Putting Puzzles Pieces Together w/Family of Origin

Part of a new limited series, this episode is about my mother of origin, Helen June. With help from cousin Sean McCarthy & nephew Drew Tandal, we dive into the emotions surrounding our journey of finding family of origin as well as how they see Helen in me.

Born In June, Raised In April: What Adoption Can Teach the World

Nationally recognized thought leader, April Dinwoodie, hosts a personal journey while exploring her adoption experience. We follow her as she examines her efforts to find love, identity, family, and connection. Each month April will candidly interview, discuss, and unravel, all matters surrounding adoption.

May 2023: An ode to Sandra D

Part of a new limited series, this episode celebrates my mother of experience, Sandra Dinwoodie. With the help from my older brother Jim and his wife Keiko, we dive into all the things our mom got right and they ways she continues to inspire the next generations.

Building a Better Support System, with Chelsea Sobolik

This week, we talk with Chelsea Sobolik, the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy for Lifeline Children’s Services. Lifeline Children’s Services assists families with international adoption in all 50 states, each of the U.S. territories and U.S. citizens living abroad. Lifeline also serves women in unexpected pregnancies and families through domestic adoptions. Chelsea tells us about the mission of Lifeline and how the organization is working to help provide better solutions for adoption and foster care to parents and children. You can find out more about Chelsea and follow her work on her website.

The intersection of Freedom & Adoption with Milton Washington

I sit with Korean American adoptee, Milton Washington. Orphaned and adopted at the age of eight, and brought to the States at the age of ten, Milton had plenty to say and stories to tell about his experiences in a new family, with a new language and new culture. This month we discuss the intersection between freedom and independence as it relates to adoption, family, and identity.

What We’ve Learned About Supporting Adoptions

On this week’s episode, we discuss the federal about-face on child support payment policies for youth in foster care; how the workforce crisis is impacting Texas juvenile justice; and the latest on localizing juvenile justice in California. 

Guest Interview Details

Debbie Riley, CEO and co-founder of the Center for Adoption Support and Education, joins us to talk about what we’ve learned about post-adoption support in America and the recent data on adopted youth returning to foster care unearthed by USA Today this year.

Reading Room

The Federal Government Will Allow States to Stop Charging Families for Foster Care https://bit.ly/3uC2rOz Coming Soon to Congress: Discussion on Child Support Clawback https://bit.ly/3oJjvgH Understaffed, and Under Federal Investigation, Texas Juvenile Detention System Halts Intake https://bit.ly/3uED1Q9 How Hidden Foster Care Harms Children and Parents of Color https://bit.ly/3OSneW1 The Imprint’s Hidden Foster Care Series https://imprintnews.org/special-series/hidden-foster-care California Budget Plan Supports Shifting Youth from State Prisons to Juvenile Halls, Amid Opposition https://bit.ly/3OxSPfx Los Angeles County Launches New Youth Development Department to Deter Crime https://bit.ly/3oaI0ol For tens of thousands of children in the U.S., their “forever family” doesn’t last long. USA TODAY investigates: Why do adoptions fail? https://bit.ly/3sPiveP Connections Matter: Relationships with Birth Families are Important for Foster, Adopted Children https://bit.ly/3NXdp7O Free Online Training Platform Launched for Adoption and Guardianship Workers https://bit.ly/3RkE4yu

June 2022: Fatherhood, Trauma, and Resilience with Derek Clark “The Rapping Dad”

I sit down with author, inspiring motivational speaker, and viral sensation, Derek “Rapping Dad” Clark! Derek and I discuss so much from foster care to fathering with so many poignant moments shared. And of course he wouldn’t be the “Rapping Dad” without dropping a rhyme or two!

DISCLAIMER: This episode contains challenging subject matter including violence, suicide, & sexual violence. Viewer discretion advised…

Mother’s Day and Adoption with Amira Rose Davis

April sits with transracially adopted person, Amira Rose Davis. Amira is the Assistant Professor of History, African American Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University. This month April and Amira discuss the intersections of Mother’s Day, Birthdays, and adoption. They also take time to share their thoughts around the recent abortion laws and tragic school shootings.

New Numbers on Broken Adoption and Child Maltreatment Registries

On this week’s podcast we discuss the recent series and data reporting by USA Today on youth who experience adoption from foster care and return to the system, the recent federal investigation on America’s use of Indian boarding schools; and news on lawsuits in Alaska and Indiana.

Guest Interview Details

Buzzfeed reporter Scott Pham joins to discuss his data reporting work on state-rund child abuse and neglect registries, which led him to conservatively estimate that 3 million people are currently on them.

Reading Room

Free registration! Tough Conversations: Navigating Relationships with Biological Family Sponsored by iFoster https://bit.ly/3NLFWxR For tens of thousands of children in the U.S., their “forever family” doesn’t last long. USA TODAY investigates: Why do adoptions fail? https://bit.ly/3sPiveP Bill Aims to Prevent Adoptive Parents from Abusing Subsidy Program https://bit.ly/39KP0nB Child Welfare Ideas from the Experts, #10: Better Policing of Adoption Subsidies https://bit.ly/3MCkdrH Time for New Numbers on Adoption Disruption https://bit.ly/3wA5tE8 A First, But Incomplete, Measure of Adoption Success https://bit.ly/38V0Pnj The U.S. Government Releases Landmark Investigation Into the Brutal Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools https://bit.ly/3sPBgyV Following Landmark Report on Indian Boarding Schools, Survivors Call on Congress for Broader Inquiry https://bit.ly/3Pcrro2 Lawsuit Alleges End to End Failures in Alaska’s Child Welfare System https://bit.ly/3Gnd9ND Firm Files Lawsuit Against Indiana’s Child Welfare System https://bit.ly/3wEBJFe 7th Circuit Dismisses 2019 Lawsuit Seeking Sweeping Changes to Indiana DCS Policies https://bit.ly/3PAgfSr Judges Toss Class Actions Against Ohio, West Virginia https://bit.ly/3ii6lpS “It’s Like A Leech On Me”: Child Abuse Registries Punish Unsuspecting Parents Of Color https://bit.ly/3G5YmGQ

April 2022: “Ask Me Anything” Edition

Host April Dinwoodie sits down with her producer to answer questions from listeners.  This episode April dives into all things identity, family, facing embracing differences and this month’s theme of naming & claiming as well as “April showers bring May flowers.”

