosis?
What are the genetic and epigenetic factors associated with primary ovarian insufficiency?
What are the genetic and epigenetic factors associated with male infertility?
How could epigenetics affect modifications in invitro fertilization and invitro embryo development?
Imprinting disorders
Do environmental factors affect epigenetics?
What are epigenetic disorders?
Are children conceived by IVF more likely to have epigenetic disorders?
Can epigenetic changes be heritable across generations?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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We know our kids have experienced trauma, but how can we help them overcome this trauma to become healthy happy adults. We talk about resilience and overcoming an adverse beginning with Dr. Julian Ford and Dr. Amanda Zelechoski. Dr. Ford is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry and Law at the University of Connecticut where he directs two Treatment and Services Adaptation Centers in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Dr. Ford is past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and has published more than 250 articles and book chapters and is the author or editor of 10 books. Dr. Amanda Zelechoski is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist specializing in trauma. She is a professor of psychology and Director of Clinical Training at Purdue University Northwest.

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the different types of events/situations that can be traumatic to a child?
Do different types of trauma affect children differently? Short term but intense trauma. Long term trauma at the hands of a primary caregiver. Neglect? Witnessing domestic violence? Prenatal trauma?
Why does early life trauma make it harder for kids to succeed at life?
What are some signs of trauma by age of child? Preschool? Elementary? Middle and High School? (learning, physical health, mental health, trouble with the law, etc.)
How to help our kids overcome their traumatic background and thrive?
How to rewire the neurons?
Triggers
Emotional regulation.
What can parents do to help their kids bounce back from their early life trauma?
What is the key element to resilience?
How can parents encourage resilience?
What role does temperament or personality play in resilience to trauma?
How long does it take for kids to “heal” from trauma?
Are there specific types of therapy that are more effective than others for helping children overcome trauma? Does it differ depending on the type of trauma?

Resources: Roadmap to Resilience Podcast series. www.roadmaptoreslience.org

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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We talk with a panel of former foster youth about their stories and what helped them survive their trauma and succeed in life.

In this episode, we cover:

What were the two most important things in helping you heal and ultimately thrive after your years in foster care and early life trauma?
Was their one or two people in your life who helped you overcome? What did they do to help?
Why do you think you became a survivor when others in similar positions did not?
If you are parents, how has your trauma from your early years impacted your parenting?
While you are successful and are “survivors” do you still carry some of the baggage from your childhood?
What advice would you give foster, adoptive, and kinship parents to be most helpful to the children in their care?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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

In this episode, we cover:

How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of trauma?
How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of attachment?
How knowledgeable were teachers in understanding the impact of adoption?
How knowledgeable were teacher sin understanding the impact of prenatal exposure?
Was there a perception that adopted kids were “troubled”?
What did they know about open adoption?
How accepting were teachers to the idea of modifying assignments to reflect diverse families, including those formed by adoption?
Do teachers know whether kids are adopted? Do they need to know? Do they feel comfortable asking this information?
Did teachers present lessons that included the diversity that adoption represents?
Does teacher training, either formal or in-service training, often include information on adoption?
What can parents do to help their child’s teacher be more adoption-aware or adoption-sensitive?
Where can listeners get more information on your research?
- The “Teachers and Adopted Children” Survey and the Factsheet for Teacher can be found here.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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How can you help you child succeed at school? We talk with Heather Forbes, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the owner of the Beyond Consequences Institute. She specializes on the impact of trauma and is the author of Help for Billy and Classroom 180.

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the specific issues that parents of foster and adopted kids need to consider when their children go back to school?
Tips for helping kids transition into the new year.
Is it better to address potentially sensitive issues up front before they happen, when they might not even happen, or wait to see if it comes up? For example, family tree assignments.
What are some other potentially triggering school assignments for foster or adopted kids?
How much of your child’s story should you share with your child’s teacher? How to balance the desire to keep your child’s history for them to decide who knows and sharing sensitive information with the teacher to help them work with your child.
How to address the issue of your child’s past trauma and how it affects the way they behave?
Why is it important to have a trauma-informed school?
What can parents do to help their school and their child’s teacher become more trauma informed?
A disproportionate number of adopted and foster kids have been prenatally exposed to alcohol and drugs. How does this exposure impact their education and time at school?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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We talk with Dr. Julie Lamb about Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. Dr. Lamb is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist practicing at Pacific Northwest Fertility in Seattle and Bellevue and serves as clinical faculty at the University of Washington.

In this episode, we cover:Endometriosis

What is endometriosis?
What are the symptoms of endometriosis?
What is the cause of endometriosis?
Is there a genetic link to endometriosis?
What factors increase your risk of developing endometriosis?
Does having endometriosis make you at greater risk for cancer?
How is endometriosis diagnosed?
Is a definitive diagnosis necessary before treatment?
How is endometriosis treated?
When should laparoscopic surgery to remove the endometriosis lesions be considered for the treatment of endometriosis?
When should hysterectomy be considered for treatment of endometriosis?
What are endometriomas?
What method is best for removing endometrial lesions: laser, electrical pulse, or other?
Is it possible to cure endometriosis?
What options are available to treat endometriosis on the fallopian tubes?
How does endometriosis affect fertility?
Does endometriosis affect the success of infertility treatment?

Adenomyosis

What is adenomyosis and how does it differ from endometriosis?
Adenomyosis vs. Fibroids
What are the symptoms of adenomyosis?
Is there a genetic link to adenomyosis?
How is adenomyosis diagnosed?
How is adenomyosis treated?
Does adenomyosis affect the success of infertility treatment?

General

More common in Black or Asian or Latina women?
Lupron
Can endometriosis be treated through diet or lifestyle changes?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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How can white parents raise anti-racist children in this time of violence against people of color and protests. We talk with Dr. Ann Hazzard, a clinical child psychologist who was on the faculty at Emory University in Atlanta and co-author of Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice; and Dr. Joy Harris, a Full-time Lecturer at Princeton Theological Seminary and co-author of The ABCs of Diversity: Helping Kids (and Ourselves!) Embrace Our Differences.In this episode, we cover:

Embrace Race.org. Founded by black and mixed race parents to provide resources for raising black children.
One Talk at a Time https://www.caminoslab.org/onetalk Providing support for Latinx American, Asian American, African American, and Black youth and their families to have conversations about race and ethnicity. They have a separate section for Black, Asian, and Latinx parents.
What is the difference between not being a racist and being anti-racist?
What is wrong with saying and believing any of the following: "love will conquer all", “we are all one race-the human race", and “colorblind is best”.

Tip 1. Talk about Race

Racism thrives in silence. Why are many white parents silent on raise in general and within our families?
When do children start recognizes racial differences?
When should white parents start talking to their kids about race?
How to start the conversation?
Fantastic resources:
- Diverse Book Finder https://diversebookfinder.org/books/
- The Brown Bookshelf highlights Black voices writing for young readers.
- The Conscious Kid https://www.theconsciouskid.org/

Tip 2: Acknowledging & Celebrating Racial Diversity

Why is it important to acknowledge and celebrate racial diversity?
How to acknowledge and celebrate racial diversity?

Tip 3: Recognize systemic/institutionalized racism and white privilege

What do we mean by systemic racism?
What do we mean by white privilege?
How early do kids start defaulting that things associated with being white are better than being black?
How can parents address institutionalize racism with their children who will likely benefit from it?
How do we help teach our kids to understand power inequity so they can name it, unpack it, and dismantle it when it happens in the real world.

Tip 4: Talk about Violence Against People of Color and the Protests/Resistance

Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice
How much should we share with our children? At what age should we talk with them about these hard topics or is it better to shield them from such “grown up” problems?
Talk about How People Make Change in a democracy.
Not a one-time conversation.
Appropriate conversation for age and developmental level.
Should young children watch the news and videos.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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One of the hardest parts of being a kinship caregiver is navigating the relationship with the child's birth parent. We talk with Dr. Joseph Crumbley, a social worker, family therapist and author of “An Overview of Kinship Care”.

In this episode, we cover:

Creating a Family listening sessions with kinship caregivers in rural counties.
What are some of the complicating factors in the relationship between kinship caregivers and the child’s parents?
Grandparents and other caregivers sometimes feel that the child’s parents will threaten them with taking the child away if they do something that the parent disapproves of.
How to not enable the child’s parent but still have a relationship.
How to set healthy boundaries for the caregiver’s and child’s best interest when you have years of experience not setting healthy boundaries?
How to handle others in the family who interfere with the boundaries you’ve established?
I don't know if this is a question, but I really struggle with getting my kids opportunities to see their mom and siblings. All other siblings have been reunited, and I gather it's painful for their mom to see the two that were adopted by us (she surrendered her rights). Although we live relatively close to them, we have only managed 2-3 visits a year, mostly because of long periods of no responses to my texts or last-minute cancellations of planned visits. Sometimes our adopted kids can't even remember their siblings' names and it just breaks my heart. I'd love for them to have a closer relationship, but I have only limited control.
How to handle the anger, shame, guilt you feel at the child’s parents?
How to support co-parenting when the child’s parent is still not in a healthy place?
How to support reunification?

For more information please refer to www.drcrumbley.com.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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How can churches support kids in foster care and prevent children from entering foster care? Join us for our discussion with Jedd Medefind, President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) and Amber Knowles, the Executive Director of Fostering Family.

In this episode, we cover:

We call it a foster care “crisis”. What does that term mean? What are the needs of foster children?
What is each organization doing to help engage churches in caring for foster kids?
What are ways people of faith can help improve the world of fostering if they know that they aren’t able to actually get licensed to foster?
How can churches provide support for people once they are parenting kids from foster care—either through fostering or adoption?
How can churches work to support birth families to help once the child has been reunified or to help stabilize them so that children don’t end up in care?
How can faith communities get involved with supporting foster families and foster kids?
The Jockey Being Family® Back to School Bash events will take place during the weekend of August 5-7th, 2022. These gatherings are geared towards foster and adoptive families with children 5-14 years of age. This is a chance to celebrate, educate, and empower families with a fun-filled and informative event as they prepare to head back to school for the upcoming year. Jockey Being Family® Foundation will provide grants for up to $3,000 to eligible organizations to help bring a Back to School Bash to your community. Together, we can be a much-needed support network for foster and adoptive families across the country. Email JBFBSB@jockey.com for additional information.
More Than Enough
Fostering Family and the Riverside Project
- Video: Riverside Project

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Are you considering adopting a baby? On today's show we talk about the legal and medical risk factors you need to consider. We talk with Amy Wallas Fox about the legal risk factors in infant adoption. Ms. Fox is an attorney partner of Claiborne Fox Bradley Goldman, a North Carolina and Georgia law firm and a fellow in the American Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. We talk with Dr. Lisa Prock, MD, MPH, about the medical risk factors in infant adoption. Dr. Prock is the Director of the Developmental Medicine Center and Associate Chief in the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

In this episode, we cover:

How can a hopeful adoptive parent find a baby to adopt in the US?
What is the difference between an adoption agency, adoption attorney, adoption facilitator, and adoption consultant?
What is meant by an adoption-friendly state? Is there a state that is better than others to try to find an expectant mom who may want to place her child for adoption?
What are the different time periods that expectant parents or birth parents have to change their mind?
Adoption is covered by state law.
Is it possible for a birth family to get the child back after an adoption is complete?
What are some of the legal issues with birth fathers—both identified and unidentified?
How does the Indian Child Welfare Act impact legal risk in adoption?
What are some red flags that an expectant mom may not go through with the adoption plan and decide to parent?
What are the most dangerous drugs or substances that an expectant woman can use during pregnancy as far as impact on the fetus and baby?
What is the impact of alcohol on a fetus and baby, both short term and long term?
What is the impact of opiates (prescription and non-prescription) on a fetus and baby, both short term and long term?
What is the impact of methadone or suboxone on a fetus and baby, both short term and long term?
What is the impact of heroin on baby, both short term and long term?
What is the impact of methamphetamines on a baby, both short term and long term?
Long term impact of prenatal exposure to cocaine or crack?
If the birth mother stopped using drugs and stopped drinking when she found out she was pregnant, will the baby be spared the worst of the impact?
What are the risks to the baby if the mother has Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, HIV, syphillis?
Is ADHD inheritable? Is there a gene for ADHD?
Do certain mental illnesses have a genetic connection? What is the likelihood that the child will have depression, anxiety, bi-polar, schizophrenia, or other mental illnesses if the birth parents had the illness?
Should adoptive parents worry if the expectant mom has not had prenatal care?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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

In this episode, we cover:

What biological reproductive health conditions that can impact their fertility are Black women more prone to.
- Tubal or uterine abnormalities
- PCOS
- Fibroids
Racial Disparities in Infertility Treatment
- African American women are more likely than white women to experience infertility and wait longer to seek care.
- Women of color are less likely to access fertility treatment.
Racial Disparities in Other Reproductive Health Issues
- Contraceptive use
- Pap tests
- Mammograms
- Maternal mortality
- Preterm birth
- Low birth weight
- Uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination
What are some of the social and structural challenges that contribute to these racial and ethnic disparities?
What can infertility nurses do to reduce racial disparities in reproductive health care?

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

In this episode, we cover:

The Virtual Interaction Pilot Program at the University of Kentucky
How to create a sense of community and relationship building with online parent support groups?
How many is too many participants in online groups?
What platform is best? Zoom? Microsoft Teams? Google Meet?
What day of week and time of day is best for participation?
Are there differences between urban vs. rural support groups?
How to increase engagement in meetings?
Do hybrid parent support groups work?
What is the future for foster, adoptive, and kinship parent support groups?
Do you see a difference in support groups for kinship parents?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Foster youth or children who have been in the foster care system make up over 80% of children being sexually exploited. What can you do to prevent this from happening to your child? We talk with Audrey Morrissey, Co-Executive Director of My Life My Choice, a survivor-led nonprofit fighting sexual exploitation of youth.

In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the different forms that sexual exploitation can take?
What is included in sexual trafficking?
Internet exploitation.
How does grooming take place.
Are foster children disproportionately represented in the sexually exploited population?
Are children who have experienced trauma over represented?
Seeking love and connection.
Sexual exploit of boys?
What can parents do to protect their children from sexual exploitation?
What resources are available to parents and young people?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Representative Marjorie Margolies had a busy career as a journalist, author, Congressional Representative, professor, and founder of Women’s Campaign International all while raising 11 kids by adoption, birth, sponsorship, and marriage. She is the author of a new memoir And How Are the Children.

In this episode, we cover:

How did each of your children join your family?
How did you “blend” children that came to you in different ways, with different backgrounds, and different ages?
What were the biggest challenges?
Did some of your children struggled? How much do you think the way they came to your family impacted their struggles?
What did you learn along the way?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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

In this episode, we cover:

How common is donor conception in the US? In other countries?
What percentage of parents in heterosexual couples tell their child of their donor conception?
Is there a difference in the percentage of parents disclosing donor conception with children conceived by donor sperm, donor egg, or donor embryo?
Is there a difference in the willingness to discuss surrogacy with children?
What does the research show about how many parents that say they are going to tell actually do tell by age 5 or age 10 or age 15?
Is there a difference of opinion in the professional field on whether children should be told? On whether professionals should counsel patients to tell their child?
The impact of over-the-counter genetic testing on parents’ willingness to disclose donor conception and infertility professionals’ willingness to encourage disclosure.
- Genetics study in school also raises questions
Is telling more common in same sex couples?
What are the motivating factors for parents who have told?
What reasons do parents give for not telling their child?
Is unresolved grief over their infertility (if infertility was a factor) a motivating factor for not telling?
Research has found that there are two general approaches behind when to tell children about their conception by donor sperm, egg, or embryo: “seed planting” and “right time”.
What is the average age that parents tell their child about their conception via donor sperm, egg, or embryo?
What word do parents use to describe the donor to the child? Does this word differ based on whether the parent is in a heterosexual partnership, a same-sex partnership, or is single?
How do parents talk about donor conception? If a two-parent household, which parent usually tells?
Is there a general story-line that parents use when disclosing donor conception to the child?
What does the research show about how donor conceived children feel about donor conception? Does it impact the quality of family functioning in a positive or negative way?
Use of children’s books.
What role could infertility professionals, especially nurses, play in disclosure decisions for infertility patients?
Should nurses, or other professionals, encourage disclosure?
- How can they support following through on disclosure of donor conception?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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We talk with a panel of birth moms about their adoption experience. What is the adoption experience for birth mothers and what do they think of some of the controversies in adoption, such as pre-birth matching, adoptive parents at the hospital, adoptive mother breastfeeding, etc.

In this episode, we cover:

Tell us what your child’s adoption looks like.
What are your ideas on:
- Options counseling being provided by adoption agencies—is there a conflict of interest.
- Pre-birth matching
- Some have stated that an infant should go into temporary or foster care for a time (usually 1-2 months) between birth and placement as a revocation period.
- Fundraising for adoption
- Adoptive parent breastfeeding.
What did you look for in adoptive parents?
There is a lot of talk in adoption world about subtle and not so subtle forms of coercion that could influence a mom’s decision to place.
- Hopeful adoptive parents attend doctor appointments.
- Adoptive parents being present at the birth and at the hospital?
How involved do you think adoptive parents should be at the hospital?
Openness:
- How was openness described to you before the adoption.Does the reality of open adoption match what was promised.
- Benefit and limitations of post adoption contracts. (Did you understand open adoption wasn’t enforceable (may depend upon the state)?)
- Ethical adoption practices that expectant parents considering adoption should know about.
Tips for birth parents and adoptive parents to look for in adoption agencies to make sure they are choosing an ethical agency as to how they treat expectant and birth parents.
Importance of separate legal counsel for birth parents.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you considering adopting or fostering a baby who was exposed to opioids prenatally? We talk with Dr. Robin Gurwitch, a faculty member in the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Child and Family Health. Her research focuses on improving the outcomes and increasing resilience in children who have experienced trauma, including prenatal exposure.

In this episode, we cover:

What drugs are included in the category of opioids?
- Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, and many others.
- Methadone and suboxone?
How does prenatal exposure to opioids affect a fetus?
How can you tell if the baby is born dependent on opioids?
What are the symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)?
How common is testing of the newborn or mother?
What impacts the severity of the withdrawal symptoms an infant might experience?
- timing of the mother’s most recent intake of opioid
- maternal metabolism
- placental metabolism
- infant metabolism and excretion
- maternal taking of other substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, cocaine, hypnotics sedatives, and/or barbiturates
How is NAS treated in the hospital?
What can parents expect at the hospital when a baby is born dependent or was exposed prenatally?
What can parents expect when they first bring the baby home?
How can parents help soothe a baby going through withdrawal?
How can parents help a baby going through withdrawal with sucking?
What can parents do to help their baby exposed to opioids sleep through the night?
Any additional tips for dealing with and helping a baby who was exposed to opioids?
Long term impacts.
Does being born dependent predict the degree the child might be impacted?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Is your child "more"...more intense, more defiant, more everything and in general, just harder to parent? We talk with Dr. Chuck Geddes, the founder of Complex Trauma Resources where he developed the Complex Care and Intervention (CCI) program to support foster and adoptive children. He is the author of Children and Complex Trauma: A Roadmap for Healing and Recovery.

In this episode, we cover:

What makes a child harder to parent?
The importance of recognizing what we parents bring to the relationship.
Difference between trauma and complex trauma.
Tantrums, meltdowns, or hissy fits are a common part of child development, but some kids have them more than others and they are more intense. What factors contribute to some children being more susceptible to tantrums?
- At what age in normal child development are tantrums most common?
- How does trauma change the dynamic with tantrums?
- Techniques for preventing tantrums.
- Techniques for handling tantrums.
Need for constant supervision
Lying
Being disrespectful

www.complextrauma.ca/

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Have you experienced a miscarriage? What type of genetic tests should you consider to prevent another miscarriage? We will talk about Genetics, Genetic Testing, and Miscarriage with Kim Skellington, a laboratory genetic counselor with CooperGenomics providing pre-test and post-test counseling to patients regarding genetic testing, and Dr. Rachel Gerber, a board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist with RMA NY.

In this episode, we cover:

What causes a woman to miscarry a pregnancy?
How common is miscarriage?
What is considered Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL)?
How common is recurrent pregnancy loss?
Basic introduction to DNA, genes, and chromosomes.
Genetic Testing of Products of Conception
- What can go wrong with the genes of a fetus that would likely result in a miscarriage?
- What genetic tests on the products of conception are available after a miscarriage to determine the cause?
- At what point does a doctor consider genetic testing of the products of conception to determine the cause of the miscarriage? After the first miscarriage? Second? Third? How does a woman’s age impact this decision?
- How are the products of conception tested? What are patients told to do?
Genetic Testing of Embryo
- What is preimplantation genetic testing?
- Distinction between PGT-A, PGT-M, PGT-SR?
- Is PGT effective at preventing miscarriage? What does the research currently show?
- Are mosaic embryos more likely to miscarry?
Genetic Testing of Parents
- What parental chromosomal abnormalities can cause a miscarriage?
- What is a chromosomal translocations and can that cause a miscarriage?
- Is there a gene or genes that has been found that makes it more likely that a woman will miscarry a pregnancy of a chromosomally normal fetus?
- If a woman’s mother had multiple miscarriages, is she likely to have miscarriages?
- Can these genetic anomalies by found by Parental karyotyping?
What is the prognosis for women trying to get pregnant after having had recurrent miscarriages?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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What are the microaggressions or stigmas in the world of adoption and how do they impact adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents? We talk with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor and the Doctoral Program Director at Montclair State University in the graduate counseling program and a licensed psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. She is an adult adoptee from Hong Kong and an adoptive parent of a daughter from China.

In this episode, we cover:

What are microaggessions in general and how do they apply to adoption?
These microaggressions apply to all members of the adoption kinship network (adoptees; adoptive parents, grandparents, siblings; first/birth parents/grandparents).
Where do some of the unconscious attitudes and stigmas toward adoption come from?
Common microaggression themes for adoptees:
- biology is best/normative is based upon the belief that biological ties are superior, more permanent, and more authentic than ties formed through adoption or foster care
- bad seed adoptees or damaged goods
- grateful adoptees, a third theme, refers to the idea of adoptees as both lucky and privileged to have been adopted
- cultural limbo and invalidation of heritage
What are some of the microagressions against birth parents?
What are some of the microaggressions against adoptive parents?
Lack of intent to hurt.
How can microsaggressions impact the mental health?

Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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How can we raise joyful resilient kids? We talk with Dr. Mona Delahooke, a clinical child psychologist and the author of Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids.

In this episode, we cover:

“Too often we are focused on the child’s behavior instead of the child. We are concerned about solving problems rather than cultivating the relationship.”
A child’s behavior is a clue for us parents to understand what is going on inside the child.
No one-size fits all approach to child rearing. What’s most important isn’t the rules, but the child. We must understand how our parenting is landing on our child. Personalize our parenting.
Three pathways to the mind-body platform.
Body budgeting.
The distinction between behaviors that seems to be defensive but are actually protective.
How do you approach tantrums in a preschooler?
How to co-regulate with our child and why?
How to build resiliency in our children?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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The impact of prenatal exposures to alcohol and drugs is not something that kids outgrow and the transition into adolescence and adulthood can be particularly tricky. We talk about this transition with Kathy Hotelling, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and is the co-founder of NCFASDInformed.org. She is also the mother to a 27 year old with FASD.

In this episode, we cover:

Tell us a bit about your story as the mother of a child with FASD.
Does the impact and symptoms of prenatal exposure to alcohol change as the child ages?
Are the impacts different depending on whether the child has been exposed prenatally to alcohol or other drugs, such as opiates, methamphetamines, marijuana, etc?
We talk about the primary impacts of FASD and prenatal drug exposure and the secondary impacts? Give us some examples?
How can parents help prevent some of the secondary impacts?
How does puberty impact children with prenatal exposure?
How does your parenting need to change as your prenatally exposed child reaches adolescence and adulthood?
How to prepare your child to launch into adulthood?
What resources are available to help parents navigate this journey?
Often times adoptive, foster, and kinship parents do not know for certainty that their child was exposed prenatally to alcohol and drugs. How should they proceed?
Is it important to have your child officially diagnosed with FASD?
How do you get your child diagnosed?
What is the Registry of Unmet Needs or the Medicaid Waiver list and how do you get your child on this registry or list?
FASD Respect Act- how can people advocate?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Do you suspect (or know) that your child was exposed to alcohol or drugs during pregnancy? We discuss tips for how to best work with these children with Dr. Robin Gurwitch, a professor at Duke University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Child and Family Health.

In this episode, we cover:

How does prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs affect children at different ages?
Oftentimes adoptive, foster, and kinship families may not know specifically if their child was exposed in pregnancy to alcohol or drugs? How can a parent determine if their child was prenatally exposed?
What are some of the more common signs, symptoms, and behaviors a parent might see at different ages?
- Birth to age five
- Elementary age
- Tweens and adolescence
- Young adults
Parents, teachers, and other adults working with these children often don’t think about prenatal exposure because of the lag in time between the exposure and when the more disruptive symptoms appear. At what age do you see parents and kids beginning to struggle more?
What are some of the common misdiagnoses that these children receive?
How do the attention and focus issues common with kids who have been exposed to alcohol and drugs differ from ADHD? Is ADHD medication effective to improve attention in prenatally exposed kids?
Is it common for children with prenatal exposure to be uneven in their abilities? For example, average to above average in verbal skills but substantially below average in other areas.
What do we mean by “executive function” or “higher level thinking skills” and how does prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs impact this?
We hear from parents that one of the most frustrating symptoms is not being able to learn from their mistakes. Doing the same thing even though they have been told not to. Not learning from cause and effect. Is this common with kids who have been exposed to alcohol and drugs during gestation?
What are some practical tips for working with kids with prenatal exposure to help them thrive at home and at school?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What causes miscarriage and recurrent pregnancy loss? What is the best treatment and what are the controversies in the diagnosing and treating of miscarriage? In this episode, we talked with Dr. Lora Shahine, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Director of the Recurrent Pregnancy Program at Pacific NW Fertility and clinical faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, and author of the book Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.

In this episode, we cover:

What is miscarriage? What other names do medical professionals use?
- Does the name change depending upon when in the pregnancy it occurs?
- What is a biochemical pregnancy and is it a “miscarriage”?
- When does miscarriage become “recurrent pregnancy loss”?
- How common are miscarriages? How common is recurrent pregnancy loss?
- Who should you see?
- What is the role of the male in miscarriage and recurrent pregnancy loss?
Common causes and treatment
- What are the common causes for first trimester miscarriage?
- What are the common causes for recurrent pregnancy loss?
- How to diagnosis the cause of recurrent pregnancy loss?
- How to treat/prevent recurrent pregnancy loss?
- What should patients do to reduce their chance of a miscarriage?
Understanding the controversies in treatment of recurrent pregnancy loss.
- Inherited Thrombophilia
- Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR)-how our body processes folate
- Luteal Phase Defect and progesterone treatment
- Infection
- Thyroid
- Immune system & immune treatment for RPL
- Aspirin treatment
- IVF as treatment for recurrent pregnancy loss

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Have you or your child faced adoption related struggles? Do you think therapy might be helpful? We discuss how to find and choose an adoption competent therapist with Kelly Raudenbush, a child and family therapist and the director of Sparrow Counseling, providing specialized therapeutic services for foster and adopted children and their families.

In this episode, we cover:

What type of professional can provide therapy?
What’s the difference between being adoption competent and adoption informed?
Why is competency in adoption issues important?
What do we mean be an “adoption competent therapist”? What makes a therapist adoption informed?
Is adoption competence the same as trauma competence?
How can you tell if a therapist is competent to handle adoption issues? Are there specific trainings that provide adoption competency?
Creating a Family provides a list of ways to find an adoption competent therapist on our Adoption Therapy section.
How to find a therapist with lived experience of being adopted?
Is one type of therapeutic model of treatment more effective for adoptive children and families? Theraplay, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Narrative therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Should therapy with adopted kids on adoption issues involve just the child, or the child and the parent?
How can a parent determine if the therapist is a good fit for the child and family? What questions should they ask?
What is home-based therapy and what are the advantages to this type of therapy for adoptive and foster families.
How can you find a therapist that will provide therapy within the home? (One source is http://www.familycenteredtreatment.org/)
Is therapy via tele-health or via teleconferencing as effective for adoptive families? How to know if it will work for your family? Ways to make it more effective.
When to seek a therapist?

