Adoptees Crossing Lines Podcast

Blue graphic stating that Madison College opened a $10M early learning campus so parents don’t have to choose between school and childcare. Handle @adopteescrossinglines shown.

Blue graphic stating that when childcare is affordable and accessible, families stay together. Text notes parents can attend class while children stay with caregivers. Handle shown.

Blue graphic stating that the family policing system often intervenes after families are already stretched thin due to childcare, housing, and economic stress.

Blue graphic stating that keeping children with their families requires material support, not investigations. Text mentions childcare, housing, and income stability reduce system involvement.

A college in Wisconsin opened a new early learning campus for students who have children.

Support changes outcomes.

#adopteesky

😂😂😂

Blue background graphic with white text stating: “Florida is advancing a bill after children were taken from their parents, not because of abuse, but because a rare medical condition was misread as abuse.” Below, highlighted text reads: “This isn’t an isolated mistake.” The final line states: “It’s how the family policing system operates.” The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Source listed at the bottom: South Santa Rosa News, Jan 30, 2026.

Blue background graphic with white text explaining that a Florida couple’s twins were removed after doctors misinterpreted symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome as abuse. Despite medical evidence, the state intervened and the children were placed with a relative. Highlighted text states that the parents are now limited to supervised visits with their own children. The slide notes that “Patterson’s Law” would allow parents to request a second medical opinion before abuse conclusions are finalized. The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Source listed at the bottom.

Blue background graphic with white text stating that family policing investigations often treat uncertainty as danger, especially when families do not fit narrow medical or social profiles. The slide explains that rare conditions, disabilities, and chronic illness are frequently misread as neglect or harm. A list follows: families separated, surveillance justified, and trauma reframed as protection. The final lines state: “This is not about one doctor. It’s about power and discretion.” The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Source listed at the bottom.

Blue background graphic stating that a law allowing second medical opinions may reduce harm in some cases but does not address the deeper issue. Highlighted text explains that families must prove innocence after removal instead of being supported before harm occurs. The slide concludes: “Changes that react after separation is not prevention. It is damage control.” The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Source listed at the bottom.

When uncertainty is treated as danger, families pay the price.

This post looks at a new law, and what it does and doesn’t address.

#adopteesky

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot — A Critical Review Is Sound of Hope inspiring, or adoption propaganda? A deep dive into the Possum Trot Texas church, foster care narratives, and family policing.

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot is called inspiring.

But what happens when we examine it through the lens of family separation, faith-based adoption, & the Christian foster care movement?

This is a critical review grounded in lived experience.

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot celebrates 77 adoptions.

But most children enter the system for “neglect” — often poverty.

If churches can mobilize adoption, they can mobilize resources to keep families together.

New episode out now:
pod.link/1651229727

Episode co-hosted with J.

Alternatives to Foster Care: What Real Safety Actually Looks Like What are real alternatives to foster care? Learn how mutual aid, housing, and guaranteed income prevent child removal and support families.

The Black Panthers built free breakfast programs.
The Young Lords took over hospitals.

We’ve seen what community-based safety looks like.

This piece explores real alternatives to foster care, and why safety begins with resources, not reports.

Link below.

buff.ly/YtyCAXd

#adopteesky

Blue background with dark purple and white text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Hotlines are not a safety plan. Surveillance is not protection.” Arrow icon in lower corner.

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Real safety looks like: stable housing, guaranteed income, accessible childcare, disability accommodations, mental health care without fear, community-based support. Safety begins with resources, not reports.” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with white text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Real safety means: A parent asking for help and not being investigated. A child struggling and receiving support, not a case file. Poverty treated as a policy failure, not a parenting flaw.” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with dark purple and white text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “We have confused control with care. Real safety is stability. Real safety is material support. Real safety is community. Safety is not separation. It never was.” Arrow icon in corner.

Real safety is housing, income, childcare, and support before crisis.

It’s not investigation.
It’s not removal.

Safety is not separation.

Thank you for joining me this Black History Month as I broke down the family policing system! 🫶🏾

#adopteesky

One Church One Child operates in 30+ states. In Florida, it played a role in my adoption.

