Should We Adopt Again? - Weekend Wisdom
Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
01/11/25
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Question: My husband and I adopted our now seven-year-old son from South Africa two years ago. He is the best. We cannot believe how lucky we are to have this joyful little boy in our family, and we owe much of our success to what we've learned from your show and resources, so thank you. Although our son feels pretty easy compared to some of the challenges we hear about, he still requires a lot. A lot of time, patience, energy, school appointments, doctor's appointments, therapy appointments, etc. In any case, we are now considering whether to embark on a second adoption of an older child three to six years old from South Africa. While I see a lot of resources for preparing siblings and managing birth order disruptions, which is not the case for us, we are wondering what parents of adopted kids should consider when deciding whether to adopt another child. For example, is it better for our son to have all of the resources, meaning time, patience, energy, et cetera, and stability we can provide an only child given his needs and the fact that he was adopted later? Should we expect more of the same with a second child or are there different challenges to raising new siblings who both have trauma? What should we be aware of or thinking about when making this decision?
Resources:
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
Previous Episode
How to Adopt in 2025
January 8, 2025
•51m
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Are you considering adopting a child this year? We've got answers to all (or most) of your questions. Join our discussion with Teresa Bernu, the Executive Director at Adoption Center of Illinois. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked extensively in the areas of domestic infant adoption, foster care, and guardianship. We will also talk with Steve Valdez, the Chief Operating Officer at Hand in Hand International Adoptions. He holds a Master of Divinity and an M.A. in Psychology. He’s an adopted dad of 5 kids through foster care adoption.
In this episode, we discuss:
Domestic infant private adoption in the US
- What is the process?
- What are the reasons that pregnant moms are placing their children for adoption?
- Matching-Expectant parent choice
- The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
- Open adoption
- Special needs of children available
- How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
- How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
- How do failed matches when an expectant mom decides to parent rather than go through with an adoption plan impact the cost of domestic adoption?
- Adoption agency and adoption attorney
- What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting a baby?
Adoptions from foster care in the US
- What is the process?
- Adopting your foster child
- Adopting a waiting child
- What are the reasons that children come into foster care in the US?
- What age and race of child is available for adoption from foster care?
- Special needs? Trauma, prenatal substance exposure
- How long does it take?
- How much does it cost?
- What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting from foster care?
International adoptions to the US
- What is the process?
- What types of special needs do children available for adoption from abroad have?
- How long does it take? What factors influence this time?
- How much does it cost? What factors influence this cost?
- What is the first step prospective adoptive parents should take if they are interested in adopting internationally?
Additional resources:
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
Next Episode
Adoption Tax Credit 2024
January 15, 2025
•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
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
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