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 Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
About 70% of children in the U.S. foster care system have been exposed to alcohol in the womb and, according to FAFASD.org (Families Affected by FASD), 2-5% of babies born in the U.S. have FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). We can expect similar stats with children adopted internationally. FASD plays a huge roll in the lives of most foster and adoptive families.
JFO Executive Director and podcast host Sandra Flach is mom of 8 children, 5 through adoption including 2 diagnosed FASD. She believes it is vital for foster and adoptive parents to understand trauma and its impact on brain development and behavior—and exposure to alcohol in the womb is a trauma to an unborn baby.
On this week’s episode of our Orphans No More podcast, Sandra shares some FASD facts from the FAFASD website and weaves in personal stories about her family’s adoption journey with FASD kiddos. She discusses why parents must learn everything they can about trauma and FASD (or whatever diagnosis your child has or you suspect they may have).
As parents, we must pay attention to our kids and become experts in advocating for them. When we pray for our children, the Lord will show us what they need and how to parent them. He knows the plans He has for them. Plans to prosper them and give them a good future. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
FAFASD.org
FASD Success Podcast
FASD Hope Podcast
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables. Proverbs 24:3-4
Children are our most valuable resource. Parents need wisdom to raise them, especially in this season of Covid-19.
One major area of stress for families involves education. While some schools have reopened, the school day in most communities has been modified. And many parents are navigating the uncharted territories of remote learning or traditional homeschooling. Whatever route families have chosen this year, stress levels are high.
For foster and adoptive families, the journey is even more challenging. Children with trauma histories and/or capital letter syndromes (ADHD, ADD, FASD, etc.) are struggling more than ever. Parents are forced to balance working from home, ridiculous school schedules, home educating, and managing their child’s anxiety.
This week Sandra Flach speaks with Kathleen Guire—mom of seven children, four through adoption, former National Parent of the Year, former homeschooling mom, author, teacher, speaker, and host of the Positive Adoption Podcast. Join them as they tackle the tough and timely subject of schooling through the pandemic.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Book: How to Have Peace When Your Kids are in Chaos
Article: Homeschooling Mom are You Stuck in the Comparison Trap?
Monday Oct 19, 2020
Monday Oct 19, 2020
Eighteen years ago, Laura and Steve Poissant became foster parents. Over the years they adopted five babies who are now teenagers. The Poissant’s, like most foster and adoptive parents, face many challenges raising children with trauma histories and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
FASDs are brain-based disabilities caused when a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. Two to five percent of babies born in the United States have an FASD—that’s nearly nine million Americans. Studies show about 70% of children in the U.S. foster care system have been exposed to alcohol in the womb. And the numbers are higher in children adopted from eastern European countries where alcohol consumption is generally high.
Unfortunately, 99% of people with FASDs are not correctly diagnosed. It is vital for foster and adoptive parents to educate themselves about FASD, advocate for their children, and arm themselves with the tools and resources to help them and their kids navigate the tedious journey of FASD.
Recently, Sandra Flach sat down with Laura Poissant. Enjoy their informative conversation as Laura shares her family’s story.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Becoming a foster parent is a tangible way to minister to families in crisis. That ministry opportunity is why, Kelly and Andrew Hughes, began fostering in 2013. Over the past seven years, they’ve fostered eight children and adopted two of them.
Kelly sees foster care as a way to build bridges with struggling biological parents. These bridges can lead to family preservation and successful reunification of children with their birth families.
In 2016, Kelly established the Foster Love Project—a Pittsburgh based nonprofit which seeks to provide love in action to kids in foster care as well as support to the families who are providing care for them.
Recently, Sandra Flach sat down with Kelly Hughes to hear her story and talk about foster care and the Foster Love Project.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
“If you’re in it for yourself, adopt. If you’re in it for the kids, foster.” That statement, spoken during a foster care informational class, catapulted Danielle and Chris Wright into becoming foster parents. Seven years later, the Wright’s have fostered over thirty children. They adopted their very first placement, a baby boy who is now seven years old.
Danielle’s passion for children in crisis has led her to become an Area Director for CarePortal in Florida—a state with over 24,000 children in foster care.
