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

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

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

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

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:

• 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 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:

• 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.

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:

• 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 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:

• 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.

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:

• 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.

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:

• 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.

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:

• 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.

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:

• 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.

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:

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