How to Balance Giving Kids Structure and Control - Weekend Wisdom

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

01/18/25

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Question: First, I wanted to thank you for your incredible podcast. I’m not a parent (I only recently graduated from college), but I have volunteered in group homes for foster care children for the past couple of years. Your podcast has not only helped me to work more effectively with the kids I see but has also given me insight into what I want to do in my career. I hope to research and work with families involved with the foster care system in the future, and your podcast has allowed me to learn from so many interesting and diverse perspectives. My question is: how do you balance giving children who have experienced trauma both a sense of control and structure? From the kids I’ve worked with, I’ve noticed that many of them tend to act out the most when they feel like they don’t have control. This makes sense to me, as I imagine almost all kids in foster care have had a severe lack of control in their lives. However, I’ve also heard that kids who have experienced trauma benefit from having a strict structure in their lives. These two ideas seem somewhat antithetical to each other, but both seem important. How do you recommend parents and practitioners give children both a sense of control over their lives and provide them with structure so they have a sense of safety? Thank you again for your wonderful podcast, it truly has made such a difference in how I think about the foster care system. I look forward to listening to your podcast every week.
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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.
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Previous Episode

Adoption Tax Credit 2024

January 15, 2025

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50m

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If you are adopting or have adopted within the last several years you should join our conversation today about claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2024. Our guests will be Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill’s Tax Service; and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at Families Rising.
In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2024 federal taxes?
What is a “credit,” and how does it differ from a deduction or tax savings?
How would you use the Adoption Tax Credit if you get a tax refund every year?
Should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes if you don't have any federal tax liability?
What types of adoptions are included or excluded?
Are kinship adoptions covered? Are kinship guardianship arrangements covered? What if the child never was involved with the foster care system?
Can you get credit for each adoption you complete even if completed in the same year? What about adopting siblings at the same time?
What is a Qualified Adoption Expense for purposes of the Adoption Tax Credit 2024?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
Special Needs Adoption:
- How does the Adoption Tax Credit differ for adoptions from foster care? What does the IRS accept as proof of “special needs”?
- What is a $0 subsidy agreement?
- Special needs child for international adoption
Can you reclaim your expenses for an attempted adoption that did not result in a placement (failed adoption)? How?
What income level (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is excluded?
How long can the credit be carried over?
What if you didn’t claim the Adoption Tax Credit when eligible? Is the Adoption Tax Credit something you can amend your tax return for, and if so, how do you amend it, and how many years back?
Will the Adoption Tax Credit offset self-employment tax?
How does the Secure Act impact claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for 2024 taxes?
What should you do if the child’s Social Security Number is unavailable when you file? Should you use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN #) if you don’t have the child’s social security number?
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work in conjunction with employee adoption benefits? For special needs adoption?
If you adopt, can you still get the Child Tax Credit?
What do you need to get the Child Tax Credit for your adopted child?
Do you need to send any documentation to the IRS when you file your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
How do you find a tax specialist knowledgeable about Adoption Tax Credit?
The Adoption Tax Credit used to be a refundable credit. Do you think the new administration will impact the refundability legislation?
Advocate for refundability

Support the show

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Weekly articles/blog posts
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Next Episode

What Foster Care Alumni Want You to Know

January 22, 2025

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44m

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Join our panel of four former foster youth to learn what they wished foster parents and others knew about being in foster care.
In this episode, we discuss:

Tell us the story of your involvement with foster care and the child welfare system.
What was something that your foster parent(s) did that helped you cope?
What did your foster parents do that made things harder for you?
What are some of the myths that you hear about kids in foster care?
If listeners are considering becoming foster parents, what should they consider to help them decide if they are the right fit to be foster parents?

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