Through CarePortal, a technology platform, child welfare agencies connect churches with local families in crisis. These families are often struggling birth parents, while some are kinship, foster or adoptive homes. Every connection involves a child in crisis and a church that has the potential to transform that child’s life.
CarePortal has been implemented in 21 states nationwide. So far, more than 2,300 churches have touched the lives of over 75,000 children.
Sandra Flach sat down with Danielle Wright to hear her story and talk about CarePortal.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Monday Sep 28, 2020
The majority of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are not raised by their birth parents. Children in foster care are 10-15 times more likely to be affected by prenatal alcohol exposure than other children (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome NOFAS). Studies also indicate that 30% of children adopted from Eastern Europe have FASD.
Children with FASD are easily frustrated and require a highly structured home and school environment. Adjusting to a new home, family, and school can be especially difficult. These children often have difficulty:
- Translating body language & expressions
- Understanding boundaries
- Focusing their attention
- Understanding cause and effect
- Controlling impulses
Parents of children with FASD often find themselves frustrated, lacking resources, and feeling isolated—but there is help out there!
Host, Sandra Flach, sat down with Jeff Nobel, Founder & CEO of Nobel Initiatives which provides resources and support to help caregivers of someone with FASD. Jeff also hosts the FASD Success podcast and leads workshops for frontline workers, educators, and caregivers—including foster and adoptive parents.
Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic extends beyond the physical illness caused by the virus. The resulting shutdown has infected businesses, schools, churches, and nonprofits. But the most catastrophic impact has been on families. Financial stress, food and housing insecurity, educational challenges, and anxiety triggered by a future of unknowns has wreaked havoc on families—especially those with foster and adoptive children.
How do families facing mounting challenges adjust to the new reality forced upon us by a pandemic? That’s the topic of this week’s Orphans No More podcast. Join host, Sandra Flach, as she talks with New Jersey foster and adoptive mom, Elizabeth Occhipinti. Elizabeth is mom of five children—two adopted internationally. She’s also President and co-founder of Miriam’s Heart, an organization that radically supports foster and adoptive children and families.
Sandra and Elizabeth’s conversation will inspire parents to run and not be weary as we pivot our parenting during a pandemic. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share it on your social media.
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
By now most children have returned to school—or at least some form of educational instruction. Depending on the state and school district, kids are either masked up and back in the school building, at home connecting to online classrooms, or navigating a combination of the two referred to as the “hybrid” option. But not all children are receiving the education they are entitled to.
Recently, Sandra Flach, sat down with upstate NY adoptive mom, Jessica Hurlbut. Jess is mom of five kiddos—two of whom are adopted and 2 have autism. During their conversation, Jess shared how her family has struggled since March, especially her children with special needs.
The Hurlbut family’s story is not unique. Across the country, foster and adoptive families and those with children with special needs are struggling to manage life in limbo. Parents are advocating for their child’s education and services while school districts are trying to figure out how to open and operate in the new reality caused by Covid.
Monday Sep 07, 2020
Monday Sep 07, 2020
“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He (Jesus) was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”
Are you feeling the wind and the waves threatening to overtake your boat like the disciples experienced in Mark 4:37-41? Take heart—we are not destined to drown in the storm but to walk on the water.
Focusing on the wind and the waves—our circumstances—will only make us anxious. Instead, praying with thanksgiving calms the storm and settles our hearts and minds with the peace of God.
This week host, Sandra Flach, shares a storm-calming message of encouragement so you can experience the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Foster and adoptive parents understand the unique challenges Covid-19 has brought upon families. As the new school year approaches, it brings increased uncertainties and changes which causes stress and anxiety levels in both children and parents to rise. Many of us find ourselves feeling as if we’re drowning in our own homes.
My prayer for my own family and yours is that we will not become overwhelmed by the waves of life, but that we will walk on the water with Jesus. Keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord instead of our circumstances will give us strength and serenity even in the midst of troubling times.
In this episode you will find a message of encouragement so you can be soul strong and experience the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
Let us know you enjoyed the show—leave a comment, tell a friend, and share it on your social media.
Links to content mentioned in Episode #236: