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We want to see people everywhere supporting the foster care community and experiencing Jesus together. So, in this podcast, we are sharing the stories of the foster care community to bring awareness that leads to action!
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Welcome to the "Foster Fathers Podcast," a heartfelt journey into the world of foster care and adoption, specially crafted for dads navigating this remarkable path. Join us as we explore the triumphs, challenges, and joyous moments that come with being a foster or adoptive father. In each episode, we dive deep into the experiences of fathers who have embarked on the transformative journey of fostering or adopting children. From sharing personal stories to expert interviews, we cover a range ...
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Episode 271: Foster Fathers (w/ Chris Easley & Kyle Seick)
47:41
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Note: In this episode, Jami talks about her pregnancy—but don’t worry, you didn’t miss another baby announcement! If you’re part of our TFI family, you know her sweet little one has already arrived. This episode was recorded back in January! Sometimes, it can feel like the conversation within the foster care community is predominantly shaped by fem…
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Episode 272: Striving for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System (w/ Shanelle Dupree)
43:28
43:28
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The child welfare system can be confusing and complex. Families are often expected to navigate administrative systems, the criminal justice system, the legal system, and the social system—all at the same time and with no prior instruction. Our guest today knows the child welfare system inside and out—and she’s passionate about helping families navi…
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Episode 270: Recovering from Addiction to Achieve Reunification (w/ Jacob Jackson)
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41:31
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There are many requirements that a biological parent must meet in order to reunify with their children. While these requirements are necessary to ensure that children are being reunited with parents who can provide a safe and stable environment, many parents struggle to overcome the circumstances that led to their children being placed in foster ca…
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Episode 269: Opening Your Heart and Home to Those in Need (w/ Sarah Hott)
35:17
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Foster care is both rewarding and challenging. It’s happy at times and sad at others; it brings hard days as well as beautiful moments. If you are in the foster care community, you’ve likely seen (or experienced) this firsthand. But what do we do when we come to the end of ourselves? How do we respond when we feel called to open our homes again to …
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Episode 268: Building Compassion for Those Struggling with Addiction (w/ Christina Dent)
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57:40
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Substance use is a major factor in foster care cases; in 2017 alone, more than half of the children who entered care under age 5 did so because of parental drug use. Addiction is an issue that runs parallel to the foster care community, and it’s a struggle that agency workers and foster parents often witness firsthand in the lives of the families t…
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Episode 267: Beauty Woven in the Brokenness (w/ Austin Ludwig)
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Trigger Warning: We want to let our listeners know that this episode includes mentions of physical abuse. If you are sensitive to this topic, we recommend you listen with caution. Trauma is one of the hardest challenges to navigate in life. Whether it’s impacting you or someone you love, it can be easy to wish that trauma could be erased in an inst…
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Episode 266: Advocating for Whole Family Care (w/ Esther Sherrard)
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The child welfare system is not perfect. Not only is it subject to the types of challenges all government programs can face—such as a lack of funding, policy gaps, and inefficiencies—it’s also very overloaded. As a result, many biological parents don’t receive the best resources to help them navigate their circumstances, and often, they are confuse…
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Episode 265: Walking Through the Heartache of "Blocked Care" (w/ Eric & Diana Powell)
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Like so many families, Eric and Diana Powell entered into adoption with the best intentions. After their first international adoption from Thailand, they quickly started the paperwork for their second, knowing that the process is often long and fraught with delays. What they couldn’t know is that the next few years of their adoption journey would i…
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Episode 264: The Reality of a Caseworker’s Role (w/ Brittni Hodges)
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Foster care caseworkers often feel forgotten, isolated, and alone. From managing stressful workloads to coping with secondary trauma and sometimes facing frustration from families in crisis, it’s not hard to understand why caseworker turnover is so high. But here at The Forgotten Initiative, we believe well-supported caseworkers will more effective…
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Episode 263: Learning How to Serve the Foster Care Community (w/ April Hobbs)
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How much do you know about the foster care community where you live? Many people—both individuals and organizations like churches—want to support their vulnerable neighbors. But few are aware of the many practical ways they can help the children, biological families, foster families, and agency workers who make up their local foster care communitie…
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Episode 262: Hope for Healing from Adverse Childhood Experiences (w/ Angela Paganelli)
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37:38
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can affect children from any background, but those in foster care are especially vulnerable. There are ten main types of ACEs that have been identified—ranging from abuse to neglect to household dysfunction. All of them have the potential to negatively impact future outcomes for a child. Our latest guest, Angela…
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Episode 261: Helping Children Develop Positive Relationships with Food (w/ Madison Tyler)
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43:24
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.5% of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2023. Unfortunately, food-related trauma is a common challenge for many children who have entered the foster care system. Whether it’s an aversion to a particular type of food, fear that there won’t be enough food, or a tendency to overe…