We’re Adopted, Lucky Us? A conversation with Susan Ito

In this Women’s History Month episode host April Dinwoodie sits down with an amazing women, writer, editor, performer, teacher and adopted person, Susan Ito. Together they discuss the complex realities around what it means to be lucky in adoption as well as the importance of documenting narratives in adoption.

Love as a Verb with Hannah Jackson Matthews and Bret Matthews

In a month filled with love and rooted in Black History, I sit down with adult transracial adoptee Hannah Jackson Matthews and her husband, Bret Matthews. Hannah is a writer, educator and a champion of the healing and humanity of transracial adoptees. Together, the three of us discuss the complexities of love, racial identity, relationships, and transracial adoption.

2022: Reclaiming the Calendar with Adoptee Advocate, Haley Radke

For this January 2022 episode, I sit down with adoptee advocate and the creator and host of the Adoptees On, Haley Radke. Haley and I discuss how we, as adopted persons, often experience the calendar differently than non-adopted persons, and how adoption can teach the world about grief.

Rethinking ASFA, The Broward County Experiment and More with Corey Best

On this week’s podcast we break down the major legislation introduced last week by Rep. Karen Bass that would alter the controversial timelines around terminating parental rights in the Adoption and Safe Families Act. We also discuss a new waiver to use Medicaid in congregate care settings and good results for a strategy to prevent some foster care removals.

Guest Interview Details

We continue our conversation with Corey Best of Mining for Gold. In part two of this interview we talk about an experiment with changing the way maltreatment reports are handled in Broward County, Florida, his fears over racial disparity with the Family First Prevention Services Act, and more.

Reading Room

Historic Bill Would Remove Federal Requirement to Terminate Parental Rights in Some Cases https://bit.ly/3bPtNXq Feds Offer More Medicaid Support for New Congregate Model https://bit.ly/3BAb5Oe Team Decision Making May Empower Child Welfare Decision Making and Improve Outcomes for Families https://bit.ly/3BYwMaY A Complete Guide to The Family First Act https://bit.ly/2IoWNue Sponsor of today’s episode: Accenture Child Welfare Services: https://accntu.re/3CUV3j8 Institute for Family: Subscribe to the Institute’s new podcast series, Seen and Heard. https://podcasts.instituteforfamily.org/seen-and-heard/

Freedom to Discriminate: Breaking Down Fulton v. City of Philadelphia

On this week’s podcast, we discuss New York’s new legal path to visits for parents whose rights have been terminated; trends in juvenile incarceration; and the return of early child welfare legal advocacy to the city that birthed it.

Guest Interview Details

Christina Remlin, the lead counsel for Children’s Rights, help us break down the decision in the recent Supreme Court case over the right of faith-based child welfare providers to choose who they will work with based on religious beliefs.

Reading Room

A Better Future for Minnesota Families: How to Improve Support for Parents in Crisis and Youth in Foster Care www.bit.ly/MNFamilies New York Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Parent-Child Contact After Termination of Rights https://bit.ly/3czeRxl Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp/ Biennial Juvenile Incarceration Census Data Released https://bit.ly/3q7ltsI Early Child Welfare Legal Help Comes Back to The City That Invented It https://bit.ly/3iJKkB2 Supreme Court Says Philadelphia Violated Catholic Child Welfare Group’s First Amendment Rights https://bit.ly/3iLjit7

Post-Adoption America with April Dinwoodie

On this week’s podcast we discuss the tragic deaths of Ma’khia Bryant and Aviva Okeson-Haberman, the system clawing back social security from youth in foster care, and new research on termination of parental rights.

Guest Interview Details

April Dinwoodie joins us to discuss what we’ve learned (and what we haven’t) when it comes to supporting adoptions and guardianships in America, and what she thinks of the recent calls to repeal or revisit federal adoption legislation. 

Reading Room

‘We Should Not Be Here Today’: Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, Mourned, Celebrated at Her Funeral https://bit.ly/2QDY70u Remembering KCUR Reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman https://n.pr/3h1Xzwd Foster Care Agencies Take Thousands of Dollars Owed To Kids Most Children Have No Idea https://bit.ly/3vHyjPX Coming Soon to Congress: Discussion on Child Support Clawback https://bit.ly/3oJjvgH New Study Confirms High Prevalence of Investigations, Loss of Parental Rights https://bit.ly/32B1GXl Five Early-Career Researchers Selected for the William T. Grant Scholars Class of 2026 https://bit.ly/338y9Vo North Carolina D.A. Erases Criminal Records for Former Juvenile Offenders https://bit.ly/3dRhBY5 Former Foster Youth’s Bill Signed: At Every Washington State School, a Foster Care Coordinator https://bit.ly/3vyBFEE Profiles in Permanency https://bit.ly/3xRkgJs