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Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption & Foster Care
Are you thinking about adopting or fostering a child? Confused about all the options and wondering where to begin? Or are you an adoptive or foster parent or kinship caregiver trying to be the best parent possible to this precious child? This is the podcast for you! Every week, we interview leading experts for an hour, discussing the topics you care about in deciding whether to adopt/foster or how to be a better parent. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are the national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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, and resource pages on all aspects of family building at our website, CreatingAFamily.org. We also have an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Episodes
712 episodes
Evaluating Risk Factors in Foster Care Adoption
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...
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Season 19
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Episode 37
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51:50
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What the Heck is Happening with the Adoption Tax Credit? - Weekend Wisdom
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...
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Season 19
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Episode 36
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4:13
What's It Like When Your Parents Decide to Foster
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 an...
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Season 19
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Episode 35
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54:00
De-escalation in the Heat of the Moment - Weekend Wisdom
Question: How do I respond in the moment when my child is melting down, including physical or verbal aggression? Resources:
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Season 19
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Episode 34
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12:15
Embryo Donation / Embryo Adoption
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 Dona...
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Season 19
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Episode 33
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58:27
Will I Get to Choose the Name of My Adopted Baby? - Weekend Wisdom
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:
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Season 19
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Episode 32
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5:14
Raising Kids for a Lifelong Parent/Child Bond
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 Medici...
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Season 19
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Episode 31
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57:36
Who Should We Tell About a Match With an Expectant Mom? - Weekend Wisdom
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 t...
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Season 19
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Episode 30
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7:25
Parenting Kids with Prenatal Exposure
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 Behaviora...
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Season 19
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Episode 29
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57:10
Is It Harder for Singles to Adopt? - Weekend Wisdom
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 wond...
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Season 19
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Episode 28
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4:32
Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Opioids and Opioid-Use Treatment Medications
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 ...
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Season 19
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Episode 27
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46:32
Both My Parents Were Transracially Adopted - Weekend Wisdom
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 j...
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Season 19
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Episode 27
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5:57
Taming Sibling Squabbles
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
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Season 19
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Episode 26
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55:19
Trauma and the Teen Years
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 famil...
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Season 19
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Episode 25
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11:30
Partnering With Relatives for Kinship Care
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 &...
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Season 19
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Episode 24
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52:55
What Do I Call My Child's Birth Mother? - Weekend Wisdom
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 whe...
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Season 19
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Episode 23
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6:34
When Birth Parents Struggle with Addiction, Mental Health, or Intellectual Disabilities
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 ...
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Season 19
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Episode 22
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51:35
When Do I Tell My Child They Have Birth Siblings? - Weekend Wisdom
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 ph...
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Season 19
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Episode 21
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5:23
Adopting Siblings: Issues to Consider
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:...
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Season 19
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Episode 20
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50:24
My Child Tells Others We Aren't Meeting Her Basic Needs - Weekend Wisdom
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 ...
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Season 19
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Episode 19
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7:33
Help, I Don't Think I Can Continue With This Adoption!
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 a...
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Season 19
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Episode 18
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44:32
Coping with Stillbirth After Adoption Match - Weekend Wisdom
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 d...
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Season 19
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Episode 17
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7:00
Evaluating Risk Factors in Domestic Adoption
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 Pro...
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Season 19
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Episode 17
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1:04:46
How to Connect with Birth Mom with Mental Illness? - Weekend Wisdom
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 he...
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Season 19
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Episode 16
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11:12
Courage & Resilience: A Foster Child's Story of Success
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 t...
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Season 19
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Episode 15
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52:50