Reunification of Foster Child Logistics - Weekend Wisdom

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

07/05/25

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10m

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Question: My 15-year-old foster daughter, “Anna”, is scheduled to move back in with her mom at the end of the school year. She is currently on my phone plan. I also pay for her access to Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu. Should I ask her mother now how she wants to transition Anna onto her phone plan? Do you recommend continuing to pay for a 3-6 month period until the mother figures it out? Should I just keep her on my account for Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu as long as it doesn't cost me anything extra? She also has some of her own furniture that doesn't fit in my car. Should Anna's mother be responsible for getting those pieces to their home? She is going to live almost 3 hours away.

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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.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Previous Episode

Common Special Needs in International Adoption

July 2, 2025

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61m

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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

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

Next Episode

Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times

July 9, 2025

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51m

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Are you looking for practical strategies to help your kids face the challenges of a scary world? Join us for a conversation with Melinda Wenner Moyer. She is an author, contributing editor at Scientific American, a regular contributor to The New York Times, and a former faculty member at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her new book is titled Hello, Cruel World: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times.

In this episode we discuss:

Why is raising kids in today’s world is so challenging and potentially terrifying for parents.

What are the fears kids are feeling in today’s culture?

What are some of the clues parents and caregivers should look for to tell us our kids might be struggling with fear or anxiety?

How does a parent or caregiver’s fear impact our ability to raise our kids in what feels like a terrifying world?

How do we balance protecting our kids from the world with equipping them to handle the hard things about today’s world?

When and how do we start “lifting the shield”?

The book’s framework for raising kids in these challenging times includes these three pillars: coping mechanisms, connection techniques, and cultivation practices.

Coping Mechanisms
- How to manage anxiety and fear.
- Self-regulation
- Emotional literacy
- Examples of coping strategies for one or two ages
Connection Techniques
- Parent-child attachment as a protective factor
- Importance of being emotionally available and validating
- Routines, rituals, and conversations that build trust
- Examples of fun and playful connection techniques
Cultivation Practices
- How to practice optimism, gratitude, curiosity, and moral reasoning
- Encouraging healthy risk-taking and autonomy
- Examples for how we parents can model ethical and resilient behavior

What additional or special considerations for those of us raising kids impacted by trauma? How can we adapt some of these strategies?

Examples of how a parent’s approach should evolve as their child grows in age or ability by age/stage: