Fostering Conversations with Utah Foster Care
Utah Foster Care guides real and raw conversations about parenting for bio, foster, adoptive or blended families to increase understanding of issues we all experience as families. Utah Foster Care's mission is to develop innovative strategies to help recruit, train, and retain foster families.
Episodes
In Episode 69, Amy Smith sits down with longtime foster and adoptive mom Crystal Dukes for a heartfelt conversation about the real purpose of foster care: reunification. Crystal shares her family’s journey fostering more than 30 children, adopting through both private adoption and foster care, and developing deep, lasting relationships with biological families.
This episode offers a candid, uplifting look at what it truly means to...In this episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith sits down with Michelle Ostmark, the Statewide Mentoring Coordinator for Utah Foster Care, to discuss the Utah Foster Care Mentoring Program and why it matters.
Michelle explains how the program pairs experienced foster parents with new or existing foster and kinship fa...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith sits down with Terumi Sagers, TBRI Specialist for Utah Foster Care, longtime foster parent, and adoptive parent. Together, they unpack the foundations of Trust‑Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)—a relationship‑centered, trauma‑informed caregiving approach developed by Dr. Karen Purvis and Dr. David Cross.
This conversation is filled with real‑life examples, practical tool...
Podcast: Fostering Conversations Host: Amy Smith Guest: Dave, Owner of Dave’s Auto
Episode Summary
In this heartfelt episode, Amy sits down with Dave Bell from Dave’s Auto Center to discuss his incredible journey of giving back to the community through Utah Foster Care and other charitable initiatives. Dave shares the deeply personal story of his mother’s childhood in an orphanage, how that shaped his v...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith talks with Utah Foster Care clinical support specialist and LCSW Les Harris about blocked care: why it happens, how it impacts foster parents, and practical steps to restore connection. Les explains how chronic stress can suppress the parenting response system, mak...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith welcomes Utah’s First Lady Abby Cox to announce the statewide launch of the Care Communities program. After a successful two-year pilot with Utah Foster Care, Care Communities are expanding across the state to provide essenti...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, guest host Liz Rivera guides a powerful dialogue with Native leaders and advocates about the importance of culture, tradition, and belonging for Native children in foster care.
You’ll hear from:
In this powerful episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith sits down with Sheri, a resilient young woman who aged out of Utah’s foster care system and is now thriving as a leader at Angels Landing Foundation. Sheri shares her deeply personal story from entering foster care at age 12 after bravely reporting abuse, to cycling through 13 foster homes, and ...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith and co-host Tami Carson welcome Melina Moore, Utah Foster Care’s Volunteer Services Manager. Melina shares how individuals and organizations can support foster families across the state—not by fostering, but by volunteering.
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Show Notes:
In this special Pride Month episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith and co-host Tami Carson (Director of Community Volunteers at Utah Foster Care) sit down with Adrienne, a longtime foster and adoptive parent and leader of the FLY Cluster—Fostering LGBTQ Youth.
Adr...
This week on Fostering Conversations, Amy and Heidi sit down with Rachel Garrett, Utah foster parent and founder of Common Thread, a nonprofit serving teens ages 12–18 who’ve experienced foster care or similar life circumstances. Rachel shares how a small community event grew into a thriving organization that now supports hundreds of teens through joy-filled activities, life skills workshops, mental health resources, and trauma-inf...
In this heartfelt episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy Smith is joined by guest co-host Jennie Shepherd, Director of Recruitment, as they welcome Celeste Edmonds—Executive Director of The Christmas Box International and author of Garbage Bag Girl.
Celeste shares her inspiring journey from growing up in foster care to leading an organization that supports children in need. She opens up about the impact of The Christmas Box H...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, we welcome Laura, the force behind the popular Instagram account @FosterParenting! Laura shares her journey into foster care, from a spark of interest as a teenager to becoming a foster parent and content creator. We discuss the realities of foster parenting, the importance of trauma-informed care, and the many ways people can support the foster care system—even if they’re not ready to fo...
Episode Summary: In this episode of Fostering Conversations, hosts Amy Smith and Liz Rivera sit down with Angela Tucker, adoptee advocate, mentor, and founder of the Adoptee Mentorship Program. Angela shares her journey from being adopted out of foster care to building a global community for adoptees to connect, heal, and grow.
They discuss:
- Angela’s experience growing up in a multiracial family.
- The challenges of identity and...
Episode Summary: In this powerful episode of Fostering Conversations, host Amy and co-host Liz Rivera welcome Daniela, founder of With Siblings. Daniela shares her unique perspective as a former biological child (“bio kid”) in a foster family and now as a foster/adoptive parent, social worker, and therapist. Together, they dive into the complex dynamics of supporting bio kids in foster and adoptive families, exploring t...
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, Amy and Liz are joined by Peter Mutabazi, also known as “Foster Dad Flipper” on Instagram. Peter shares his inspiring journey from being a street child in Uganda to becoming a foster parent in the United States. Over the past nine years, Peter has fostered 45 children, adopted three, and is currently fostering three more. He discusses the joys and challenges o...
*This episode was originally aired in December 2020
Episode Summary
Fostering Conversations with Utah Foster Care delves into the unique challenges foster families face during the holiday season. Hosts Deborah Lindner and Liz Rivera are joined by Dan Kammerlohr and Hope Nichols, counselors from Hope and Healing Counseling, to explore strategies for navigating the season’s complexities.
The episode highlights the emot...
In this episode of Fostering Conversations, hosts Deborah Lindner and Liz Rivera sit down with 15-year-old Freedom, a foster youth with a remarkable story of resilience, hope, and self-discovery. Freedom opens up about her experiences growing up in the foster care system, finding her forever family, and the challenges of fitting in as the only Black person in her adoptive family.
Highlights:
- Freedom’s Background...
In this episode of *Fostering Conversations*, hosts Deborah Lindner and Liz Rivera introduce a new initiative within Utah Foster Care: Care Communities. The program, a two-year pilot spearheaded by First Lady Abby Cox, aims to provide foster families with support teams comprised of community members, businesses, and religious organizations.
The discussion highlights the unique challenges foster parents face, including the emotional...
During a typical school day, our children can spend as much time in class as they do at home, which makes success at school all the more important. Tyler Bastian is director at Utah’s first farm-based charter high school and McKay Esplin is an LCSW and Utah Foster Care trainer.
In our latest episode, they offer insight on how parents and students can build and foster positive school rel...
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