Resources:

Creating a Family’s Adoption Therapy section
A Guide to Selecting an Adoption or Foster Therapist
10 Reasons for Parents to be in Child’s Therapy Session

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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How is adoption and fostering changing? We talk with April Dinwoodie, a transracial adoptee and thought leader in the field of adoption. She is host of two podcasts: Navigating Adoption and Born in June, Raised in April: What Adoption Can Teach the World!In this episode, we cover:

What are some of the shifting realities that you see in adoption?
Decline in international adoptions.
What do you see happening with domestic infant adoptions?
Increase importance on openness.
What can adoption teach the world?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you thinking about adopting? Today we will talk about Adoption Options in 2022. This is the first of a two-part series on What is Happening in Adoptions. We will talk with Jackie Zerbe, Domestic Adoption Supervisor with Vista Del Mar Adoption Agency, Debora Phillips, founding CEO of Children’s Connections, Inc., and Viviane Martini, Family Coordinator with Hopscotch Adoptions, an international adoption agency.

In this episode, we cover:

What is happening with domestic infant adoption in the US?
What is happening with adoptions from foster care?
What is happening with international adoptions?
How has the pandemic impacted adopting in the US?
What are some of the shifts in adoption in the last 5 or so years?
What are some of the changes you anticipate for 2022 and beyond?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have you ever thought about using acupuncture or herbal medicine to improve your fertility or treat your infertility? We talk with Dr. Mike Berkley, a New York State licensed acupuncturist and board-certified acupuncturist and practitioner of herbal medicine by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He is also a member of The American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine.

In this episode, we cover:

What are the principles of acupuncture? How does it work?
How does acupuncture differ from Herbal Medicine or Traditional Chinese Medicine?
- Do they have to be used together?
Can acupuncture and/or Chinese Medicine be used in conjunction with Western infertility medicine and IVF?
Is there western research that supports the benefits of acupuncture and Herbal Medicine for the treatment of infertility or is western style research not relevant to the discussion of acupuncture and Eastern Medicine?
Can acupuncture increase the blood flow to the uterus and ovaries?
Can acupuncture and Herbal Medicine be used to treat PCOS? What results are seen?
How does acupuncture and Herbal Medicine impact endometriosis?
One of the most common reasons for female infertility is advanced maternal age. How can acupuncture and Herbal Medicine impact the diminution of ovarian reserves and egg quality?
Can acupuncture reduce stress?
- Is acupuncture more effective than other stress reduction techniques such as exercise, yoga, meditation or prayer, massage?
Many women, men, and couples will not have a firm diagnosis of why they are not getting pregnant. Is acupuncture and Herbal Medicine effective for unexplained infertility?
Male infertility is the cause of approximately 1/3 of infertility. How successful is acupuncture or Herbal Medicine in the treatment of male infertility?

Get more information at The Berkley Center at www.berkleycenter.com.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire infertility patients and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Do you serve kinship families and are wondering how to best to meet their needs? We talk about kinship navigator programs with Stephanie Perkowski is a Social Worker and Policy Analyst at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago; Julia Donovan, the Program Director of Ohio’s statewide Kinship and Adoption Navigator program, OhioKAN; and Tia-Maria Smith, the Program Director for Pennsylvania KinConnector which helps informal and formal kinship families find the information, resources, and emotional support they need.

In this episode, we cover:

What are navigator programs?
Who usually sets up either kinship or adoption navigator programs?
How are kinship navigator programs funded?
How to get these programs evidenced-based and why is that important?
How do kinship or adoptive families find out about them?
What type of advertising is effective?
What works in making the site user-friendly?
What type of resources should be included in navigator programs?
How to evaluate the effectiveness of navigator programs?

Resources:

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-434.pdf
https://www.kinnectohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Research-Synthesis-with-Crosswalk.pdf
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data/status-submitted-title-iv-e-prevention-program-five-year-plans

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Join us as Dr. Bruce Perry answers your questions about how trauma impacts adoptive, foster, and kinship kids and families. Dr. Bruce Perry, is a child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, the principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago. He is the author the numerous books including co-author along with Oprah Winfrey of What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, and co-author of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog.
In this episode, we cover:

The shift in perspective from what’s wrong with you to what happened to you--the ability to understand seemingly senseless behavior by looking at what’s behind it.
What do you include as “trauma”? How severe does it have to be to impact us later in life?
We hear foster, adoptive, and kinship parents say, “she was only neglected.” Is neglect less harmful than abuse?
When siblings are separated in foster care and parents are taken completely away from seeing the children for a year at a time does this lack of contact count as trauma and how does this type of no-touch abuse effect the child's brain?
How common is trauma? ACE study.
Does trauma at a young age have longer lasting impacts?
We have a child who is chronologically 3yrs, who had a non-accidental TBI at 3 months of age. He is a sweet boy but prone to rages and is very loud. Could this be from the trauma or is it his age and frustration?
How can parents help their child manage trauma if they don’t know what the trauma was?
The times of healing are often very short but very powerful. And that the more times our kids experience healing, even in short bursts, the more their brain "re-develops" in healthier ways.
Is there is an association between trauma and sensory processing and if so, do we know why?
How do you become “unstuck” on being a victim? My daughter is 18 and is struggling to become an adult, but constantly feels and acts as though she is still a victim from her past.
Can you discuss how trauma is related to the sabotage of relationships, family events, life events, and opportunities?
Prenatal trauma—
- in utero exposure to alcohol or drugs
- maternal stress
Can generational trauma be passed down genetically through the various forms of DNA?
Resilience and Healing: My question is coming from the perspective as an adoptive and foster mom of some kids who have some pretty big behaviors. Can we really grow these kids and help them live happy, well-adjusted lives? Not problem free, but a life where after many years of love, they will come to find peace within themselves?
I have two children who are currently in foster care because their father was abusive and I stayed with him and allowed my children to witness the abuse. Is there any way to reverse the trauma?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Are you planning on claiming the Adoption Tax Credit this year? We talk with Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill's Tax Service and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2021 federal taxes? $14,440 per child
It is a non-refundable tax credit. How to advocate for refundability?
What is a “credit” and how does it differ from a deduction or some other form of tax savings?
If you get a tax refund every year, how would you use the Adoption Tax Credit?
If you don’t have any federal tax liability, should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes?
What type of adoptions are included or excluded? Stepparent adoption? Embryo adoption? Same-sex partner second parent adoption? Unmarried heterosexual second parent adoption? Surrogacy?
Can you get credit for each adoption you complete even if completed in the same year? What about adopting siblings at the same time?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit 2021?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
- Domestic private adoption
- International Adoption
- Re-adoption in the US for international adoption
- Foster Care Adoption
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work with kinship adoptions? What if the child never was involved with the foster care?
Special Needs Adoption: How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care? What does the IRS accept as proof of “special needs”?
Special needs child for international adoption?
Can you reclaim your expenses for a failed adoption? How?
What income level is excluded from claiming the Adoption Tax Credit in 2021?
How long can the credit be carried over?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax?
Secure Act and Qualified birth or adoption distributions.
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employee adoption benefits? For special needs adoption?
If you adopt, can you still get the Child Tax Credit? How does the timing work?
What do you need in order to get the Child Tax Credit for your adopted child? Social Security # for the child.
How does Advanced Tax Payments work with adoption?
What type of documentation for the Adoption Tax Credit should you submit with your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
What should you do if you do not have your child’s social security number when you get ready to file your taxes? When should you consider using an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN #) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN #)?
What are the most common questions received about the Adoption Tax Credit?
How to find a tax specialist knowledgeable on the Adoption Tax Credit?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPo

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If you have unexplained infertility, what are your chances of ultimately having a baby—either through infertility treatment or natural conception? We talk with Dr. Denis Vaughan, a board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist at Boston IVF and a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School. He was the principal investigator on the study "Long-term reproductive outcomes in patients with unexplained infertility".

In this episode, we cover:

What year was the original FASTT trial and what were the findings?
What is unexplained infertility and how common is it?
Did most of the women try to conceive after the original FASTT trial?
How did the women who agree to participate in this follow-up study compare to the original FASTT participants? Was there a difference between those who participated in the follow-up and those who did not?
What percentage of the women were successful at conception with IUI? IVF? Natural conception?
What percentage tried to conceive with donor egg?
What percentage adopted?
If the woman had conceived via fertility treatment in the original FASTT trial is she more likely to conceive successfully in the future?
Some speculate that a signiﬁcant proportion of unexplained infertility is due to un-diagnosed endometriosis. Did this follow-up study shed light on that question?
Did many of the women after the original FASTT study receive a more definitive diagnosis of why they were not able to conceive?
What did the study show about patient satisfaction with their family building process and ultimate family size?
What did we learn about conception with unexplained infertility as a result of the follow-up to the FASTT study?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire infertility patients and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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The next step in understanding attachment and Trust-Based Relational Intervention is the new book, The Connected Parent, by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Lisa Qualls, with great assistance from Emmelie Pickett. On this episode, we interview Lisa and Emmelie about connected parenting.

In this episode, we cover:

Understanding the foundations of attachment.
What do parents bring to the situation that influences how their children attach.
Using “scripts” to help you implement Trust-Based Relational Intervention.
Coping with chronic fear in our kids.
Coping with parental fear that things will never improve or that our children will never be able to heal.
How to discipline the TBRI® way.
How to teach respect.
Understanding how sensory issues can be confused with attachment issues.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Does adoption positively or negatively affect children already in the family and what can parents do to lessen the negative impacts. We discuss this topic with Dr. Jana Hunsley, an experimental psychologist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and TBRI® Practitioner, specializing in understanding and meeting the needs of siblings is foster and adoptive families.

In this episode, we cover:

Much of the focus of adoption literature and research is on the adopted child and the adoptive parents with little attention on the children already in the family.
Tell us your story as the sibling of 7 adopted siblings.
Research on adopted siblings.
What are some of the challenges that siblings of the adopted child might face?
- Feeling invisible
- Coping with overwhelmed distracted parents
- Parentification
  - Becoming another parent to your siblings
  - Becoming the emotional support for their parents
- Trying to keep the peace in the home by acting as a peacemaker
- Feeling the need to be extra good or accomplished to add less stress to their parents. Or suppressing their own needs so as to not add to their parent’s burden. Try to not have any needs.
- Feeling embarrassed by your sibling’s behavior
- Blaming parent who isn’t able to “control” the new child or make them behave better or meet their needs.
- Mourning the loss of your calm “normal” family
- Secondary trauma
- Unwanted public attention on your family because of size, behavior, transracial adoption
- Jealous of the adopted child because they perceive them as getting all the attention
- Resentful of the adopted child because of the added burden they brought to the family
What factors influence the degree of these challenges to siblings in an adoptive family? (age of the children in the family and the children being adopted, degree of trauma, type of behavioral issues, etc.)
Disrupting birth order.
What can adoptive parents and professionals do to mitigate some of these challenges of siblings of adopted children?
How can parents prepare kids already in the family for the adoption of a sibling?
Tips for parents in reducing the negative impact of adoption on the children already in the family.
What are some of the benefits of adoption to siblings in the family?
Have you talked with your parents?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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We talk about LGBTQ+ adoption with Dr. Abbie Goldberg, a Professor of Psychology and Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at Clark University. Her research and writing focus on diverse families, including LGBTQ parent and adoptive families, and she has authored and edited 8 books and over 130 peer-reviewed articles in this area.

In this episode, we cover:

Legality of LGBTQ+ parents adopting in the US.
Statistics on LGBTQ+ adoptions. Percentage, transracial, foster care adoption
Do you see any residual prejudice against LGBTQ+ parents when wanting to adopt or foster? Foster care? Domestic infant? International? Embryo?
Hesitancy with placing with someone who is transgender?
Does open adoption look different in LGBTQ+ adoptive families.
Do LGBTQ+ parents parent in ways that are different than cisgender heterosexual parents?
How are children in LGBTQ+ faring?
Lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents’ experiences with pediatricians: A mixed-methods study.
Parental naming practices in same-sex adoptive families.
How are LGBTQ+ youth in foster care doing?

Additional resources:

www.abbiegoldberg.com
www.teachallfamilies.com

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What's it like for a gay couple to create their family through egg donation and surrogacy. We talk with Armando Correa, People Magazine En Español's Editor In Chief and author of In Search of Emma: How We Created Our Family.

In this episode, we cover:

Did you always want to be a parent?
Did you think that you would get to realize that dream?
What options for becoming a parent did you consider?
Why did you decide on surrogacy?
Did you also use a separate egg donor?
What was your process to finding an egg donor and surrogate?
Was cost a consideration?
How much did it cost you in total to become Emma’s dad?
What has happened to your family since Emma arrived?
What would you recommend to other gay guys who want to become a father?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Have you ever thought of hosting a child for the summer or over the winter holidays? Check out this show where we interview Kathy Holiday who worked in adoption for 25 years and she supervised the child hosting program for Children’s House International.
In this episode, we cover:

What are child hosting programs?
What is the purpose of a child hosting program?
What are some of the ways different agencies design their hosting programs?
- Whether they are open to families that do not want to adopt, but are willing to advocate for the child.
- When they have host sessions. What times of year?
- Length of time the children are here.
How much does it usually cost for a host family?
Are there many differences in cost to the host family?
What type of training?
What is the age range of children commonly available for hosting?
What type of special needs do you commonly see?
What are the children told before they come? Are they aware that they are "on trial" to be adopted? (Be on your best behavior if you want to get adopted?) Do hosting programs put too much burden on kids and set them up for feeling like a failure?
What type of trauma have the children experienced in the past?
Influence of trauma. Typical behaviors you might see in the short term.
Language issues?
How much information are you given on the child before you decide whether to accept?
What type of home study is usually required?
How to prepare children already in the home?
How much do you share with the children in the home about your interest in hosting? Should you share that you might adopt the child?
Disciplining a host child?
What type of support should you expect from your hosting agency?
Advocating for your host child or for other children in the orphanage. What do you mean by advocating and how do you do it?
If you decide to adopt this child, what is the typical process and how long does it take?
What are the benefits to being a host family?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have you ever thought that it would be a lot more effective if the therapist could really see your child in action? That's the gist of home-based therapy. We talk with Stephanie Glickman, a licensed clinical social worker at the Clinical Director of the Family Centered Treatment Foundation and an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte's School of Social Work.

In this episode, we cover:

What is home-based therapy?
Is it family therapy or child therapy?
Why is it so effective for families struggling with behavioral issues?
What type of issues respond well to in-home therapy?
What does the research show about the effectiveness of home-based therapy vs. residential placement?
How does in-home therapy work? How often does the therapist come? How long do they stay? How long does it need to continue?
What if the child does not act out while the therapist is in the home?
Who in the home participates in home-based therapy? Parents? Siblings? Others?
Are their confidentiality concerns with this type of therapy?
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to home-based therapy?
How does the cost of this therapy compare to office-based therapy?
Does Medicaid cover home-based therapy?
How do you find an in-home therapist that is knowledgeable about adoption and fostering and the trauma these kids may have experienced?
What are some tips for knowing if you have found a good fit between the therapist and your family?
Family Centered Treatment Foundation

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do your child's reactions seem bigger than they should be to everyday events? Are your reactions sometimes a bit too big? What causes us to get triggered by our kids or to trigger them? We talk with Dr. Tripp Ake, a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience in the field of child trauma treatment. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and the program director for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

In this episode, we cover:

What do we mean by “triggering” and how does it differ from getting our buttons pushed?
What’s the difference between being triggered and being annoyed or irritated?
How to become a trauma detective?
What types of things can trigger a child?
How much of having our “buttons pushed” stems from the belief that our child’s behavior is a reflection on us as parents?
How do the belief systems that we grow up with impact us as adults? We may not even be aware that hold these values and may not even agree with them.
How can we identify the things in our past that make us likely to be triggered?
Examples of things parents have told us drives them to distraction (aka triggers them).
- Whining
- Disrespect
Two universal parenting tips for improving a child’s behavior.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Trauma can impact almost every single aspect of a child's development. But there are things parents can do to buffer that impact. We talk with Brett Loftis, CEO of Crossnore Communities for Children and Dr. Dawn O'Malley, Crossnore's Senior Director of Clinical Services.

In this episode, we cover:

How can trauma impact a child’s attachment and relationships?
- How does this impact them in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood?
How can trauma affect a child’s physical development or brain development?
How can trauma impact a child’s emotional development?
- Self-regulation
- Disassociation
How does trauma impact the way the child sees and values herself?
How can trauma affect a child’s behavior?
How can trauma impact a child’s ability to learn?
What are some of the long-term physical health consequences of having been exposed to trauma as a child?
What can parents and other adults do to build resilience in our kids to help withstand some of the impacts of trauma?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We talk with Corey Burke, an embryologist and Tissue Bank Director at Cryos International-USA and Dr. Mark Trolice, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Director of The IVF Center in Orlando and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, and author of The Fertility Doctor's Guide to Overcoming Infertility about decisions doctors and patient have to make concerning eggs or embryos after retrieval.

In this episode, we cover:

Overview of the IVF Process.
What determines how many eggs will be produced?
What number of eggs is ideal for an egg retrieval as part of IVF? Are more eggs always better?
Once eggs are retrieved, one of the choices a patient and doctor have to make is whether to freeze eggs vs. embryos.
Compare the challenges between freezing eggs vs freezing embryos.
How does vitrification differ from other methods of freezing?
What is the thaw rate success for frozen eggs compared to frozen embryos?
Why are eggs more difficult to vitrify than embryos?
Does the quality of the eggs retrieved factor into the decision?
What are the advantages to the patient of freezing eggs rather than embryos?
What are the advantages to the patient of freezing embryos rather than eggs?
How many eggs is usually recommended for a woman to freeze to have a good chance of being able to create a viable embryo?
Can genetic testing be done on eggs?
How long can human eggs remain viable if frozen vs. the viability of frozen embryos?
If embryos are created, one of the choices a patient and doctor have to make is whether to transfer fresh or frozen embryos.
How does genetic testing impact fresh vs frozen?
What are the advantages to the patient of transferring fresh embryos?
What are the advantages to the patient of transferring frozen embryos?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire infertility patients and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Are adoptive parents eligible for parental leave? What about foster parents or kinship parents? We talk with Dr. Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell, with the Center for Parental Leave Leadership and co-authors of The Parental Leave Playbook.

In this episode, we cover:

What are the laws and rules surrounding parental leave in the US?
Who is eligible for parental leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Parental leave on the company level.
How does parental leave differ from maternity leave or paternity leave?
Policies that require employees to pay back their parental leave if they do not stay employed with the company/organization for a certain period of time.
How does this differ from other countries?
Are the laws/rules different for mothers and fathers? Are they gender neutral?
Do you receive your salary when you are on parental leave?
Does parental leave differ for someone adopting a child?
Are adoptive families protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Are birth mothers eligible for parental leave?
Does there have to be a legal relationship between the parent and the child? Does parental leave differ for someone fostering a child? Are you eligible for parental leave with every new foster placement?
Can kinship caregivers receive parental leave?
The Parental Leave Playbook lays out a process for approaching parental leave in three phases: preparing for your leave, during leave, and returning from leave.
What steps should you take to be successful in each phase?

To support the Paid Leave for All Act

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We talk about raising your grandkids with Christine Adamec, coauthor with Dr. Andrew Adesman, of The Grandfamily Guidebook. She and her husband have been raising their teenage grandson since his infancy.

In this episode, we cover:

Why are grandparent led families increasing?
What are some common emotions that grandparents and other kin experience when they realize that they need to step in and raise their grandchildren or other kin?
What type of decisions should you make about legal custody or permanency? How to protect your grandchild? How to enroll them in school? How to be able to get medical and mental health care for them? How to prevent the child’s parents from removing the child from your home? Becoming a foster parent? A will?
What are some of the strains that grandparents can experience with their children (the parents of their grandchildren)?
How to navigate the relationship with your adult child?
Explaining the situation to the child? (“Why am I living with you and not my parents?”)
Raising kids that likely experience trauma, including prenatal exposure.
Adjusting to parenting in this new time.
Some of the joys of raising your grandchild.

Resources:

AARP has a Benefits QuickLINK tool to find out if you or your grandchild may qualify for 15 public benefits — 10 for adults and families and five for children.
Creating a Family podcast: Helping Parents & Kids Manage Phones, Internet, & Gaming

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Talking with your adopted or foster child about the hard parts of their story can feel like a daunting task. Should you tell your child that her birth father is in jail or that her birth mother is addicted to drugs, or that she was conceived by rape? If so, how in the world do you share this news. We talk with Lesli Johnson, an EMDR therapist who specializes in adoption and foster care and an adult adoptee; and Susan Myers, a licensed Master Social Worker with Adoptions from the Heart Adoption Agency with offices throughout the northeast.

In this episode, we cover:

Should you tell your child these difficult parts of their history?
Talking about the hard parts of adoption
How should you tell your child these hard parts of their background?
How do you lay the groundwork with young children in order to fill in the details later?
By what age should you have shared all of your child’s story with him?
Give specific examples of how a conversation might go with a preschooler, and how would you fill in the gaps for a 6 year old, 10, 13 year old, etc.
- Child abuse
- Addiction
- Parent in jail
Can you use a lifebook to talk about rape, imprisonment, drug and alcohol addiction?
What is a lifebook and what should be included in a lifebook?
How to use a lifebook when there is jail, rape, abuse, etc in the child’s story?
Specifically, how should parents tell their child that they were conceived during a rape?
Oversharing can happen with both parents and with children.
It’s tempting when your child is an infant to tell people private information. Why should foster and adoptive parents avoid this?
When might it be important to share some details of the child’s background?
How do you help your child understand how much of his story he should share with others outside the family?
How can adoptive parents help their children understand that they are more than the hard parts of their history and that they are not doomed to repeat their birth parents’ mistakes?

Additional Resources:

Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child: Making Sense of the Past, by Betsy Keefer and Jayne E. Schooler

Talking with Children about Difficult History, by Holly van Gulden

Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child (2nd Edition September 21, 2011), by Beth O'Malley M.Ed

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child: Making Sense of the Past

Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child

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Primary Ovarian Insufficiency is a difficult and little understood diagnosis for infertility with ramifications for your general health as well as for your fertility. We talk with Dr. Alex Quaas, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Partners of San Diego and an Associate Professor at UCSD.

In this episode, we cover:

What is Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)?
Is there a difference between the labels/diagnoses - Primary Ovarian Insufficiency, Premature Ovarian Failure, Premature Menopause?
What are the symptoms (other than an inability to get pregnant)?
Is there a decrease in egg quality and increase chromosomal abnormalities?
How is POI diagnosed?
How does the diagnosis differ from PCOS?
What causes primary ovarian insufficiency?
Is there any correlation between POI and taking Accutane (a treatment for acne) as a teen?
Is there a link between premature ovarian failure and the HPV vaccine (Gardasil or Cervarix)?
Can losing one ovary lead to Primary Ovarian Insufficiency?
Are those with autoimmune diseases more susceptible to POI?
Can IVF lead to Primary Ovarian Insufficiency? Is there any evidence that aggressive stimulation of the ovaries during a typical IVF cycle can contribute to POI?
How effective is IVF with woman with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency?
What are the odds of a spontaneous pregnancy for a woman with POI?
What is the role of the infertility nurse in helping women with POI?
Is there a medical way to slow down the diminution of ovarian egg reserves?
Are their lifestyle choices that contribute to POI or contribute to increasing a woman’s ovarian reserves?
Are there supplements or vitamins that help improve fertility for women with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency?
Has alternative medical approaches or Eastern Medicine been effective with increasing fertility for women with POI?
What are the other health implications for women with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire infertility patients and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What are some tried and true ways to afford adoption? In this episode, we talk with Julie Gumm, author of You Can Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption. We cover ways to find “extra” money that you can put towards your adoption, ideas for increasing your savings, and reasons to be cautious about asking for donations to pay for an adoption.

In this episode, we cover:

How much do adoptions cost for families adopting in the US?
Julie’s story of how they afforded to adopt
What are the different options for paying for an adoption? Savings, second job, sell things, grants, fundraise, ask for money from family and friends
How to effectively save money? - “Start with the money you already have”
How long in advance do you need to start?
Federal Adoption Tax Credit State Adoption Tax Credit, Adoption Employee Benefits
Second job and freelance ideas
Downside of adding additional work to your schedule
Selling items you have but don’t use much or don’t need
Fundraising to help pay for an adoption. Controversial in some adoption circles
Difference between offering a service or event vs. asking for money
Things to be aware of when deciding on how to fundraise for adoption. Dangers of oversharing your child’s story in order to raise money

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We talk about the challenges of adopting, fostering, IVF, or third-party reproduction while being in the military. We talk with the co-founders of the Military Family Building Coalition, Katy Bell Hendrickson and Ellen Gustafson.

In this episode, we cover:

What are the challenges of being in the military and trying to adopt?
What are the challenges of being in the military when seeking fertility treatment
Military health insurance: Tri Care
Military Family Building Coalition https://www.militaryfamilybuilding.org/
What does Military Family Building Coalition do?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Kinship caregivers (primarily grandparents raising their grandchildren) are often functioning as a shadow foster care system. We talk with Josh Gupta-Kagan, a Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law and author of America’s Hidden Foster Care System in the Stanford Law Review, and Karissa Phelps, a Stoneleigh Emerging Leader Fellow at Temple Legal Aid, where she provides legal representation and services to kinship caregivers.

In this episode, we cover:

In many cases, child protection agencies induce parents to transfer physical custody of their children to kinship caregivers by threatening to place the children in foster care.
How often does this happen?
Why do you call this the “hidden” foster care system?
Generally speaking, don’t we consider it best practice for kids to remain with extended family? So why is this a problem? Is it inherently coercive?
What are the advantages to encouraging placement with kin before they enter the formal foster care system?
What are the risks?
If this transfer takes place outside of the system, how long does it last? How can children go home? Who decides?
How does this differ from informal kinship care?
How does The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 contribute to the “hidden foster care system”?
Do you see kinship placements increasing?
What are child welfare agencies doing to support kinship families?
Follow the money: Is it less expensive for agencies to place with kin rather than unrelated foster parents?
How is foster care funded?
What is the status of kinship navigator programs?
How can we best support kinship families?
What do you see as the biggest challenges to kinship families?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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The trauma of racism impacts our children's physical and emotional health. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Roger Harrison, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and a pediatric psychologist in the Division of Behavioral Health at Nemours/Alfred I DuPont Hospital for Children; Dr. Lonna Gordon, the Division Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Florida. She is board certified in pediatrics, adolescent medicine and obesity medicine; and Cindy Bo, Senior Vice President, Delaware Valley Strategy and Business Development and Interim DRIVE Enterprise Leader.

In this episode, we cover:
We talk a lot about the impact of trauma on children and often we do so in the context of neglect, loss, abuse, removal from biological family, and prenatal exposure. Today we are going to expand the concept of trauma to include the impacts of racism.

What is racism and what are the different forms it can take?
Examples of the different types of racism.
Does racism impact the physical health of minorities?
Racism hurting the emotional health of minorities.
In other forms of trauma we can see that the impact on the child varies depending on many factors, such as who was responsible for inflicting the trauma and that persons relationship to the child, the child’s age, and the child’s basic temperament. Is the same true for the traumatic impacts of racism?
Internalized racism
Cumulative impact of different types of trauma.
Are children of color being raised by white parents more vulnerable to the traumatic impacts of racism?
Does the trauma of racism differ depending on the race or ethnicity of the child or person? Model minority?
Are non-minority children also impacted negatively by racism?
How can we help children of color cope with racism and not be unduly impacted by the trauma?
Suggested books and activities.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What do you need to know about uterine fibroids if you want to get pregnant? We talk with Dr. Desiree McCarthy-Keith, is the Medical Director of Shady Grove Fertility Atlanta and a Board Certified OB/GYN and Reproductive Endocrinologist. She also has a Master of Public Health in maternal and child health. She has been listed in Atlanta Magazine’s Top Doctors for Infertility from 2017-2021 and as one of Black Health Magazine’s Most Influential African American Doctors.

In this episode, we cover:

What are uterine fibroids?
What are the main symptoms of fibroids?
Who is most at risk for having fibroids?
Is there a genetic connection to uterine fibroids? Do fibroids pass through families?
Why do some fibroids grow very slowly and others rapidly? Is the speed the fibroid is growing something to worry about? How should women track this?
Are fibroids always a problem requiring treatment?
How to diagnoses fibroids.
Symptom distinction between endometriosis and fibroid?
What is the best way to medically treat uterine fibroids?
Are their alternative medicinal treatments that have been seen to be effective at treating uterine fibroids?
When is a hysterectomy the preferred treatment?
Skill of surgeon is important when using a surgical treatment. How can a patient determine the surgeon’s skill?
Can fibroids cause infertility?
Impact of fibroids on pregnancy?
What happens to fibroids during pregnancy? If a woman knows she has fibroids, what should she be aware of when she is pregnant?
Are their lifestyle factors that contribute to having fibroids or worsening fibroids once you have them?
Does diet affect fibroids?
Are women with fibroids at a higher risk for uterine cancer or reproductive tract cancers?
What other routine medical treatment should women with fibroids make sure they receive?
What can infertility nurses do to help patients with fibroid.
Other health issues associated with fibroids.
Are tampons safe to use? Do they cause or contribute to fibroids? Are the sponge and cup safe to use or better to use?
What happens to fibroids after menopause?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. Creating a Family brings you the following expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Do you have a child that is more—more loud, more energetic, more argumentative, more everything? Intense children can be harder to raise, but their intensity is a gift as well as a parenting challenge. We talk with Howard Glasser, creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach to parenting. He is the author of Transforming the Difficult Child and Transforming the Intense Child Workbook.

In this episode, we cover:

What do you consider to be an intense child? My child was “more”—more loud, more energy—their reaction to most things was simply more. They go from 5 mph to 60mph in about a second.
What are the labels and diagnoses that intense children often accumulate? ADHD, ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder), conduct disorder, PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression.
What makes some kids more “intense” than others?
What do you mean by energy-challenged kids? Unable to handle or effectively control their physical, cognitive or emotional energy. They have a disorder of self-control. They have more energy than they have self-control.
Energy is a gift as well as a challenge.
You mention in Transforming the Difficult Child that many intense or difficult kids love video games—more so than the average child. I’ve noticed this too. Why?
Structure-while I think all children need structure, the high intensity child really needs structure. Positive forms of structure vs. negative forms of structure
Traditional parenting techniques did not work well for my intense little wonder. Your approach to raising an intense child is based on your Nurturing Heart Approach as outlined in your book, Transforming the Difficult Child and Transforming the Intense Child Workbook. What are the basic principles of this approach to parenting? The 3 strands.
Strand 1: Refuse to energize the negative. What are some of the challenges parents face when applying this? What are some common ways we might accidentally energize the negative?
Strand 2: Energize the positive. active recognition, experiential recognition, proactive recognition, creative recognition.
Is there a problem with too much praise?
Strand 3: Absolute clarity on limits and consequences. How to set limits?
Intensity is not something that a person outgrows.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Have you ever thought about becoming a foster parent but didn't know where to begin? This is the show for you! We talk with Vicki Ochoa, State Director for South Carolina MENTOR, an organization that provides an array of child and family services, on the ins and outs of becoming a foster parent.

In this episode, we cover:

Why should you become a foster parent?
What is the role of a foster parent?
What are the expectations of what a foster parent will do?
How to become a foster parent.
How do you get licensed to be a foster parent?
How much training is required?
What type of ongoing training is required?
Do you have to own your home?
How big does your house need to be?
How many kids can you have already in your home?
What agency can you work with to become licensed?
Who places the child with you?
What are the needs of kids in foster care?
How is the decision made as to which child or children should be placed in your home?
Can you specify the age, gender, # of kids, and degree of special need of the child you want to foster?
What type of help should the agency provide for you after the child is in your home?
If you have a choice, how do you choose a foster agency to work with?
How much voice do foster parents have on what happens to the child?
Do foster parents get paid?
Can you adopt your foster child?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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How can we raise children who are resilient and able to bounce back from the ups and downs of life and move forward with optimism and confidence? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ken Ginsburg, the Co-Founder and Director of Programs at the Center for Parent and Teen Communications, a Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and The University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and author or “Building Resilience in Children and Teens” and “Raising Kids to Thrive”.

In this episode, we cover:

What is resilience and why is it important. Resilience is the ability to bounce back and the capacity to rise above difficult circumstances, allowing our children to exist in this less-than-perfect world, while moving forward with optimism and confidence.
What are the biggest challenges in creating resilience in children?
Raising resilient kids
We want our kids to be successful. What is Success- how does it relate to happiness?
The importance of imagining the person we want our child to be at 35. How to take the long view of parenting?
How to Foster Resilience in Children / What are the two fundamental principles of building resilience in our children? Young people will be resilient when the important adults in their lives believe in them unconditionally and hold them to high expectations.
Unconditional love is key to resilience. It gives children the deep-seated security that allows them to take chances when they need to adapt to new circumstances and the knowledge that in the long run all will be okay.
What do we mean by hold them to high expectations?
What are the 7 crucial ingredients to building resilience in our kids/raising resilient kids: strategies to build the seven crucial “Cs” — competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control.
How does trauma impact resilience?
Resources mentioned in this episode: https://parentandteen.com/category/for-teens/

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Can problems in our immune system cause infertility, miscarriage, or premature birth? Today we talk with Reproductive Endocrinologist Dr. Daniel Stein, Director of RMA of New York’s Westside office and Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology at Mount Sinai West Hospital, about the impact our immune system has on our fertility.
In this episode, we cover:

In what ways are our immune system and reproductive system linked?
Why does the woman’s immune system not react to the presence of a fetus?
Autoimmune diseases-how do they impact fertility and miscarriage or premature birth
What are the most common auto-immune diseases? (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s Disease, Hashimoto's disease, celiac disease, endometriosis, premature ovarian insufficiency)
Are autoimmune mechanisms involved in infertility disorders such as premature ovarian failure or diminished ovarian reserves, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), unexplained infertility, and repeatedly unsuccessful IVF attempts and may be responsible for the pathophysiology of preeclampsia or spontaneous abortions?
Endometriosis
Premature ovarian insufficiency
Impact of auto-immune diseases on pregnancy complications, miscarriage, and still births.
What is antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and do they impact fertility or miscarriage
Mucosal immunity of the female genital tract? Female immune system reacting to sperm.
What are anti-seminal/sperm antibodies in men and women?
Can a woman be allergic to sperm?
What role does our microbiome play in our immunity?
What role does our microbiome play in fertility?
What are natural killer cells?
Does infertility treatment, such as IVF, affect a woman’s immune system?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. Creating a Family brings you the following expert-based content:

· Weekly podcasts

· Weekly articles/blog posts

· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What are the long-term impacts of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure and how can we parent these kids to help them thrive. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Mona Delahooke, a clinical child psychologist and the author of Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges.

In this episode, we cover:Long term impact of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure: Research has found that most drugs that are commonly abused easily cross the placenta and can affect fetal brain development. In utero exposures to drugs and alcohol thus can have long-lasting implications for brain development resulting in behavioral challenges and mental and physical health implication. Some things to consider:

The amount of drugs and alcohol used by the mom and the timing in the pregnancy matter, although this is information that is seldom available to adoptive or foster parents.
Very often children are exposed to more than one substance in utero. For example, it is not uncommon for a pregnant woman who is drinking alcohol to also use drugs.
Untreated drug abuse/addiction often coincides with poor nutrition and prenatal care, which increases the risk further for pre-natal and post-natal trauma with potentially lifelong impacts.

It helps to begin with understanding how alcohol and drugs exposure in pregnancy can affect the child not just in infancy but throughout their life.

Alcohol
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) is characterized with a broad range of deficits. Children with FASD may not have the facial dysmorphology and other physical abnormalities associated with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
FASDs currently represent the leading cause of mental retardation in North America.
Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the child and into adulthood.
Alcohol exposure can cause a host of cognitive and behavioral impairments, including:
- Low to average IQs (IQ can range from mental retardation to normal)
- Poor executive functioning skills
- Poor information processing skills
- Lack of social and communication skills
- Lack of appropriate initiative
- Discrepancy between their behavioral age and their chronological age (i.e., acting younger than they are)
- Difficulty with abstract concepts, such as time and money
- Poor judgment
- Failure to consider consequences of actions. Doesn’t learn from mistakes.
- Poor concentration and attention
- Social withdrawal
Other drugs: Methamphetamines, Amphetamines (speed and also some of the medications used to treat ADHD), 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)- street name Ecstasy, Opioids-(including heroin, fentanyl), Methadone or Suboxone, cocaine (including crack), and marijuana. While there are distinctions, after reviewing a lot of research it is fair to say that the following long-term impacts are often found.
In newborns: growth restriction, decreased weight, length, and head circumference, but these don’t necessary follow the child through life.
Executive function impairments. (Executive function is a set of mental processes for the management of cognitive operations that include attention, behavior, cognition, working memory, and information/problem solving.)
- Attention and impulse control issues.
- May include some learning difficulties.
- Increased child externalized behavioral problems.

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In this episode we talk with a panel of four former foster youth to find out what it is like to be raised in foster care and what they wish foster parents knew about the experience.

In this episode, we cover:

What was the experience of being removed from your home and taken from your parents?
Was there something that your foster parents could have done when you were first placed in the home to help alleviate some of the trauma?
Did you feel fully included in your foster family? What can foster parents do to help the child feel included?
This wasn’t relevant when you were in foster care, but what are your thoughts on blurring out the foster child or putting stickers over their face when posting pics on social media?
Relationships with the children of the foster family.
Who did you feel like was on your side? Who could you go to if you needed help?
Do you think enough was done to help your biological parents before you were removed?
Do you think enough was done to help your biological parents with reunification? Or do you think they were given too many chances?
Do you have pictures or keepsakes from the time you were in foster care? Would these have been or are they important to you now? What can the system do to make sure these are preserved?
While I’m sure you carry the scars of your early life trauma, you have all become successful and--at least from the outside looking in—emotionally healthy adults. What factors contributed to this?
Tips for foster parents.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What issues do you need to think about when using social media as an adoptive or foster parent? What issues do you need to consider for your teens and tweens as they engage in social media? We talk with Katie Biron, Director Fostering Connections for Families and Program Manager of the Family Connections Program; Laura Jean Beauvais, licensed professional counselor with New Wind Counseling; and Dawn Friedman, a licensed professional clinical counselor with supervisory designation at Building Family Counseling about handling social media with adopted, foster, and kinship children.

In this episode, we include:
Some of the most popular social media platforms include:

Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Snapchat
Twitter
Pinterest
Reddit

Social Media pre-adoption

Keep in mind that states have varying laws on matching online and advertising for an expectant parent. You need to know what is allowed.
How much information can you or should you post after you have been matched with an expectant mom during her pregnancy?
How much info can you share post birth and after the baby comes home, but before the adoption is finalized?
Is it OK to “snoop” on expectant family and birth family online pre-adoption? You should know that the expectant family will also be checking you out online.
Should you friend the expectant mom and family pre-adoption?
How, when, and if to announce a child coming into your family through adoption.

Social Media as an Adoptive Parent

How much of your child’s adoption story should you share online?
How much should you share of your child’s birth parent’s online presence with a school aged child or younger?
Sharing photos online. How to handle differing opinions between adoptive and bio family on sharing pics. Common scenario is adoptive parent doesn’t share online pics and bio family does.
Friending biological or first family or accepting friend requests from biological family.
How to seek help online without divulging your child’s personal information or oversharing.
- Post anonymously either on your own or ask group admin.
- Ask general questions without personal details.
How to juggle the ups and downs of adoption groups on social media.

Social Media as a Foster Parent

Differing rules and expectations on social media use between foster child and foster parent will be discussed later in the interview.
Can a foster parent post a foster child’s picture online?
- Ask you caseworker
- Confidentiality is essential
- Use the Reasonable Prudent Parent Standard
Discussion in online forums. How open can you be?

Social Media with Adopted/Fostered Teens

What age do adolescents start having access to social media without adult supervision?
How to handle and navigate social media with the teens in foster care?
Benefits of social media for adopted and fostered adolescents.
- Maintaining social ties. Social media is how many youth connect with friends, both old and new. May be especially important for young people who have been moved from their communities and families.
- Support. Through either organized online groups for youth in similar situations or informally.
- Family connections. Youth may be able to with biological family members between family visits, where appropriate and approved by the caseworker.
- Self-expression. Social media is where many budding poets, artists, videographers hone their skills. It is also a place where young people shape their identity and can contribute to healing from childhood tra

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How can we prepare kids already in our home for the adoption of a sibling whether that new sibling is an infant or an older child. We will talk with Michelle Hoevker, a board-certified Clinical Social Work Supervisor and Program Director of Adoption and Foster Care at Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services with more than 20 years experience in child welfare; and Adam Crawford, a Licensed Master Social Worker and the Program Director of Adoption and Foster Care at Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services with more than 15 years of experience in child welfare.

In this episode, we cover:

Adopting an Infant

How to prepare children for the adoption of an infant?
How to answer question from others.
How to explain open adoption to kids already in the home?
What if the child already in the home is adopted but with a different degree of openness with their birth family?

Transracial Adoption

How to prepare children for the adoption of an infant when it is a transracial adoption where the child being adopted is not the same race or ethnicity as the children already in the family?

Adopting an Older Child Who is Not Your Foster Child (adopting from foster care or adopting internationally)

How much of your new child’s history should you share with the kids already in the family?
How to prepare kids in the family for potential behavioral challenges.
Prepare your kids in advance for changes to the family routine to accommodate the new child’s needs?
Creating a support network in advance.
Handling the transition period.
Different expectations and rules.
How much voice should children in the family have on whether to adopt?
Advice on parenting if you are disrupting birth order.
Advice on parenting if kids are in the same grade at school.

Adopting an Older Child Who is Your Foster Child

Role change from foster sibling to adoptive sibling (and foster parent to adoptive parent).
Expectations of transition period.

Resources:

Creating a Family has a great list of books for Preparing Kids for the Adoption of a Sibling
Suddenly Siblings website answers the question on every parent's mind: how will fostering or adoption affect my kids already in the home?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Is human fertility declining? What is the cause and what can we do about it. Our guest is Dr. Shanna Swan, an award-winning scientist based at Mount Sinai Medical Center and one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists. She is the author of Count Down: *How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.

In this episode, we cover:*

Is sperm count in human males declining?
Is this decline seen worldwide or just in developed countries?
Is sperm count the only measure of sperm health that is declining? Are we seeing a change in sperm motility or morphology also?
Do we see a change in the average testosterone level in men worldwide?
Do we know what is causing the decline in sperm count?
Do we see a similar impact on women’s reproductive health? And if so, how do we know?
Could the decline in the fertility rate be, at least in part, the result of a general trend toward delayed childbearing, access to birth control, move from an agrarian society where large numbers of children were valued, etc.? Certainly, so in the western world but also so in developing countries where girls have the opportunity for education and employment.
Has there been a reduction in the age of puberty in girls in the US. Worldwide?
If we are comparing current sperm count of men on a country wide basis to past sperm count how do we know we are comparing apples to apples? Couldn’t differences in studies techniques and who they studied account for the difference?
Has there been an increase in gender fluidity?
Has there been an increase in disorders of sexual development?
Can exposures to environmental toxins impact human sexuality and gender identity?
Can exposures in utero or childhood or adulthood that can impact sexuality and gender identity?
What lifestyle factors negatively influence fertility?
What environmental exposures affect fertility for both men and women and how do we avoid exposure?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and infertility patients and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What issues should parents think about when adopting a relative (niece, cousin, sibling) from abroad. We talk with Mary Beth King, who has a Master of Science in Social Administration and is Frank Adoption Center’s Executive Director, and with Katie Schultz, an International Adoption Specialist with Madison Adoption Associates.

In this episode, we cover,

What level of genetic relationship is required to call it a kinship adoption as well as what circumstances make a child eligible for an international kinship adoption, especially in the eyes of USCIS.
At what age is a child no longer eligible for international kinship adoption?
Changing relationship for both adopter and child – to go from the “cool, exotic US visitor” to everyday caregiver.
Relationship with bio family in home country.
Helping children navigate (and choose) the language of family – will they continue to refer to you as “aunt” or will you be “mom,” etc.
Blending children by birth and this newly adopted child.
Understanding that trauma and loss are still a part of the child’s story even though they are remaining in their biological extended family.
It can take a long time for relative adoptions to come to fruition, the child can be much older than when the family started the process and so helping families adjust to the fact that they may be bringing home an older child can be challenging.
Helping families embrace pre-adoption education as necessary even though they have experience in parenting or they know this child and therefore don't need education on how to parent.
Recognizing that the child’s immigrant experience will be different than your own and how to separate the two.
One parent not related and maybe not been an immigrant.
Navigating two identities, for example - Preparing your child to embrace their identity not just as a Cameroonian, but also as a Black American.
Managing expectations of cultural changes – Understanding that these children are very likely to take on cultural norms of America kids and teens which may be different than the parent-child relationship expectations of your country of origin
Understanding the importance of hobbies, sports, extracurricular activities, play time, etc. in addition (and sometimes even as backseat to) academics, especially as kids adjust to these big changes, make new friends, and heal from trauma and loss
Navigating the American school system and understanding that grade levels don’t always translate internationally. Accessing services to help the child transition.
Adjusting to parenting as an older parent. Things may have changed since they parented last.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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What are the 7 essential character traits that parents can teach their children to increase resiliency? In this episode we talk with Dr. Michelle Borba, an internationally renowned educational psychologist and author of Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine.In this episode, we cover:

You paint a picture in your book of tweens, teens and young adults who are stressed, anxious, depressed, and lonesome. Why are our kids experiencing this?
Importance of play.
Importance of sleep.
7 essential character traits of a child who will thrive both in childhood and adolescence but also into adulthood.
Self-Confidence
- What is the difference between self confidence and self-esteem?
- How does parental praise factor into teaching self-confidence?
- How do you teach self-confidence?
Empathy
- Why is empathy so important to resilience?
- How do you teach empathy or at the very least encourage it?
- How does our modern technology impact empathy?
Self-Control
- What is self-control in children?
- How do we teach self-control?
Integrity
- How do you define integrity?
- How can we help our kids develop integrity?
Curiosity
- Why is curiosity important for thriving?
- What can we do or not do to encourage curiosity?
Perseverance
- What causes kids to give up?
- What can parents do to help?
Optimism
- Is optimism an inborn temperament or one that can be taught?
If you could leave parents with 5 actionable tips for raising a “thriver”, what would they be.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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Call it co-parenting, shared parenting, or partnership parenting, the gist is the same: foster parents are expected to share the nurturing of a foster child with the birth parents to facilitate reunification whenever possible. Join us today to talk about shared parenting with Carrie Sgarlata, an educator, mom, foster mom, and foster parent trainer and recruiter; and Andrea Leaman, a social worker with the Foster Care Licensing and Placement Program with Children’s Wisconsin Community Services and trainer in partnership parenting.

In this episode, we covered:
1. Why is shared parenting best for the child? (less divided loyalty, foster parents can be a role model, less time in foster care, better behavior, majority of kids will return home and co-parenting makes that easier)

Building a relationship that begins when someone’s child is removed is not easy. What are some of the emotions the birth parents are likely feeling when they first meet the foster parent? (fear, confusion, denial, anger, embarrassment, feeling that the authorities over-reacted, shame, grief, betrayal, sadness, uncertainty, taking their child away, loss of control)
How to build a relationship of co-parenting?
a. Start with compassion
b. Lower expectations
c. Reassure them that you are only here to help not adopt their child
d. Show a picture of where the child is staying
e. Don’t take things personally? (be the more emotionally stable person) Realize that you are seeing these people at likely the worst moment of their life.
f. Go the extra mile
g. Language matters: refer to the child as their child.
h. Treat them with dignity and respect.
i. Go the extra mile to make it easier or less awkward for them.
j. Ask birth parents questions about the child, her likes, dislikes, fears, etc.
k. Send pictures, share artwork, share cute stories
Communication between birth and adoptive parents is key to success. Ideas for setting up good communication. How to communicate between visits?
How to handle visits to facilitate co-parenting?
How to overcome our own anger and judgement towards birth parents?
How to establish healthy boundaries?
Is it possible to do partnership parenting with incarcerated parents?
How to handle Social media
Becoming a parenting mentor to birth parents. What are some skills that birth parents may need help developing and how can foster parents help? (importance of routine, working with the school, discipline, normal child developmental stages, how to find community support)
How can we help birth parents shift their attitude towards the foster care system from existing to keep them from their children towards existing to help stabilize the family?
What if:
a. What if the birth parent abused the child?
b. What if the birth parents don’t accept responsibility for what they did that caused the child to be removed?
c. What if the birth parent lies about what happened that resulted in the child being removed?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How does the endocrine system impacts fertility, what can go wrong, and what can be done about it. We talk today with Dr. Mark Trolice, the Director of Fertility CARE: The IVF Center in Orlando and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. He is double Board-certified in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility and OB/GYN.

In this episode, we include:

· What is the function of the endocrine system in human health?

· How does the thyroid gland function within the endocrine system?

· How is female fertility impacted by the endocrine system?

· How is male fertility impacted by the endocrine system?

· What is hypothyroidism?

· What is hyperthyroidism?

· How are dysfunctions in the endocrine system diagnosed?

· How are dysfunctions in the endocrine system treated?

· What dietary and lifestyle choices impact the health of the endocrine system and thyroid gland?

· What are some common endocrine disrupting chemicals in our environment?

· How are environmental endocrine disruptors impacting fertility?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. Creating a Family brings you the following expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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In this episode we interview Sarah Sentilles, author of a newly released book by Random House titled Stranger Care. "Stranger Care" is a beautifully written book that captures the promise and often the failure of foster care. And it is a beautiful portrait of love with no promise of a future.

In this episode, we cover:

Beautifully written book that captures the promise and often the failure of foster care. And a beautiful portrait of love with no promise of a future.

· How did you come to the decision to become foster parents? And did you come to that decision or were you really trying to become an adoptive parent?

· Discussion of “ethically cleaner”.

· I appreciated how you showed Evelyn, the birth mom, to be human and to love her child. You did a good job of showing the nuances, which are hard to do, especially when you are the one losing the child. I very much enjoyed seeing how that relationship grew. What helped change it?

· Rooting for and against birth mom

· Love and yet not belonging to you

· The power of the state to remove kids should not be used without great care.

· What qualifies as good parenting and is “good enough” enough. Ex. of the car seat.

· Keeping siblings together.

· It is discouraging that organizations, such as Creating a Family exist to support people like you when you were first considering your options. And if we didn’t reach someone like you who is educated and I would assume someone who researches and gathers info then how in the world do we reach people. Education research focused woman are our demographic!

· How long has it been and do you know what has happened to Coco?

· How have you and your husband been changed by this experience?

· Is this book in part an attempt to reach out to Coco. Did you write it with an ear to her reading it later in life and you talking to her. Do you hope she will hear about it and read it?

· Did you decide to give up on fostering? What about adopting?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Have you ever considered adopting after you had children by birth? Or thought about trying to get pregnant after you adopted? Is it a good idea to combine kids by birth and adoption. In this episode, we talk with Rebecca Ricardo, an LCSW who has worked in the field of adoption since 1991. She currently serves as the Executive Director for a licensed, child-placing agency that provides both placement and support services. She is an adoptee and a birth mom. The son she placed for adoption was raised as the only adopted child between two children born to his adoptive parents.

In this episode, we cover:

• What are the typical reasons why families have both adopted and non-adopted kids?

• What does the research show on how children and families adjust when there are children by both adoption and infertility?

• Do parents have a tendency to favor their biological children? Kin Selection Theory based on evolutionary psychology.

• Does it matter if the adopted child is adopted after the family has had bio kids, or if the adopted child comes first (most often because the parents were infertile) and they went back into treatment after they adopted to try for a biological child? What different factors come into play?

• Favoritism by grandparents or extended family. How to handle?

• The tendency of parents of families that combine biological and adopted kids to downplay genetics, birth stories, etc.

• How to handle conflicts with children or extended family members when children require a different type of parenting because one child has experienced trauma?

• How to handle conflicts when one child requires more of the parent’s time than another child?

• Tips for parents who are combining kids by birth and adoption. How can social workers help families that are considering this?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Do you sometimes feel that self-care is an impossible goal when you are parenting kids who have experienced trauma. There isn't enough time in the day to do it all, much less take care of yourself. Or is there? Join us to talk about how to find time to take care of yourself. We will talk with Angelica Jones, MSW, Program Director of Intercountry Services and the Intensive Service Foster Care Recruiter and Trainer at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services.

In this episode, we cover:

· “Selfcare” or “take care of yourself” are overused but still vitally important terms for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents.

· Why do all parents but especially parents of kids who’ve experienced trauma need to practice self-care?

· What is secondary trauma?

· Why are kids who’ve experience neglect, abuse and other childhood traumas harder to parent?

· The busyness of foster and adoptive parenting.

· What are some of the barriers to taking care of ourselves as adoptive, foster or kinship parents?

· The importance of respite care and the barriers to parents using it.

· Practical ideas for providing self-care.

· Think small when thinking self-care.

· Ask for help and accept it when offered. If someone offers to help, say “yes” and suggest something specific. Ex. A meal on Wednesday night. Babysitting or taking a child to the movies once a month.

· Parent Support groups

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Do you worry that the over the counter medications you take for a headache or allergies could impact your fertility? What about CBD or melatonin? We talk with Dr. Kathleen Tucker, a scientific director for various IVF labs; and with K.E. Tucker Consulting, and Dr. Angie Beltos, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Vios Fertility Institute.

In this episode, we include:

Research has found three reasons why the impact of OTC medication on fertility has become an increasing issue.
- We are taking more medications now that people in the past.
- People are waiting longer to start a family and age is associated with greater medication use.
- People are experiencing more chronic disease at earlier ages.
Taken together, these factors have increased the number of prescribed and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs being taken by women and men attempting to get pregnant with or without fertility treatment.
As always, talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding both prescription and non-prescription medications.
Impact of OTC drugs on fertility - female and male fertility.
- Impact on natural conception.
- Impact when taken during fertility treatment.
- Impact on pregnancy.
Impact of NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) on fertility.
- Aspirin (brand names include Bayer, Bufferin, Ecotrin, St. Joseph)
- Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
- Excedrin (acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine)
- Naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox DS, Naprosyn)
- Celecoxib (Celebrex)-prescription only
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Antacids-histamine blockers and proton pump inhibitors
Antihistamines B-both types? 1st generation, 2nd generation
Sleep aids
CBD
Other common over-the-counter (OTC) medications
Skin and hair care products
Herbal supplements?
As always, talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding both prescription and non-prescription.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How should you talk with young children, toddlers, and preschoolers about adoption. How do you talk about birth mothers and birth fathers? In this episode we talk with Jenna Howard, a LMSW who has worked in the adoption field since 1994 in both domestic and international adoption. In addition, she is an adoptee and an adoptive mom.

In this episode, we cover:

Why is it important to start talking about adoption and birth parents with kids when they are very young?
When should you begin talking about adoption with children if they are adopted at birth or a very young age?
How to talk with infants about adoption.
What do young children understand about the concept of adoption?
What name should be used when referring to birth parents?
How to talk with toddlers and preschoolers about adoption. (They are accepting of what parents say and the attitude it was said.)
Adoption is cool stage.
Oversharing details. Distinction between secret and private.
Oversharing as a parent.
Helping child explain adoption.
Talking about adoption vs. different ways families are made.
Keep it short and simple. Laying the groundwork.
Positive adoption language.
Common questions children this age might ask and sample answers.
How to talk about birth fathers and the role of birth fathers when the child doesn’t understand conception?
How to talk about birth fathers when birth father is unknown or otherwise not in the picture?
How to talk about birth siblings.
Why do some adoptive parents hesitate to talk with young children about adoption?
When should parents share some of the harder parts of their child’s adoption story (domestic violence, substance abuse, incarceration, unknown birth father, rape)?
Tips:
1. Books – Creating a Family has a great list of the Best of the Best Adoption books for kids broken out by type of adoption and age of the child.
2. Movies/TV shows (Sesame Street, Mister Rodgers, etc)
3. Make a life book
4. Parenting Your Adopted Preschooler and the link won’t change so that makes it easy. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/preschool

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How do you discipline kids who have experienced trauma? We provide 5 tips and then discuss 5 challenging parenting situations. Our expert is Karen Doyle Buckwalter, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor, and co-author of "Raising the Challenging Child".