Churches aren’t taxed.

Adoption is a legal transfer of parental rights, backed by the state.

Follow the money.

Episode co-hosted with J (@itsjway.bsky.social), a survivor of the system.

#adopteesky

“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time."

— James Baldwin

What Child Welfare Abolition Actually Means What is child welfare abolition? Learn how abolition differs from reform and why ending family separation doesn’t mean ignoring harm.

Abolition scares people.
Forced family separation should.

Abolition doesn’t mean ignoring harm.
It means ending systems built on surveillance and removal.

I wrote about what it actually means.

buff.ly/6q2ddR8

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Abolition scares people. Forced family separation should. If separation has been normalized, of course abolition will sound radical.” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Abolition does not mean ignoring harm, leaving children unsafe, or ending support. It means ending systems built on surveillance, punishment, and forced removal.” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Abolition shifts the response from investigation to material support, reporting to community care, removal to stability, case plans to resources. It asks: What would safety look like if families had housing, income, healthcare, and childcare first?” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Abolition is not chaos. It is a refusal to accept poverty, disability, and racial bias as grounds for separation. It is building safety without coercion. It is care without surveillance.” Arrow icon in corner.

Abolition sounds radical because family separation has been normalized.

Forced removal is legal.

Building safety without coercion is what scares people?

#adopteesky

There is not one single example of transnational #adoption that isn't tied to either colonialism, war, occupation, genocide, stolen land or good old fashioned money. No country has ever entered the transnational adoption industry because they wanted to help children. 🥚

In Possum Trot adoptive families are struggling financially.

Love alone doesn’t raise children.

Episode co-hosted with J (@itsjway.bsky.social), a survivor of the system and editor of the show.

#adopteesky

Why Child Welfare Reform Keeps Failing Why does child welfare reform keep failing? Explore how CPS reform efforts leave surveillance and removal intact, and why change requires more than rebranding.

Why does family policing reform keep failing?

Because the foundation never changes.

New trainings.
New policies.
Same surveillance.
Same removal.

I broke it down here. ⬇️

buff.ly/6i2TiQy

#adopteesky

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Why do ‘reforms’ keep failing? Because the foundation never changes. You can’t reform a system built on surveillance and separation into one that produces safety.” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text lists: new policies, new training requirements, bias workshops, “family preservation” programs, hotlines renamed, agencies rebranded. Bottom text: “Removal numbers remain high. Racial disparities remain. Surveillance remains.”

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “Reforms usually adjust paperwork, timelines, case planning language, reporting standards. They don’t change who gets separated or what the system is funded to do. You can’t tweak your way out of a structure designed for control.” Arrow icon in corner.

Blue background with white and dark purple text. Header reads @adopteescrossinglines. Text: “When reforms leave surveillance, punishment, and removal intact, harm continues, just with softer language. If the goal is safety, we have to move beyond reform. We have to rethink the structure itself.” Arrow icon in corner.

Reforms adjust paperwork.
They don’t change who gets surveilled or separated.

That’s why the cycle repeats.

If the structure stays the same, the harm does too.

#adopteesky

Title IV-E Foster Care Funding and the Budget for Removal Title IV-E foster care funding reimburses states for placement. Here’s how federal funding structures removal vs support in family policing.

Title IV-E foster care funding is uncapped.
Prevention funding is capped.

Removal has a guaranteed stream.
Support does not.

I broke down how federal reimbursement shapes family separation policy.

buff.ly/UUv5iSU

Blue background with white and dark purple text. The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Large text reads: “Removal has a budget. Family separation is funded. Follow the money.” A right arrow icon appears in the corner indicating a swipe.

Blue background with white and dark purple text. The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Text reads: “Under federal law: Title IV-E funding for foster care is uncapped. States are reimbursed for each eligible child placed. Adoption bonuses reward finalized adoptions.” At the bottom in dark purple text: “Separation has a guaranteed stream. Support does not.”

Blue background with white and dark purple text. The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Text reads: “When a child is removed: States can receive thousands per month in federal reimbursement for foster care placement.” Below: “When a family needs: Rent help. Childcare. Food support. Disability accommodations.” At the bottom in dark purple text: “The system pays reliably for removal.”

