Episode 82: Navigating Court: Understanding Your Role as a Foster Parent
Release Date: 11/18/2019
The Forgotten Podcast
Many agency workers who serve the foster care community choose this path out of a passion for helping others. But transitioning into this challenging career can often be a very overwhelming experience. Even when workers are doing their best, they can start to feel like they’re not doing enough and that they don’t have a support system to fall back on in their times of need. Brian Gazdziak is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker as well as a foster and adoptive dad. He has spent years providing specialized mental health therapy to help people, such as those in the foster care community, cope...
info_outline Episode 225: Becoming an Emotional Safety Net For Your Child (w/ Michelle Nietert)The Forgotten Podcast
No matter the season of parenting you’re in, there’s one thing every parent needs to prioritize—mental health. Not just your child’s, but your own, too. It’s easy to look at the behavioral or emotional struggles our children are exhibiting and start thinking of ways to “fix” them. What’s harder is looking inward and asking ourselves what steps we can take to nurture our mental health so we can show up for our kids in the best way. Joining me today is Michelle Nietert, an author, a speaker, and the Clinical Director/Founder of Community Counseling Associates. She’s also...
info_outline Episode 224: From Adoptee to Adoptive Mom (w/ Cami Haussler)The Forgotten Podcast
Cami Haussler’s childhood was marked by turbulence. By the time she was 10, both of her parents had passed away. Her formative years were filled with a long string of life changes, and it seemed like every time she got close to a caregiver, they would leave her. Eventually, Cami was adopted by her grandparents, but despite the love they showed her, Cami often struggled to let them in, fearing that they too would pass away and leave her alone again. Today, Cami’s experiences have come full circle—she’s now an adoptive parent who has fostered 12 children and taken on a core role at a...
info_outline Episode 223: When Motherhood Involves Unexpected Challenges (w/ Katie Faris)The Forgotten Podcast
Katie Faris knew that motherhood wasn’t always going to be smooth sailing, but she was more than ready to deal with temper tantrums and dirty diapers. What she wasn’t prepared for was receiving the news that three of her children had been diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Katie’s story is deeply touching to me. She’s a pastor’s wife and a writer who has shared her journey with others through books like God is Still Good: Gospel Hope and Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood and He Will Be Enough: How God Takes You by the Hand Through Your Hardest...
info_outline Episode 222: Learning How to Give and Receive Care (w/ Randall Nichols)The Forgotten Podcast
Has God ever led you somewhere that you were previously scared to go? Are you currently facing a situation where God is inviting you to entrust your fear and concerns to Him? That’s what happened for Randall Nichols, co-founder of ECHO Family Care Partners and an adoptive parent. Through his work at ECHO, Randall is working to resource churches and businesses to meet the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children and families through foster care, adoption, and wrap-around support. In this episode, Randall shares the powerful story of connection that introduced their family to special needs...
info_outline Episode 221: A Complicated Journey of Foster Care & Motherhood (w/ Lisa Qualls)The Forgotten Podcast
When Lisa Qualls found out she was pregnant as a teen, it led to an unexpected journey through foster care. After giving birth to her son, she felt conflicting pressure to give him up to be adopted, and it would be 16 years until she would reconnect with him again. Lisa has a unique perspective as she has experienced the adoption and foster care community as a former foster youth, birth mom, foster mom, and adoptive mom. Lisa is a TBRI® Practitioner, co-founder of Adoption Wise, and co-author of The Connected Parent with Karyn Purvis. She lives in North Idaho with her husband, Russ,...
info_outline Episode 220: Finding Treasures in the Darkness (w/ Katherine Wolf)The Forgotten Podcast
We’re exploring some deep questions on the podcast this week and I would love to hear how you’re processing them. How do we navigate painful circumstances in life? How do we walk with others who are experiencing something deeply challenging? How do we respond when life doesn’t turn out the way we expected it to? I was so deeply touched during my conversation with my guest today, Katherine Wolf. She is my beautiful sister in Christ who is also a stroke survivor, disability advocate, and author. She and her husband, Jay, have authored two best-selling books Hope...
info_outline Episode 219: The Pain of Entering Foster Care (w/ DREION)The Forgotten Podcast
DREION is a husband, father, electrifying singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and performing artist originally from Omaha, Nebraska. He experienced the foster care system as a child at the age of seven, and his story is one of trauma, tragedy, and triumph that the world needs to hear. Today, DREION uses his music to inspire and shed light on this underserved community through powerful storytelling and intentional experiences. In this episode, you’ll hear DREION openly share his painful experience of entering foster care, why he holds a passion to advocate for foster care reform, the hope...
info_outline Episode 218: Deeper Than Sunday (w/ Desiree Jacobs)The Forgotten Podcast
I am so excited to bring you something a little bit different today. is letting us feature an episode of their podcast, , which featured one of our TFI Advocates, Desiree Jacobs. In this episode, you’ll hear about secondary trauma, being inconvenienced vs. overextended, and what it looks like to bridge the gap between a foster care agency and a church. I am grateful to Grace Church of San Diego for sharing this episode with us and allowing us to learn from their conversation! Get notified when TFI Advocate applications go live: Show Notes:
info_outline Episode 217: We Need Dads (w/ Joey Eells)The Forgotten Podcast
What comes to your mind when you hear the word fatherhood? My guest on the podcast today, , has a passion for fatherhood. When he became a father, he sought to step into that role in a way that would point his children toward their Heavenly Father. Joey is a foster and adoptive parent, and Children’s Pastor at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Illinois. In this episode, Joey discusses the role of fatherhood, the complicated relationship that often exists between foster and biological parents, the challenges of navigating the complex needs of children, how to model the love of...
info_outlineOur guest, Tony Whitley, is no stranger to foster care. Once a child in foster care, now a foster parent and TFI Advocate, he’s seen the court process from many sides, and he’s not running from it. Tony helps shed new light on court and the players involved in the system. Today’s conversation will help you walk into court informed, knowing the purpose of the hearing you’re attending, and what your role is in the process. Use this as your launchpad as you navigate your way through the court system.