Creating A Family: Talk About Infertility, Adoption & Foster Care

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Have you ever thought of hosting a child for the summer or over the winter holidays? Check out this show where we interview Kathy Holiday who worked in adoption for 25 years and she supervised the child hosting program for Children’s House International.In this episode, we cover:What are child hosting programs?What is the purpose of a child hosting program?What are some of the ways different agencies design their hosting programs?Whether they are open to families that do not want to adopt, but are willing to advocate for the child. When they have host sessions. What times of year?Length of time the children are here. How much does it usually cost for a host family?Are there many differences in cost to the host family?What type of training?What is the age range of children commonly available for hosting?What type of special needs do you commonly see?What are the children told before they come? Are they aware that they are "on trial" to

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Have you ever thought that it would be a lot more effective if the therapist could really see your child in action? That's the gist of home-based therapy. We talk with Stephanie Glickman, a licensed clinical social worker at the Clinical Director of the Family Centered Treatment Foundation and an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte's School of Social Work.In this episode, we cover:What is home-based therapy?Is it family therapy or child therapy?Why is it so effective for families struggling with behavioral issues?What type of issues respond well to in-home therapy?What does the research show about the effectiveness of home-based therapy vs. residential placement?How does in-home therapy work? How often does the therapist come? How long do they stay? How long does it need to continue?What if the child does not act out while the therapist is in the home?Who in the home participates in home-based therapy? Pare

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Do your child's reactions seem bigger than they should be to everyday events? Are your reactions sometimes a bit too big? What causes us to get triggered by our kids or to trigger them? We talk with Dr. Tripp Ake, a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience in the field of child trauma treatment. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and the program director for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. In this episode, we cover:What do we mean by “triggering” and how does it differ from getting our buttons pushed?What’s the difference between being triggered and being annoyed or irritated?How to become a trauma detective?What types of things can trigger a child?How much of having our “buttons pushed” stems from the belief that our child’s behavior is a reflection on us as parents? How do the belief systems that we grow up with impact us as adu

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Trauma can impact almost every single aspect of a child's development. But there are things parents can do to buffer that impact. We talk with Brett Loftis, CEO of Crossnore Communities for Children and Dr. Dawn O'Malley, Crossnore's Senior Director of Clinical Services.In this episode, we cover:How can trauma impact a child’s attachment and relationships?How does this impact them in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood?How can trauma affect a child’s physical development or brain development?How can trauma impact a child’s emotional development?Self-regulationDisassociationHow does trauma impact the way the child sees and values herself?How can trauma affect a child’s behavior? How can trauma impact a child’s ability to learn?What are some of the long-term physical health consequences of having been exposed to trauma as a child?What can parents and other adults do to build resilience in our kids to help withstand some of the im

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.We talk with Corey Burke, an embryologist and Tissue Bank Director at Cryos International-USA and Dr. Mark Trolice, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Director of The IVF Center in Orlando and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, and author of The Fertility Doctor's Guide to Overcoming Infertility about decisions doctors and patient have to make concerning eggs or embryos after retrieval.In this episode, we cover:Overview of the IVF Process.What determines how many eggs will be produced?What number of eggs is ideal for an egg retrieval as part of IVF? Are more eggs always better?Once eggs are retrieved, one of the choices a patient and doctor have to make is whether to freeze eggs vs. embryos.Compare the challenges between freezing eggs vs freezing embryos.How does vitrification differ from other methods of freezing?What is the thaw rate success for frozen eggs compared to frozen

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Are adoptive parents eligible for parental leave? What about foster parents or kinship parents? We talk with Dr. Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell, with the Center for Parental Leave Leadership and co-authors of The Parental Leave Playbook.In this episode, we cover:What are the laws and rules surrounding parental leave in the US?Who is eligible for parental leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?Parental leave on the company level.How does parental leave differ from maternity leave or paternity leave?Policies that require employees to pay back their parental leave if they do not stay employed with the company/organization for a certain period of time. How does this differ from other countries?Are the laws/rules different for mothers and fathers? Are they gender neutral?Do you receive your salary when you are on parental leave?Does parental leave differ for someone adopting a child?Are adoptive families protected under the Family and Medi

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.We talk about raising your grandkids with Christine Adamec, coauthor with Dr. Andrew Adesman, of The Grandfamily Guidebook. She and her husband have been raising their teenage grandson since his infancy.In this episode, we cover:Why are grandparent led families increasing?What are some common emotions that grandparents and other kin experience when they realize that they need to step in and raise their grandchildren or other kin?What type of decisions should you make about legal custody or permanency? How to protect your grandchild? How to enroll them in school? How to be able to get medical and mental health care for them? How to prevent the child’s parents from removing the child from your home? Becoming a foster parent? A will?What are some of the strains that grandparents can experience with their children (the parents of their grandchildren)?How to navigate the relationship with your adult child? Explaining the situation to the child? (“Wh

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Talking with your adopted or foster child about the hard parts of their story can feel like a daunting task. Should you tell your child that her birth father is in jail or that her birth mother is addicted to drugs, or that she was conceived by rape? If so, how in the world do you share this news. We talk with Lesli Johnson, an EMDR therapist who specializes in adoption and foster care and an adult adoptee; and Susan Myers, a licensed Master Social Worker with Adoptions from the Heart Adoption Agency with offices throughout the northeast.In this episode, we cover:Should you tell your child these difficult parts of their history? Talking about the hard parts of adoptionHow should you tell your child these hard parts of their background?How do you lay the groundwork with young children in order to fill in the details later?By what age should you have shared all of your child’s story with him?Give specific examples of how a conversation might go w

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Primary Ovarian Insufficiency is a difficult and little understood diagnosis for infertility with ramifications for your general health as well as for your fertility. We talk with Dr. Alex Quaas, a Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Partners of San Diego and an Associate Professor at UCSD.In this episode, we cover:What is Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)?Is there a difference between the labels/diagnoses - Primary Ovarian Insufficiency, Premature Ovarian Failure, Premature Menopause? What are the symptoms (other than an inability to get pregnant)?Is there a decrease in egg quality and increase chromosomal abnormalities?How is POI diagnosed?How does the diagnosis differ from PCOS?What causes primary ovarian insufficiency?Is there any correlation between POI and taking Accutane (a treatment for acne) as a teen?Is there a link between premature ovarian failure and the HPV vaccine (Gardasil or Cervarix)?Can losing one

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.What are some tried and true ways to afford adoption? In this episode, we talk with Julie Gumm, author of  You Can Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption. We cover ways to find “extra” money that you can put towards your adoption, ideas for increasing your savings, and reasons to be cautious about asking for donations to pay for an adoption.In this episode, we cover:How much do adoptions cost for families adopting in the US?Julie’s story of how they afforded to adoptWhat are the different options for paying for an adoption? Savings, second job, sell things, grants, fundraise, ask for money from family and friendsHow to effectively save money? - “Start with the money you already have”How long in advance do you need to start?Federal Adoption Tax Credit State Adoption Tax Credit, Adoption Employee BenefitsSecond job and freelance ideasDownside of adding additional work to your scheduleSelling items you have but don’t use m

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.We talk about the challenges of adopting, fostering, IVF, or third-party reproduction while being in the military. We talk with the co-founders of the Military Family Building Coalition, Katy Bell Hendrickson and Ellen Gustafson.In this episode, we cover:What are the challenges of being in the military and trying to adopt?What are the challenges of being in the military when seeking fertility treatmentMilitary health insurance: Tri CareMilitary Family Building Coalition https://www.militaryfamilybuilding.org/What does Military Family Building Coalition do?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 rat

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Kinship caregivers (primarily grandparents raising their grandchildren) are often functioning as a shadow foster care system. We talk with Josh Gupta-Kagan, a Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law and author of America’s Hidden Foster Care System in the Stanford Law Review, and Karissa Phelps, a Stoneleigh Emerging Leader Fellow at Temple Legal Aid, where she provides legal representation and services to kinship caregivers.In this episode, we cover:In many cases, child protection agencies induce parents to transfer physical custody of their children to kinship caregivers by threatening to place the children in foster care.How often does this happen?Why do you call this the “hidden” foster care system?Generally speaking, don’t we consider it best practice for kids to remain with extended family? So why is this a problem? Is it inherently coercive?What are the advantages to encouraging placement with kin before they e

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.The trauma of racism impacts our children's physical and emotional health. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Roger Harrison, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and a pediatric psychologist in the Division of Behavioral Health at Nemours/Alfred I DuPont Hospital for Children; Dr. Lonna Gordon, the Division Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Florida. She is board certified in pediatrics, adolescent medicine and obesity medicine; and Cindy Bo, Senior Vice President, Delaware Valley Strategy and Business Development and Interim DRIVE Enterprise Leader.In this episode, we cover:We talk a lot about the impact of trauma on children and often we do so in the context of neglect, loss, abuse, removal from biological family, and prenatal exposure. Today we are going to expand the concept of trauma to include the impacts of racism.What is racism and w

