Gaelin Elmore found himself in 25 different foster homes, over 13 years as a youngster. Fortunately for him, a kind and caring football coach brought him into his home while he finished high school. Through that turn of events, he received the resources he needed to thrive as he transitioned into adulthood. But so many children do not have the same fortune as Gaelin did. Now, in his adult life, he's on a mission to speak truth into the foster care system, and enact change that will ultimately transform the lives of thousands of vulnerable foster youth.

Why We Need Foster Care Reform And How To Accomplish It!

The Resilient Caregiver Podcast features real voices, sharing real hope and encouragement to caregivers, particularly on the foster and adoption journey. Hosts Mike and Kristin Berry share open and honest perspectives from the journey of foster, adoptive, and special needs parenting. Pour a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and join the conversation!

Kids & Family

Parenting

With all of the negative, and often untrue, headlines that surround foster care and adoption, it's refreshing to read a story that uplifts and brings hope.  That's exactly what this week's podcast guest is on a mission to do. Dagmara Sitek is a children's book author, who is turning tragedy into hope and bringing encouragement and empowerment to children in foster care, and their caregivers, all over the world.  A Little More About Dagmara... Dagmara Sitek is a Canada-based mother of two, who is committed to children’s education and emotional well-being. Originally from Poland, she is married to a Taiwanese-Canadian. She wrote the Courage Tales series about foster care heroes because she realized something important – not all kids get a fair shot at life.   “Loris Opens Up His Heart” was inspired by the tragic story of 8-year-old Kamilek from Czestochowa, who died due to mistreatment by his stepfather. Dagmara's goal is to empower children through literature: Explore the transformative power of books in shaping young minds. 'Loris Opens Up His Heart' provides a medium through which adoptive or foster parents can empower their children, fostering a sense of self, understanding, and compassion. How To Connect With Dagmara...  Pre-order Loris Opens Up His Heart Visit Dagmara's website Follow Dagmara on Instagram  Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

How A Children's Book Author Is Turning Tragedy Into Hope

If you're anything like us, last year was a really difficult year. We stepped out of it, into 2024, feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and fearful that the New Year would turn out just like the old year. The biggest aspect of this journey to take a hit was our mental health.  Anyone out there with us on that one?  But, it doesn't have to be this way. There are practical steps we can take as caregivers, to drastically improve, even transform, our mental health. It begins by creating a Mental Health Decree.  This past week, we hosted a 3-part workshop entitled, Overcoming Isolation & Burnout in 2024 and it was simply amazing. More than 500 caregivers from all over the world signed up and went through it. Session 2 was all about Transforming Our Mental Health in the New Year. Not only did we give practical advice, we also shared a valuable Action Sheet to help you take action and decree your value and boundaries. Game-changer!  It was such a powerful session (in fact, possibly our best live session ever!) that we decided to drop a snippet into this week's podcast. Check it out.  The great news is that you can also still register for the workshop and catch all of the replays. Details below (along with the Action Sheet Download). And, we've also opened up public enrollment for Resilient Caregiver University (also, below).  Register for Overcome Isolation & Burnout in 2024 (replays available until 1/25) Download Your Mental Health Decree Action Sheet Enroll in Resilient Caregiver University  Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

Transforming Your Mental Health In 2024

Happy New Year! We're kicking off the 31st season of The Resilient Caregiver Podcast and this is episode 299. We are absolutely BLOWN away that we have produced 31 seasons of this show since October, 2015! Thank you for being part of this amazing journey.  We're kicking off the brand new season with an amazing interview with our good friend Rob Scheer from Comfort Cases and author of A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child At A Time. A Little More About Rob... Rob entered the foster care system as a child who had lost both parents. He was brought into a house with all of his belongings in a tattered and torn trash bag. As Rob and his husband Reece went through the adoption process for each their 5 children, who are now their daughter and 4 sons, they arrived on their doorstep through foster care experiencing the same undignified process Rob endured forty years ago. Floored by the fact that children still carry their lives in a bag used for trash nearly four decades since his own experience, Rob decided to devote his life to restoring dignity to those transitioning in and out of foster care with the creation of Comfort Cases. His personal dedication and success through Comfort Cases has provided hope and self worth to thousands of children as he and his team empower the next generations transitioning within foster care. How To Connect With Rob...  Learn about Comfort Cases Discover more about Rob Watch Rob's TED Talk  Also On The Show...  Grab your spot now for the Overcoming Isolation & Burnout in 2024 workshop coming January 15, 16, & 18th exclusively online! During this free 3-part live event we'll be diving deep into your purpose, person and plan as a caregiver. Plus, we'll be sharing the proven path to building and maintaining resiliency all year long! Registration is open! Click Here.   Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

Changing The Narrative & Process For Children Entering Foster Care

2023 was a combination of fulfilling, overwhelming, sometimes defeating, but most importantly, a year of growing for us. We learned so many important things this past year.  As we bring this year to a close, we take a moment to look back and discuss the important things we learned as caregivers.  These include...  The value of time and space  Focusing on the need before the behavior  Setting healthy boundaries with our adult children  Making the most of the time we have with the people who are with us and sooo much more!   Pull up a chair and join the conversation!  Also on the show...  The Safety Planning Essentials Mini-Course is available until 11:59pm PST on December 31st. The course includes lessons on building and maintaining safety plans, navigating investigations, and managing crisis. Click Here to enroll!   Thanks for stopping by this week ;-)     

Looking Back: The Big Things We Learned In 2023

Once we've aligned our expectations, and leveled them to a manageable place, we need to establish boundaries with our children. This is not an easy task, especially if you're parenting children who become triggered easily. And sometimes the boundaries will be very hard to explain.  How do you do this?  In this episode of The Resilient Caregiver Podcast we dive into a conversation around boundaries, what they may need to be, how to set them and, most importantly, how to maintain them.  Also On The Show....  Check out the TRC website Browse our free resources Learn about the Resilient Caregiver University Check out other podcast episodes (and subscribe!) Book us to speak at your event Schedule coaching sessions with us  Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

Why We Need Foster Care Reform And How To Accomplish It!

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