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In this episode of the Foster Fathers Podcast, we dive into one of the most nuanced and debated topics in the world of fostering and adoption: should we openly use the word “adoption” around our adopted kids? This isn’t just a provocative question; it’s a reflection of the real-world tension that parents feel as they navigate when and how to discus…
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Episode 260: Transforming Despair Into Hope (w/ Keristein Fox)
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For our very first episode of 2025, we’re bringing you another great conversation that sheds light on the real people of the foster care community. In this episode, we are talking to Keristein Fox. Today, she’s a happily married stay-at-home mom who loves watching her three children grow and thrive. But Keristein’s story wasn’t always this joyful. …
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Episode 259: Born into Foster Care (w/ Lucy Baker)
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Trigger Warning: We want to let our listeners know that this episode includes mentions of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and thoughts of suicide. If you are sensitive to any of these topics, we recommend you listen with caution. From the day she entered the world, Lucy Baker felt as though she didn’t have a home. Born inside of a jail to a mother in…
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In this eye-opening episode of the Foster Fathers Podcast, we tackle the reality of operating from a deficit—starting from behind and having to work harder than most just to reach a sense of normalcy. For foster parents, adoptive families, and the children in their care, the journey often begins with gaps to fill, whether emotional, physical, or sy…
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Episode 258: Learning How to Care for a Child’s Hair (w/ Authrine T.K. Singleton)
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When a child enters our home, there are many factors we consider to ensure their comfort and safety. However, one important aspect of a child’s well-being can often be overlooked—their hair care. This is especially true if the child comes from a different racial background, where hair care needs may differ significantly. Hair is an important part o…
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Episode 257: Uncovering Your Identity (w/ Kyle Bullock, Ellyn Bullock, & Michelle Hubble)
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It’s natural to wonder who your birth parents are. In fact, this is a question that many foster and adoptive children wrestle with. For children, teens, and even adults who have never known their biological parents, curiosity about their identity often goes hand in hand with a fear of the unknown. And for foster and adoptive parents, broaching this…
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Episode 256: The True Story of Possum Trot (w/ Bishop and First Lady Donna Martin)
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Over the summer, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot hit theaters across the country. This film tells the powerful true story of Donna and Bishop Martin as they ignited a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace children in foster care who needed a home. Their East Texas community stepped up to do the impossible and adopt 77 children…
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Episode 255: Processing Your Emotions After a Placement Disruption (w/ Kamrie Smith)
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When you decide to become a foster parent, you are asked a wide range of questions about what kind of placements you are willing to accept. What ages will you take? What ages won’t you take? Are there any special needs you will or won’t be able to accommodate? What about sibling groups? Even when your agency is doing their best to reach out to you …
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In this uplifting episode of the Foster Fathers Podcast, we shine a light on the importance of friendship during the toughest seasons of foster care and adoption. While the journey can be incredibly rewarding, it’s also filled with emotional challenges, and having strong friendships can be a lifeline for foster parents, adoptive families, and even …
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Episode 254: What It’s Like Becoming a TFI Advocate (w/ Justin Meehan)
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It’s that time of year again! As you may know, we open applications to become a TFI Advocate only a couple times each year, and this November is one of those opportunities. If you’re considering applying, today’s episode is the perfect chance to learn more about what becoming a TFI Advocate journey really looks like. That’s because we have the spec…
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Episode 253: ALL IN for Children in Foster Care (w/ Lynn Johnson)
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39:58
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39:58
To make a positive impact on the foster care community, we need action on both a personal and systemic level. We need community members who are willing to step up and support individuals directly, but we also need leaders capable of creating policies that address real challenges. My guest for this episode, Lynn Johnson, is someone who has stepped i…
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Episode 252: Learning to Feel Conflicting Emotions (w/ Melissa McGilliard)
37:14
37:14
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37:14
Have you ever had a foster placement or adoption plan fall through? Initially, you feel excited about the prospect of welcoming another child into your home. You start gathering things you think the child may need. Clothes. Toys. School supplies. But then you get another call that the plan is being changed. On one hand, you’re grateful there’s stil…
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When Termination of Parental Rights Becomes the Best Option
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In this deeply emotional episode of the Foster Fathers Podcast, we tackle one of the most difficult and complex topics in foster care—when termination of parental rights (TPR) becomes the best option for a child’s well-being. While every foster parent hopes for family reunification, sometimes the most loving and necessary decision is to create a pe…
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Episode 251: Why "Getting Too Attached" Makes You a Great Foster Parent (w/ Caitlyn Baten)
45:48
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“I couldn’t become a foster parent because I’d get too attached.” This is a sentiment we’ve heard many times from those considering foster care. We know that foster care is full of the good and the hard; both beauty and brokenness. Overcoming our fears and holding space for both of these things is no easy task. And in my guest’s experience, the fea…
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Episode 250: How to Navigate an Open Adoption (w/ Jori Victory)
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Open adoptions began in 1975, but they didn’t become more common until the 1990s. Today, 9 out of 10 adoptions are open. While open adoptions are far more common today, adoptive parents may have concerns and fears about navigating that relationship with a child's birth parents. Likewise, birth parents are often worried about finding the place they …
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