In this episode, we cover:
1. The Relationship Bank Account

Spend effort building your relationship with your child so that you have banked “good will” for when you need to say no or set a firm rule.
Ideas for making quick and easy deposits:
- Praise efforts, successes, helpfulness, their unique essence—big and small.
- Let the child choose whenever possible.
Look for compromises.
Make more deposits than withdrawals.
Magic “rule” 5 positive comments to every 1 negative.
- Difference between making a deposit and spoiling your child.
- Sideswipe instead of confront.
Respond to What is Beneath the Behavior
Behavior is a reflection of a need. It’s a symptom.
Strategies for digging deeper into what is underneath the behavior.
Reexamine Your Expectations
See your child for who she is.
Balancing Structure and Nurture
How does structure lead to feelings of safety and why is this often misunderstood when parenting children with a history of trauma?
Choose your battles: choose to ignore some behaviors.
Share Power to Gain Power

Specific Behaviors:

Tantrum
Name calling and teasing
Handle attention seeking behaviors.
Lying
Sexualized Behavior and Play

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What's it like to have your world turned upside down when you become the parent to your grandchild, niece, or nephew? What are the hidden joys and challenges. In this podcast episode, we have a frank and open talk with a panel of kinship caregivers about their experience.

In this episode, we cover:

What has been one of the greatest joys you’ve experienced as a kinship caregiver?
What has been one of the greatest challenges you’ve had in raising your grandchild or niece or nephew?
How has your age played into your parenting experience with this child?
How has caring for your grandchild affects your friendships and activities?
How do you handle the dual roles of being a mom to your grandchild and a mom to your grandchild’s parent? How has kinship caregiving impacted your role as parent to your child?
Have you had to set boundaries with your child to protect your grandchild?
How have you handle if your grandchild’s parent has another child? Would you take that child in as well?
How have you learned about technology, screens, video gaming, etc. in order to parent a child of this younger generation?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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

In this episode, we cover:
Parents from time immemorial have worried about the impact of the “new technology” and this goes back to our great great great grandparents worrying about the influence of novels to parents of the 50’s worry about too much time on the phone, to parents of the 80s worrying about too much TV, and on to the present where we worry about screen time, texting, and gaming.

We parents are digital “immigrants” while our kids are digital natives. How does this dynamic present challenges?
How to keep up with what our kids are doing?
What are the general best practices for elementary aged kids using digital technology?
- What age should kids be given a phone?
- What are reasonable rules for phone use?
How do things change as our kids each around age 11 or 12 and on into their teen years
How important is the use of digital media to socialize for this generation?
When should parents worry?
- Is the child getting enough sleep?
- Are they eating well?
- Are they getting enough exercise?
- Are they doing well in school?
- Do they have real life friends?
- If so, they are probably just fine.
What are the signs that our kids may be too involved with digital technology or gaming
How much screen time is too much for tweens? For teens?
Do different types of technology have different risks and benefits? Internet? Gaming? Porn?
What are some reasonable rules for families to set in regards to technology, screen time, and gaming?
How to get buy-in from our tweens and teens?
App-tell kid
A challenge particular to families adopting or fostering older children or teens is that often our kids come to us with having had little supervision or rules about internet use? How can we establish healthy habits when the rules are new to them?

Resources:

A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction by Dr. Jay Berk
Center for Parent and Teen Communication: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting In the Digital Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aNtRhYfA3k
Creating a Family’s Navigating the Internet with Adopted or Foster Tweens and Teens https://creatingafamily.org/adoption-category/adoption-blog/navigating-the-internet-with-adopted-or-foster-tweens-and-teens/

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Have you ever wondered if your struggle to conceive could be caused by your genes? Today we're going to answer that question and more about genetics and fertility by talking with two certified genetic counselors with CooperGenomics: Sharyn Lincoln and Sheila Johal.

In this episode, we cover:Infertility is a disease affecting nearly 7% of all couples. It is a highly heterogeneous pathology with a complex etiology that includes both environmental and genetic factors. In this episode we will be focusing on the genetics.

What percentage of infertility can be attributed to our genes?

Genetics and Female Infertility
47,XXX (trisomy X; Triple X)
⁃ What is trisomy X?
⁃ How common is 47,XXX?
⁃ What are the symptoms of Triple X syndrome?
⁃ How common is infertility in women with Triple X?
⁃ Will the children conceived also have this chromosomal abnormality?
Turner syndrome (monosomy X)
⁃ What is Turner Syndrome?
⁃ How common is it?
⁃ What are the symptoms?
⁃ How common is mosaicism with this chromosomal defect?
⁃ How common is infertility in women with monosomy X?
⁃ Will the children conceived also have this chromosomal abnormality?
Single Gene Disorders
⁃ Fragile X (Primary Ovarian Failure)
⁃ Premutation
⁃ Galactosemia
⁃ Others
Polygenic, complex female infertility (environment & genetics)
⁃ Endometriosis
⁃ Is there a genetic link?
⁃ Fibroids
⁃ Is there a genetic link?
⁃ Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC)
⁃ Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
⁃ Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
⁃ Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)
⁃ Is there a genetic link?
⁃ XXX syndrome
⁃ Fragile X syndrome

Genetics and Male Infertility
Klinefelter syndrome
⁃ What is Klinefelter syndrome, 47,XXY?
⁃ How common is Klinefelter syndrome?
⁃ What are the symptoms of Klinefelter syndrome other than infertility?
⁃ Is it possible for a man with Klinefelter syndrome to reproduce?
⁃ Will the children also have chromosomal abnormalities?
47,XYY syndrome
⁃ How common is XYY syndrome?
⁃ What are the symptoms of XYY syndrome other than infertility?
⁃ Will the children also have chromosomal abnormalities?
Structural chromosomal abnormalities (SCAs) include deletions, duplications,
translocations (balanced, imbalanced, and Robertsonian), and inversions.
⁃ Y chromosome micro deletions
Single Gene Disorders (Cystic Fibrosis)
Why has it been so hard to pinpoint the exact genes associated with male and female
fertility?

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Bringing foster children into your family may impact the kids already in your home—both in positive and potentially negative ways. We will provide suggestions on how to integrate new foster children into your home as seamlessly as possible. Our guest expert is Dr. Eshele Williams, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who brings her professional expertise with counseling foster families as well as her personal experience as being a biological child in a family that fostered many children in her childhood.

In this episode, we cover:

Positive benefits of fostering on children already in the family.
Possible challenging issues children in the family might face when foster children join the family.
Benefits of preparing children in the family for the realities of fostering.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What do we mean by attachment and what can parents do to help their child attach. What can parents do if they are struggling with attaching to their child. We talk with Dr. Casey Call, the Assistant Director of Education at the Institute of Child Development at TCU. She is a researcher and trainer for Trust-Based Relational Intervention.

In this episode, we cover:

What is attachment and why is it so important to a child’s development?
How does attachment develop in children who are raised from infancy in a healthy functioning family? What does healthy attachment look like?
What events can interrupt the normal development of healthy attachment? (e.g. multiple caregivers, abuse, neglect) What about a primary care giver with mental illness? What about long term hospitalization?
When we have a child placed in our homes for either adoption or fostering, what are some signs that this child may have attachment issues?
Attachment issues fall along a spectrum from mild to severe. Describe typical behaviors that might appear along this spectrum.
Reactive Attachment Disorder
We have people contacting us with worries after only a few weeks in their home when the child and family are still adjusting to a total change in their lives. What is a reasonable time to give a child before parents begin to worry about major attachment issues?
What are some things parents of newly adopted or fostered kids can do to help their child attach?
What type of therapy is effective for children with attachment issues?
How can you find a therapist who will be knowledgeable on how to help a child and family that is struggling to attach?
How to discipline while still focusing on attachment.
The importance of parental attachment.
What interferes with a parents ability to attach to their child?
What are some things that a parent can do if they are struggling to attach to their child?
Post adoption depression.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What do adoptive and foster parents need to know about the impacts of prenatal exposure to opioids, Suboxone, and Methadone. What are the risks to a baby born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)? We talk with Dr. Julian Davies, a pediatrician at the University of Washington’s Center for Adoption Medicine and their FASD and Prenatal Exposure Clinic.

In this episode, we cover:

What are opiates or opioids?
What are the most common opiates that are being used during pregnancy?
What are the most common non-opiate drugs that are being used by pregnant women?
What are the common treatment medication/drugs given to those struggling with addiction who are trying to get off opioids? Methadone, Suboxone, and Subutex
Are Methadone, Suboxone, and Subutex safe to use during pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts on infants exposed to opiates?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to Methadone in pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to Suboxone in pregnancy?
Does the dosage of methadone or suboxone have an effect on the baby?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to methamphetamines (meth) in pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to cocaine in pregnancy?
What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to marijuana in pregnancy? Edible vs. smoking vs. vaping
Does the timing of exposure in pregnancy affect the prognosis for the child? Is there a safer time for a fetus to be exposed to drugs in utero?
Many parents believe that if the child is not born dependent or with drugs in their system that the prognosis is better. Or conversely, if the child is born dependent and has to go through withdrawals that they will suffer more impact from the in-utero drug exposure. Is this true?
How serious is drug dependency and withdrawal for the infant?
How is withdrawal treated in the infant? How is Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) treated in babies born dependent?
Families that adopt out of state are often concerned about how soon they can travel home with their baby if she has been born dependent and is going through withdrawal.
How long does withdrawal in an infant born dependent last?
If a baby tests positive for opiates is it possible to determine what drug the baby has been exposed to? Does the long-term prognosis matter depending on which drug?
How do you foster attachment while baby is suffering through withdrawal?
How common is it for women who use drugs during their pregnancy to also drink excessively during their pregnancy?
One thing you hear a lot is that “early intervention is key” and that a baby’s brain can be rewired during the first couple of years with the right therapy. What exactly does that therapy entail? Where can you find it? What strategies should you be using at home with your child with a diagnosis of prenatal drug exposure?
There are many similarities between drug exposure and trauma in how it affects children’s learning, behavior, etc. When a child has both of those challenges, is it possible to tell the difference on what is causing specific problems, and is the treatment different depending on the cause?
Are children who are exposed prenatally at a greater risk for drug abuse as teens and adults if they were adopted and not raised in an environment that exposed them to drug use?
What are the most common blood borne diseases that women who use drugs are exposed to are more likely to have.
What is the risk to a baby whose mother

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Have you or someone you care about experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth? We talk about coping with pregnancy loss with Dr. Poonum Sharma, a Licensed Psychologist specializing in reproductive issues. She is a long term member of the Mental Health Provider Professional Group at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

In this episode, we cover:
Miscarriage and Stillbirth Statistics

Distinction between a miscarriage and stillbirth. A stillbirth is the death of a baby before or during delivery. Both miscarriage and stillbirth describe pregnancy loss, but they differ according to when the loss occurs. In the United States, a miscarriage is usually defined as loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, and a stillbirth is loss of a baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy and later.
About 1 pregnancy in 100 (1%) end in stillbirth, and each year about 24,000 babies are stillborn in the United States.
For women who know they’re pregnant, about 10 to 15 in 100 pregnancies (10 to 15 percent) end in miscarriage. As many as half of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage. We don’t know the exact number because a miscarriage may happen before a woman knows she’s pregnant.
Most miscarriages happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage in the second trimester (between 13 and 19 weeks) happens in 1 to 5 in 100 (1 to 5 percent) pregnancies.
The primary cause of first trimester miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities.

The Grief Process

Factors that may impact grief:
- How long a woman or couple has been trying to get pregnant.
- Timing in the pregnancy of the loss.
- The number of miscarriages or pregnancy losses she has experienced.
- The cause of the miscarriage or lack of an explanation?
- Patient’s age.
- If she has existing children. Secondary infertility.
- The ability to talk about the loss to family and friends.
- Temperament of the patient and her partner.
Pregnancy loss before others know about the pregnancy.

Helping Patients Cope

How can those around the woman or couple support them during this time?
How to share the news.
How can nurses help patients cope?
What are the symptoms of compassion fatigue that infertility nurses should be aware of.
How can nurses prevent or cope with compassion fatigue.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What issues should you consider if you want to adopt as a single person? We talk with Susan Fremer, a licensed mental health intern and a single mom of five adopted girls; and Lee Varon, a LICSW specializing in adoptive parenting, a single mom to two sons through adoption, and author of two books on single parent adoption.

In this episode, we cover:

Single parenting is common. Are there distinctions between becoming a single parent through divorce, conception, and adoption?
How easy is it to adopt as a single woman or single man?
Are there any additional requirements for single parents to be able to adopt? Any additional questions in the home study?
Legal issues. Importance of a will and naming a guardian.
What are some potential issues single parents should consider before they decide to adopt?
Is there another single parent or family that you could partner with to provide mutual child care support either full time or babysitting type arrangement?
Emotional support.
Consider moving closer to family.
Changes to your friend network after you become a parent.
Finances.
Costs for raising a child.
Look at your debt.
Will your housing have to change?
Child care.
May influence the age of child you decide to adopt.
Finding the opposite gender role model for your child.
Self-care.
Dating.
Are you ready to be a single parent?
Are you ready to give up the fun parts of being child-free, like the freedom to do what you want when you want? The freedom to tackle a new time consuming work project, educational degree, hobby, travel, etc.
Are you ready to feel the inevitable time crunch of single parenting?
Are you ready financially?
Annoying comments you may hear.
You haven’t given enough time to finding a partner.
Consider joining a single parent by choice support group. Online or in-person (check Meetup)
Resources:
1. Single Adoptive Parents: Our Stories (Book by Lee Varon and Sherry Fine)
2. Adopting On Your Own: The Complete Guide to Adoption for Single Parents (Book by Lee Varon)
3. Single Mothers By Choice (organization and website)
4. Motherhood Reimagined (organization and website)
5. ChoiceMom.org E-guide: Finding Support (eGuide)

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

Adopting On Your Own: The Complete Guide to Adoption for Single Parents

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Grandparents raising grandkids or aunts and uncles raising nephews and nieces is often complicated and comes with a mix of challenges and blessings. What are the unique issues that kinship caregivers face and what do they need to succeed. We talk about these issues with LaNette Jacobs, an aunt raising her two nephews; Marla Galvan, a licensed clinical social worker and Foster Care Strategic Consultant for Child Welfare Information Gateway; Dr. Ali Caliendo, the Executive Director of Foster Kinship, a nonprofit support of kinship families in Nevada; and Jaia Lent, the Deputy Executive Director at Generations United where she provides direction for the National Center on Grandfamilies.

In this episode, we covered:

Kinship care, also often called grandparent care or grandparent-led families, is used to care for children whose parents are unable. And while we will often use the term grandparent, we fully recognize that it is often aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes other siblings that are stepping up to care for these children. Kinship care can be permanent or temporary, financially subsidized or not, formal or informal. Kinship care at its best helps to maintain family connections and cultural traditions that can minimize the trauma of family separation.
Grandparents raising grandkids or aunts and uncles raising nephews and nieces is often complicated and comes with a mix of challenges and blessings.
There is often a blurred line between being a family member and assuming responsibility for a relative's children. Is your role the grandparent or the parent and if parent, to whom is your first allegiance—to your child or your grandchild.
It’s also a blessing. It’s a do over, a chance to be fully involved in a child’s life again and make a difference in the next generation.
Why is raising your grandkids different from raising your own kids the first time around?
Understanding emotions.
- Guilt, shame, anger, distrust, loss, loneliness, grief. And these feelings are often felt by both the parent and the kinship caregiver.
- Managing boundaries.
Communication
Being honest about your needs and the kids needs
Putting the children’s needs first.
How to help with reunification?
Try to show empathy towards the challenges that the parents are struggling with.
Don’t put down birth parents, especially in front of the kids.
Assure children that their parents love them.
Tell parents that you know that they love their child.
Don’t put the children in the middle.
Make visits a conflict free zone—if possible.
Have adult conversations on working out disagreements away from the kids.
Support change in the parents.
Support groups.
Not financially prepared for the addition of kids.
Parenting kids who’ve experienced trauma.
Legal resources to be in the best position to advocate for the child.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Should you consider freezing your eggs? What is involved and how much does it cost. We talk with Dr. Taraneh Nazem, Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Medicine Associates of NY.

In this episode, we cover:

Female Fertility

Overview of female fertility.
What impacts fecundity?
How important is age in female fertility?
Why does age negatively impact fertility in women?
What other factors decrease a woman’s fertility?

Fertility Preservation

At what age does fertility begin to decrease?
What causes Diminished Ovarian Reserves?
What are the symptoms of Diminished Ovarian Reserves?
How to evaluate and diagnosis Diminished Ovarian Reserves?
What can women do to support their fertility and maintain optimum fertility for as long as possible?
Does birth control influence future fertility positively or negatively?
Does exercise impact female fertility?

Egg Freezing

Who should consider egg freezing?
At what age should women consider freezing their eggs?
What is the egg freezing process?
What are the short and long-term risks of the fertility medication needed for egg freezing?
Do you need to have your IUD removed in order to go through an egg retrieval process?
How many eggs do you need to freeze to provide a fair chance of having a baby?
Are women with low AMH levels a good candidate for egg freezing?
How many egg retrieval cycles should you expect in order to have enough eggs for a strong chance for a baby?
How long can eggs be frozen?
Does freezing damage the eggs?
If you don’t use your frozen eggs can you donate them?
What is the success rate for frozen eggs?
Should you freeze eggs or freeze embryos?
Cost of egg freezing:
- Initial egg retrieval.
- Cryopreservation storage fee.
What is the process when you want to return to use your frozen eggs?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen families. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Creating a Family also has an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Have you ever wondered why a specific behavior by your child drives you crazy? What do we as parents bring to the relationship that could be part of the problem? We talk about how a parent's history with attachment and trauma impacts our parenting with Dr. Patrice Berry, a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized training in adoption and foster care and over 15 years of clinical experience.

In this episode, we cover:
· Research has shown that our attachment style with our own parents is the biggest predictor of the attachment style we’ll have with our child.

· What do we mean by attachment style? Attachment style refers to the internal “working models” we develop of how relationships function. They influence the way we relate to important people in our lives. The attachments we form in our early relationships with parents or caretakers can have an impact on our feelings of insecurity, anxiety, fear, avoidance, and satisfaction in our closest relationships throughout our lives.

· A detailed tool has been developed to determine our attachment styles. Adult-Attachment Inventory (AAI). In the inventory, done by a professional with specific training, adults are asked to describe their childhoods, and it is in the telling of their stories that attachment styles are assessed.

· What are the types of attachment styles that have been identified in adults?

· Are our attachment styles fixed in childhood by how we were parented or can they change through growth and work on our part?

· To further complicate the parenting picture, it’s important to remember that foster and adopted children come to us having experienced some degree of trauma and a set of experiences from their own family of origin or previous care settings that did not develop in the family system of their adoptive family and may contrast sharply.

· All parents are susceptible to being “triggered” by things in their past and, consciously or unconsciously, having this shape their behavior. A child’s behavior can certainly be such a trigger.

· Examples of situations where a parent’s past trauma and attachment style may interfere with their being the best parent to their child.

· How can we move toward a more secure attachment style?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Creating a Family also has an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How can you talk full advantage of the Adoption Tax Credit? What changes are important when filing for this credit for your 2020 taxes. We talk with Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill's Tax Service and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2020 federal taxes $14,300
It is a non-refundable tax credit. How to advocate for refundability.
What is a “credit” and how does it differ from a deduction or some other form of tax savings?
If you get a tax refund every year, how would you use the Adoption Tax Credit?
If you don’t have any federal tax liability, should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes?
What type of adoptions are included or excluded? Stepparent adoption? Embryo adoption? Same-sex partner second parent adoption? Unmarried heterosexual second parent adoption? Surrogacy?
Can you get credit for each adoption you complete even if completed in the same year? What about adopting siblings at the same time?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
- Domestic Infant Adoption
- International Adoption
- Re-adoption in the US for International Adoption
- Foster Care Adoption
Special Needs Adoption: How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care?
Special needs child for international adoption
What income level is excluded from claiming the Adoption Tax Credit in 2020?
How long can the credit be carried over?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax or will it only offset income tax liability?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employer benefits?
What type of documentation should you submit with your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
What should you do if you do not have your child’s social security number when you get ready to file your taxes? When should you consider using an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN #) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN #)?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work with kinship adoptions? What if the child never was involved with the foster care?
What are the most common questions received about the Adoption Tax Credit?
How to find a tax specialist knowledgeable on the Adoption Tax Credit?

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Creating a Family also has an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We talk about evaluating the risk factors for foster care with Dr. Kimara Gustafson, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota with appointments at both their Adoption Medicine Clinic and Pediatric Emergency Department.

In this episode, we cover:

The common risk factor that foster parents and those wanting to adopt from foster care need to be aware of include physical, emotional, developmental, educational, and behavioral problems rooted in childhood adversity and trauma.
What types of trauma are foster kids exposed to? Neglect, abuse, prenatal exposure, multiple caregivers, not having a reliable caregiver, constant stress
What percentage of children in foster care have been exposed to drugs or alcohol prenatally?
Impact of trauma on physical health.
Foster parents often have little information about prior health history.
Overmedication of foster children and youth.
Research has found that the average number of psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications prescribed were significantly greater for youth and children in foster care. o Children in foster care are likely to be kept on them longer than other Medicaid-enrolled children who are not in foster care.
What are psychotropic drugs and why are so many foster children on them?
Who has authority to make health care decisions for foster children and youth?
Impact of trauma on mental health.
hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity.
What types of behaviors are common as a result of trauma?
Sleep issues common to children in foster care.
Food issues common to children in foster care. Creating a Family course: Practical Solutions to Typical Food Issues
Impact of trauma on a foster child’s education.
Children in foster care need educational advocates.
Risk factors to consider for children already in the home. Creating a Family course: The Impact of Fostering on Children Already in the Home
Children can heal and foster parents can and do make a difference!

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Creating a Family also has an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We don’t just bring kids into our homes; we bring them into our marriage and relationships. And marriages or relationships are particularly challenged when we are parenting kids who have been exposed to trauma. We talk with Amy Garber, MSW and LICSW, the Manager of the Post Adoption Program with Wide Horizons for Children, a child welfare organization. We also talk with Anne Meijers, a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in adult and couples therapy.

In this episode, we cover:

Our goal should be for our marriage or relationships to be around long after the kids leave home. This takes being proactive because if we’re not careful our relationship becomes all about parenting or fostering.
How can kids enhance a marriage or relationship?
We know that kids who’ve experience trauma can be challenging to parent and can test a marriage or a relationship.
Why are children adopted or fostered past infancy, children with prenatal exposure, and kids who have experienced trauma often harder to parent?
CreatingaFamily.org has many courses on Trauma Informed Parenting.
What are some of the stresses that relationships may face when fostering or adopting kids who’ve been exposed to trauma?
Feeling isolated
One parent wanting to adopt or foster more than the other
Blame from the outside or between the parents
Grief- that parenting is harder or less fun than you anticipated, etc.
What are some situations that children who’ve experienced trauma can bring to the family and be particularly difficult for the marriage?
Disagreement on how to handle behaviors
Triangulation
What are some signs that you are neglecting your marriage?
How can trauma or neglect in the parent’s background impact the marriage once children arrive?
How to handle extended family members (grandparents, etc.) that are negatively impacting your relationship?
Tips for strengthening your relationship while parenting kids who’ve been exposed to trauma, including prenatal exposure.
Special issues for single parents.
- We encourage single parents to establish a support network. How can challenging kids test this network?
- How can single parents find support?
- Tips for singles to strengthen their support network and relationships.

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:
· Weekly podcasts
· Weekly articles/blog posts
· Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Creating a Family also has an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What should you expect as you return home with a newly adopted baby or child? What are the common emotions? We talk with Laura Jean Beauvais, a licensed professional counselor and mother of two adult daughters through adoption. She has conducted domestic, foster, and international adoptions for more than 25 years.

In this episode, we cover:

Adopting a Newborn

What are some common emotions when adopting a newborn?
What are some common stresses when adopting a newborn?
How may the revocation period affect the transition to new adoptive parenting?
Expectations of extended family during this transition period.
How do the stresses of newly adopted families differ from a family that gives birth to their child?
How does the pre-adoption process affect this transition to new parenthood?
What are some feelings that come up about birth parents after the baby comes home?
- Realities of open adoptions
- Handling grief of birth family
- Feeling like the presence of a birth mom makes the adoptive mom less of a “real” mom
- The balance of power shifting from the expectant/birth mom to the adoptive mom
How much of your child’s “story” should you share?
How can infertility struggles impact the transition period?

Adopting a Child Past Infancy

What are some common emotions when adopting a child from foster care or through international adoption?
What are some common stresses when adopting a child past infancy?
The challenge of setting realistic expectations.
How to help your child and you settle in to becoming a new family.

Post Adoption Depression

What is post-adoption depression?
What are the symptoms?
How common is post-adoption depression?
Can fathers also have post-adoption depression?
Who is at risk for post-adoption depression? Are there ways to predict which people are more prone to post-adoption depression?
How can post-adoption depression impact parenting?
What are some steps to take to prevent post-adoption depression?
What should you do if you think you are suffering from post-adoption depression?

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What foods and supplements help improve fertility for those trying to conceive naturally and for those undergoing fertility treatment. We talked with Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chavarro’s research is focused on understanding how nutrition and lifestyle impact human reproduction. He is the Principal Investigator of the Nurses’ Health Study 3 – an ongoing prospective cohort of young professional women started in 2010 designed to investigate the role of lifestyle and biologic factors on women’s health – and leads the nutritional component of the EARTH Study, an ongoing prospective cohort of couples undergoing infertility treatment at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

In this episode, we cover:

How Does Nutrition Impact Fertility

We know that women are born with all the eggs they are ever going to have so how does nutrition impact female fertility and egg quality?
How does nutrition impact male fertility?
How does weight and BMI affect fertility?
We know that the microbiome in our reproductive tract is important to fertility. Does what we eat impact this microbiome?

What Foods and Diet are Best for Enhancing Fertility

What foods improve natural fertility or the fertility of those in fertility treatment?
What is the importance of protein? What type of protein is best
Role of carbohydrates in fertility. Low carb? Complex vs simple carbs?
Caffeine
Soy products

What Supplements are Effective at Improving Fertility

What supplements should you take if you are trying to conceive with or without fertility treatment?
Prenatal vitamin
Micronutrient supplementation
Folates
CoQ 10
Vitamin B12
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)
Vitamin D
Fish Oil

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Children adopted from foster care or from abroad have often experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These children require a different form of parenting. This is a re-air of an older interview we did with the late Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family, and the founder and Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development, about how to help children from hard places heal.

In this episode, we cover:

Why is parenting abused children different from traditional parenting?
What are the 3 most important things you should do during the first 6 months home with a newly adopted child?
How can we discipline our children while still remaining connected and create attachment?
How can we help a child who has tantrums whenever he hears the word “no,” or is told he can’t do something?
How long should parents stay home (if possible) after adoption?
How can parents be proactive with children who have experienced abuse and neglect in order to help them and to improve behavior?
Parenting kids adopted from foster care and internationally can be hard on the marriage and especially when one of the parents is the one getting educated on the type of parenting these kids need and the other one has not “bought into” it yet. How to help both parents get on the same page.
How should parents handle criticism (implied or direct) about their parenting style when they are trying to follow the empower to connect style?
What are some practical tools for encouraging attachment?

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How do you find and adopt a baby or child in another state and what is the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC)? We talk with Chantilly Wijayasinha, MSW and MPH and Interim Director of Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar Child & Family Services; and Jim Thompson, adoption, foster care, and assisted reproduction attorney at the Thompson Dove Law Group, and a Fellow at Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.

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How is the COVID-19 pandemic impacting those people who are trying to create their family through surrogacy —both those seeking surrogates in the US and those going abroad. We talk with Dr. Barry Witt, the Medical Director of WINFertility and Greenwich Fertility.

In this episode, we cover:

How is surrogacy practiced in the US?
What is the distinction between gestational surrogate and a traditional surrogate?
Is it possible to go abroad to find a surrogate?
Why do people go abroad?
What are the most popular countries for people to go to for surrogacy? (including the US)
How has COVID-19 impacted intended parents seeking surrogates in the US?
How has COVID-19 impacted people seeking surrogates in another country, including those coming to the US?

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Do you know how the legal process of adoption works? How do you get an original birth certificate? How do you get a social security number for your adopted child? We talk with Brinton Wright, an adoption attorney and Fellow in the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys about the legal and social implications of adoption.

In this episode, we cover:

Different types of adoption.
The difference between voluntary and involuntary termination of parental rights.
What is meant by a "legal risk" adoption.
What is meant by open adoption.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We talk about Coping with the Stress of Infertility with Dr. Tonya Wood, a clinical psychologist specializing in family planning, pregnancy loss and infertility. She is the Director of Clinical Training at Pepperdine University and is 2020 President of the California Psychological Association.

In this episode, we cover:

Why is infertility so stressful?
What are the losses women experience when they realize that either they or their partner is infertile?
What are the losses men experience when either they or their partner is infertile?
Why do some patients feel shame or guilt surrounding their infertility?
What is ambiguous loss and why is that type of loss more stressful?
How can infertility impact marriages and partnerships?
How do men and women deal with the stress of infertility in different ways?
What are healthy techniques to deal with the stress of infertility?
Importance of not postponing life while in infertility treatment.
Should patients share that they are infertile with others?
What are some of the cultural, racial, and religious differences in how people experience infertility stress? What are the differences in how they cope with the losses and grief of infertility?
Are there specific triggers or times of year that are more stressful for many people?
What can clinics and medical professionals do to help patients cope with the stress of infertility?
What aspects of the clinic experience or treatment experience contributes to the stress of infertility?
How to find a therapist that specializes in infertility?

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Talking with your adopted or foster child about the hard parts of their story can feel like a daunting task. Should you tell your child that her birth father is in jail or that her birth mother is addicted to drugs, or that she was conceived by rape? If so, how in the world do you share this news. We talk with Lesli Johnson, an EMDR therapist who specializes in adoption and foster care and an adult adoptee; and Susan Myers, a licensed Master Social Worker with Adoptions from the Heart Adoption Agency with offices throughout the northeast.

In this episode, we cover:

Adopted and foster children often come to us with hard back stories: his birth parents are in jail, her birth mother used drugs or drank alcohol when she was pregnant, he was conceived via rape, siblings were kept by first family, it’s not known where siblings are, her first mother abused him, his birth father abused his mother, her first parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol, …
Should you tell your child these difficult parts of their history?
How should you tell your child these hard parts of their background?
How do you lay the groundwork with young children in order to fill in the details later?
By what age should you have shared all of your child’s story with him?
Give specific examples of how a conversation might go with a preschooler, and how would you fill in the gaps for a 6 year old, 10, 13 year old, etc.

a. Child abuse

b. Addiction

c. Parent in jail

Can you use a lifebook to talk about rape, imprisonment, drug and alcohol addiction?
What is a lifebook and what should be included in a lifebook?
How to use a lifebook when there is jail, rape, abuse, etc in the child’s story?
Specifically, how should parents tell their child that they were conceived during a rape?
Oversharing can happen with both parents and with children.
It’s tempting when your child is an infant to tell people private information. Why should foster and adoptive parents avoid this?
When might it be important to share some details of the child’s background?
How do you help your child understand how much of his story he should share with others outside the family?
How can adoptive parents help their children understand that they are more than the hard parts of their history and that they are not doomed to repeat their birth parents’ mistakes?

Additional Resources:

Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child: Making Sense of the Past

by Betsy Keefer and Jayne E. Schooler

Talking with Children about Difficult History

by Holly van Gulden

Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child (2nd Edition September 21, 2011)

by Beth O'Malley M.Ed

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Does it feel like your adopted or foster child is sabotaging the holidays? Are there more tantrums, sullenness, and anxiety during the holiday season? In this episode, we explore why holidays are difficult for kids who have been exposed to trauma and what to do about it. We talk with Rebeccca Robotham, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Beehive Counseling & Wellness in Connecticut. She is also an adoptee and former foster child.

In this episode, we cover:

There are many sources of trauma for children, and many adopted and foster children have experienced trauma before they come to our homes. Trauma can include neglect, prenatal exposure, abuse, domestic violence, and the actual act of being removed from your parents.
How can trauma impact children both physically and emotionally?
What is it about the holidays that makes it hard for kids with trauma? (change in routine, lots of people, bringing up memories, over-stimulation, change in diet, distracted parents, build up of anticipation, let down after the fact…)
What type of behaviors might you see? (more tantrums, dysregulation, “sabotaging” the holidays, sibling bickering, depression, sullenness, anxiety, …)
How can families do the holidays differently to help kids who have experienced trauma?
Trauma in adoption and foster care
Adoptive Parenting/Foster Parenting Tips

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Is your child more challenging than most? Do typical parenting approaches not work? We talk about how to parent harder to parent kids with Dr. Ross Greene, the originator of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions parenting model, a non-punitive, non-adversarial, trauma-informed model of care. Dr. Greene is a clinical psychologist, former Harvard professor, and the author The Explosive Child and Raising Human Beings.

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Should you consider adopting or fostering a child that is older than a child already in your family. Are there things you can do to make it easier for all the children. We talk with Teresa Bernu, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Adoption Center of Illinois, and Mark Lacava, LCSW and Chief Clinical Officer at Spence Chapin Services to Family and Children an Adoption organization in NYC.

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Do you dread the teen years? Do you want to keep your kids little forever or go back to that sweet stage when they were still in footy pajamas? Listen to this fantastic interview with Dr. Ken Ginsburg to help you embrace the wonderful years between 11 and 20. Dr. Ginsburg is the Co-Founder and Director of Programs at the Center for Parent and Teen Communication and Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the author of 5 award-winning books including: Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings.

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We talk about the 7 core issues in adoption and foster care with Allison Davis Maxon, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and co-author of Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency: A Guide to Promoting Understanding and Healing in Adoption, Foster Care, Kinship Families and Third Party Reproduction.

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Have you ever thought about international adoption. Are you terrified of having to decide what types of medical or emotional conditions you would accept. This is the show for you. We interview Dr. Judith Eckerle, Medical Director of the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota to help demystify the common issues she sees in kids adopted from abroad. She is also an adult transracial international adoptee.

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What are the causes and treatment for male infertility? What lifestyle factors impact fertility in men? We talk with Dr. Natan Bar Chama, Director of the Center of Male Reproductive Health at RMA of New York and a board-certified Urologist and Male Infertility Specialist; and Dr. Eleanor Stevenson, a Professor and Chair of Division of Women, Children and Families at the Duke University School of Nursing where she focuses her scholarship on improving the emotional and informational needs of men experiencing infertility. She is the co-founder of All about Fertility, a website providing resources on male infertility.

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In this episode we talk about practical tips for disciplining while maintaining attachment with Amanda Purvis, a Training Specialist at the Karyn Purvis Center for Child Development, a social worker, and a mom of five.

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The world of adoption can be confusing. How do you adopt, what type of adoption is best, what is the cost, and how long does it take. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit answers all of these questions and more.

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What are some tried and true ways to afford adoption? We talk with Julie Gumm, author of “You Can Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption”. In this episode we cover ways to find “extra” money that you can put towards your adoption, ideas for increasing your savings, and reasons to be cautious about asking for donations to pay for adoption.

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Learn more about popular medications used to treat infertility. We talk with Dr Alex Quaas, an associate physician with Reproductive Partners San Diego and a clinical assistant professor at the University of California San Diego, about the basics of infertility medications.

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Who are the expectant moms who place their baby for adoption? What factors influence their decision? We talk with Stephanie Rider, a birth mom who placed her daughter for adoption in 1997, and Chantilly Wijayasinha MSW, MPH, and the Supervisor of the Domestic Adoption Program at Vista Del Mar Child & Family Services.

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Adding a child to your family changes the dynamics for everyone, but most especially for the children who are already in the home. We talked with Gail Heaton, the biological mother to five children and an adoptive mother to twins. She is a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) practitioner and Circle of Security Parenting facilitator. She founded Suddenly Siblings™ to help parents prepare their children already in the home when a family adopts or fosters. We also talked with Molly Heaton, an adult resident sibling, and a big sister for 15 years to Russian-born, orphanage-raised, twin adoptive brothers with special needs due to early trauma.

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What are some behaviors that are typical of children adopted internationally? How can parents help their children overcome these behaviors. We talked with Leah Strom, a social worker who has worked in the Child Welfare community for nearly 20 years. She is the Director of Social Work for International and Domestic adoption at Children’s Home Society & LSS of Minnesota.

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Everything you ever needed to know (but where afraid to ask) about female fertility. We talk with Dr. Julie Lamb, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle who also serves as a clinical faculty at the University of Washington.

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What must you know about pre-implantation genetic testing when going through IVF and should you consider it? We talk with Rachael Cabey, a Licensed Certified Genetic Counselor and a lead laboratory genetic counselor for Cooper Genomics and Jenna Miller, a Licensed Certified Genetic Counselor and a clinical science liaison for Cooper Genomics. Jenna travels around the US educating clinicians about genomics and genomic testing.

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What are the common risk factors when adopting a baby in the US and how can adoptive parents evaluate these risks when considering an adoption match. We talk with Dr. Dana Johnson, a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota where he co-founded the Adoption Medicine Program in 1986. Over the course of his career, he has reviewed the medical records of over 20,000 children and counseled potential adoptive parents on the likely medical needs of these adoptees. He is a dad by both birth and adoption.

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How does prenatal exposure to alcohol damage the brain of the developing fetus? What type of behaviors are typical from children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)? What parenting techniques are effective for helping a child with FASD reach their full potential? We talk with Suzanne Emery, a Nurse Practitioner and Program Director at FASCETS (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Consultation Education and Training Services). She is also a mom to a son with FASD.

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How can parents help their transracially adopted child transition to college and why can this transition be hard for both teen and parents. We talk with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Montclair State University. She is an active researcher and currently leads their Adoption Research Team. She is also a transracial adoptee.

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The next step in understanding Trust-Based Relational Intervention is the new book, The Connected Parent, by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Lisa Qualls, with great assistance from Emmelie Pickett. We interview Lisa and Emmelie for this episode.

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Adopting or fostering siblings presents advantages to both the children and parents, but also presents unique challenges that parents should be prepared for. We talk with Erin Q. Nasmyth, LCSW specializing in adoption, and Executive Director of Adoption Support Alliance.

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Should you consider adopting a child with Down syndrome? What medical, behavioral, and emotional issues may accompany this genetic disorder. We talk with Dr. Emily Jean Davidson, Down Syndrome Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School.

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How can white parents raise anti-racist children in this time of violence against people of color and protests. We talk with Dr. Ann Hazzard, a clinical child psychologist who was on the faculty at Emory University in Atlanta and co-author of Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice; and Dr. Joy Harris, a Full-time Lecturer at Princeton Theological Seminary and co-author of The ABCs of Diversity: Helping Kids (and Ourselves!) Embrace Our Differences.

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How does home insemination with donor sperm differ from intrauterine insemination? Who should consider this option and how do you do home insemination? We spoke with Corey Burke, the Executive Vice President of Cryos International Sperm & Egg Bank. He answered common questions and walked us through an overview of the process, including discussions about the benefits of home insemination, costs, and other factors to consider.

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Kinship parenting provides both joy and challenges. Grandparents and other relatives raising their grandkids, nieces, nephews and cousins face unique issues which we discuss with Robin Sizemore, the Director of Hopscotch Adoptions, which specializes in international kinship adoptions; and Jeanette Willis, the Executive Director of Advantage Adoptions - One Church One Child in Fort Worth, TX, which specializes in domestic kinship adoptions. She was also raised by her grandparents and is currently raising a grandchild.

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Adopting tweens and teens brings special joys and challenges. We talk with Bryan Post, a Child Behavior and Adoption expert and founder of the Post Institute. He is an adopted and former foster child.

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What do we know about how Covid-19 affects infertility treatment and pregnancy. Are pregnant woman more at risk? What happens if the mom has Covid-19 while pregnant? We interview Dr. David Adamson, a reproductive endocrinologist and surgeon, Clinical Professor at Stanford University, and Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF. He is Past President of the ASRM, SART, AAGL, the Committee on Reproductive Medicine for FIGO and is Founder, of Advanced Reproductive Care (ARC Fertility).

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How do we apply TBRI during this time of high stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We talk with Amanda Purvis, a training specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development about connected parenting during the shutdown.

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How can we use this time of isolation to develop resiliency in our children, ourselves, and our family. We talk with Roxanne Thompson, a Licensed Professional Counselor with The Institute for Attachment and Child Development in Colorado. Her expertise is in trauma, abuse, attachment disorders and family systems. She currently serves on the boards of the Colorado State Foster Parent Association and the Colorado Coalition for Adoptive Families.

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Most of us are trying to juggle so much during this coronavirus shutdown: homeschooling, work, cooking, and so much more. How can we do it all? We talk with Julie Beem, Executive Director of Attachment and Trauma Network, an author on trauma and attachment and frequent workshop presenter.

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If you are having trouble getting pregnant, what are some things you should consider before starting infertility treatment. We talk with Nancy Harrington, an infertility nurse for over 20 years and a senior specialist of clinical education at AllianceRx Walgreens Prime.

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Are going a little crazy trying to be your child's teacher, as well as parent during the Coronavirus shutdown. Check out this interview with Heather Forbes, a licensed clinical social worker, the author of the bestselling book Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control: A Love-Based Approach to Helping Attachment-Challenged Children With Severe Behaviors, the founder ofthe Beyond Consequences Institute, and author of numerous other books, including her newest release, Classroom180: Trauma-Informed Classrooms.

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Are you stressed trying to figure out how you are supposed to do it all now that we are in self-isolation due to the Coronavirus? How do we deal with challenging behaviors and try to work, cook, teach, and generally survive. We talk with Carol Lozier, a licensed clinical social worker with over twenty-five years’ experience counseling children and families. She specializes in adoption and foster care issues, and is the author of the book The Adoptive & Foster Parent Guide.

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What is it like to be raised by parents of a different race. What can parents do to help their transracially adopted children. We talk with 4 young adults that were transracially adopted by white parents. Katie, adopted from China as an infant. Nathan, who is biracial (black/white), adopted as a newborn in a domestic open adoption. Angie, a black Haitian American, adopted domestically. Jack, adopted as an infant from Vietnam.

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What do we mean by attachment and what can parents do to help their child attach. What can parents do if they are struggling with attaching to their child. We talk with Dr. Casey Call, the Assistant Director of Education at the Institute of Child Development at TCU. She is a researcher and trainer for Trust-Based Relational Intervention.

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What is happening with international adoptees not having US Citizenship. What is being done to help them. We talk with Joy Alessi, Director of the Adoptee Rights Campaign and three adult adoptees that found out once they were adults that they were not citizens.

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How to use Chinese medicine to treat infertility? How to use it to support a Western medical approach to treating infertility (such as IVF and IUI). And how does infertility impact intimate relationships and what can Chinese medicine do to help maintain a healthy sex life during treatment. We talk with with Denise Wiesner, a Traditional Chinese Medicine specialist, and founder of the Natural Healing and Acupuncture Clinic and a professor in the doctoral program in Chinese Medicine, fertility, and women’s Health at Yo San University in LA. She is the author of the book , “Conceiving with Love: a Whole Body Approach to creating intimacy, reigniting passion, and increasing fertility.”

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Parents are often afraid to foster or adopt a child who has experienced sexual abuse, but children can and do heal from this type of abuse. We talk about what parents can do to help the child heal with Dr. Jennifer Shaw a Clinical Psychologist with the Gill Institute for Trauma Recovery who specializes in the assessment and treatment of trauma in children, especially those who present with sexual behavior problems.

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We speak with a panel of adult adoptees about the experience of being raised in an open adoption. What were the advantages? What were the challenges? All of our panel guests were adopted at birth. They grew up knowing they were adopted and all are in their 20s and 30s now.

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What are the special needs common to international adoption. What special needs do we see from specific countries. We speak with Dr. Kimara Gustafson, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and a pediatrician at their Adoption Medicine Clinic. She also has her Masters in Public Health.

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Living with infertility is hard physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. We talk about this experience with Andrea Syrtash. She struggled with infertility for over 10 years and recently became a mom through surrogacy. She is a relationship expert and coach and TV personality and the founder of Pregnantish, an online lifestyle magazine dedicated to helping singles, couples and LGBT navigate infertility.

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How can we parent our children who have experienced trauma. How can we discipline them in a way that will help them learn and grow. We talk with Karen Doyle Buckwalter, a clinical social worker specializing in attachment and trauma, and author of Raising the Challenging Child: How to Minimize Meltdowns, Reduce Conflict, and Increase Cooperation.

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How can we raise children who are resilient and able to bounce back from the ups and downs of life and move forward with optimism and confidence? We talk with Dr. Ken Ginsburg, the Co-Founder and Director of Programs at the Center for Parent and Teen Communications, a Professor of Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and The University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, and author or "Building Resilience in Children and Teens" and "Raising Kids to Thrive".

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If you have adopted within the last several years or even if you are in the process of adopting, you need to understand the Adoption Tax Credit for 2019. We talk with Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bills Tax Service in Illinois and Josh Kroll, Adoption Tax Credit specialist at the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

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What foods and supplements help improve fertility for those trying to conceive naturally and for those undergoing fertility treatment. We talked with Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chavarro’s research is focused on understanding how nutrition and lifestyle impact human reproduction. He is the Principal Investigator of the Nurses’ Health Study 3 – an ongoing prospective cohort of young professional women started in 2010 designed to investigate the role of lifestyle and biologic factors on women’s health – and leads the nutritional component of the EARTH Study, an ongoing prospective cohort of couples undergoing infertility treatment at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

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How can we raise our kids with ADHD to become mentally healthy and successful adults. We talk with Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell, is a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, a NY Times bestselling author, and a leading authority in the field of ADHD. He authored the groundbreaking book on ADHD, Driven to Distraction, and has written several other books on ADHD, including a newly released e-book co-authored with Lisa Schuman titled: ADHD and Adoption. He was a Harvard Medical School faculty member for 21 year, and is the Founder of The Hallowell Centers.

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What diet and supplements are best for supporting good quality eggs and sperm? What environmental toxins should we avoid? We talk with Rebecca Fett who has a degree in molecular biology and biochemistry and is the author of the bestselling fertility book, "It Starts with the Egg".

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How can adoptive parents help their internationally adopted children develop a healthy cultural, racial, and ethnic identity? We talked with Dr. Hollee McGinnis, an assistant professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work who focuses on mental health and identity for international adopted people. She is also an intercountry adoptee from South Korea.

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Should you use fresh or frozen eggs when doing a donor egg cycle for IVF? Which provides you with the most choices and the greatest chance of success. We talk with Corey Burke, an andrologist and embryologist, with over 20 years experience. He is the Tissue Bank Director for Cryos USA – International Sperm and Egg Bank.

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What new adoptive parents need to know about eating, sleeping, and pooping with a newborn. We talk with Dr. Scott Cohen, pediatrician with Beverly Hill Pediatrics and author of Eat, Sleep, Poop: A Common Sense Guide to Your Baby's First Year.

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What are the health, emotional, and developmental issues common to children adopted from abroad. What should parents and professionals consider before adopting internationally. Our guest expert is Dr. Dana Johnson, Professor of Pediatrics and one of the founders of the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota. He is the parent of two birth daughters and an adopted son from India.

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Should you adopt a child who has been exposed prenatally to alcohol or drugs? What are the short and long term impact of drinking during pregnancy or use of methamphetamines, opioids, Methadone, Suboxone, marijuana, and tobacco (cigarettes or vaping)? We talk with Dr. Julia Bledsoe, a board certified pediatrician specializing in adoption and prenatal exposure. She is a professor at the Univ. of Washington in General Pediatrics, and also the faculty pediatrician at the UW FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) Clinic, the longest standing FAS center in the US. She is also an adoptive parent.

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What do you need to understand about openness in adoption when you are first considering adopting. What is it and what is it not. We talk with Lori Holden, author of The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption, blogger, and adoptive mom.

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What is the adoption experience for birth mothers and what do they think of some of the controversies in adoption, such as pre-birth matching, adoptive parents at the hospital, adoptive mother breastfeeding, etc. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with a panel of birth moms about their adoption experience.

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Parents may assume that the transition from foster care to adoption will be smooth and welcome, but that is not always the case. What should parents expect and how can they help their child with this transition? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with Jayne Schooler, author of numerous books related to adoption including; Wounded Children, Healing Homes: How Traumatized Children Impact Adoptive and Foster Families. Jayne has been involved in the training and education of adoption and foster care professionals and families for over twenty years.

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Many people decide to adopt after they have been unsuccessful with infertility treatment. Infertility involves many losses and grief is a natural and common feeling, but it is important to come to terms with this grief before you adopt. We talk with Carole Lieber Wilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in adoption, infertility, and third party reproduction. She is also a mom through adoption and egg donation.

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Are you the right family to consider transracial adoption? How do you know if you could successfully raise a child of a different race? We talk with Dr. Gina Samuels, a Professor at University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, affiliated with the Center of Race, Politics, and Culture, and a long time researcher on transracial adoption, and an adult transracial adoptee.

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What causes miscarriage and recurrent pregnancy loss. What is the best treatment and what are the controversies in the diagnosing and treating of miscarriage. We talked with Dr. Lora Shahine, RE and Director of the Recurrent Pregnancy Program at Pacific NW Fertility and clinical faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, and author of the book "Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss."

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How do you adopt from foster care? What is the process, what is required, and how to begin? We talk with Kim Phagan-Hansel, managing editor of "The Chronicle of Social Change" and the editor of "Fostering Families Today." Kim is also the editor of two books, The Foster Parenting Toolbox and The Kinship Parenting Toolbox.

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How do nutrition and lifestyle impact Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome? What can patients do to improve their symptoms and fertility? We talk with Angela Grassi, MS in Nutrition and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and founder of The PCOS Nutrition Center where she provides evidence-based nutrition information and coaching to people with PCOS. She is the author of several books on PCOS including The PCOS Workbook: Your Guide to Complete Physical and Emotional Health.

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How to talk with children about adoption at different ages and stages. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with Mark Lacava, LCSW-R, the Executive Vice President of the Pre and Post Adoption Services Department at Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children.

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What are some of the stresses of infertility and how can patients and couples cope. Why is the grief of infertility unique? We talk with two therapists who specialize in reproductive medicine: Bette Galen and Joey Miller.

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What do you need to know if you are considering adopting a baby in the US? What is the process, how long does it take, how much does it cost, and what decisions do adoptive parents have to make? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit talks with Erin Patterson, Director of Adoption for Upbring Adoption; and Jill Davies, Executive Co-Director for Caring for Kids: Adoption, Foster, Care and Birth Parent Services.

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How does intravaginal culture compare to IUI and IVF and who should consider this new fertility treatment? Our guest is Dr. John Park, a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Carolina Conceptions.

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What are adoptive scams and how can adoptive parents recognize them and protect themselves. What can adoptive parents do to make sure that they are also being upfront and honest with expectant parents. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Deborah Phillips, CEO of Children’s Connection Inc and Eric Freeby, an adoption attorney with Brown Pruitt who has been practicing adoption law for over a decade.

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How can we help our foster or adopted children heal from past trauma or loss. Our guest is Carol Lozier, a licensed clinical social worker with over thirty years experience counseling children, teens and adults in the issues of trauma, and adoption and foster care. Ms. Lozier has published four books, including one of my very favorites, The Adoptive and Foster Parent Guide.

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Open adoption may be good for adopted children but it can present challenging situations and relationship dynamics that can be hard for kids to understand. Some difficult situations that adoptive parents may have to navigate are birth parents showing up high to meetings, not honoring their promises, differing levels of openness between multiple adopted children, or the birth parent parenting subsequent children. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Susan Yobp, Mediation Coordinator for Consortium for Children’s Permanency Planning Mediation program. They assist families in developing post adoption contact plans for children being adopted through the foster care system.

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What products that we use and foods that we eat might be harming our fertility or might impact a pregnancy. What should women who are trying to get pregnant or who are pregnant avoid and what should they do? We interview Dr. Tracey Woodruff, a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco and the Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.

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How to create a successful adoptive parent profile that will appeal to expectant moms making a decision on whether to place their baby for adoption? What to include and what to avoid? What type of pictures to include and how many? What do expectant women or couples want to see? Our guest expert is Madeleine Melcher, an adoptee, an adoptive mom, and the author of How to Create a Successful Adoption Portfolio: Easy Steps to Help You Produce the Best Adoption Profile and Prospective Birthparent Letter. She is the owner of Our Journey to You, a company dedicated to designing adoption portfolios and adoption profiles.

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Parenting adopted teens can be fun and challenging. What are some tips and tricks for parenting adopted teens and tweens? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Katie Naftzger, LICSW, a psychotherapist that specializes in adoption and a transracial adoptee adopted from Korea.

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If your 1st IVF cycle failed, should you try again? What are your odds of success with subsequent IVF cycles? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Philip Chenette, medical director at Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco and past president of the Bay Area Reproductive Endocrine Society; and Dr. Mylene Yao, a reproductive endocrinologist, and co-founder of Univfy Inc., which has an online prediction tests for success of IVF.

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How does infertility and its treatment affect your sexual desire? What are the impacts of infertility and fertility treatment on sexual intimacy? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jody Madeira, a professor at Indiana University-Bloomington, an expert on law and medicine and bioethics, a researcher on the impact of fertility treatment on sexual health, and the author of Taking Baby Steps: How Patients and Fertility Clinics Collaborate in Conception as well as Dr. Beth McAvey, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist at RMA of NY, and Debra Unger, a therapist for over 20 years that specializes in the treatment of couples with infertility.

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We talk with Kama Einhorn, one of the creators of Karli, the new Sesame Street Muppet who is in foster care, about how they decided on this storyline, how they created the muppet, cast the puppeteer, and what other resources are available on Sesame Street for foster children and foster parents.

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Food issues are very common with adopted and foster children and are one of the most frequent concerns adoptive and foster parents have. We will address common food issues and provide practical suggestions for parents to implement to help their child. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Katja Rowell, The Feeding Doctor, and author of Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating and Love Me, Feed Me as well as Kate Miller, Feeding and Disability Specialist at SPOON, an NGO focused on eradicating malnutrition for children who are isolated from their communities due to a disability and those living in orphanages and foster care.

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We know that attachment is crucial for adopted and foster kids for their mental and physical health. What are some fun and simple ways to help you and your child attach? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Deborah Gray, adoption therapist, “attachment guru”, and author of Attaching through Love, Hugs, and Play: Simple Strategies to Help Build Connections with Your Child and Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents.

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Attaching Through Love, Hugs and Play: Simple Strategies to Help Build Connections with Your Child

Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents

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So often we think infertility only affects the woman, but the men are affected as well. We simply don’t focus on how they are affected. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit interviews Michael Barr, author of Swimming In Circles: A Baby Chase Odyssey, blogger, sports columnist, and dad to talk about infertility, male infertility, and how the wife’s infertility affects the husband. Who in a couple is typically the one who pushes a medical assessment or treatment for fertility issues?

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Swimming in Circles: A Baby Chase Odyssey

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A panel of birth mothers talking about adoption from their perspective and answering questions from adoptive parents. What is it like to place a child for adoption? What influenced their decision to choose one couple over another? What can adoptive parents do to make the hospital time post birth a little easier? What type of recognition on Mother’s Day feels best? And much more. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national foster care & adoption education and support nonprofit talks with a panel of four birth mothers about adoption.

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The human body is full of organisms that exist alongside and inside of us, including our reproductive tracts. How do these bacteria, viruses, and fungi affect conception and pregnancy? How does infertility treatment alter or mimic what exists in nature? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit interviews Dr. Jason Franasiak, a board certified Obstetrician Gynecologist, board certified Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist, board certified High Complexity Laboratory Director in Embryology and Andrology, and physician with RMA New Jersey.

