[angeluv]

Just one more thing......along with including non-white faces, agencies also need to make the community at-large aware that length of time for placement may also be different because all that we see in the media, i.e. news/documentary stories, movies, etc. is that the length of time for adoption can be 2-3 years and yes...that's true when adopting a CA infant through an agency. If agencies are truly seeking out adoptive parents for AA and Bi-racial infants, they need to gear their advertising to the facts that apply to AA and Bi-racial adoption. If people thought it would take less time.....they might be more apt to seek out further information. As I stated in my earlier post....I too unaware about the adoption of AA children until I did research when natural means of conception didn't seem to be an option for us. I was so excited as are most people we tell that there are plenty of infants and it doesn't take a lifetime to adopt an AA infant. My question has always been....why did I have to do the research.......why aren't the agencies publicizing the facts that make AA infant adoptions so appealing? Aside from using advertising that's multi-cultural, why not also use advertising that targets the AA community. The agency we used does an excellent job of including faces of various ethnic backgrounds on their website and their general communication pieces but if you make an inquiry and let it be known you're interested in adopting an AA or Bi-racial infant....their materials are designed to address the process as it relates to an AA infant which I think is helpful. ( I'm not speaking in terms of cost because the agency doesn't subscribe to cost differentials by race. ) But it helps to know what to expect.