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.What do you need to know about uterine fibroids if you want to get pregnant? We talk with Dr. Desiree McCarthy-Keith, is the Medical Director of Shady Grove Fertility Atlanta and a Board Certified OB/GYN and Reproductive Endocrinologist. She also has a Master of Public Health in maternal and child health. She has been listed in Atlanta Magazine’s Top Doctors for Infertility from 2017-2021 and as one of Black Health Magazine’s Most Influential African American Doctors.In this episode, we cover:What are uterine fibroids?What are the main symptoms of fibroids?Who is most at risk for having fibroids?Is there a genetic connection to uterine fibroids? Do fibroids pass through families?Why do some fibroids grow very slowly and others rapidly? Is the speed the fibroid is growing something to worry about? How should women track this?Are fibroids always a problem requiring treatment?How to diagnoses fibroids.Symptom distinction between endometriosis and

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Do you have a child that is more—more loud, more energetic, more argumentative, more everything? Intense children can be harder to raise, but their intensity is a gift as well as a parenting challenge. We talk with Howard Glasser, creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach to parenting. He is the author of Transforming the Difficult Child and Transforming the Intense Child Workbook.In this episode, we cover:What do you consider to be an intense child? My child was “more”—more loud, more energy—their reaction to most things was simply more. They go from 5 mph to 60mph in about a second. What are the labels and diagnoses that intense children often accumulate? ADHD, ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder), conduct disorder, PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression.What makes some kids more “intense” than others? What do you mean by energy-challenged kids? Unable to handle or effectively control their physical, cognitive or emotional energy. They have a disord

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Have you ever thought about becoming a foster parent but didn't know where to begin? This is the show for you! We talk with Vicki Ochoa, State Director for South Carolina MENTOR, an organization that provides an array of child and family services, on the ins and outs of becoming a foster parent.In this episode, we cover:Why should you become a foster parent?What is the role of a foster parent?What are the expectations of what a foster parent will do?How to become a foster parent.How do you get licensed to be a foster parent?How much training is required?What type of ongoing training is required?Do you have to own your home? How big does your house need to be?How many kids can you have already in your home?What agency can you work with to become licensed?Who places the child with you?What are the needs of kids in foster care?How is the decision made as to which child or children should be placed in your home?Can you specify the age, gender,

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.How can we raise children who are resilient and able to bounce back from the ups and downs of life and move forward with optimism and confidence? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ken Ginsburg, the Co-Founder and Director of Programs at the Center for Parent and Teen Communications, a Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and The University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and author or “Building Resilience in Children and Teens” and “Raising Kids to Thrive”.In this episode, we cover:What is resilience and why is it important. Resilience is the ability to bounce back and the capacity to rise above difficult circumstances, allowing our children to exist in this less-than-perfect world, while moving forward with optimism and confidence.What are the biggest challenges in creating resilience in children?Raising resilient kidsWe want our kids to be successful. What is Success- how does it relate to h

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Can problems in our immune system cause infertility, miscarriage, or premature birth? Today we talk with Reproductive Endocrinologist Dr. Daniel Stein, Director of RMA of New York’s Westside office and Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology at Mount Sinai West Hospital, about the impact our immune system has on our fertility.In this episode, we cover:In what ways are our immune system and reproductive system linked?Why does the woman’s immune system not react to the presence of a fetus?Autoimmune diseases-how do they impact fertility and miscarriage or premature birthWhat are the most common auto-immune diseases? (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s Disease, Hashimoto's disease, celiac disease, endometriosis, premature ovarian insufficiency)Are autoimmune mechanisms involved in infertility disorders such as premature ovarian failure or diminished ovarian reserves, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.What are the long-term impacts of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure and how can we parent these kids to help them thrive. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Mona Delahooke, a clinical child psychologist and the author of Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges.In this episode, we cover:Long term impact of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure: Research has found that most drugs that are commonly abused easily cross the placenta and can affect fetal brain development. In utero exposures to drugs and alcohol thus can have long-lasting implications for brain development resulting in behavioral challenges and mental and physical health implication. Some things to consider:The amount of drugs and alcohol used by the mom and the timing in the pregnancy matter, although this is information that is seldom available to adoptive or foster parents.Very often children are exposed to more th

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.In this episode we talk with a panel of four former foster youth to find out what it is like to be raised in foster care and what they wish foster parents knew about the experience.In this episode, we cover:What was the experience of being removed from your home and taken from your parents? Was there something that your foster parents could have done when you were first placed in the home to help alleviate some of the trauma?Did you feel fully included in your foster family? What can foster parents do to help the child feel included?This wasn’t relevant when you were in foster care, but what are your thoughts on blurring out the foster child or putting stickers over their face when posting pics on social media?Relationships with the children of the foster family.Who did you feel like was on your side? Who could you go to if you needed help?Do you think enough was done to help your biological parents before you were removed?Do you think enough w