Empowering Voices: Navigating the Complex Emotions of Birth Kids in Foster Care

Behind the Curtain: Honest Conversations about Foster Care and Adoption

What happens when a birth kid grows up in a foster and adoptive family and becomes an advocate for others in similar situations? Daniela Coates, a licensed social worker, adoptive mother, and foster parent, shares her personal and professional journey with us. Through her organization, With Siblings, Daniela is doing groundbreaking work by focusing on the voices and experiences of birth children in foster and adoptive families. Her insights shed light on the complex emotional landscape that these kids navigate and the importance of support systems that truly see and hear them.
Join us as Daniela opens up about the struggles she faced as a child, feeling invisible amid new family dynamics and grappling with the challenges of being a pastor's child. She recounts the poignant memories of saying goodbye to foster siblings and how these experiences led her to embrace fostering formally. Daniela’s story is one of resilience, highlighting the balance and fulfillment that fostering can bring, even in the face of temporary relationships.
As the conversation continues, we delve into the universal emotions of feeling unseen, as depicted in Daniela's book "The Day Lily Turned Uninvisible." We explore the duality of emotions birth kids experience, the importance of empowering their voices, and the need for open dialogue about the hard truths in foster care narratives. Daniela's journey from agency work to creating a global support network underscores the significance of addressing these nuanced family dynamics with empathy and understanding. Tune in to learn how Daniela's work can inspire more comprehensive conversations about the mental health and well-being of all children in the foster care system.

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1. Kids in Foster Care Journey (00:00:00)

2. Identity Crisis in Foster Care (00:09:47)

3. Forever Fostering (00:18:04)

4. Navigating Birth Kids' Complex Emotions (00:31:56)

5. Empowering Birth Kids' Voices and Stories (00:42:04)

6. Universal Emotions in Family Dynamics (00:49:50)