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What are the short and long term impacts of an IVF conception? Does IVF affect the health (positively or negatively) of the children conceived. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit talks with Dr. Paolo Rinaudo, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCSF. He is an MD PhD researching in the area of how IVF affects the children conceived.

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Adoption dissolutions or disruptions are a tragedy for everyone--the child, the parents, and the family. What can we do to prevent them from happening, how do we know when they are inevitable and what to do if an adoption failure becomes inevitable? We talk with Dr. Richard Barth, Dean and Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and researcher in the area of adoption and adoption dissolution and disruption. Also joining us is Stephen Hayes, a litigator for more than 35 years with Grady, Hayes & Neary specializing in adoption and foster care. He is a member of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America and Wisconsin Super Lawyers. Our host is Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national foster care & adoption education and support nonprofit.

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What type of assistance or subsidies are available for parents adopting a child from foster care? Who determines the amount of a monthly adoption subsidy and how can parents negotiate for a fair amount? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national foster care & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Josh Kroll, Project Coordinator for the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center at the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

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What over-the counter medications can impact fertility--both for women and men? What non-prescription drugs should you avoid when in fertility treatment or pregnant? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit interviews Dr. Kathleen Tucker, an embryologist and reproductive physiologist with 25 years of experience.

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What do you need to know about health insurance coverage for infertility? How do you know if your policy covers treatment or diagnosis of infertility and what can you do to maximize your coverage? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit interviews, Davina Fankhauser, the foremost expert on policy related to benefits for fertility treatment and preservation, and Dr. Dan Potter, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist with HRC Fertility.

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Adopting an older child is a big transition for everyone involved and poses a unique set of challenges. Learn more about things to consider when adopting an older child as host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national foster care & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Celeste Snodgrass, MSW, LCSW, and Director of Clinical Services at Holt International and Danielle Kaiser who has a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and is a behavioral therapist and Foster Family & Adoptions Social Worker with Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services.

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We cannot take the availability of infertility treatment for granted. Learn more about what is happening around the US that might impact treatment of the disease of infertility. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sean Tipton, Chief Advocacy, Policy and Development Officer, American Society for Reproductive Medicine and Barb Collura, Executive Director of Resolve, the national infertility association.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jeffrey Russell, Director of the Delaware Institute for Reproductive Medicine and lead researcher on some of these cutting edge studies.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility, adoption, & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Suzanne Emery, a Program Director with FASCETS, a nonprofit focused on helping parents raise children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. She is also the mom of a son with FASD.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Kristen Wright, a Reproductive Endocrinologist at the Reproductive Science Center of New England in New Hampshire; and Patricia Sachs, clinical social worker and infertility counselor at Shady Grove Fertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Becky Fawcett, Executive Director of Help Us Adopt; Julie Gumm, author of Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption; and Cherri Walrod, Director of Resources 4 Adoption.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Elaine Gordon, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in infertility and child development.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sally Ann Rhea, the study coordinator for the Colorado Adoption Project, and Dr. Alexandra Burt, Associate Professor of behavioral genetics with affiliation with the Michigan State University Twin Registry.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Zev Williams, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia University Fertility Center.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Gina Samuels about How Transracial Adoptees Navigate Race as they Age.

Dr. Gina Samuels is an Associate Professor with the University of Chicago and the Center for the Study of Race Politics and Culture, and transracial adoptee.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Alex Quaas, a reproductive endocrinologist with Reproductive Partners Fertility Center–San Diego, about the latest developments in the treatment of PCOS.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rebecca Wilmoth and Josh Kroll about the Adoption Tax Credit 2018.

Josh Kroll is an Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at NACAC; and Becky Wilmoth is an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bills Tax Service.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Ross Greene, clinical child psychologist who was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for 20+ years, and is the author of "Raising Human Beings" and "The Explosive Child".

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Jeffrey Kluger, author ofThe Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, and an editor and science reporter at Time Magazine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jeff Ecker, a high risk obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School; Dr. Julianne Zweifel, a psychologist and professor in the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; and Dr. Linda Applegarth, the Director of Psychological Services at the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Mark Evans, medical director at Comprehensive Genetics and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Karen Foli, Director of the PhD in Nursing Program at Purdue University School of Nursing, a leading researcher in the post adoption transition, and co-author of “Post Adoption Blues”. Her new book “Nursing Care of Adoption and Kinship Families” received the American Psychiatric Nurses Association 2018 Award for Media.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Joe Massey, a reproductive endocrinologist with Servy Massey Fertility Institute and co-founder of Egg Donor Collaborative, and Dr. Ronald Feinberg, a reproductive endocrinologist and Director of IVF Programs at Reproductive Associates of Delaware and co-founder of Egg Donor Collaborative.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Torie Comeaux Plowden, a reproductive endocrinologist and researcher in the area of disparity with success rates for minorities and access to care.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption and foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Amanda Purvis, a training specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, about the practical applications of Trauma-Informed Parenting and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI).

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jason Franasiak, Reproductive Endocrinologist with RMA New Jersey; and Dr. Erin Wolff, former Assistant Clinical Investigator with the National Institute for Health.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption and foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Jennifer McCallum, Lead Post Adoption Counselor at Buckner Children & Family Services, and Dr. Lark Eshleman, a consultant and educator whose expertise is working with children and families who have experienced early emotional trauma, attachment difficulties, neglect and abuse.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Michelle Ottey, Director of Operations at Fairfax Cryobank, and Melanie Mikkelsen, LCSW, infertility counselor and Donor Liaison at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Irene Steffas, an attorney specializing in both adoption and immigration law.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Suzanne Seitz, a certified genetic counselor that has worked for in the fertility field for over 20 years. She has been with Fairfax Cryobank for more than 10 years.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Lori Leo, author of “After Miscarriage, A Journey to Healing"; Reva Judas, founder of NechamaComfort, a nonprofit providing crisis intervention, guidance, and support in cases of infancy and pregnancy loss; and Ellen Krischer, Director of Programming at NechamaComfort.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sarah Naish, a therapeutic parent, the CEO of the National Association of Therapeutic Parents, and the author of "The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting".

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Mandy Howard, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Samford University and affiliate of the TCU Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. Dawn also interviews Dr. Eshele Williams is a psychotherapist and a Licensed Marriage, Family, & Child Therapist who is also on the Board of Directors of the National Foster Parent Association.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Erin Armenti, Board Certified genetic counselor at CooperGenomics, with a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling; and Dr. Alan Martinez a Reproductive Endocrinologist at the Reproductive Science Center of NJ.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rebekah Hill, social worker and Clinical Therapist in Adoption Services at SAFY; and Jeanette Quick, Home Study Service Coordinator at Hopscotch Adoptions.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews a panel of women who became moms over the age of 40 and 45 talking about how they made the decision, how they built their family, and what it is like to be an older mom.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Desireé McCarthy-Keith, a Board Certified reproductive endocrinologist with Georgia Reproductive Specialists, and a Clinical Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Morehouse School of Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Adam Hait of Schraft 2.0, President of Schraft’s2.0 Specialty Pharmacy and a registered pharmacist accredited by the American Council of Apothecaries as a fertility pharmacist.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Mark Lacava, Clinical Director of the Modern Family Center at Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews John Kelly, Editor-in-Chief, at The Chronicle of Social Change about the Family First Act.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Angie Beltsos, the CEO and Medical Director of Vios Fertility Institute Chicago. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI), practicing medicine since 1991.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive. Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & foster care education and support nonprofit, interviews Kate Cleary, Executive Director of Consortium for Kids. She is a social worker, an adult adoptee whose mother was addicted, and has has helped negotiate over 40,000 post-adoption openness agreements between kids transitioning out of foster care.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Tanmoy Mukherjee, a board-certified Gynecologist and Reproductive Endocrinologist, founding partner with with RMA of New York.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Alan Martinez, a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Elizabeth A. Grill, Associate Professor of Psychology at The Center for Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Dr. Ali Domar, Executive Director, at Domar Center for Mind/Body Health.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Cameka Hart, Therapeutic Family Specialist at Buckner Children and Family Services, and Jennifer McCallum, Lead Post Adoption Counselor for Buckner Children and Family Services.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Julie Lamb, a board certified reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle and serves as clinical faculty at the University of Washington.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Glen Cohen, Harvard professor and author of Patients With Passports: Medical Tourism, Law & Ethics.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, a Doctor of Psychology, Licensed Professional Counselor, and author of Mommy Burnout: How to Reclaim Your Life and Raise Healthier Children in the Process.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kristen Magnacca, author of Love and Infertility and Girlfriend to Girlfriend: A Fertility Companion.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Jane Mattes, psychotherapist, founder of Single Mothers by Choice (SMC), and author of Single Mothers by Choice; and Mikki Morrisette, founder of Choice Moms; and Dr. Grace Centola, a nationally and internationally recognized specialist in laboratory andrology and reproductive tissue banking. She has published 40+ peer reviewed scientific articles, 70+ abstract presentations at national conferences, and 26 book chapters.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jennifer Bliss, PsyD, LCSW, & Director of Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar and Family Services in LA, as well as Chantilly Wijayasinha MSW, MPH, and an adoption specialist at Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Franasiak, a board certified Obstetrician Gynecologist, board certified Technical Supervisor in Embryology and Andrology, and lead physician of RMA’s South Jersey – Marlton Office.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Karen Buckwalter, Director of Program Strategies, at Chaddock, a Residential Treatment and Trauma & Attachment Center, and author of Attachment Theory in Action: Building Connections Between Children and Parents.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews two embryologist about what happens in the fertility clinic lab and why this makes a difference in success

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sylvie de Toledo, the founder of Grandparents As Parents and co-author of Grandparents As Parents: A Survival Guide For Raising A Second Family and Cate Hawk, founding Director of NewFound Families-Virginia.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Hendree Jones, Ph.D., who is the Executive Director at UNC Horizons, and Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC

Evette Horton is an Assistant Professor and Director of Child Clinical Services in the UNC Horizons Program, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She specializes in working with children exposed to parental substance use and infant mental health.

Danielle Goodman is an adoption social worker who works with families who have adopted children who have been exposed prenatally to opiates.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kathryn Flynn is the author of Cooking for Fertility and the Founder of Fertile Foods.com. Since 2005, she has worked with men and women to improve their fertility diet and support their chances of conceiving.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Marcy Maguire, reproductive endocrinologist at RMA New Jersey and clinical professor of reproductive endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Hillary Wright and Dr. Sunita Kulshrestha. Hillary Wright is a registered dietitian and Director of Nutrition Counseling for the Domar Center for Mind Body Health at Boston IVF and author of The PCOS Diet Plan: A Natural Approach to Health for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Dr. Sunita Kulshrestha is a Reproductive Endocrinologist with Shady Grove Fertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Elizabeth Wallis, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Medical University of South Carolina, the Director of their Foster Care Support Clinic and the Division of Adolescent Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Timothy Hickman, Medical Director and Co-Founder of Houston IVF, and Clinical Associate Professor the University of Texas Medical School-Houston and Baylor College of Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Debra S. Waller, Chief Executive Officer, Jockey International, Inc. and founder of Jockey Being Family Foundation; Rita Soronen, President and CEO of Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption; and Susan Cox, Vice President of Public Policy at Holt International.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews the authors of Adopting Older Children: A Practical Guide to Adopting and Parenting Kids Over Age Four.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jody Madeira, a professor at Indiana University-Bloomington, an expert on law and medicine and bioethics,a researcher on the impact of fertility treatment on sexual health, and the author of Taking Baby Steps: How Patients and Fertility Clinics Collaborate in Conception (2018). Dr. Beth McAvey, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist at RMA of NY, and Debra Unger, a therapist for over 20 years that specializes in the treatment of couples with infertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Irene Clements who has been a foster parent for over 27 years, fostered 127 kids, adopted 4 and is the Executive Director of the National Foster Parent Association.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Josh Kroll, Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at NACAC; and Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Beth Heller, a yoga teacher, a nutritionist, co-founder of Pulling Down the Moon Integrative Care for Infertility, and co-author of the book Fully Fertile.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews five women who chose different paths to resolve their infertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rebecca Leaming regarding the fundamentals of international adoption.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. David Brodzinsky, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and former Director of Foster Care Counseling Project at Rutgers University, and author of the seminal book Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Will Waller, Program Director at Jockey Being Family Foundation, and Dr. Susan Branco, Licensed Professional Counselor and Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Washington, DC.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Melissa Thompson, MBA who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in September 2015 and is author and namesake of Melissa's Law for Fertility Preservation. Also interviewed is Dr. Glenn L. Schattman, an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Reproductive Medicine at The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine (CRM) of Weill Cornell Medical College.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Charlie Appelstein, M.S.W., President of Appelstein Training Resources, and author of the book No Such Thing as a Bad Kid.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kim John Payne, author of The Soul of Discipline: The Simplicity Parenting Approach to Warm, Firm, and Calm Guidance – From Toddlers to Teens, a family counselor for 30 years, and father of two teenagers; and Rebecca Rozema, an adoption social worker with Bethany Christian Services and mom of 5 sons.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Ken Doka, professor at The College of New Rochelle and the the author of Disenfranchised Grief; and Kris Faasse, Director of Adoption for Bethany Christian Services.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. George Grunert, a reproductive endocrinologist and founder of Houston Fertility Specialists, and Dr. Virginia Mensah, a reproductive endocrinologist with Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit discusses the basics of Adoption.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Daniel Williams, a reproductive endocrinologist and Medical Director with the Houston Fertility Institute.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Samuel Pang, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at IVF New England, where he also serves as the Director of its LGBTQ Program. Also joining is Dr. Jamie Joseph, a Certified Transgender Therapist who works with children, adolescents and adults dealing with LGBTQ concerns.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Cary Dicken, a Board Certified reproductive endocrinologist with Sher Fertility Institute of New York; and Amy Jordan, a board certified Genetic Counselor with CooperGenomics, and former chair of the Genetic Counseling Special Interest Group for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, Dr. Sherman Silber of the Infertility Center of St. Louis, a pioneer in microsurgery vasectomy and tubal ligation reversals and infertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Abbie Smith, LCSW specializing in adoption and the Director of Clinical Services at Holt International.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Ali Domar, a leading expert in mind/body medicine, Director of the Mind/Body Center for Women’s Health at Boston IVF, and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews interviews Heather Forbes, author of Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control: A Love-Based Approach for Helping Children With Severe Behaviors.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Beth Friedberg, a LCSW and Associate Director of the Modern Family Center at Spence-Chapin Services to Families & Children, and a panel of 3 moms who have helped their adopted children through sleep struggles.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr Eliana Gil, a therapist at Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education in Fairfax, VA. who has worked in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment for over 40 years.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Elaine Gordon, a clinical psychologist specializing in reproductive medicine and third party family building.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Piraye Beim, founder of Celmatix, a women’s health company using genomics and big data to help women and their doctors make more informed, proactive reproductive health decisions; and Dr. Alan Copperman, managing partner at RMA of NY and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Emily Todd, a Pediatric Medical Geneticist and Medical Director of Comprehensive Adoption Medicine Consultants.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. John Rinehart, a reproductive endocrinologist with Reproductive Medicine Institute in Chicago.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Elisabeth O'Toole, author of In On It: What Adoptive Parents Would Like You To Know About Adoption.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Andrea Braverman, a Professor with appointments in the Department of OB/Gyn and Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Since 1985, Dr. Braverman has worked as a health psychologist with a specialty in infertility counseling, third party reproduction and medical health management issues.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Madeleine Melcher, an adoptee, mother of three through adoption, and author of the new book How to Create a Successful Adoption Portfolio: Easy Steps to Help You Produce the Best Adoption Profile and Prospective Birthparent Letter; and Aki Parker, a marketing and design professional who has worked with adoptive families on their letters and online profiles.

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Host Dawn Davenport interviewed four black adoptees in their 20s who were raised by white parents about their experience with transracial adoption.

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Host Dawn Davenport interviewed Suzanne B. Nichols, an adoption attorney with over 25 years of experience in private domestic adoptions and now reproductive law in the areas of surrogacy and donor eggs. She is licensed in both New York and New Jersey.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Kevin Doody, President of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), a board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility with the The Center for Assisted Reproduction (CARE Fertility) and is Medical Director and on the Board of Directors for INVO Bioscience, which manufactures INVOcell.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Brian Kaplan, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist at Fertility Centers of Illinois.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Mark Perloe, a Reproductive Endocrinologist with Georgia Reproductive Specialists, and Mark Schwartz, a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine specializing in the treatment of infertility and founder of Buckhead Acupuncture & Herbal Center.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews three parents who are raising kids with FAS or FASD.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Lora Shahine, a reproductive endocrinologist, the Director of the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Program at Pacific NW Fertility and author of Not Broken: A Guide to Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Katie Naftzger, LICSW, a psychotherapist that specializes in adoption and a transracial adoptee adopted from Korea.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Julie Lamb a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Pacific NW Fertility, Samantha S., with My Fertility Navigator, and Lisa Park, an infertility patient.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Philip Chenette, medical director at Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco and past president of the Bay Area Reproductive Endocrine Society; and Dr. Mylene Yao, a reproductive endocrinologist, and co-founder of Univfy Inc. which has an online prediction tests for success of IVF.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Scott Sills a reproductive endocrinologist at Center for Advanced Genetics in California and author of “Fighting At The Fertility Front—A Navigational Guide to Infertility for U.S. Military, Veterans and Their Partners”.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Danielle Gauss, an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant and a member of International Lactation Consultants Association.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Ali Domar, international leader in the field of mind/body medicine and women’s health, founder of The Domar Center for Mind/Body Health, and author of numerous books including Conquering Infertility and Being Happy Without Being Perfect.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sean Tipton, Chief Advocacy and Policy Officer at American Society of Reproductive Medicine; Betsy Campbell, Director of Constituent Engagement with Resolve, and Lee Collins, a lawyer and infertility activist.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rhonda Jarema, Director of Family Support Services for Nightlight Christian Adoptions; snd Kelly Raudenbush, an attachment therapist at the Attachment and Bonding Center of PA and co-founder of The Sparrow Fund.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Marcy Maquire, board certified reproductive endocrinologist with RMA of New Jersey, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Fran Yelian, a MD, PhD reproductive endocrinologist specializing in minimal stimulation IVF and natural cycle IVF; and Dr. Joe Massey, a reproductive endocrinologist at Servy Massey Fertility Institute.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Beth O’Malley, author of many books about preparing lifebooks for adopted and foster children, including Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child; and Angela Magnuson, a licensed professional counselor with Bethany Christian Services.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Lauren Sandler, author of One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Edward Hallowell, author of numerous books on ADD, including SuperParenting for ADD and Driven to Distraction.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Colleen Quinn, an attorney specializing in reproductive law and adoption with Locke & Quinn, and Andrea Braverman, a therapist specializing infertility and alternative family building, and a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University .

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sean Delehant, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with CASE, and Stefani Ellison, Program Director, Center for Adoption Support and Education.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Robert Kiltz, Founder and Director of Central New York Fertility. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Ashley Kodet and Susan Myers, District Supervisors with Adoptions from the Heart Adoption Agency.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Josh Kroll , Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at NACAC. Becky Wilmoth, an Adoption Tax Credit Specialist at Bills Tax Service.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews embryologist Scott Kratka, senior embryologist at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey and Board Certified by the American College of Embryology.

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Host Dawn Davenport talks with Dr. Michelle Ottey, Laboratory Director for Fairfax Cryobank, who works with male cancer patients; Dr. Stephen Lincoln, Medical Director of the Fertility Preservation Center for Cancer Patients at the Genetics and IVF Institute; and Lauren Haring, Director and Co-Founder of the Fertility Preservation Center for Cancer Patients at GIVF.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Allison Douglas, Family Advocate at Harmony Family Center in Knoxville, TN. She and her husband have adopted 4 children via foster care. And Sue Badeau, President of the North American Council on Adoptable Children and adoptive mom of 22 children.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Angie Beltsos, the CEO and Medical Director of Vios Fertility Institute Chicago. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI), practicing medicine since 1991.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Andy Toledo, a Reproductive Endocrinology with Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Julia Bledsoe, a pediatrician specializing in adoption medicine and drug and alcohol exposure with the University of Washington Center for Adoption Medicine and the UW FAS Clinic.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Hal Grotevant and Dr. Ruth McRoy, leading researchers in open adoption.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kimberly Offutt, a social worker at Bethany Christian Services and Erin Q. Nasmyth, a licensed clinical social worker with Hopscotch Adoptions.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Desireé McCarthy-Keith , a Board Certified reproductive endocrinologist with Georgia Reproductive Specialists, and a Clinical Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Morehouse School of Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews James Fletcher Thompson, an adoption attorney in South Carolina and has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys since 1993; and Dr. Lisa Prock, specializing in adoption medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard University.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Ali Domar, the Executive Director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health, and author of "Finding Calm for the Expectant Mom: Tools for Reducing Stress, Anxiety, and Mood Swings During Your Pregnancy".

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jim Toner, a reproductive endocrinologist with Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine; and Dr. Lawrence Werlin, reproductive endocrinologist and medical director of Coastal Fertility Medical Center, in Irvine, California.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews adoption therapist Carol Lozier, author of The Adoptive & Foster Parent Guide.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. William Ziegler, a Board Certified Specialist in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He started the first egg donor program based in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Stella Gilgur-Cook, LCSW, adoption therapist, and former director of The Modern Family Center at Spence-Chapin Services; and Pat Irwin Johnson, author of Adopting: Sound Choices, Strong Families.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kim Phagan-Hansel, editor of Fostering Families Today magazine and The Foster Parenting Toolbox; and Madeleine Krebs, clinical coordinator at Center for Adoption Support and Education with over 35 years of experience.

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Host Dawn Davenport interviewed renowned researcher Dr. Susan Golombok, Director of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, and author of Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms; and Dr. Martha Rueter, Associate Professor of Family Social Science at University of Minnesota.

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Host Dawn Davenport interviewed Sheridan Voysey, author of Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams Into New Beginnings, a book about his journey to deciding to live childfree after a 10 year struggle with infertility; and Jen Gamper, an infertility therapist with RMA New Jersey.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Richard Hill, genealogist and author of Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA; Bethany Waterbury, geneologist with Next of Kin Research; and CeCe Moore, a genealogist, speaker, and teacher of genetic genealogy courses.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Brooke Randolph, LMHC, is a child and family therapist and author of The Bully Book: A Workbook for Kids Coping with Bullies; and Debora Gish, LCSW, with Adoption Connection with 20 experience working with kids and families.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Jason M. Franasiak, Associate Chair, Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility; and Dr. Erin Wolff, Assistant Clinical Investigator in NICHD and NHLBI.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews a panel of women who became moms over the age of 40 and 45 talking about how they made the decision, how they built their family, and what it is like to be an older mom.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Louise Brinton, Senior Scientific Advisor for the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). During her 40 year career with the NCI, she has focused her research on a wide variety of exposures related to cancer risks among women, including reproductive factors and fertility drugs; Humberto “Bert” Scoccia, MD, Professor and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago; and Alice Crisci, breast cancer survivor, activist and author.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Stephanie Caballero and Catherine Tucker, both reproductive law attorneys covering sperm donation, egg donation, surrogacy, and embryo donation.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Melissa Basham, mom to 4 boys adopted from foster care; Abigail Betancourt, mom to 2 kids adopted from foster care; Jan Egozi, mom to one child adopted internationally; and Shelley McMullen, mom to 1 child adopted internationally.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Paul Brezina, a board certified fertility expert Fertility Associates of Memphis. Dr. Maria Mercedes Gondra, an infertility specialist, and Medical director at Gondra Center for Reproductive care and Advanced Gynecology and on site medical director at The World Egg Bank in Phoenix Arizona. Brigitte Adams, Founder of Eggsurance, an organization whose mission is to create a community for women considering freezing their eggs.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. David Brodzinsky, Psychology Professor and Director of Foster Care Counseling Project at Rutgers University, and author of the seminal book "Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self".

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Chuck Johnson, President and CEO of National Council For Adoption, and their Director of Public Policy & Education, Megan Lestino.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Joshua Sparrow, child/adolescent psychiatrist, associate clinical professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Strategy, Planning and Program Development at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Children’s Hospital Boston, and syndicated columnist for the NYTimes.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Karen Howze, former Family Court Judge at D.C. Superior Court.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Janet Jaffe, a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Diego. She is the co-founder of the Center for Reproductive Psychology, and co-author of two books: Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertilityand Reproductive Trauma: Psychotherapy with Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Clients.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Alan Copperman, Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Vice-Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Co-Medical Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Mark Evans, medical director at Comprehensive Genetics and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport interviewed Lee Varon, a clinical social worker, single adoptive mom of two, and author of two books for single people interested in adopting; Dr. Michelle Ottey, the laboratory director for Fairfax Cryobank; and Mikki Morrissette, founder of ChoiceMoms.org, single mom of two by donor sperm, and author of Choosing Single Motherhood.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Richard Barth, Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a prodigious adoption researcher and author.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Ann Cleary, Director of Holt International's California Branch Office. She received both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in children's mental health; and Judy Goldman, social worker with Vista Del Mar Adoption Agency.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Vandana Bhide, an internist and pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Grace Centola, Tissue Bank Director, Manhattan Cryobank, and Dr. Laurence Udoff, an infertility doctor and Medical Director Fairfax Egg Bank.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Brad Van Voorhis-Professor and Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Iowa College of Medicine and President of Society of Assited Reproductive Technolgy; and Dr. Art Castelbaum, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Medical Director of RMA of Philadlphia and Central Pennsylvania.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Debbie Rileym, CEO of The Center for Adoption Support and Education.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews 2 adoption social workers on helping to prepare older kids for what it means to be adopted.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews a panel of adoptive moms who are raising children who were exposed in pregnancy to alcohol or drugs.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Glen Cohen, Harvard professor and author of Patients With Passports: Medical Tourism, Law & Ethics.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Suzanne Seitz, a certified genetic counselor that has worked for in the fertility field for over 20 years. She has been with Fairfax Cryobank for more than 10 years and works with families who are selecting a sperm donor.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. John DeGarmo is a leading expert in foster care and parenting.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Hugh Taylor, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, at the Yale School of Medicine.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Robin Sizemore, Exec. Director of Hopscotch Adoptions, an international adoption agency with an active kinship adoption program; Lorrin Pekarske an adoption social worker for the Catholic Charities supporting all types of adoptive families, including relative adoptions; and Tim Eirich, an adoption attorney with Grob & Eirich, LLC, specializes in adoption, child welfare cases, and assisted reproduction, and a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Alan Martinez, a reproductive endocrinologist at Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Becky Wilmoth, an Adoption Tax Credit Specialist at Bills Tax Service, and Josh Kroll, Adoption Tax Credit Coordinator at the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rhonda Roorda, author of In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption, and an adult transracial adoptee.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Marcy Maguire, a reproductive embryologist at Reproductive Medical Assiociates of New Jersey and professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews the authors of a new book: Adopting Older Children: A Practical Guide to Adopting and Parenting Kids Over Age 4.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Heather Forbes, author of Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control: A Love-Based Approach for Helping Children With Severe Behaviors.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at http://bit.ly/1QvTdsg.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Tom Lamarr, author of Geezer Dad and Jillian Lauren, author of Everything You Ever Wanted.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Bette Galen, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in alternative family building.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

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Our guests are Debra S. Waller, Chief Executive Officer, Jockey International, Inc. and founder of Jockey Being Family Foundation. Rita Soronen, President and CEO of Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Susan Cox, Vice President of Public Policy at Holt International.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews two leading infertility doctors on how best to treat infertility in women under 35.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

If you enjoyed this show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews. THANKS!

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Scott Cohen, author of Eat, Sleep, Poop: A Common Sense Guide to Your Baby’s First Year.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

If you enjoyed this show, please leave us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews. Thanks.

