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 crisis, she was immediately placed into foster care and would end up having 37 different homes in her lifetime. Because of the extensive trauma she endured growing up, Lucy always struggled to feel as though she belonged. But Lucy knows that her past doesn't define her future—and she's found comfort in knowing that God always has a purpose for her life.

Lucy is a devoted Christ-follower, author, and speaker. Her formative years were tumultuous due to a complex family situation and challenging circumstances in foster care, but despite all the adversity she's faced, Lucy has reclaimed her story. Today, she's inspiring others to embrace the life-changing hope and healing only Jesus can bring.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Lucy about how an unpredictable childhood can warp a child’s worldview and sense of belonging, some of the struggles children in foster care often face but may not verbalize, how Jesus is our true home and source of stability, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/lucy-baker-259/

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 of African American culture and identity, but white foster parents sometimes struggle to understand how to care for types and textures of hair that are unlike their own. And for some children, caring for their hair can be emotionally or physically painful if it has been neglected for a long time.

Nurturing a child’s hair is an essential part of transracial fostering or adoption, and that's why I'm so grateful our latest guest was able to join us.

After earning a master’s degree in social work, Authrine T.K. Singleton began a career in child welfare. Through her work, she saw the gap in support for African American children placed in foster and adoptive homes. In 2009, she opened Master’s Touch Salon to be a resource and support to these families.

In this episode, you’ll hear common mistakes to avoid when caring for the hair of an African American child, practical tips for creating an effective hair and skin care routine tailored to the child’s needs, why proper care and styling of hair is a crucial bonding experience, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/authrine-singleton-258/

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 topic can bring up worries around the answers your child may find, and how what they uncover could heal or hurt them.

My guests today have navigated these questions and concerns from the perspectives of an adoptive child, adoptive parent, and birth mom. Kyle Bullock was adopted as a baby by Ellyn Bullock and her husband. As a teen, he began to have questions about his birth mom and set out to find her. After a search on MySpace, he found Michelle Hubble and discovered answers about his past. What followed was a long and rich relationship with both his birth mom and adoptive parents.

In this episode, our guests dive into the importance of discovering your identity, the challenges of interracial adoption, advice for people who may want to seek out their birth parents but feel nervous, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/kyle-bullock-257/