Foundational Connections

09/01/2026

Signs your kid is being raised by the public defense community:

At back-to-school night, Danny’s new kindergarten teacher was asking him who the important people in his life are so she could make sure everyone was included in class updates.

Danny starts rattling them off: Mom. Dad. Auntie. Sisters.
And, naturally, his lawyer.

His teacher stopped.

“…Your lawyer?”

I explained that yes, Danny does, in fact, have an attorney.

She looked mildly alarmed and informed me that, in all her years teaching, this was officially the first time she’d had a kindergartener with an attorney on retainer.

Danny, completely unfazed, just shrugged, gave her his giant cheesy grin and said:

“You can never be too careful.”

Then ran off to play.

Sir. You are five.

Kindergarten hasn’t even started and apparently he has already retained counsel. 😂

08/28/2026

What a powerful perspective on adoption!

I’m an adoptive mother, and I don’t think my name should have replaced hers on my children’s original birth certificates.

I know that might make some adoptive parents uncomfortable.

But the longer I parent adopted children, the more strongly I feel about it.

When an adoption is finalized, we become their legal parents. I understand that. I am their mother. My husband is their father. We have every legal responsibility and every legal right that comes with being their parents.

But I wasn’t there when they were born.

I didn’t carry them.

I didn’t give birth to them.

My name wasn’t on the birth certificate created when they entered this world.

Another woman’s was.

And adoption doesn’t make that untrue.

Here in North Carolina, when an adoption is finalized, a new birth certificate is created. The adoptive parents are listed as the parents, there is no reference to the adoption on that certificate, and the original birth certificate becomes part of the sealed adoption record.

And honestly?

I think we can do better.

I don’t understand why becoming my child’s legal mother requires replacing a piece of their history.

Why couldn’t their original birth certificate stay exactly what it was?

A record of their birth.

A record of who gave birth to them.

A record of where their story began.

Then add me.

Create an amended certificate. Create an adoption certificate. Create something that legally establishes my husband and me as their parents without pretending the first page of their story never existed.

These are your birth parents. These are your adoptive parents. Both things are true.

Because they are.

My motherhood does not become smaller because another woman’s name exists on a piece of paper.

I don’t need her erased for me to be Mom.

And maybe that’s the part we need to talk about more.

Adoption added me to my children’s stories.

It did not make me the beginning of them.

There were people before me. There were names before mine. There is DNA and heritage and medical history and family history. There are people whose noses they may have and whose laugh may come out of them someday and stop me in my tracks.

There is an entire story that began before I ever held them.

That doesn’t threaten me.

It belongs to them.

And I think adopted children deserve as much access to their own truth as we can possibly give them.

Because these little children eventually become adults.

One day they may want to know whose eyes they have.

They may want to know where their middle name came from.

They may need a medical history.

They may want to see the document that recorded the day they were actually born and know exactly whose names were written there.

They may want answers to questions they haven’t even thought to ask yet.

And those answers belong to them.

Not to me.

That’s something I think we adoptive parents have to be willing to sit with.

Adoption gives us an enormous amount of authority over someone else’s story at a time when they are often far too young to have any say in what happens to it.

Names can change. Legal relationships change. Records change.

But the child’s actual history doesn’t.

And I know this is complicated. I know there are safety concerns in some cases. I know adoption laws exist for reasons far more complicated than I could fit into one Facebook post, and I’m certainly not pretending I have the perfect legislative answer.

I just believe there has to be a better way.

A way to legally recognize adoptive parents without replacing the historical record of a child’s birth.

A way to say both happened.

Because I want my children to have all of their story someday.

The beautiful parts.

The painful parts.

The parts I wish with everything in me I could change for them.

The people who came before me.

And me.

All of it.

I don’t want my children to ever believe that loving me requires pretending another mother didn’t exist.

And I certainly don’t want them to someday discover that I needed anything about her erased so I could feel secure in my place as their mother.

I didn’t.

I don’t.

I don’t need to be written over her to know that I’m their mom.

She gave birth to them.

I became their mother through adoption.

Both are true.

Both belong in their story.

Maybe it’s time our paperwork learned how to hold both truths too.

Because adoption can change who is legally responsible for raising a child.

It shouldn’t have to change the truth about how their story began.

08/18/2026

This is wonderful!

On a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon, the Tribal Sons Native American group residing at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton held its annual powwow for nearly 200 attendees. Prayer, song, dance, and drums filled the air, as bells and cones jingled and beaded moccasins carved a path on the newly landscaped grounds.

