In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered
In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered is a candid, compassionate look at the world of foster care and the people living it. Hosted by Shannon Enoch, Executive Director of Foster Care-to-Permanency with Children's Home Society of North Carolina, this podcast features real conversations with foster and adoptive families. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the joys, challenges, and complexities of fostering, offering honest insight and inspiration for anyone connected to, or curious about, the experience of fostering.
Episodes
14 episodes
The Greatest Journey: Navigating the Challenges and Joys of Foster Care
In this episode of "In Real Life Foster Care Unfiltered," Lauren and Joe, high school sweethearts from Connecticut, share their four-year journey as foster and adoptive parents. They discuss their motivations, the challenges of navigating agenc...
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49:26
Raising Kids Who Don’t Look Like You: Transracial Foster Care and Adoption
What does it really mean to raise children who don’t look like you? In this honest episode, host Shannon talks with foster and adoptive parents Ashley, Jeff, and Tori about the realities of transracial foster care and adoption — the joy, challe...
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1:03:32
How Can Ordinary Families Make an Extraordinary Impact Through Foster Care?
In this episode, Ashley shares how her family of seven became nine after a change in North Carolina law allowed larger families to foster. She describes the licensing process, welcoming two young siblings, and the challenges and joys of expandi...
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49:04
The Greatest Joys and Challenges of Fostering Teenagers
In this episode of In Real Life Foster Care Unfiltered, Shannon chats with Tara, a foster parent with 25 years’ experience. Tara shares her journey into fostering, her focus on supporting teenagers, and the importance of building a str...
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30:45
Foster Care and Adoption Real Talk on Reunification: Love, Loss, and Choosing ‘Yes’ Again
Foster and adoptive mom Tracey shares the real story behind foster care — love, loss, reunification, and the courage to say “yes” again. She talks about navigating reunification, the realities of transracial adoption, supporting children’s iden...
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39:22
The Greatest Challenge Facing Foster Care in NC: The Need for More Homes
In this episode of "In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered," leaders from Children’s Home Society of North Carolina discuss the urgent need for foster families, the realities faced by children in foster care, and common misconceptions about foste...
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39:08
The Heart of One: A Single Foster Parent’s Story of Love, Resilience, and Community
In this episode of In Real Life Foster Care Unfiltered, Theresa shares her personal journey into foster care, inspired by her father’s experience. As a single mom, she discusses the challenges and rewards of fostering, the importance o...
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Episode 8
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37:54
Love Makes a Family: Navigating Transracial Adoption in Foster Care
In this episode of In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered, Tori, a foster and adoptive parent, shares her powerful story of building a family through foster care and transracial adoption. A former educator, Tori opens up abou...
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Episode 7
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42:13
From Foster Care to Family Advocate: Mikaila’s Story of Resilience and Service
In this episode of In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered, Mikaila shares her powerful journey of entering foster care at age 12, the trauma of removal, and the life-changing impact of her first foster mom. Now a Family Recru...
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Episode 6
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39:43
Twelve, Tenacious & Triumphant: How Autumn Scored a Hole in One through Foster Care
12-year-old junior golfer Autumn and her adoptive father, Donnie, share their journey from foster care to adoption. Golf became a life-changing outlet for Autumn, helping her build confidence, mental resilience, and a positive outlook. With res...
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Episode 5
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38:28
Proof That One Is Enough: A Single Parent’s Foster Care Story
In this episode of "In Real Life: Foster Care Unfiltered," guest Tim shares his inspiring journey as a professional in child welfare, which leads to being a single foster parent and then adoptive parent, as well as a kinship provider. Tim recou...
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Episode 4
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43:42
How Fostering Helped One Family “Live the Dream”
In this episode, Bennie shares her family’s powerful foster care journey—how she and her husband felt called to foster, the impact on their biological son, and the joys and challenges of opening their home. She emphasizes the importa...
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Episode 3
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42:00
The Unexpected Joys of Becoming a Foster Granny in Your Golden Years
What happens when life takes an unexpected turn, and you still feel called to give back? In this inspiring episode, we meet a “Foster Granny” who began fostering after losing her husband. She shares the challenges and joys of openin...
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Episode 2
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52:02