Transracial Adoption:

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• Transracial Adoption
• Race Matters

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What Is Transracial Adoption?

• Transracial adoption (TRA) means placing a child
  who is of one race or ethnic group with adoptive
  parents of another race or ethnic group.
• In the United States, this term usually refers
  to the placement of children of color or children
  from another country with Caucasian adoptive
  parents.

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Hot Topic of Debate

• Supporters
• believed that spending more time in out-of-home
  care was more detrimental to the child when
  compared to the alleged harm the child will
  suffer from a transracial placement.
• Opponents
• argue that adoptive parents can not adequately
  prepare their children of color for the racial
  realities they are bound to encounter outside
  their homes of one race or ethnic group with
  adoptive parents of another race or ethnic group.
  

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The Problem

• Disproportional minority representation in the
  child welfare system has been a major concern for
  decades.
• Research suggests an apparent disparity in the
  proportion of Caucasian children and children of
  color in the system.

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A Possible Solution

• Most commonly cited factors for
  overrepresentation are related to
• Poverty
• Isolation
• Substance abuse
• Child abuse
• Racial discrimination
• While these socioeconomic factors play a role in
  the overrepresentation, differential treatment
  and services provided by the child welfare system
  also contribute to the problem. Children of
  color have limited access to the services offered
  by the system. When compared to Caucasian
  children, minority children spend more time in
  out-of-home care and tend to have a less likely
  chance of achieving permanency. Recognizing the
  improvements needed to reduce the
  disproportionate number of minority children in
  the child welfare system, transracial adoptions
  emerged as a possible solution.

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Race Matching

• Placing Children with Same Race Families

Prior to the rise in transracial adoptions, the
matching of children with potential adoptive
parents occurred largely on the basis of
race. The principle goal of race matching was
to create families in which adoptive parents
looked as though they could be the adopted
childs biological parents.
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Developing Trends
NABSW

• 1950s
• Post WWII Japanese and Chinese
• Post Korean War Koreans
• 1960s
• African Americans

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In 1972, the National Association of Black Social
Workers (NABSW) issued a position paper, which
essentially condemned the adoption of black
children by white families. Black children in
white homes are cut off from the healthy
development of themselves as black peopleWe have
committed ourselves to go back to our communities
and work to end this particular form of
genocide. NABSW explained that transracial
placements prevent black children from forming a
strong racial identity and prevent them from
developing survival skills necessary to deal with
a racist society. As a result, adoption
agencies nationwide used the position paper as a
justification for implementing or continuing
race-matching practice.

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Supply Demand
CAUCASIAN
MINORITY
AVAILABLE PARENTS
AVAILABLE CHILDREN
AVAILABLE PARENTS
AVAILABLE CHILDREN
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MULTIETHNIC PLACEMENT ACTOF 1994 (MEPA)

• 3 Main Purposes
• Decrease length of time children waited to be
  adopted
• Prevent discrimination based on race, color
  and/or national origin when making foster care
  and adoptive placements
• Facilitate identification and Recruitment of
  culturally diverse and minority adoptive families
  to meet children needs

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Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption of
1996 (IEP)

• Repealed MEPA
• Deleted Permissible Consideration
• Removed language from MEPA
• A person or government that is involved in
  adoption or foster care placements may not(a)
  categorically deny to any individual the
  opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster
  parent, solely on the basis of race, color, or
  national origin of the individual, or the child
  involved or (b) delay or deny the placement of a
  child for adoption or into foster care or
  otherwise discriminate in making a placement
  decision, solely on the basis of race, color, or
  national origin of the adoptive or foster parent,
  or the child, involved.

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Common Goal

• Noticing the lack of better alternatives,
  opponents began to gradually accept the practice
  itself, though still questioning the ability of
  effectively parenting a transracial adoptee.
• While debates continue regarding the importance
  of race in America, both sides agree that their
  primary goal is the best interests of the child

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Best Interests of a Transracial Adoptee

• Despite the controversial fluctuation of
  transracial adoptions, the practice continues.
  Recognizing conflicting attitudes is a start
  towards the success of transracial adoptions.
• However, since the widespread acceptance alone is
  not the solution to achieving the best interests
  of a child, extensive studies should be conducted
  to determine to what extent the law can interfere
  with parenting a transracial adoptee. The lack
  of effective parenting, not the actual
  transracial adoption, is what compromises the
  best interests of a child.

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• Transracial
• Adoption
• The End