Blue background with white and dark purple text. The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top. Text reads: “Black children are overrepresented in foster care nationwide. When removal is easier to fund than assistance, racial disparities don’t just happen. They’re structured.” At the bottom: “Follow the money.”

Removal has a budget.

Title IV-E foster care funds are uncapped.
Prevention funds are capped.

If separation is easier to fund than rent support, what outcome do you think we get?

Follow the money.

#adopteesky

Is Foster Care Safe? A System Level Look We examine foster care outcomes, separation trauma, and financial incentives to answer one question: is foster care safe?

We’re told foster care equals safety.
But the data tells a more complicated story.

I wrote about placement instability, long term outcomes, and why family separation is never neutral.

If you care about truth over slogans, this one’s for you.

buff.ly/cu85gtD

#adopteesky

Blue background with white and dark purple text that reads: “Foster care is not a neutral outcome.” Below it: “It’s often framed as: ‘safety’ ‘rescue’ ‘better than abuse.’ But inside the family policing system, foster care is not a blank slate.” The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Blue background with white and dark purple text that reads: “Neutral would mean:” followed by bullet points: “No racial disparities. No poverty based removals. No disability bias. No financial incentives tied to placement.” Below in dark purple text: “But that’s not what we see. Black families, poor families, disabled parents, and system impacted families are separated at higher rates. That isn’t random.”

Blue background with white and dark purple text that reads: “Foster care doesn’t start on its own.” Below: “It comes after:” followed by bullet points: “Surveillance. Investigations. Risk labeling. Case planning.” At the bottom in dark purple text: “By the time removal happens, foster care is presented as the only option.”

Blue background with white and dark purple text that reads: “Family separation is trauma. We know this.” Below: “If safety were the goal, we would fund housing, childcare, healthcare, and real support, not investigation and removal.” At the bottom in dark purple text: “Foster care is not neutral. It is a product of a system that responds to need with punishment.”

Foster care isn’t a neutral outcome.

It’s the result of surveillance, investigation, and escalation, and it disproportionately impacts Black families.

Black History Month means naming that truth.

#adopteesky

New episode out today!

In Losing Isaiah, a Black mother says, “Look at my face. I’m his mother.”

She’s answered with: “An animal giving birth doesn’t make it a mother.”
That’s not a debate. It’s dehumanization.

Episode co-hosted with J (@itsjway.bsky.social).

Bright blue background. At the top center is the handle “@adopteescrossinglines” in white. Large dark purple text reads: “Mandatory reporting is often framed as protection.” Below a soft shadow divider, large white text reads: “In practice, it’s a surveillance tool, and it doesn’t keep families safe.” White curved arc shapes appear in the top right and bottom left corners. A white circular arrow icon appears on the right side, indicating to swipe.

Bright blue background with white curved arc shapes in the top left and bottom right corners. The handle “@adopteescrossinglines” appears at the top in white. Large white text reads: “Teachers, doctors, therapists, and social workers are required to report suspicions, not proof.” The phrase “report suspicions, not proof” is emphasized in dark purple. Below, white text reads: “That means:” followed by bullet points: “A concern can become a report,” “A report can trigger an investigation,” and “An investigation can escalate quickly.” At the bottom, dark purple text reads: “Families are rarely told who reported them. There is often no way to contest it, without an attorney.”

Bright blue background with white curved arc shapes in the top right and bottom left corners. The handle “@adopteescrossinglines” appears at the top in white. White text reads: “Mandatory reporting doesn’t affect everyone equally.” Below, stacked white text reads: “Black families. Disabled parents. Poor families.” Beneath a shadow divider, white text reads: “Bias shapes what looks like ‘risk.’” Additional white text says: “The same behavior can be:” followed by bullet points: “Care for some families” and “Neglect for others.” At the bottom, dark purple text reads: “Once a report is made, the system takes over.” A white circular arrow icon appears on the right side.

