ShiftED

Guest Anna Abraham shares about post adoption services and they can assist those who have used Gladney's adoption services. At Gladney, these services are for life. Placing a child for adoption means that a woman has relinquished her rights to the child which means she no longer has authority over the child. We don't believe that she "gave up" her child. We believe that she made a choice to say "I am no longer this child's parent". The most common question Anna hears from birth parents ... "when will we hear from the adoptive family again?"Services Offered to the Birth Parents:Help birth parents with counselingNavigate reunions with birth parents and the child placed for adoptionResources:Resilence Support Group by The Table DFWBirthmothers Amplified

Let us know your thoughts on the episode and if you have any questions for Haleigh! You can shoot us an email at shifted@gladney.orgJoin us on this auditory journey with ShiftED's hosts, Kerry & Amy, as we seek to educate and equip students and teachers with relevant information about adoption, child welfare, and culturally-relevant stories. We'll also have some fun along the way. ------------------

We're kicking off a new series for the next three episodes of ShiftED! If you've ever wondered what the adoption process actually looks like from start to finish from an expectant parent's perspective, tune in to the next three episodes of ShiftED!This episode marks Part I of “How to Make an Adoption Plan!” In this episode, we sit back down with Yvonne Muñoz who is an Options Counselor at the Gladney Center for Adoption. She walks us through the moment someone decides to reach out for help when they find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy and what comes next should they decide to make an adoption plan for their child. Yvonne's job is to talk with these parents in this brave and vulnerable moment of their journey and help them explore their options.Yvonne talks through common questions she gets when speaking to men and women who reach out to Gladney, the services Gladney can offer someone experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, and what getting started making an adoption plan looks like. While she doesn't cover the entire process in this episode, she lays the groundwork for Parts 2 & 3 of ShiftED to pick up and finish off the explanation of the adoption process. If you haven't listened to Episode 6 of ShiftED yet, Yvonne tells her story of becoming a teen mom and experiencing many of the challenges the parents she speaks with day to day are living. In this episode, she talks about how helpful and informative her experiences as a teen mom are when she's doing her job at Gladney.Let us know your thoughts on the episode and if you have any questions for Yvonne! You can shoot us an email at shifted@gladney.orgJoin us on this auditory journey with ShiftED's hosts, Kerry & Amy, as we seek to educate and equip students and teachers with relevant information about adoption, child welfare, and culturally-relevant stories. We'll also have some fun along the way. ------------------

In this episode of ShiftED, we get to hear Yvonne Muñoz share her story about becoming a teen mom while she was in high school. Yvonne works at Gladney now, but her story of being a teen mom plays into how she actually came to work in the social work field and how she ended up working for Gladney's team of Options Counselors!Yvonne tells us how finding out she was pregnant changed her world as a high school student. She details her experience in the hospital during labor, becoming a parent while still attending and finishing high school, navigating her relationship with her boyfriend, working to help financially support her son, and even moving out of her mom's house as a teenager!She finishes up the episode with some wisdom and advice for anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation to hers.Yvonne has an amazing story and is herself an incredible storyteller— we're sure you'll be captivated. Let us know your thoughts on the episode and if you have any questions for Yvonne! You can shoot us an email at shifted@gladney.org Join us on this auditory journey with ShiftED's hosts, Kerry & Amy, as we seek to educate and equip students and teachers with relevant information about adoption, child welfare, and culturally-relevant stories. We'll also have some fun along the way. ------------------

In this episode of ShiftED, we're continuing our 2-part Melson Marathon with Mark & Jennifer and their two daughters, Lilly & Maddie. First up, Mark, who we talked with in the last episode of ShiftED, joins his wife, Jennifer, for a conversation on why adoption is so special to their family. We get to hear their touching story of adopting through the Gladney New Beginnings program that facilitates matched adoptions through the Texas foster care system. They have some amazing insights to share.After that, we have a conversation with the Melson girls — Lilly & Maddie — about their experience in public education as high school students during the 2020-2021 school year. They also discussed their experiences and gave us some feedback on AdoptED's virtual classroom. They are wonderful public speakers — you'll see in their interview.If you missed the first part of this Melson Marathon, go back in the feed one episode to listen to our Career Day interview with Mark Melson about what it's like to run a non-profit organization as the President & CEO of the Gladney Center for Adoption. It's a good one!Link to Part 1Join us on this new, auditory journey with ShiftED's hosts, Kerry & Amy, as we seek to educate and equip students and teachers with relevant information about adoption, child welfare, and culturally-relevant stories. We'll also have some fun along the way. ------------------

In this episode of ShiftED, we're sitting down with Mark Melson, the President & CEO of the Gladney Center for Adoption. Mark is the first guest on a new ShiftED segment called, “Career Day!” where we sit down with different people and ask them all about their job, how they got to their job and the education path that took them to their job. Mark talks with us about what it's like to work in the field of adoption and lead a non-profit organization as its President & CEO. This episode of ShiftED is a special one because it marks the first part of a 2-part Melson Marathon that we're hosting on the podcast. Mark brought his family along and we have a couple more interviews with Mark and his wife, Jennifer, and then their two daughters, Lilly & Maddie — high school students who have gone through AdoptED's Virtual Classroom as students! Catch these last two segments in the next episode of ShiftED.Link to Part 2Join us on this new, auditory journey with ShiftED's hosts, Kerry & Amy, as we seek to educate and equip students and teachers with relevant information about adoption, child welfare, and culturally-relevant stories. We'll also have some fun along the way. ------------------ If you're pregnant and unsure of what to do, Gladney can help. Reach out to us by phone, text, chat or email to understand your options. A dedicated Gladney staff member is standing by with answers. https://gladneyadoption.com/ShiftED, presented by AdoptED, is produced and recorded by the Gladney Center for Adoption, a premier non-profit adoption agency located in Fort Worth, Texas. You can find out more about Gladney's mission and services at www.gladney.orgAdoptED is a program developed by Gladney that seeks to educate and empower students and teachers with knowledge about adoption and the choices a woman might face in an unplanned pregnancy. You can find out more about AdoptED and our new online, virtual classroom at www.adoption-education.com------------------

In this episode of ShiftED, we're talking with Noah Rodgers — AdoptED's content creator (like, the guy who made all the videos in our virtual classroom!). Noah walks us through how videos get made and why content is so important for AdoptED and its lessons. Plus, he has a pretty incredible story about a contest that he may or may not have won from a musical artist whose name you might recognize.

In this episode of ShiftED, we talk with the AdoptED educators — also known as Adoption Education Specialists — about what the program looks like on the ground. Kerry & Amy will walk you through a day in the life of a guest presenter going into schools all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex to present AdoptED's curriculum (when we still could). They'll also walk through the details of preparing and transitioning to a virtual learning environment. Also get ready for a hilarious story involving baby dolls, trunks, and daycare teachers.

In this episode of ShiftED, we talk with Jennifer Lanter, VP of Communications & Education at the Gladney Center for Adoption, and creator of AdoptED, about the history behind the program called AdoptED. We figured we'd start from the top so we're all on the same page right from the beginning of our little podcasting adventure.