Special thanks to those who participated and made this possible, including our volunteers and community sponsors, and our contractor Unkitawa who oversees all services for the state's incarcerated Native American population.

08/08/2026

Please help spread the word!

Thrive Center Spokane has rooms available for families displaced by the fires.

You do not need to be a refugee or an immigrant. You do not need a referral. You do not need to prove income. If the fires took your housing, or you can't get back home because of them, you're eligible.

Our current residents aren't going anywhere to make this happen. They're refugee and immigrant families who lost their own homes to war and disaster, and many of them have lived through some version of this week. There's room for both. That's what a 153-room building is for.

Rooms are $40/night for a single and $65/night for a suite that sleeps 3–7, the cost of keeping the building open. Thrive is a nonprofit, and this is not a fundraiser. If you can't pay, say so on the form. You still get a room, and our staff will help you find emergency assistance.

Private bath, laundry, wifi, and parking.

Fill out the form and our staff will call within 72 hours:
https://thriveint.org/emergency-housing

Please share this. The person who needs it may not be the person who follows us.

08/07/2026

While the fires continue to burn and the greater Spokane community struggles with their impact, we also continue to see inspiring stories of people who make the choice to show up and help.

I especially love that this story highlights employment opportunities for incarcerated individuals while recognizing the power of rehabilitation, second chances, and the opportunity to give back to the community.

08/06/2026

We’ve been working behind the scenes!

Our website just got a fresh update with a cleaner look, easier navigation, and more information about the services we provide. Whether you’re looking for mitigation services, private investigations, expert consulting, or training, we’d love for you to take a look.

www.foundationalconnections.com

Thank you to everyone who continues to support Foundational Connections. We appreciate every referral, every client, and every opportunity to make a difference.

If you know someone who could benefit from our services, we’d be grateful if you’d share our page!

Looking for professionals to help with social work, home study, mitigation, private investigations, or family advocacy? Get the help you need today.

08/02/2026

Very proud of Jeanette for speaking her truth. As one of the leaders of the social workers’ union, she does an excellent job articulating both sides of this issue with thoughtfulness and integrity. I had the privilege of attending the academy with her and serving alongside her for several years. It’s been wonderful to watch her continue advocating for others.

The chair of the Washington Federation of State Employees DCYF Policy Committee is speaking out about failures with the Keeping Families Together Act (KFTA), which she says are leading to unnecessary …

08/01/2026

Sometimes I have to stop and appreciate how surreal life is.

Many of these books have been sitting on my shelves for years. They’ve helped shape how I think about criminal justice, psychology, victimology, investigations, and behavioral science.

Now I get to help write and publish new OER-funded college textbooks for future criminal justice students.

Making quality educational resources available without the high cost of traditional textbooks is something I genuinely believe in, and I’m honored to be part of the project.

Here’s to helping the next generation of investigators, advocates, attorneys, psychologists, and criminal justice professionals.

07/29/2026

An amazing new resource for families in Spokane and Whitman Counties!

07/29/2026

Progress- next step is federal recognition!

The Washington State Senate has officially adopted Senate Resolution 8690, recognizing and honoring the Chinook Indian Nation for its enduring history, culture, and contributions to the Pacific Northwest.

Passed on March 9, 2026, the bipartisan resolution recognizes the Chinook people’s historic role in trade, diplomacy, and stewardship along the lower Columbia River and Pacific Coast. Tribal leaders, including Chairman Tony Johnson and Vice Chairman Sam Robinson, were present in Olympia as the Senate approved the resolution.

The resolution serves as a formal legislative recognition of the Chinook Indian Nation’s historical and cultural significance. However, it does not create legal state-recognized tribal status, as Washington does not have a formal process for state tribal recognition.

The Chinook Indian Nation continues to seek federal recognition, a separate process under U.S. law. Tribal leaders have said they hope the Senate’s action will help build support for future congressional legislation recognizing the Nation at the federal level.

The resolution highlights the Chinook Nation’s enduring presence and the continuing importance of preserving Indigenous history and culture throughout the Pacific Northwest.

How can legislative recognition help increase public understanding of Indigenous history while broader recognition efforts continue? 🪶


SOURCES
• Washington State Senate — Senate Resolution 8690.
• Chinook Indian Nation — Official statements following adoption of SR 8690.
• Washington State Legislature — Senate Journal and resolution record.