Bright blue background with white curved arc shapes in the top left and bottom right corners. The handle “@adopteescrossinglines” appears at the top in white. Large dark purple text reads: “Mandatory reporting discourages people from seeking support.” Below, white text reads: “Parents avoid:” followed by bullet points: “Doctors,” “Schools,” and “Therapists.” Beneath, white text reads: “because asking for support can invite investigation.” At the bottom, dark purple text reads: “Safety requires trust. Surveillance erodes it.” A white circular arrow icon appears on the right side.

Mandatory reporting is framed as safety.

In practice, it often functions as surveillance.

This post breaks down why that matters.

#adopteesky

New episode out Friday!

In Losing Isaiah, institutional power gets reframed as compassion.

A social worker’s access is treated as care, not control, despite a clear power imbalance.

The film makes manipulation look kind.

Episode co-hosted with J (@itsyagirl_jway).

Bright blue background with white curved corner accents. Large dark purple text reads, “Medical concern is often treated as evidence.” Below, white text reads, “For disabled children and parents, that can mean investigation, not care.” Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Bright blue background with white curved accents. White text lists reasons families are reported, including rare or misunderstood conditions, injuries tied to disability or chronic illness, missed appointments due to access barriers, disagreements with providers, and poverty-related limits on care. Dark purple text at the bottom states that once “medical neglect” is named, the family policing system is often brought in. Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Bright blue background with white curved accents. White text lists groups most impacted: disabled children, disabled parents, Black families, and families with rare conditions. A section titled “Bias matters” lists that pain is not believed, symptoms are misread, and parenting decisions are questioned. Dark purple text at the bottom reads, “Medical authority carries weight, even when it’s wrong.” Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Bright blue background with white curved accents. White text explains that when medicine and family policing overlap, care turns into surveillance. A list states families must prove they are attentive, compliant, and informed enough. Dark purple text at the bottom reads that disability and illness do not make families unsafe but do make families visible to the system. Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Medical concern is often treated as risk.

For disabled families, that can mean surveillance instead of care.

This post breaks that down.

#adopteesky

Thank you for sharing my writing.

Thank you for supporting and engaging. 🩵

Neglect vs Poverty: When Unmet Needs Become a CPS Case “Neglect” often means unmet needs, not harm. This neglect vs poverty guide explains the CPS pipeline, compliance traps, and punishment instead of support.

“Neglect” is often poverty with a case number.

I wrote about how unmet needs become CPS cases, and why that matters.

buff.ly/TMXEp6w

Losing Isaiah relies on a familiar image: the “unfit” Black mother. What gets erased is poverty, lack of support, and a system that separates families first. Most removals are for “neglect,” not abuse.

New episode Friday.
Episode co-hosted with J (@itsjway.bsky.social).

I’m just imagining how many families could have been supported to remain intact with the money spent on this ad.

Adoption is a capitalistic enterprise. This isn’t about giving pregnant people options; it’s about the “domestic supply of infants” not currently meeting demand.

The Family Policing System Is Part of Black History The family policing system hides behind “child welfare.” Learn how CPS surveillance, neglect labels, and bias drive family separation, especially for Black families.

Family separation is not a failure of individual parents.
It’s a historical tool.

This essay breaks down how the family policing system operates through surveillance, and why understanding it is part of Black history.

Read it here ⬇️

buff.ly/XDG8ucd

#adopteesky

Blue graphic with text stating that stealing children does not start with foster care and often begins with surveillance long before a case is opened. Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Blue graphic explaining that surveillance does not always feel like punishment and can include schools calling CPS, hospitals flagging parents, social workers documenting parenting choices, or neighbors making reports. Text notes most of this happens without parents knowing. Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Blue graphic stating that surveillance is not evenly distributed. Text explains that Black families, disabled parents, and poor families are watched more closely and that the same behavior may be labeled “stress” for some families and “risk” for others. Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Blue graphic explaining that by the time removal happens, the decision often feels inevitable, not because harm was proven, but because surveillance created a record. Text states that investigation is often the response to need, not danger. Handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the top.

Family separation doesn’t start with removal.

It starts with surveillance.

This post explains how families are watched long before a case is opened.

#adopteesky