Transracial Adoption: A Mom & Son Talk About What They've Learned

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

12/21/22

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43m

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We talk with Isaac and Julie Etter, a mom and son, about what they have learned about transracial adoption and what they wish they had known at the beginning. Isaac is the founder of Identity, a startup focused on using technology to help adoptive and foster families thrive. Julie Etter is a mom of five and a humanities teacher.
In this episode, we cover:

Isaac, tell us your adoption story from your perspective. Why were you placed for adoption? What were the first two years of your life like? Where you were raised?
Julie, what was your motivation for adopting? Were there other children in the family?
What was the racial demographics of your community?
Julie, what were you taught about transracial adoption before you adopted?
Isaac, how did you identify racially as a young child? When did you start identifying as black?
Did you experience racism growing up?
Julie, did you see racism directed towards Isaac as a child?
Did you tell your parents?
Julie, what do you wish you had known before you adopted a Black child? Would you have done anything differently?
Isaac, what do you want transracial adopted parents to know?
Julie, what advice would you give other parents who have or are considering adopting tranracially?

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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Support the show

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

Courage & Resilience: A Foster Child's Story of Success

December 14, 2022

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52m

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How do some kids survive a life of poverty, homelessness, abuse, and foster and eventually thrive? We talk with David Ambroz is a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate and the author of the memoir, A Place Called Home. He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. Currently serving as the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, Ambroz previously led Corporate Social Responsibility for Walt Disney Television, and has served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as well as a California Child Welfare Council member. After growing up homeless and then in foster care, he graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is a foster dad and lives in Los Angeles, CA.
In this episode, we cover:

Poverty and Homelessness:
- His story.
- School
- What made a difference?
- What should adults who encounter or work with homeless children/youth know?
Foster Care:
- His story.
- Youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are overrepresented in foster care (Human Rights Campaign, 2015). While approximately 5 percent of the general population is estimated to be LGBTQ+, studies estimate that about 30 percent of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ+. Why are these young people over represented in child welfare? LGBTQ+ youth are 1.5 -2 times more likely to have a foster placement failure.
- What would you want foster parents to know?
What made the difference in your eventually succeeding? (Going to Vassar and UCLA Law School.)
The lack of available treatments for mental illness.
Why did you become a foster parent?
Why did you title the book “A Place Called Home?”

Support the show

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

Next Episode

Parental Leave: What You Need to Know Before You Adopt or Foster

December 28, 2022

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50m

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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 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 are protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Are birth mothers eligible for parental leave?
Does their have to be a legal relationship between the parent and the child? Does parental leave differ for someone fostering a child? Are you eligible for parental leave with every new foster placement?
Can kinship caregivers receive parental leave?
The Parental Leave Playbooklays out a process for approaching parental leave in three phases: preparing for your leave, during leave, and returning from leave.
What steps should you take to be successful in each phase?

To support the Paid Leave for All Act