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

Latest Episodes:

What Do You Wish You Had Known Before You Adopted? - Weekend Wisdom Jan 21, 2024

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Question: We are in the process of deciding whether to adopt, we have decided to give up on fertility treatment. As I listened to your podcast, I thought it would be good to ask you what you wish you had known before you had adopted?
Resources:

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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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

Adoption Tax Credit 2023 Jan 17, 2024

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Could you qualify for the Adoption Tax Credit? Find out by listening to this podcast with 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 (formerly the NACAC).
In this episode, we cover:

What is the Adoption Tax Credit for adoption being claimed on 2023 federal taxes?
What is a “credit” and how does it differ from a deduction or some other form of tax savings?
If you get a tax refund every year, how would you use the Adoption Tax Credit?
If you don’t have any federal tax liability, should you still apply the credit to your federal income taxes?
What type of adoptions are included or excluded? Stepparent adoption? Embryo adoption? Same-sex partner second parent adoption? Unmarried heterosexual second parent adoption? Surrogacy?
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 2022?
When can you claim the Adoption Tax Credit?
- Domestic private adoption
- International Adoption
- Re-adoption in the US for international adoption
- Foster Care Adoption
How does the Adoption Tax Credit work with kinship adoptions? What if the child never was involved with the foster care?
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”?
$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? How?
What income level (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is excluded from claiming the Adoption Tax Credit in 2022?
How long can the credit be carried over?
Are you able to amend previous year tax return to claim adoption tax credit? Is adoption tax credit something you can amend for, and if so, how do you amend 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 2023 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?
Qualified Birth or Adoption Distribution from Qualified Retirement Plan without penalty. Under Secure Act.
If you adopt, can you still get the Child Tax Credit?
What do you need in order to get the Child Tax Credit for your adopted child?
Do you need to send to the IRS any documentation for the Adoption Tax Credit when you file your taxes? What type of documentation should you keep in your records?
How to find a tax specialist knowledgeable on the Adoption Tax Credit? https://adoptiontaxcredit.org
How to advocate for refundability?

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What Questions to Ask Before Adopting From Foster Care - Weekend Wisdom Jan 14, 2024

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Question: What questions should a pre-adoptive family ask about a possible match when adopting from foster care to determine whether the match would be a good fit for the family?
Resources:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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How to Adopt in 2024 Jan 10, 2024

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Are you considering adopting this year? Don't miss this podcast on how to adopt in 2024. Our guests are Teresa Bernu, the Associate Director at the Adoption Center of Illinois, and Steve Valdez, the Chief Operating Officer at Hand in Hand International Adoptions. Teresa Bernu has over 13 years of experience in the child welfare field, dealing with a wide range of cases, including domestic infant adoption, foster care, and guardianship. Steve Valdez holds a B.A. in Public Relations, 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 cover:
Domestic infant private adoption in the US

What is the process?
What are the reasons that pregnant moms are placing their child?
Open adoption
Expectant parent choice
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?
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?
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?

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How Does an Average Person Pay for Adoption?!? - Weekend Wisdom Jan 07, 2024

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Adoption:

We surveyed our Facebook community, and we discuss how our members paid for their adoptions.

How to Save for Adoption the Dave Ramsey Way
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

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the show

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

Fostering or Adopting as a Single Person Jan 03, 2024

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Have you thought about adopting or fostering as a single parent? Join us to listen to a panel of single adoptive parents share the joys and challenges of this option.
In this episode, we cover:

What were your biggest worries when you were thinking about fostering or adopting as a single person?
Adopting or fostering a child of a different gender—what are some things parents need to consider?
Who is a part of your “village” in helping you?
How do you handle the work/life balance as a single parent?
Change in friend groups.
What has been your biggest blessing or joy as a single adoptive or foster parent?

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

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I Want to Foster, But My Husband Doesn't - Weekend Wisdom Dec 31, 2023

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Question: I want to foster children, but my husband is against it. Our kids are 5 and 3 years old, and I really want to keep on having kids through fostering. I think I’m a good mom, and I think I’d do great at fostering. My husband thinks we have our hands full with 2 kids. He thinks adding other kids with possible behavioral problems will sink us.
Resources:

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Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids Dec 27, 2023

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How can we raise joyful resilient kids? We talk with Dr. Mona Delahooke, a clinical child psychologist and the author of Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids.

In this episode, we cover:

“Too often we are focused on the child’s behavior instead of the child. We are concerned about solving problems rather than cultivating the relationship.”
A child’s behavior is a clue for us parents to understand what is going on inside the child.
No one-size fits all approach to child rearing. What’s most important isn’t the rules, but the child. We must understand how our parenting is landing on our child. Personalize our parenting.
Three pathways to the mind-body platform.
Body budgeting.
The distinction between behaviors that seems to be defensive but are actually protective.
How do you approach tantrums in a preschooler?
How to co-regulate with our child and why?
How to build resiliency in our children?

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Kids Do Well When They Can - Weekend Wisdom Dec 24, 2023

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Parenting kids exposed to trauma is hard. Sometimes, it is very hard, but these families can thrive. In an interview with Creating a Family, Dr. Ross Greene, a Harvard Psychology professor, stressed that it was crucial for parents of children exposed to trauma to realize that kids want to do well, and if they are struggling, it is likely because they are lacking a specific skill needed to succeed.
Resources:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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Rituals to Build Strong Families Dec 20, 2023

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Join us to learn about family rituals—how to create and why you should. Our guest will be Elizabeth Barbour is the author of a new book “Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life’s Milestone Transitions”. She’s also a reunited adoptee and an adoptive mom.
In this episode, we cover:

Why are rituals important for families?
- Define the culture of family-this is who we are
- This is what we do
What’s the difference between rituals and routines?
What’s the difference between rituals and habits?
Examples of family rituals.
- Family meetings,
- kid/parent dates,
- game nights
- gratitude practices
- prayer and meditation
- family altars
- travel
- volunteering together
When families are created through adoption, any specific rituals that can help them?

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