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Egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation and surrogacy can be a legal landmine. Each state has different laws and a mistake can have serious consequences. How to make sure your third party reproduction in legal and all parties are protected.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Stephanie Caballero and Catherine Tucker, both reproductive law attorneys covering egg donation, sperm donation, surrogacy, and embryo donation.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Kim John Payne, author of The Soul of Discipline: The Simplicity Parenting Approach to Warm, Firm, and Calm Guidance- From Toddlers to Teens. He has been a family counselor for 30 years, and is the father of two teenagers. Rebecca Rozema, an adoption social worker with Bethany Christian Services and their National ADOPTS Program Director. Mom of 5 sons, 2 of which are foster sons.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Premature Ovarian Failure is a leading cause of infertility. What causes this condition and what are the cutting edge treatments that will allow a woman to be able to conceive.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Timothy Hickman, Medical Director and Co-Founder of Houston IVF. He holds Clinical Associate Professor Appointments at both the University of Texas Medical School-Houston and Baylor College of Medicine. He is a Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist by American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and served on the Executive Board of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology from 2001 – 2011. Additionally, Dr. Hickman has been named a “Top Doctor in Reproductive Endocrinology” by U.S. News and World Report, a “Top Doctor” and “Top Doctor for Women” by H-Texas Magazine and a “Texas Super Doc” by Texas Monthly Magazine.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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How to overcome infertility and get pregnant.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Ali Domar, a leading expert in mind/body medicine, Director of the Mind/Body Center for Women's Health at Boston IVF, and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Children adopted from foster care or from abroad have often experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These children require a different form of parenting.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child: Bring hope and healing to your adoptive family, and the founder and Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development. She is a passionate advocate for children from “hard places.”

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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There are many myths surrounding adopting from foster care. It is hard to do? Do the kids have all sorts of problems? How much does it cost.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rita Soronen, President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. For more than 30 years, she has worked on behalf of abused, neglected and vulnerable children, providing leadership for local, state and national efforts.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this foster care adoptin on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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The pain of infertility and miscarriage is different from other grief and in some ways these differences make it harder to cope.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Ken Doka, professor at The College of New Rochelle, Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America and the the author of Disenfranchised Grief; and Kris Faasse, Director of Adoption for Bethany Christian Services, who has many years of experience counseling pre and post adoptive parents dealing with the grief of infertility and miscarriage.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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When you find out you are infertile you are thrown into a new world of medicine and a new world of fertility drugs. It help to understand what medications are used to treat infertility, how to use them, how to get the best price, and how to get your insurance to cover the cost.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Brian Marquis, pharmacy director at Freedom Fertility Pharmacy; and Dan McLaughlin, a registered nurse and case manager at Freedom Fertility Pharmacy.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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All children can experience trauma. What is the difference between those kids who survive and maybe even thrive and those who fall apart? How is this relevant to adoptive parents.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sue Badeau, a nationally known speaker, writer and consultant. She and her husband, Hector, are lifetime parents of twenty-two children (20 adopted) and foster parents to more than 50 children. They are authors of the book Are We There Yet: The Ultimate Road Trip Adopting and Raising 22 Kids. Sue has worked in the field of child welfare for over 30 years and has developed curriculum and training for adoption social workers and parents.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Adoption issues sometime arise at school and adoptive parents need to be prepared.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews two adoption social workers. LeAnne Carnes, Vice President of Children's Connection Inc. and Danielle Goodman, Regional and District Supervisor with Adoptions From The Heart.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) or artificial insemination is often the first step in infertility treatment or for single moms or lesbian couples. What can you do to increase the odds that you will get pregnant from an IUI?

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Marcy Maguire, reproductive endocrinologist at RMA New Jersey and clinical professor of reproductive endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Sleep issues plague most new parents. How to get your child to sleep and keep them there. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Harvey Karp, bestselling author of the wildly popular The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block, talks about his has a book, Happiest Baby on the Block Guide to Sleep. Dr. Karp is a pediatrician, child development specialist, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the USC School of Medicine.For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/. Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org. If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.Show HighlightsSupport the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Ninety-five percent of domestic infant adoptions in the US have some degree of openness, so almost all adoptive parents need to think about creating a lasting healthy relationship with their child's birth mother and birth father.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Brenda Romanchik, a therapist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in trauma and adoption issues, her clients include children, adolescents and adults. She is also an adjunct professor for Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, teaching Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the School of Social Work. She has written and presented widely on adoption and trauma issues. She is also a birth mother in an open adoption.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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The world of infertility is confusing and often overwhelming. It helps to be prepared. We will cover what tests to expect and how to interpret your test results.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Beth McAvey, a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with RMA of New York.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Unlocking the mysteries of male fertility and male infertility. Ever wonder about how to boost male fertility? How successful are vasectomy reversals?

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Dr. Cappy Rothman, founder of The Center for Male Reproductive Medicine, and co-founder and medical director of California Cryobank. He is a board certified urologist and nationally recognized authority on andrology, the urological sub-specialty of male reproductive health.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at http://creatingafamily.org/infertility/resources/maleinfertility/?.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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We know attachment is important in adoption, but adoptive parents often wonder how to help build the bonds of attachment with their adopted kids. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Deborah Gray, adoption therapist, "attachment guru", and author of Attaching through Love, Hugs, and Play: Simple Strategies to Help Build Connections with Your Child and Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Sherrie Eldridge, adoptee and author of the books, Twenty Things Adoptive Parents Need to Succeed and Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Is it possible to control or improve Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) with diet and lifestyle changes? What is PCOS? How is PCOS related to diabetes? How to improve your fertility when you have PCOS.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Hillary Wright and Dr. Sunita Kulshrestha. Hillary Wright is a registered dietitian and Director of Nutrition Counseling for the Domar Center for Mind Body Health at Boston IVF in Boston, MA. She is also the author of The PCOS Diet Plan: A Natural Approach to Health for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and The Prediabetes Diet Plan: How to Reverse Prediabetes and Prevent Diabetes through Healthy Eating and Exercise. Dr. Dr. Sunita Kulshrestha is a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Shady Grove Fertility in Pennsylvania.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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Infertility treatment is expensive. How can an average person afford to pay? Health insurance can be used to pay for some parts of treatment and clinic affordability programs, such as shared cycles and multi-cylce plans, can bring down the cost of fertility treatment.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Davina Fankhauser, Co-founder and President of Fertility Within Reach, and an expert on policy related to benefits for fertility treatment and preservation.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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There are many children over 10 waiting to be adopted in US foster care, as well in orphanages throughout the world. Are you the family to adopt them? What special issues do families face when adopting a tween/teen.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Mark Lacava, adoption therapist with the Modern Family Center at Spence-Chapin Adoption Services.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog on June 4, 2015 http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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What matters most in shaping who we and our children will be--their genes or their environment?

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews Dr. Danielle Posthuma, Head of Department of Complex Trait Genetics at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research at the Neuroscience Campus in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and co-investigator for a recently released study on what twin studies have shown about nature vs. nurture.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog May 28, 2015 at http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

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We tell people that they should use the CDC or SART Infertility Clinic Success Statistics when choosing a fertility clinic, but we often fail to tell people how to interpret these statistics. Which ones are important and which ones can we ignore?

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews Dr. David Ball, Embryology Lab Director at Seattle Reproductive Medicine and Past President of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How are the children and parents in alternative/non-traditional families doing? Families through IVF and donor conception, as well as single moms by choice and same sex families are increasing, but how are they doing, and how are the children developing? Are these new family forms harmful to children?

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews world renowned expert on new family structures, Dr. Susan Golombok, Director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, in Cambridge, England.

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog tomorrow http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

Show Highlights

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What issues should families consider when adopting or fostering a child that may have been sexually abused? What are warning signs of past sexual abuse? How can these children be helped while not endangering children already in the home.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews Dr. Jennifer Shaw, a clinical psychologist at the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Shaw specializes in play therapy and therapy with children and teens who have experienced early trauma, including sexual abuse.

Show Highlights

For a discussion of this show, go to our blog Monday, May 11, 2015. http://creatingafamily.org/blog/.

Creating a Family has many free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. Either go to this website (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id266386337) or if you have iTunes on your phone, tablet or computer, simply type in "Creating a Family", click on Ratings/Reviews, and click on the # of stars. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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It is possible to do an independent adoption without using an adoption agency.

Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews two of the top adoption attorneys that facilitate independent adoptions in the US: Steven M. Kirsh and Mark McDermott.

Creating a Family has thousands of free resources related to this topic on our website at www.CreatingaFamily.org.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What should every fertility patient know about embryology labs before going through treatment. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews two of the leading embryologist to find out what patients should know and what advances are on the horizon to improve success rates. Dr. Marie D. Werner, a fellow in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Rutgers, Reproductive Medicine Associates of NJ where she has completed an intensive 6 month embryology training program. Dr. Werner is one of the lead investigators of the SuMMIT study. Dr. Michael Tucker has worked in the field of reproductive medicine/embryology for over 26 years. Dr. Tucker has received world-wide recognition for his pioneering work in the IVF technologies that have helped to revolutionize the treatment of infertility. In 1992, he helped to advance the ICSI technique and was responsible for the first “ICSI baby” born in the US. In 1997, he led the team that was successful in achieving the first pregnancy and birth using cryopreserved eggs. He is the Director of Embryology at Shady Grove Fertility and at Georgia Reproductive Specialists.

Creating a Family has thousands of free resources related to this topic on our website.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us. Thanks.

Blog summary of the show

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Parenting children tweens and teen requires a different approach than parenting preschool and school aged children. No where is this more true than when parenting transracially adopted kids. It helps to think about these differences when our children are young. Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews Beth Hall, founder and director of Pact and Adoption Alliance, co-author of Inside Transracial Adoption, and a mom to two transracially adopted young adults; and Judy Miller, an adoption educator and support specialist, author of the email course, Parenting Your Adopted Child: Tweens, Teens & Beyond, and mom of four through birth and adoption.

For more information on this subject, check out the free resources on Transracial Adoption on our website.

If you enjoyed this show, we would very much appreciate you leaving us a review on iTunes. It only takes a moment and it really helps others find us.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Highlights

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How much of our children's basic temperament, their mental health, their intelligence, their learning disabilities, and all the things that make them who they are comes from their genes and how much from their environment. What can we learn about genetics vs. environment from the ongoing twin studies, including the study of twins separated at birth? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews three leading twin researchers: Dr. Matt McGue, Professor of Psychology at University of Minnesota, a behavioral and quantitative geneticist, Co-Director of Minnesota Twin Family Study and the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study and Research on Adoption and adoptive dad; and Dr. Nancy Segal, Professor of Psychology, Director of the Twin Studies Center at California State University, Fullerton and author of Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins and Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us About Human Behavior.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on nature vs. nurture can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Which embryos in IVF are more likely to implant and grow for 9 months and result in a healthy baby? What can patients and doctors do to select the best embryo to give you the best chance of a successful pregnancy? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, interviews Dr. Marcy Maguire, a reproductive embryologist at Reproductive Medical Assiociates of New Jersey and Clinical Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, about the latest developments in fertility treatment.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on IVF can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Parenting a child that constantly argues, is often moodly, and is generaly disagreeable is difficult and often feels impossible. Some of these children will be diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and some will never be diagnosed. What causes children to be this way, and what parenting techniques work? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & infertility education and support organization interviewed Dr. Russell A. Barkley, a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He is the author of 21 books and manuals, including Your Defiant Child: Eight Steps to Better Behavior and Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on parenting after adoption and infertility. can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Can diet affect your fertility? What foods will increase your fertility or increase your chances of conceiving with infertility treatments, such as IVF? Can adding or avoiding specific foods increase the odds that you will conceive with or without infertility treatment or in vitro fertilization (IVF)? Host Dawn Davenport interviews Dr. Jeffrey Russell, Director of the Delaware Institute for Reproductive Medicine and a leading researcher on the impact of diet on fertility and fertility treatment. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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It's time for our annual adoption tax credit show. If you had adoption expenses in 2014, can you get a federal tax credit for them? Is this tax credit applicable to foster care adoption, or international adoption, or infant adoption? Can you claim birth mother expenses. Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, will interview Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist® at Bills Tax Service, and a frequent speaker on this topic. We also have Josh Kroll, Adoption Tax Credit and Adoption Subsidy Coordinator at the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on the adoption tax credit can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Embryo donation (also known as embryo adoption) can be confusing. One of the question we receive the most is how to find embryos that another couple has donated. Host Dawn Davenport, Exeutive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, will interview Kimberly Tyson, Director of the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on embryo donation can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Should genetic screening become a standard part of IVF? Who should consider this option and for what reasons? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Jessica Mann, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on genetic testing of embryos can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What causes premature menopause or ovarian failure? What are the symptoms? What can you do to prevent and treat it? Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support organization, will interview Dr. Mark Perloe, Medical Director of Georgia Reproductive Specialists in Atlanta. He received trained at Penn State University and the University of Wisconsin before completing an Reproductive Endocrinology fellowship at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Benjamin Leader is Director of Clinical Research at ReproSource, a clinical fertility testing and research laboratory dedicated to improving reproductive health. Dr. Leader is a Harvard and MIT-trained physician scientist.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on premature ovarian failure can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What lifestyle choices affect your ability to conceive or the odds of fertility treatment working? How do diet, drinking alcohol, and exercise affect getting pregnant and miscarriage risk. Do supplements work? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Sheeva Talebian, a board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York based in Manhattan. Dr. Talebian icontributes to publications including Women’s Health, Well + Good, and Women’s Running. Outside of work, she is an avid runner and cyclist, and is frequently approached for her expert advice on incorporating exercise while attempting to conceive.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources about infertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Adopting two unrelated children or babies at the same time is a controversial topic with adoption professionals? Should you consider adopting two children when going abroad to adopt? What about if you are fortunate enough to have two expectant moms choose you for a domestic infant adoption? What are the pros and cons to adopting two children at the same time? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Ginger Healy, an adoption social worker with Children's House International Adoptions, and Marissa Leuallen, a licensed masters social worker with Holt International Children's Services, She has a post graduate certificate in therapy with adoptive and foster families. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Adopting a baby in the US can be confusing. Where do you find a child to adopt? How long does it take? Should you use an adoption consultant, adoption facilitator, or adoption attorney. What is the difference and will is cost more or less and will it be faster? Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & infertility education and support organization, will interview guests Jim Thompson, an adoption attorney in South Carolina, and fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorney; Nicole Witt, with The Adoption Consultancy; and Lisa Sweet, a Licensed California Facilitator with Sweet Beginnings Adoptions.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog Summary of the Show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on adoption attorneys can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What causes miscarriage and what can women do to prevent them. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Ruth Lathi is Director of the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss program at Stanford University, and Associate Professor in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. Dr. Lathi has authored over 60 publications, is the incoming President for Pacific Coast Reproductive Society.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on miscarriage can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Transracial adoption is becoming increasingly popular in the US. There are issues unique to parenting a child of a different race. Our guest is Dr. Marlene Fine. She is a Professor Emerita from Simmons College in Boston MA specializing in issues related to race, racial identity, and interracial communication, and the co-author with her spouse, Fern Johnson, of The Interracial Adoption Option: Creating a Family Across Race. She is the white adoptive mother of two African American sons, both adopted as infants and now ages 24 and 25. She is also a facilitator with the YW Boston Community Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on interracial adoptive parenting can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Time Magazine’s cover story on parental favoritism got to me. I literally argued out loud with the author while reading. It seemed only fare to have him on the show so we could argue in person. Jeffrey Kluger, author of the new book The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, and an editor and science reporter at Time, will be our guest to talk about siblings, favoritism, birth order, ideal spacing, and lots more. Birth Order, favoritism, spacing between children, sibling rivalry, preference for sons.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Having trouble paying for your fertility treatment? Are you considering borrowing money to pay for treatment? Host Dawn Davenport will be talking with representatives of the leading lending entities that lend specifically for paying for infertility treatment. You must listen to this show if you are considering taking out a loan for fertility treatment.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on paying for infertility treatment can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What are some of the ethical issues to think about before using donor sperm to create your family? How many times should a man be allowed to donate? How much screening should be done on donors? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Ole Schou, founder and CEO of Cryos International – the largest sperm bank in the world according to Guinness Book of Records. Cryos' simple mission and vision is to help childless people to become parents. Ole Schou’s special interest over almost 30 years is ethics & law and the impact on the market mechanisms and the use of donor sperm.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on sperm donation can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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A diagnosis of cancer is devastating on so many different levels. Often patients are so overwhelmed that the last thing they think about is getting on with their life once treatment is past. This would include taking action now to preserve their option to have children after cancer. Host Dawn Davenport talks with Dr. Michelle Ottey, Laboratory Director for Fairfax Cryobank, who works with male cancer patients; Dr. Stephen Lincoln, Medical Director of the Fertility Preservation Center for Cancer Patients at the Genetics and IVF Institute; and Lauren Haring, Director and Co-Founder of the Fertility Preservation Center for Cancer Patients at GIVF.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on preserving fertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We try not to separate siblings in adoption when possible, but adopting siblings brings special consideration for adoptive parents. Our guests to talk about sibling adoption are Kimberly Offutt, a social worker at Bethany Christian Services and Erin Q. Nasmyth, a licensed clinical social worker with Hopscotch Adoptions, who has spent spent the last ten years working with families and children in the foster care system, in child mental health and supporting families in adoption.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on sibling adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Open adoption is the norm in for domestic infant adoptions in the US and becoming more common in foster care adoption and international adoption. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Hal Grotevant and Dr. Ruth McRoy, long time researchers on the impact of openness on all members of the adoption triad, and lead researchers of the Minnesota / Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP). They literally wrote the book on open adoption and how we currently practice adoption.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on open adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Infertility treatment is not always successful and neither is adoption. Couples may have to face the decision of living childfree. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Sheridan Voysey, author of Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams Into New Beginnings, a book about his journey to deciding to live childfree after he and his wife struggled to create a family for 10 years; and Jen Gamper, an infertility therapist with RMA New Jersey. She also has a private psychotherapy practice in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on being child free can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What is the best way to find and adopt a child born in another state? Is this possible? What is the process for adopting across state lines. How to find a child to adopt? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Suzanne B. Nichols, an adoption attorney with over 25 years’ experience in private domestic adoptions and now reproductive law in the areas of surrogacy and donor eggs. She is licensed in both New York and New Jersey. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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The real experts on transracial adoption are the people who were adopted by parents of a different race or ethnicity. We have done many shows on interracial adoption, including several panels of transracial adoptees, but we wanted to focus on those that are currently in their 20s whose life experience more closely resembles the experiences of children who are being adopted across racial lines today. Host Dawn Davenport interviews four black adoptees in their 20s who were raised by white parents.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on transracial adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Should you become a first time mom over 40? Over 45? Over 50? What are the unique issues older mothers face? What are the challenges and reward of older parenthood? Host Dawn Davenport interviews a panel of women who became mothers through fertility treatment or adoption over the age of 40. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Is it possible to be happy when you are suffering from infertility and going through fertility treatment? Host Dawn Davenport interviews Dr. Ali Domar, international leader in the field of mind/body medicine and women’s health, founder of The Domar Center for Mind/Body Health, and author of numerous books including Conquering Infertility and Being Happy Without Being Perfect.

Highlights of the show can be found here:

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on infertility can be found here.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Are grants available to help pay for fertility treatment? How do you apply and what are the granting organizations looking for. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Lisa Duran, Director of Pay it Forward Fertility Foundation, a non profit organization that assists couples in paying for fertility treatments not covered by health insurance; and Dr. Camille Hammond, Director of the Tinina Q. Cade Foundation, which provides grants to assist needy infertile families.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on affording IVF can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How can adoptive parents talk with their children about their birth parents. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Jennifer Bliss, the National Associate Counseling Director at the Independent Adoption Center, a non-profit domestic infant adoption agency; and Danielle Goodman, Lead Social Worker in the Delaware office of Adoptions from the Heart, a nonprofit domestic infant adoption agency.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on talking to adopted children about birth parents can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What do you need to know when you first start thinking about adoption. Where do you begin? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Jim Thompson, a South Carolina attorney, with offices in Spartanburg and Charleston. He has worked in the field of adoption and assisted reproductive law for 25 years. Leanne Carnes, Chief Operating Officer at Children's Connection Inc., an adoption and child welfare agency with offices throughout Texas. Kara Eusebio, Associate Director of Outreach with Spence-Chapin Services to Families & Children in New York City.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What are the medical advances in in vitro fertilization in the last several years. Are your chances of getting pregnant with fertility treatment improving? What have we learned about helping people conceive. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Eric Forman, Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist at RMA New Jersey, and co-author of the cover story in July ‘14 issue of Contemporary OBGYN Magazine “The New IVF Paradigm”.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on IVF can be found here.

Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Concern has been expressed on how children conceived via third party reproduction, including sperm donation, egg donation, surrogacy, and embryo donation are faring. Is attachment as strong in these families. What is the nature of the parent child relationships? Host Dawn Davenport interviews renowned researcher Dr. Susan Golombok, Director of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge and Dr. Martha Rueter, Associate Professor of Family Social Science at University of Minnesota.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on third party reproduction can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Internationally adopted children most often do not speak any English when they are adopted. How do they acquire English once home and what can parents do to help. Host Dawn Davenport, Exec. Director of Creating a Family, the national adoption & infertility education and support organization, will interview Dr. Sharon Glennen, Professor and Chairperson in the Department of Audiology, Speech Language Pathology and Deaf Studies at Towson University in Maryland. Dr. Glennen researches how children adopted from abroad acquire English after adoption.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on international adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Polycyctis Ovarian Syndrome affects a woman's health and her fertility. Diagnosing PCOS is often difficult and treatment can be complicated. With proper treatment for PCOS and often with fertility treatment, many women are able to get pregnant. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Jeanne O’Brien to discuss the latest research in diagnosing and treating Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and especially how to get pregnant with PCOS. Dr. O'Brien is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and practices at Shady Grove Fertiltiy Center in Maryland.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on PCOS can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What are the latest developments that can help prevent IVF from faililng. What can infertility patients do to help their infertility treatment succeed. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Sonia Elguero, board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Boston IVF.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on IVF can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Adoption and fertility treatment are expensive. Not everyone has the money just sitting around in their savings to spend. How does Dave Ramsey and the Financial Peace Program suggest raising the money needed for paying for IVF, donor egg or surrogacy or for adopting a child? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Chris Hogan, from Dave Ramsey's organization about the techniques discussed in Total Money Makeover and the Financial Peace University.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on paying for adoption or fertility treatments can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Do you think your child has ADHD? Could it be caused by diet, food allergies, low blood sugar, or lack of sleep? How to best diagnosis and treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Host Dawn Davenport interviews Dr. Vincent Monastra, a clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD and author of Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lesson that Medicine Cannot Teach, published by the American Psychological Association.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on parenting children with ADHD can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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The Universal Accreditation Act is now reality. How will it change international adoptions? If you have already applied to adopt, how will it affect you? Host Dawn Davenport will interview: Robin Sizemore, Founder and Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptionsan international adoption agency in North Carolina and New York; and Nicole Skellenger, an Adoption Attorney and Chief Operating Officer at MLJ Adoptions, an international adoption agency based in Indianapolis, IN.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on international adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How do chemical, hormones, and pesticides in our food and environment affect fertilty, pregnancy, and health of our families. Host Dawn Davenport interviews Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California San Francisco about common environmental chemicals and exposures affect on getting pregnant and miscarriage.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on infertility and miscarriag can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What do you need to know about the genetics of a potential egg donor or sperm donor? What type of genetic testing is available both pre and post conception? Host Dawn Davenport will talk with Dr. Harvey Stern, Director of Genetics and the Fetal Diagnostic Center at Genetics & IVF Institute, and Medical Director of Fairfax Cryobank and of GIVF’s Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) program. He also supervises genetic screening for GIVF’s egg donors and for Fairfax Cryobank’s sperm donors.

Dr. Lee Silver, a molecular biology professor at Princeton; author of over 200 research articles on genetics and computational modeling, as well as two of the leading academic genetic textbooks; and he is the founder and Chief Science Advisor at Genepeeks.

Stephanie Andriole, who is a gentics counselor at Comprehensive Genetics with a masters in Human Genetics where she advised both prenatal and preconception patients.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on egg and sperm donation can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Children adopted internationally need to be prepared in advance for what adoption means, and how their life will change. How can adoption professionals and parents help to prepare these kids. Host Dawn Davenport will interview two of the leading experts on orphans care and adoption. Dr. Jane Aronson is a pediatrician specializing in adoption medicine and is the CEO and President of Worldwide Orphans. She has been providing direct service to orphans for 20 years. Ms. Jayne Schooler is the author/co-author of seven books in the adoption field, including her newest, Wounded Children, Healing Homes: How Traumatized Children Impact Adoptive and Foster Parents. She has worked in orphanages in Kyrgyzstan, Poland and Ukraine.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on internation adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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More children are being conceived with donor egg, sperm, and embryo through third party reproduction and IVF. We can learn from the generation that went before who were conceived through donors in the past. What was their experience growing up? Did their parents tell them of their donor conception. Does their donor conception affect how they feel about their family? Join our panel of four adult who were conceived with the help of a donor.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on telling your children about their conception can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What is the safest, fastest, and cheapest way to get pregnant in fertility treatment? How long should you continue to try Clomid or Letrozole and/or artificial insemination (IUI) with our without injectables before moving to IVF? Host Dawn Davenport interviews Dr. Alison Zimon, a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF, and Dr. Samantha Pfeifer, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on infertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Most parents that conceive children with in vitro fertilization wonder about the short term and long term impact of this treatment on the children conceived. Are children conceived through infertility treatment more at risk for congenital defects; physical growth delays; neurological, cognitive, behavioral, and mental health issues; metabolic disease, or at an increased risk for cancer? What does a review of the latest research show? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Seetha Shankaran, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and author of comprehensive analysis of the literature on childhood and young adult outcome following assisted reproductive therapies.

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What is transgender? Does it differ from gender non-conforming, gender dysphoria, sexual orientation, or gender variant? What are the causes and how can parents best raise a child that is transgender? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Jo Olson, an Adolescent Medicine physician specializing in the care of transgender youth and gender variant children. She is the director of the largest clinic in the United States for transgender youth at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Kim Pearson, co-founder and Training Director for TransYouth Family Allies, and proud mother of a happy, healthy, transgender son. "Anne", mother of an 8 year old transgender child whose assigned gender at birth was male.

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More Creating a Family resources on parenting after adoption and infertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How in the world does an average family pay for an infant domestic adoption or international adoption? What options are available for financing adoptions? What grants and loans are available? Host Dawn Davenport will interview the following panel: Natalie De Prat, with American Christian Credit Union; Cherri Walrod, with Resources 4 Adoption; and Kelly Ellison, with Your Adoption Finance Coach.

Domestic adoption, baby adoption, international adoption, adopting from China, adopting from Ethiopia, infant adoption, Chinese adoptions, Ethiopian adoptions, adopting from Korea, Korean adoptions, adoption agencies, adopting from DRC, adopting from Colombia, adopting from Thailand, adopting from Taiwan

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Fertility declines with age, but what can women do to increase the odds of getting pregnant over the age of 40 with or without using infertility treatment? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education organization, interviews Dr. Marcy Maquire, board certified reproductive endocrinologist with RMA of New Jersey, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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More Creating a Family resources on becoming an older parent can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Host Dawn Davenport interviewed Dr. Ira Chasnoff, one of the nation's leading researchers studying the effects of maternal alcohol and drug use on the newborn infant and child.

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Children adopted from foster care or from an orphanage abroad have likely experienced some level of trauma from abuse, neglect, or malnutrition. What can adoptive parents do to help? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Bruce Perry, child psychiatrist and founder of Child Trauma Academy, and author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog. Dr. Perry has been consulted on how to help children involved with the following high profile incidents involving traumatized children such as the Branch Davidian siege in Waco (1993), the Oklahoma City bombing (1995), the Columbine school shootings (1999), the September 11th terrorist attacks (2001), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the FLDS polygamist sect (2008), the earthquake in Haiti (2010), the tsunami in Tohoku Japan (2011) and the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings (2012).

foster care adoption, international adoption, special needs adoption, older child adoption, toddler adoption, orphan care

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More Creating a Family resources on parenting after adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Raising children who have been abused or neglected is different from raising children who have not experienced trauma. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child and Director of the Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University, about how abuse, neglect and institutionalization affects children in the short term and long term, and what parenting techniques work for these children from hard places.

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More Creating a Family resources on attachment can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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IVF and other infertility treatments are expensive and often not coverered by health insurance. Host Dawn Davenport talks with two pioneers in the field of fertility medicine about way and options to lower the cost of fertility treatments, including IVF. Dr. Joe Massey, a reproductive endocrinologist at Servy Massey Fertility Institute. He was involved with the first ICSI pregnancy in the US, the first US egg freezing in the US, and the world’s first successful assisted hatching procedures. Dr. Fran Yelian, a MD, PhD reproductive endocrinologist with Life IVF Center in Irvine, California. He specializes in minimal stimulation IVF and natural cycle IVF, as well as traditional infertility treatments. Recently, Dr. Yelian took a sabbatical leave to work at Kato Ladies Clinic in Japan where he mastered the new techniques and skills of Natural Cycle IVF and Minimal Stimulation IVF.

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Is infertility experienced differently by the fertile partner in a relationship? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Andrea Braverman, a Clinical Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of OB/Gyn and Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Since 1985, Dr. Braverman has worked as a health psychologist with a specialty in infertility counseling, third party reproduction and medical health management issues. infertility, male infertility, egg donation, sperm donor, egg donor, adoption

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Sometimes our adopted kids come to us from a history in their birth families or drug abuse, rape, incest, abuse, or prison. Should adoptive parents share this information with the adopted child? If so, how? Host Dawn Davenport will talk with Beth O'Malley, author of many books about preparing lifebooks for adopted and foster children, including Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child; and Angela Magnuson, a licensed professional counselor with Bethany Christian Services with specialized adoption training through Rutger’s Certificate Program in Adoption and seven years experience working with foster, kinship and pre and post adoptive families. adoption, foster care adoption, international adoption, lifebooks, domestic adoption, adopting a baby

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Adoptive parents are often asked to be present at the hospital in open adoptions. This emotional time is complex for both adoptive and birth parents to navigate and hospital staff often do not help. Host Dawn Davenport will speak with Dr. Jennifer Bliss, the National Associate Counseling Director at the Independent Adoption Center, a non-profit domestic infant adoption agency; and Rebecca Vahle, Adoption Program Coordinator and founder of the Family to Family Adoption Support Program at Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, Co - just southeast of Denver. open adoption, domestic adoption, adopting a baby in the US, American adoption, adopting an infant, infant adoption.

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How does your weight or Body Mass Index (BMI) affect your fertility. Does it alter your chances of success with infertility treatment. How does Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affect fertility and infertility treatment. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Allison Styne, a reproductive endocrinologist with RMA New York.

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More Creating a Family resources on infertility and PCOS can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Adoptive parents wanting to adopt a baby in the US must prepare an adoptive parent portfolio, also known as an adoptive parent profile. To learn more about how to prepare an adoptive parent profile, host Dawn Davenport interviewed Madeleine Melcher, an adoptee, mother of three through adoption, the owner of Our Journey to You (an adoption portfolio design company), and author of the new book How to Create a Successful Adoption Portfolio: Easy Steps to Help You Produce the Best Adoption Profile and Prospective Birthparent Letter; and Aki Parker, the National Marketing and Design Associate at the North Carolina branch of the Independent Adoption Center. In addition to marketing/designing nationally, she has also worked with adoptive families providing consultation on their letters and online profiles.

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Should you adopt a child with cleft lip or cleft palate. What is involved with this special need? Host Dawn Davenport interviews four medical specialist working with chidlren with cleft lip/palate:

Dr. Andrea Smith a dentist specializing in dental and facial Prosthetics, in fact she is one of only 350 Maxillofacial Prosthodontists worldwide. She is also Clinical Director at Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic in Lancaster Penn. We also have Dr. Thomas Samson Pediatric Plastic Surgeon at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Hi is co-director of the Penn State Hershey Craniofacial Clinic and the Penn State Hershey Vascular Anomalies Clinic. Abbie Ellis is a feeding specialist at the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic. And of course no show on cleft impairment would be complete without a speech therapist. We are pleased to have Maureen Rostolsky, she has her Masters in Speech Pathology and specializes in working with children with cleft lip and palate at the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic.

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How much of our personality traits, temperament, talents, health conditions, mental illness, and intelligence are controlled by our genes and how much by our environment? Which trumps in parenting: Nature vs. Nurture? What relevance does this have to us as parents? Host Dawn Davenport interviews Dr. Matt McGue, a behavioral and quantitative geneticist and director of the Minnesota Twin Study; and Dr. Kerry Jang, a Professor with the UBC Department of Psychiatry.

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One of the hardest things many adoptive parents have to do is to decide if the risks or special needs of a particular birth mother match or referral are too great for them to handle. What are the likely effects of prenatal exposures to drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes? What if their is a history of mental illness in the birth parents family. What is the child has been in an orphanage for years? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Dana Johnson, Director of the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota and Professor of Neonatology, about what factor are red flags, what questions to ask, and how to interpret the scant medical history provided.

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Infertility patients worry about the wrong embryos being transferred; their egg, sperm or embryos being mislabled; the wrong sperm being used to fertilize the egg, etc. Mistakes are rare, but infertility patients need to be prepared. What should you know to protect yourself? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr Jacob F Mayer, Embryologist at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. Elizabeth Ginsburg, Past-President of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard, and director of the IVF program at Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Jessica Berg, Professor of Law and Biomedical Ethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Associate Director of the Law-Medicine Center.

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Raising a child with Attention Deficit Disorder is hard on kids and hard on parents. How to parent a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to avoid frustration for both parent and child. Host Dawn Davenport interviews the ADHD guru, Dr. Edward Hallowell, author of numerous books on ADD, including SuperParenting for ADD and Driven to Distraction. We'll talk about parenting techniques that work with children with ADHD.

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More Creating a Family resources on parenting children with special needs can be found here.

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How can Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) be used to treat infertility. Can acupuncture and TCM be used with western infertility medicine and in vitro fertilization (IVF)? Will the fertility medications you are taking interfere with the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine? Host Dawn Davenport interviewed Dr Angela C. Wu, author of Fertility Wisdom: How Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Help Overcome Infertility to get some of the answers.

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Should you have only one child? Is it fair to your child? Is it fair to you? Host Dawn Davenport will talk with Lauren Sandler, author of One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One.

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What happens inside an embryology lab at an infertility clinic? How important is the laboratory to the success of IVF. How do labs differ? Host Dawn Davenport will talk with embryologist Scott Kratka, senior embryologist at the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey and Board Certified by the American College of Embryology.

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Have you ever considered international adoption? Can you adopt from China, Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong? What are the requirements and how much does it cost? Host Dawn Our guests are Dana Woods, China Program Director at A Helping Hand Adoption Agency, located in Lexington, KY, an affiliate of Nightlight Christian Adoptions; Kimberly Alls, Director of Adoption and the Waiting Child Coordinator for Dillon International; and Emily Mathews, Missouri Director of All Blessings International Adoption Agency.

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For more information on adopting from Asia, click here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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The adoption tax credit is a great way to help fund your adoption, though it is often underutilized. Host Dawn Davenport will interview two of the leading experts on this confusing tax credit: Donald Cofsky, President of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and Josh Kroll, with the North American Council on Adoptable Children. adoption tax credit, adoption tax credit 2013, adoption, foster care adoption, failed adoption, international adoption

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Should you become a single mother? What are your options? How do you raise healthy happy kids as a single parent? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Lee Varon, a clinical social worker, single adoptive mom of two, and author of two books for single people interested in adopting: "Adopting On Your Own: The Complete Guide to Adopting As A Single Parent" and "Single Adoptive Parents: Our Stories"; Dr. Michelle Ottey, the Laboratory Director for Fairfax Cryobank; and Mikki Morrissette, founder of ChoiceMoms.org, single mom of two by donor sperm, and author of the award-winning "Choosing Single Motherhood".

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What is the adoption process when adopting through an adoption attorney for those wanting to adopt a baby in the US? How do you find an adoption attorney? Who finds the prospective birth mothers?What questions should you ask before hiring? Host Dawn Davenport will interview four leading adoption attorneys: Colleen Quinn, Steve Kirsch, Jim Thompson, and Michael Goldstein.

adopting a baby, adoption process, domestic adoption, US adoption, adoption attorney, adoption lawyer, transracial adoption, interracial adoption, mixed race adoption, birthmother, birth mother, adoption wait, adoption cost,

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Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and one of the leading experts on how early childhood neglect, abuse, malnutrition, institutionalization, and prenatal environment affect children. adoption, adopting a child, adopting from foster care, foster care adoption, adopting a baby, international adoption, adopting from China, adopting from Ethiopia, adopting from Poland, adopting from Bulgaria, adopting from Colombia, adopting from Korea

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Each expectant woman considering placing her child for adoption is looking for something special in the adoptive parent she chooses. What common factors do adoption agencies and adoption lawyers see in how birth mothers choose adoptive parents. How does age, marital status, health, and sexual orientation affect their choice? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Lark Cooper, the Intake Coordination for Children's Connection Inc, an adoption agency with offices throughout Texas; and Danielle Goodman, an Adoption Social worker in the Delaware office of Adoptions From the Heart. Both work extensively with birth mothers when deciding on placing a child for adoption.

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More Creating a Family resources on domestic adoption can be found here.

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The pain and losses of infertility and miscarriage are often not recognized by our society. It is hard to mourn a loss others do not see. This grief can hang around and impair our joy in our family through adoption, egg donation, sperm donation, or surrogacy. How do men and women process this grief in different ways. How can you resolve this grief.Our guests to talk about ambiguous or disenfranchised loss are Dr. Ken Doka, Professor at The College of New Rochelle and Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America. He is the the author of Disenfranchised Grief. And Kris Faasse, Director of Adoption for Bethany Christian Services, who has many years of experience counseling pre and post adoptive parents dealing with the grief of infertility and miscarriage.

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More Creating a Family resources on coping with infertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy can have significant legal concerns. It is important that infertility patients considering egg or sperm donation or surrogacy think through these issues before hand. Host Dawn Davenport will interview two of the leading reproductive law attorneys on topics that should be considered by those using donor eggs, donor sperm, or surrogacy to create their family. Our guests are Stephanie Caballero and Catherine Tucker, both reproductive law attorneys covering egg donation, sperm donation, surrogacy, and embryo donation.

Infertility, fertility, egg donation, sperm donation, surrogacy, surrogate, gestational surrogacy, embryo donation, donor egg, donor sperm, gamete donatation, donor embryo, embryo adoption, fertility treatment, infertility treatment

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It is so hard to know how long to stay at each level of infertility treatment. How many months on Clomid, how many IUIs (artificial inseminations) and how many cycles of IVF is reasonable before moving to donor egg. What is the best way to manage your fertility dollars and still get pregnant? Our guests will be Dr. Alison Zimon, a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF, and Dr. Samantha Pfeifer, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Pennsylvania Medical School. IVF, Clomid, IUI, donor egg Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Transracial Adoptions (Interracial Adoption) are becoming more common. Adoptive parents must talk with their children abour race, but that is often a hard conversation to have. When to start, what to say, and how to prepare them for racism without scaring them. Our guests to talk about talking with transracially adopted children about race are Beth Hall, Founder and Director of PACT, and co-author of Inside Transracial Adoption; and Natasha Sky, a multiracial woman and mother of four multiracial children, and founder of MultiracialSky: Resources for Multiracial Families. adopting a black baby, adopt a black child, adopting from Ethiopia, adopt from Kenya, Adopt from Liberia, adopt from Congo, adopt from Uganda, foster care adoption, adopt from Africa, international adoption Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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To get pregnant using fertility treatment, such as in vitro fertilization, requires good embryos. Up unitl recently choosing the best embryos was more art than science. New research is changing that equation. Dr. Marcy Maguire, a Reproductive Embryologist at Reproductice Medical Assiociates of New Jersey and Clinical Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will talk about the latest groundbreaking discoveries that is increasing the odds of success in IVF. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on IVF can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Overcoming Reluctance to Donor Egg, Sperm, or Embryo in Your Extended Family. This was a topic suggested by our audience. There are few, if any, resources available to help infertility patients navigate who to tell about using third party reproduction. Our guest is Bette Galen, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in infertiliy who has worked at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey for 8 years and has a private practice in Montclair, NJ. donor egg, egg donation, donor sperm, sperm donation, donor embryo, embryo donation, embryo adoption, infertility treatment, fertility treatment, third party reproduction, Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor egg, sperm, and embryos can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Adopting a toddler is NOT the same as adopting an infant or adopting a school aged child. As the waiting times for international adoption increase more families are adopting older babies and toddlers. Foster care adoptions are also increasing and families are facing the unique issues associated with adopting children between the ages of 1 and 4. Join our guest Mary Hopkins-Best, author of Toddler Adoption: The Weaver’s Craft, to learn about the rewards and challenges of adopting a toddler., and tips for easiing their transition into your home. This is a re-aring of a classic Creating a Family show from 2008. Enjoy. toddler adoption, adopting a 2 year old, adopting a 3 year old, special need adoption, waiting times for adoption.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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The stigma against HIV is alive and well in the US and the world, and no where does this play out more poignantly than in the thousands of orphans with HIV. Adoptive parents are often afraid of adopting a child with HIV. How sick will these children be? What is their life expectancy? How much risk do they pose to other family members? Our guest are Dr. Jan Piatt, Medical Director at the Bill Holt Pediatric HIV Clinic at Phoenix Children's Hospital , Kate Foley, Social Worker and Associate Director of Outreach at Spence-Chapin Adoption Agency, and Traci Heim a Director for Project HOPEFUL, a nonprofit bringing education and encouragement for those adopting children with HIV. She is also a parent to 10 children through adoption, including a child with HIV. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What are the risks of attempting to get pregnant after cancer? Should you try? How long should you wait. What is the risk to the child and mother. Host Dawn Davenport will interview two of the leading experts in the US on Pregnancy after Cancer: Dr. Jacqueline Jeruss, a breast surgeon and the Oncofertility Consortium's Clinical Co-Director of Oncology and an Assistant Professor within the Department of Surgery and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University; and Dr. Nicole Noyes, Reproductive Endocrinologist with NYU Fertility Center, Professor and the Director of Reproductive Surgery at the New York University School of Medicine and Medical Center, President of the ASRM Special Interest Group on Fertility Preservation. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Can your immune system affect your ability to get pregnant or stay pregnant? What is the immunological conncetion to infertility or miscarriage. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. William Kutteh, board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Immunology. He serves as Director of Fertility Associates of Memphis and Laboratory Director for Memphis Fertility Laboratory. fertility, infertility, immunology, immune system, miscarriage, recurrent pregnancy loss Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on immunology and infertility can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Not all adoptions are forever. Some fail. Recent reports by NBC News, the Today Show, and Reuters focused on the devastating outcomes for some kids and families, but left unanswered how often adoptions fail, what types of adoptions are at the most risk for adoption disruption or adoption dissolution, and what to do to prevent them from failing. Host Dawn Davenport will interview a panel of adoption experts: Dr. Trudy Festinger, professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, and leading researcher on adoption disruptions; Stephen Hayes, adoption attorney who has handled over 3,500 adoption cases, including many adoption dissolutions, and a fellow and past Vice President of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; and Regina Kupecky, psycho-therapist specializing in adoption and attachment,and co-author of Adopting The Hurt Child and Parenting the Hurt Child. adoption, adopting from foster care, international adoption, adopting older children, attachment disorders Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Evaluating the risk of Prenatal Alcohol and Drug Exposure is one of the hardest decisions adoptive parents must make. Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Ira Chasnoff, one of the nation's leading researchers on long term effects of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure and author of a new book on the subject--The Mystery of Risk. Dr. Chasnoff is President of the Children's Research Triangle and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. adoption, adopting a child, FAS, FASD, fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, meth, crack, cocaine, ecstasy Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We tell people to check out the Center for Disease Control statistics before selecting an infertility clinic, but how in the world do you make sense of these numbers. Which ones are truly important? Can they be manipulated? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. David Adamson, reproductive endocrinologist and Medical Director of Fertility Physicians of Northern California and Founder and CEO of Advanced Reproductive Care, a national network of fertility clinics. He was past President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART). Our other guest will be Dr. Laurence Udoff, a reproductive endocrinologist with Genetics and IVF Institute and a professor at University of Maryland. He is the lead physician at GIVF on Donor Egg IVF and egg vitrification. infertility clinic, IVF, in vitro fertilization, fertility treatment, infertilty treatment, egg donation Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on infertility clinics can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Advances in egg freezing in the last couple of years have been huge. Should you use egg freezing to allow you to wait to have children later? Is this technique reliable and safe?How much does it cost, and how expensive is storage? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Daniel Shapiro, Medical Director of Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta and Clinical Manager of My Egg Bank. He is board-certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility. She will also interview Dr. Pat Mc Shane, Associate Director of Fertility Preservation at the University of Colorado Hospital and has served as the President of the New England Fertility Society. Dr. McShane is also the Medical Director of The World Egg Bank. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on egg freezing can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Most international adoptions are now special needs adoptions, as are adoptions from US foster care. Are you up to adopting a child with special needs? Host Dawn Davenport interviews Martha Osborne, founder and director of Rainbow Kids, a photolisting website for harder to place children; and Dr. Lisa Nalven, a developmental pediatrician, specializing in caring for children with developmental disabilities. She is the Director of Developmental Pediatrics and the Adoption Screening and Evaluation program at the Kireker Center for Child Development-Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Dr. Nalven also serves on the Executive Committee for the Council on Foster Care, Adoption and Kinship Care for the American Academy of Pediatrics. international adoption, foster care adoption, special needs adoption, adopting from foster care, waiting children, photolistings, adopting from China, adopting from Poland, adopting from Bulgaria, adopting from Colombia Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on special needs adoption can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Traveling with kids is hard enough when you know them and they know you. How in the world do you travel with with a newly adopted child. How do you keep a child entertained during the plane, cab, car, bus rides that are inevitable? Join our guests Brooke Randolph, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and founding team member MLJ Adoptions, Inc., where she currently serves as the VP of Social Services. She is a single adoptive mother who has recently traveled with her newly adopted 6 year old son; and Susie Doig, an adoption social worker with Holt International Adoption Agency. adopt child, international adoption, overseas adoption, adopt from abroad, special needs adoption, addoption, foster care adoption, independent adoption, adopt from Ethiopia, Ethiopia adoption, Ukraine adoption, adopting from China, adopting from Korea, adopting from Russia, adopt from Colombia, adopt from Bulgaria, adopt from Poland, infant adoption, child adoption, kids adoption, toddler adoption, adoptable children, older child adoption Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on traveling with adopted children can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Increasingly US citizens are looking abroad for infertility treatment, while those in other countries are coming to the US to receive fertility treatments not available or legal in their country. What are the practical considerations for infertility tourism? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Kathryn Kaycoff-Manos co-founder of the Agency for Surrogacy Solutions and Global IVF, an informational website to help Intended Parents from all over the world. She is a mom herself through surrogacy and egg donation, and knows firsthand how much of a toll financially, physically as well as emotionally infertility can take on a person. Our other guest is Sue Taylor, an IVF consultant with over 27 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, assisting patients with selecting an IVF clinic, or with the practicalities of traveling to another country for fertility treatments. She blogs at IVFTraveler.com. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on fertility treatment abroad can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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It's hard to know when to move up the infertility treatment ladder from Clomid, to IUI (artificial insemination), to IVF, to IVF/ICSI, to donor egg, to surrogacy. When should you move to more advanced forms of fertility treatment/assisted reproduction? Host Dawn Davenport will interview Dr. Jaime Knopman, Reproductive Endocrinologist with RMA of New York and Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. fertility treatments, infertility treatment, IVF treatment, in vitro fertilization, fertility clinics, IUI, artificial insemination, vitro fertilization, invitro fertilization, egg donation, embryo donation, embryo adoption, trying to conceive, female infertility, male infertility, infertility clinic, causes of infertility, infertility causes, PCOS, endometriosis, donor egg, donor sperm, surrogacy, coping with infertility treatment, Clomid, What is IVF, IVF procedure, in vitro fertilisation, IVF cost, IVF success rate, secondary infertility, Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on fertility treatment options can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Most children adopted from US foster care are eligible for an monthly adoption subisdy and other benefits from the state. What benefits are available? College tuition, medical insurance, monthy stipend? What is reasonable? Our guests are Josh Kroll, Project Coordinator with the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center at the North American Council on Adoptable Children and Julie Mondroski and Judith Ungar-Neuenkirch, case workers with Clark County Nevada—otherwise known as Las Vegas. adopting from foster care, foster care adoption, waiting US children, adopting a US child, toddler adoption, adoption photolisting, Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on foster care adoption can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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We tell people to work through their grief at not having a biological child or being pregnant or breastfeeding BEFORE they adopt. The reality is that sometimes after adopting a baby adoptive parents still crave the experience of pregnancy and still feel sad at not having a genetic connection to their child. Host, Dawn Davenport , will interview Carole Lieber Wilkins, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in the field of reproductive medicine, adoption and family building options since 1986. She is known for helping patients transition to non-genetic forms of family building, such as donor conception or adoption. Having created her family through adoption and ovum donation, Carole brings a wealth of personal as well as professional experience to her work. adoption, addoption, adopting a child, adopting a US child, adopting a baby, baby adoption, international adoption, adopt US kids, adopt child, adopt a baby, infant adoption, looking to adopt, kids up for adoption, babies adoption, adopting child, foster care adoption, adopting from foster care, fostercare Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on adoption after infertility can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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How can integrative medicine be used in fertility treatment? What alternative treatments work to increase your chance of success with infertility? What complimentary medicine techniques can help when trying to conceive? Our guest today to talk about integrative medicine in infertility treatment and IVF is Dr. Carmelo Sgarlata, a Reproductive Endocrinologist and the director of Integrative Medicine at the Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area.acupuncture and infertility, acupressure and infertility, Chinese Medicine and infertility, Homeopathy and infertility, Chinese herbs and infertility, mind/body and infertility, massage and infertility. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on alternative and integrative medicine in fertility can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Interview with Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption, a new book that is highly critical of the evangelical orphan care and adoption movement. Joyce criticized the religious involvement in international adoption, and those who seek to adopt a US baby. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on international and domestic adoption can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Should you adopt out of birth order? What risks should parents be aware of. How can adoptive parents make it easier for their children if they adopt a child older than one of their existing children. Our guest will be David Brodzinsky, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Clinical & Developmental Psychology at Rutgers University and currently, Research Director of the Donaldson Adoption Institute in NYC. He is internationally known for his research, training, and clinical work in the area of adoption and has published five books, including Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self. foster care adoption, adopting older children, international adoption, orphan care, special need adoption, Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on adopting out of birth order can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What advancements have been made in pre-implantatin genetic testing of embryos or genetic testing during pregnancy? Our guest to talk about the Latest Developments in Genetic Testing if Dr. Mark Evans, medical director at Comprehensive Genetics and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Evans is President of the Fetal Medicine Foundation of America, President of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society Foundation, and Past President of the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and has won multiple national research awards including the President's award for achievement by the Society for Gynecologic Investigation. PGS, PGD, miscarriage prevention, treatment of miscarriage, infertility treatment, fertility treatment, IVF, in vitro fertilization, in vitro, Show highlights can be found here: Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Post adoption depression and parent attachment disorder are surprisingly common and seldom talked about. After all, you've tried so hard to become a parent , many adoptive parents are ashamed to admit that they are struggling. We will interview Dr. Jane Aronson,board certified general pediatrician and pediatric infectious diseases specialist, and adoption medicine specialist for the past 12 years. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and the founder of World Wide Orphan Foundation. Dr. Aronson is also the author of a new book, Carried in Our Hearts: The Gift of Adoption, Inspiring Stories of Families Created Across Continents. adopt US child, adopt child, international adoption, adopt from abroad, adopt from Ethiopia, adopting from China, adopting from Korea, adopt from Colombia, adopt from Bulgaria, adopt from Poland, adoption agency, adopting a baby, baby adoption, child adoption, kids adoption, toddler adoption,

Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here:

Blog summary of the show

Highlights

More Creating a Family resources on parenting after adoption can be found here.

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The use of donor sperm and sperm banks has changed over the years. The men donating has also changed. Host Dawn Davenport will talk about the changes in sperm donation with Dr. Michelle Ottey, Laboratory Director and Director of Operations for Fairfax Cryobank and Cryogenic Laboratories. Male infertility, LGBT parenting, lesbians, same sex couples, single mothers, male factor infertility, infertility treatment, sperm bank Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on donor insemination can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Recurrent pregnancy loss (miscarriage) is a heart break. What causes miscarriage? How can they be prevented. Our guests are Dr. Richard Scott, Founding Partner, Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey and Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; and Dr. Mark Perloe, Medical Director at Georgia Reproductive Specialists with extensive experience with recurrent pregnancy loss. Infertility, fertility, infertility treatment, infertility clinic, fertility treatment, fertility clinic, TTC Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on pregnancy loss can be found here.

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How are mental health issues and physical disabilities or diseases in prospective adoption parents treated by adoption agencies, adoption lawyers, expectant parents, and foreign countries? Can you adopt if you are on anti-depressants? Can you adopt if you have a history of past addictions? In a wheelchair? Our guests are Ann Wrixon, Executive Director of Independent Adoption Center; Rhonda Jarema , advocate and educator. She has been the Director of Family Support Services at Nightlight Christian Adoptions since 1998. Rhonda Jarema has worked as a social worker and advocate in the fields of international adoption and mental health for over 30 years and she's an adoptive mom. Jaclyn Smith, Program Coordinator at Children’s Connections, Inc., a domestic adoption agency. And Rebecca Hackworth, Director of Social Services, Dillon International, Inc. with over 30 years experience in international adoption. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on adoption guidelines and process can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Adopted children process adoption differently at different ages and developmental stages. How can parents help their children understand the concept of being adopted. Our guest is Debbie Riley, Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Adoption Support and Education and marriage and family therapist with more than 30 years’ experience working with adopted kids and adoptive families. adoption, adoptive families, adopting a child in the US, adopting a US child, adopting in the US, international adoption, transracial adoption Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on talking with children about adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Can you breast feed a child you did not give birth to? Should you? How do you breastfeed as an adoptive mother or mother through surrogacy? Listen to Dawn’s interview with Alyssa Schnell, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and author of Breastfeeding Without Birthing: A Breastfeeding Guide for Mothers through Adoption, Surrogacy, and Other Special Circumstances Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on breastfeeding without birthing can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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What are your options for getting pregnant if your diagnosis is male infertility? What can you do to increase your odds before going to fertility treatment? What type of infertility treatments are most successful? Is there a fertility diet that will increase male fertility? Our guests are Dr. Grace Centola, internationally recognized specialist in andrology and male infertility, and current President of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology; and Dr. Jessica Mann, Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. IUI, artificial insemination, IVF, in vitro fertilization, in vitro fertilisation Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on male infertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Work-Life Balance is the bane of most every mother I know. It’s not that we want it all, but we don’t want or need some. What are the tips and tricks for working from home, setting up flex-time, finding affordable practical child care. Our guest is Anne Bogel, author of Work Shift, and blogger at Modern Mrs. Darcy about ideas for modern moms to create balance and blending between their work selves and family selves. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on parenting after infertility and adoption can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Host Dawn Davenport will interview Lori Holden, author of the new book The Open-Hearted Way to open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole. open adoption, domestic adoption, adopting a child, adopting in the US, adopting a baby, birth mother, birthmother Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on open adoption can be found here.Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Host Dawn Davenport interviews Nia Vardalos, actress (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame), author of a new book Instant Mom, and foster care adoptive mom. We’ll talk about her years of struggling with infertility and how she ended up adopting from foster care. adopting a child in the US, adopting from foster care, fost-adopt, fos-adopt, domestic adoption Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on infertility and foster care adoption can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

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Research is beginning to come in on how infertility treatment affects the health of the children conceived. Does in vitro fertilization (IVF) or ICSI or artificial insemination cause birth defects, autism, nuero-developmental issues? Is freezing harmful to the children born from frozen embryos? Does Clomid cause harm to the babies? Our guest to help us sort out the often confusing results of this research is Dr.Thomas Molinaro, a reproductive endocrinologist with Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey and a researcher into the health effects of fertility treatment. Blog summary of the show and highlights can be found here: Blog summary of the show Highlights More Creating a Family resources on infertility can be found here. Support the show (https://creatingafamily.org/donation/)

Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption & Foster Care: Recent Episodes

Creating a Family