Creating A Family: Talk About Infertility, Adoption & Foster Care

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 OneWhy is it Taking So Long to Get an Adoption Match?Understanding Expectant Moms Who Are Considering AdoptionThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease 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 prof

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 ParentsThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease 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 p

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisP

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 CreditThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease 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 y

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 ChartsParenting after InfertilityThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease 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

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 BehaviorsArticle: Lying & Stealing: How to Parent Challenging BehaviorsPrenatal Substance Exposure ResourcesThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 Jewell4 Tips to Raising an Anti-Racist Kid by Creating a Family

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 ResourcesTrauma-Informed ParentingSuggested Books for Kinship CareThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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.CovidSchool shootingsPolice shootingsWeather eventWildfiresOur 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 experience

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 TeamWelcoming a New Foster ChildSelf-Care for Foster ParentsSupport the showPlease 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

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 ResourcesSuggest Books for Kids on Preparing Children for the Adoption of a SiblingThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.Creatin

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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.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 AdoptionSuggested Books for Preparing Your Child for the Adoption of a SiblingFree Course: The Impact of Fostering & Adopting on Kids Already in the FamilyThis podcast is produced  by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 podcastsWeekly articles/blog postsResource pages on all aspects of family buildingPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease le