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

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What do a CASA and GAL in foster care actually do, and how can one consistent advocate make a difference in a child’s life? 
In this episode, we talk with Melissa Luddington of Illinois CASA and Michael Custos, a former foster youth whose CASA volunteer ultimately became his legal guardian. Together, they explain how Court Appointed Special Advocates and Guardians ad Litem represent children’s best interests, build trusting relationships, bring a child’s needs and wishes into the courtroom, and work alongside caregivers and professionals. Michael also shares how one volunteer’s persistence, advocacy, and willingness to keep showing up changed the course of his childhood. We also discuss what it takes to become a CASA volunteer and why consistency may be one of the most powerful things an advocate can offer.
Resources:
Her Name Was Kelly 
CASA Illinois
National CASA/GAL
The Power of One to Impact the Lives of Kids
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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:
Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!
How can families navigate open adoption from foster care while maintaining the safety and boundaries their child needs? 
In this Weekend Wisdom episode, we answer a listener’s question about staying connected with birth parents after adopting a young child from foster care. We discuss how openness can help children maintain connections to their history, identity, culture, and important relationships while recognizing the circumstances that led to foster care and termination of parental rights. We also explore how to set clear and respectful boundaries, choose the right level of contact, respond to a child’s changing needs as they grow, and create an openness plan that is flexible, sustainable, and centered on the child.
Resources:
Is Older Child Adoption the Right Path for Your Family?
Birth Parent Experiences in Adoption
Open Adoption
When Birth Parents Struggle with Addiction, Mental Health, or Intellectual Disabilities
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!
Keeping kids safe online takes more than setting screen-time limits or turning on parental controls. In this episode, digital safety expert Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes and author of Five Habits of the Tech Ready Family, joins us to talk about raising kids who can navigate technology with greater safety, confidence, and judgment. 
We explore how children’s developing brains interact with persuasive technology, why parents should model healthy digital habits, how to build enough trust that kids will come to us when something goes wrong online, and how to use practical guardrails without making technology feel like a constant battle. For adoptive, foster, and kinship families, we also discuss how trauma, disrupted relationships, and a child’s need to maintain important connections can shape decisions about access, supervision, and digital independence.
Resources:
5 Habits of the Tech Ready Family
Protect Young Eyes - devices
Managing Technology & Screens
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!
What do you do when you discover that important foster placement information was withheld before you accepted a child into your home—or even before adoption was finalized? 
In this Weekend Wisdom episode, we respond to an adoptive parent who learned that behaviors they had specifically said they could not manage had been documented in previous foster homes. We explore how to hold the agency accountable without placing that conflict on the child, use newly discovered records as a roadmap rather than a verdict, respond to challenging behaviors with safety and compassion, and help a child learn that they no longer have to hide their struggles in order to belong.
Resources:
Before You Say Yes: Questions to Ask About a Foster Placement
Strategies for Managing Your Child’s Melt-Downs, Tantrums, and Rages
Using Scripts to Build Trust with Foster & Adopted Kids
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!
The transition from foster care to adoption can bring relief and security, but it can also stir anxiety, grief, uncertainty, and behaviors families may not expect. In this episode, adoptive dad Adrian Potter shares what his family learned while adopting three siblings who had spent years in foster care. We discuss building trust through predictability and routine, helping a parentified child return to the role of sibling, giving children voice in the adoption process, responding to mixed emotions and changing behaviors, maintaining important connections, and building the support system families need before and after finalization.
Resources:
Foster Care Adoption – resource page
Preparing Children Already in the Home for an Adoption
Equipping The Kids in Your Home to Welcome a New Child
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