Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

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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. 

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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
  • Preparing Your Extended Family When Adopting a Child
• Books:
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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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

• Weekly 

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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:

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

Please leave us a rating or review Rat

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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.

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