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 115joshk@nacac.orgNdrn.orgThis podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen 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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamilySupport the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 FamilyResources 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 AwardsEmbraceRace.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 in the Support the showPlease leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 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 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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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 RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily