Host Sandra Flach is a mom of 8 children, 5 through adoption—one kinship and 4 international. Her youngest 2 are teens diagnosed with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). With over 30 years of parenting experience and 20 plus years as an adoptive and kinship parent, she’s made mountains of mistakes and learned loads of lessons. She understands the difficult road of parenting children with trauma histories—and she is still in the trenches! The Adoption & Foster Care Journey is a podcast to encourage, educate, and equip you to care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care, and kinship care. We aim to support adoptive and foster families by sharing encouraging real-life stories and equipping them with modern-day research and parenting techniques.
Episodes
Monday May 11, 2026
Monday May 11, 2026
“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.” -Psalm 107:28-29
Welcome to The Adoption & Foster Care Journey—a podcast to encourage, educate and equip you as you care for children in crisis through adoption, foster care and kinship care.
On this episode, host Sandra Flach continues the foster care conversation with foster and adoptive mom and FASD expert, Dr. Ryan Jolly.
Dr. Jolly is a Kansas-based psychiatric nurse practitioner and nationally recognized advocate focused on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. As the founder of Brain First Family Center, she leads a specialized clinic dedicated to the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of FASD and related neurodevelopment conditions, with a strong commitment to Medicaid access and eliminating long waitlists for vulnerable families.
Ryan’s advocacy is grounded in both clinical expertise and lived experience as a single foster and adoptive parent to children with FASD and complex brain-based disabilities. Utilizing her role as a Doctor of Nursing Practice she engages in research to advance understanding of brain-based differences, trauma-informed systems of care, and increase recognition of FASD within child welfare and education systems. Dr. Jolly strives to reimagine systems of care to ensure all individuals are supported to thrive within families and communities rather than being misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or institutionalized.
Listen in to Sandra’s conversation with Dr. Ryan Jolly on Episode 531 wherever you get your podcasts.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
The Adoption & Foster Care Journey
justicefororphansny.org/hope-community
Email: sandraflach@justicefororphansny.org
Soul Care Saturday—52 Devotions for Foster and Adoptive Moms
Orphans No More—A Journey Back to the Father book on Amazon
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