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

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Foster families are doing significant work to support both the children in their homes and the parents of those kids. What do they need to thrive in this work? We talk with Cathleen Bearse, a licensed therapist, foster mom, and the creator of Fearless Fostering. She supports foster and adoptive parents with practical tools, emotional guidance, and trauma-informed strategies with her real-life experiences and clinical expertise.
In this episode, we talk about:
Your organization is called ‘Fearless Fostering’ – what does that mean to you right now in the work that you do with foster families every day?
What makes fostering profoundly worth it in your life and in your family, even when it’s hard?
What are some unexpected joys in fostering that people don’t hear about enough?
When things feel heavy, how do you recommend resource parents reconnect with their ‘why’?
What are the challenges that catch foster parents off guard the most?
Where do you see foster parents becoming depleted or overwhelmed?
What is often misunderstood about the emotional weight of fostering?
How does isolation show up in foster parenting?
How can fostering strain a household without the right support?
What patterns have you seen in marriages or partnerships under stress?
How does chronic stress show up in foster parents’ mental and physical health?What early warning signs should families not ignore?

If you could give every foster parent four supports, what would they be?Community
Therapeutic Space
Permission to Unschedule

Permission to Focus on “Just You”
What does realistic self-care actually look like for foster parents?
Where should foster parents begin if they realize they need more support?
How can they pursue continuing education without becoming overwhelmed?
What would you say to someone who wants to foster but fears they aren’t strong enough?
What is one message you want every foster parent to hear today?
Finally, what would a strengthened foster family look like five years from now if we truly supported them well?
Resources:
Self-care for Foster Parents
What is Respite Care and How Do I Access It?
What Foster Parents Want You to Know About Fostering
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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!
Question: I’m new to raising my grandchild and still learning about trauma. People keep saying it changes a child’s brain, but I don’t really understand what that means. What does trauma actually do to the brain, and how does that show up in behavior at home or school?
Resources:
The Three Es: Understanding the Impacts of Trauma
A Conversation with Dr. Bruce Perry About Trauma
How Trauma Impacts a Child's Development
Meeting Children Where They Are: The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!
Have you considered fostering? What might be holding you back? Join us for a conversation with Laura, the Foster Parent Partner, to explore what it takes to be ready to foster, what the licensing and placement process looks like, and how to navigate relationships with the child's birth parents while providing a safe place for the child to land. Laura is the author of First Time Fostering and brings awareness and advocacy for foster families to social media spaces.
In this episode, we talk about:
How can someone tell if fostering might be the right step for them?
What are some common misconceptions about foster parenting that you often hear from people who are just starting to explore it?
What mindset shifts do people often need to make before stepping into foster parenting, especially around trauma and reunification?
Once someone decides to move forward, what does the licensing process look like?
What tends to surprise people about that process?
How should families prepare the people already in their lives—a partner, kids in the home, or extended family—for fostering?
What kind of support system do new foster parents need?
How can they start building that before they get their first placement?
When you're waiting for your first placement, what are some basics you should have ready in their home?
What is it actually like to get that first placement call and welcome a child into your home?
In those first hours and days, what are some practical ways foster parents can help a child feel safe and supported?
It’s important to remember that reunification is the goal of foster care. What does co-parenting mean for foster parents? Why is it a crucial element of fostering?
In foster care, children often still have relationships with their families, especially when reunification is still the goal. How can foster parents begin building a respectful relationship with a child’s parent?
How can foster parents help facilitate connection or healing with the child’s parents?
How do foster parents navigate the reality and emotions of a child leaving their home, for another placement, or for reunification?
How should they support their resident children for that loss?
What are some of the other hard realities of foster parenting that people should be prepared for?
What would you want a newly licensed foster parent to know before they say yes to their first placement?
What keeps you anchored in this work and committed to supporting others?
Resources:
Becoming a Foster Parent
What Foster Care Alumni Want You to Know
23 Crucial Questions to
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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!
Question: How do I delicately share information about my child’s birth parent with my child, when we know their biological parent has a long history of arrest? They are not a safe adult for my child to maintain a relationship with. Our family is struggling with how to balance the message that the adoption plan was made out of love for the child and not wanting to cast a negative message about the child’s birth parent, even though we know there is a history of some very violent acts. We want this child to know and understand why the birth parent is not part of their life.
Resources: 
Talking with Young Children about Adoption and Birth Parents
Using Lifebooks to Explain Complex Issues in Adoption to Kids
Building the Framework for Adopted & Foster Children to Process the Hard Parts of Their Stories
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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!
Join us for this interview with former NFL Running Back and Super Bowl Champion Ricky Watters. He is an adoptee, an adoptive dad, and author of a new children’s book on adoption, A Gift Called Shane.
In this episode, we discuss:
How old were you when you learned you were adopted and how did you find out?
When you discovered you were adopted, you mentioned in your NFL movie that it put a big chip on your shoulder. How has that chip served you well as an adoptive dad? 
How has it been a detriment?
Why did you decide to adopt?
Why did you decide to adopt internationally?
Did your experience with finding out late that you were adopted affect the way you discussed adoption with your son?
Do you see any signs of a similar “chip” in your son that you had when you found out you were adopted? How do you help him navigate it for his own success?
How did you prepare your biological son for the adoption of his brother? 
How do you support your adopted son in his questions about identity, birth family, etc.?
Are you in reunion with your biological family?
How has your adoptive family handled your reunion with your birth family?
How excited were you for fellow hometown boy Shady McCoy to get into the Eagles Hall of Fame?
What was your experience with playing at Notre Dame? 
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