[CubanaYogini]

I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the report. A transracial family cannot be color-blind as this is a huge disservice to the child (remember our recent thread on this very subject?).

And I have to admit that I doubt very much that the adoption attorney that we use does anything at all to recruit black families before matching the expectant mom.

You can read the full report here:
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute

I found it more helpful to read PACT's interpretation and assessment of the report (read below):
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What is all the fuss about - new report on transracial adoption

Ten days ago the Evan B. Donaldson Institute issued a report regarding the success and validity of the MEPA-IEP laws that govern transracial adoption for children in the US foster care system. The report has fostered many questions about transracial adoption from adoptive parents as well as the media. Many of you have asked us about our stance on the report. We want to provide our members with some history and context for the debate as well as its meaning for Pact and adoptive parents of children of color in general.

At Pact, we believe that the race-blind interpretations of the law have not served children of color because they deny the importance of race to the child themselves. In general, "good" adoption practice should place the child's interests first, over and above that of adoptive or birth parents and in the context of transracial adoption this means children of color need adoptive parents who place a high value on their child's racial identity formation and comfort, whether they share their child's race or not. We urge transracial adoptive parents who support their children's right and need to fully explore their heritage and genetic background, not to be afraid of this report as somehow being "against" transracial adoption. In fact, it is for children, for their right to feel comfortable in their own skin and for their right to have a family - both and not either/or.

In the 1970s many social workers and adoption agencies made a practice of placing children of color with white families in the belief that race should not be a factor in the placement of children for adoption. The National Association of Black Social Workers came out with a policy statement in 1972 objecting to this practice on the basis that race matters and children of color need to be in-culture or risk being handicapped as they move through a race-conscious and biased society. Over the next twenty years, transracial adoption was a controversial topic that prompted many debates over race matching vs children's need for permanence. In fact, children of color need and deserve both permanence and strong, supportive racial and cultural role models.

Too often, adult transracial adoptees who grew up in the 60s, 70s and 80s describe childhoods that took place in almost total racial isolation; which is debilitating and denies children their inherent right to explore and embrace their genetic heritage. At the same time, the number of children of color in foster care was growing disproportionately. The idea that permanence was less likely for African American and Latino children, in particular, was causing great concern among people of color and whites alike. In the mid 90s, the Senate passed a law called the Multi Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA), later amended as the Inter Ethnic Adoption Provision (IEP), which together mandate against using race as a placement factor for the adoption of children in the foster care system. The law was passed because white parents had complained that they wanted to adopt the many children of color in the foster care system; they argued that they were being barred from adoption because of racial matching policies that were in effect. While these laws do not apply to either private domestic nor international placements, the debate and attitudes about transracial adoption are relevant to all of these forms of placement and as such, make the report and discussion important for every adoptive parent of a child of color.

The report makes two overarching recommendations:
1. Amend the law to permit race to be considered as one factor (but not the sole factor) in selecting parents for children from foster care, and allow the preparation of parents adopting transracially.
2. Enforce MEPA's requirement to recruit families who represent the racial and ethnic backgrounds of children in foster care, and provide sufficient resources to support such recruitment.

Pact is wholeheartedly endorsing both of these suggestions and also urges:
3. Making post-placement education and support available to transracial families. Pact has long believed that high quality education about issues related to adoption and race is critical. It is essential that this education be honest and thorough, not designed to placate worried parents but rather asking them to dig deep into the painful well that is racism and become educated and connected to the communities of color that their children belong to by birth. In the end, this is the kind of support that parents want and need, because it allows them to become the effective parents that they want to be.

To place a child with someone who is not prepared to address the issue of the child's racial identity, or worse, believes that there is simply no reason to, is doing a lifelong disservice to that child. Adult adoptees of color who were raised in transracial families are the best evidence of how important education and support for their families can be to the kids' well being. Listening to their life stories and how they experienced race throughout their childhood, teens and into adulthood is often a revelatory experience for people who are beginning to think about race and adoption. After hearing their voices, it becomes clear that children must either be placed for adoption with parents who are share their race, and can truly foster and mentor the development of their full identities OR be placed with parents who understand that that child must have access to a community that can foster and mentor that child's full racial/ethnic identity.

Limited research has shown transracial adoption to be as successful (from the point of view of stable adoptions and "adjusted" children) as same race adoption. Adoption "failure" is more likely to occur the older the child is at the time of placement, regardless of the child's or parent's races. However, no child should have to give up his or her cultural identity in order to have a family. In the best of all possible worlds, transracially or transculturally adopted people should be able to fully identify with their family's culture as well as be a part of their birth heritage and culture. Not everyone will choose to explore or express their racial identity in the same way, but each individual should have the opportunity to learn the cultural cues and mores of their racial community so that they are able to be full members of that community without feeling handicapped because of what they do not know.

We urge adoptive parents (and extended family members as well) to try to keep in mind that transracial adoption presents certain challenges that don't exist in same race adoption. Transracially adopted children are often asked if their adoptive parents are their "real" parents and other such intrusive questions. Typically they love their parents but there are times when they wish they didn't have to "show" so publicly and be the object of strangers' attention and curiosity. Transracial adoption is harder on kids precisely because the world is so race conscious and racist. That is why we at Pact try so hard to help families and kids feel good about themselves and proud to be members of their family.

Perhaps recruitment of families of color to adopt will mean it takes longer for a white family to adopt transracially, but is there really anything wrong with that? Ensuring access to adoption for families of color is essential to promoting the healthy placement of children of color. Statistics have shown that children of color are much more likely to be adopted by a family who shares their race that one who does not, generally only 10% to 20% of children being adopted are adopted across racial lines. The very children who were targeted by the law at its inception, African American children, have not been adopted at a greater rate that they were prior to the law. In fact the majority of transracial placements that have occurred since 1995 have involved infants and very young children, who were always relatively "easy" to place - leaving older children of color still at the bottom of the placement ladder when it comes to finding permanence.

In this context a disturbing trend is the practice of private adoption professionals and organizations advertising their "African American" placement programs and offering their services to expectant mothers while they place no emphasis at all on recruiting African American families, nor expend any effort to prepare the white adoptive families who are their clients to parent children of color. Some of these organizations even transport pregnant women far from their home community to areas that are overwhelmingly white. The women deliver their babies without support from friends, family or any members of their own ethnic or racial community and are shipped back home as soon as the baby is placed. This practice flirts with coercive pressure to "get babies" for adopting families, when good practice should ALWAYS be about serving children's interests.

As a transracial parent myself, part of how I can make piece with my decision to adopt transracially is knowing that I also support adoption systems that work towards making sure that children of color have both same-race as well as transracial pre-adoptive parents waiting to adopt them. Practitioners who tell expectant parents that they can help them place their child of color before they recruit and educate families who are ready and able to adopt that child of color need think carefully about whether they are serving the paying client instead of serving the child in need of adoption. Recruiting such families is not impossible. We know that many of the barriers to adoption for families of color consist of misunderstandings about how adoption works and fears generated by media stories about adoptions that go awry. There is also the perception that the costs of domestic infant adoptions put them way out of reach for families of color. To recruit families we must counter the "word on the street" with real stories and concrete information about how adoptions should happen and about the organizations out there that do not charge impossible fees. We can give families useful information about how to navigate a system that can be daunting and at times offensive to families of color. Even if an adoption professional or organization does not have an active program to recruit families of color directly, they can always call Pact or other organizations that do such recruitment to ensure the expectant parent has choices. Bottom line - when adoption is driven by the service of children rather than parents, it is much more like to be done right.

Bravo to the Donaldson Institute for coming out with a report that will serve domestically born children of color over the long haul. Let's use it as an opportunity to support children of color, create more opportunities for education and community for transracial families and give families of color better access and service in an adoption system that too often institutionalizes racism to the benefit of white parents over those of color.

[CubanaYogini]

More:
Harlow's Monkey : MEPA/IEPA

[CubanaYogini]

And more:
What’s wrong with MEPA? « John Raible Online

[BethanyB]

I totally agree with this as well. And I'm a CC mom to two black kids. I obviously think transracial adoption is good if your educated enough about the issues but I don't think the system tries hard enough to recruit black families or give enough education to CC families who adopt black children.

[ocracoke]

As I have not read the report yet but just heard about it from many sources I will refrain from commenting on it just yet. But I have a question. I am a white mom of a daughter from Ethiopia through adoption. My sister is a white mom of a biracial (cc/aa) daughter through birth. My neices father is not involved in her life at all. Do I need more education then my sister because I adopted?

Samantha

[sunsetsky]

This report is very important to me. I am hopeful this helps the child waiting to be adopted.

[BethanyB]

But I have a question. I am a white mom of a daughter from Ethiopia through adoption. My sister is a white mom of a biracial (cc/aa) daughter through birth. My neices father is not involved in her life at all. Do I need more education then my sister because I adopted?

My answer is yes because adoption is totally different than giving birth. Especially from the state because the bio parents are not getting to choose the family for their child.

It is the states job to find home for the child in order to better their lives. Not only does that require extra investigation as far as criminal background checks and financial and health inquiries, but also in what environment the child will be raised in terms of racial identity.

People who give birth don't have to pass a homestudy or a criminal background check. People who give birth don't have to prove themselves in order to become a parent. Some people are angry about that but it never bothered me. I was asked all of the questions and had my house looked over with a fine tooth comb but I knew it was because a child was being put into my care. A child who is losing their birth family.

So I don't see this as being any different. Adoption and giving birth are different. Our kids don't get to make a choice. They don't choose where they live so we need to be extra careful in where we place them.

I can't really see why any transracial family would NOT want more education on the topic. I would welcome anything that would make me a better parent to my kids.

[sunsetsky]

I am hesitant to get into this thread but here goes. I think the reason why some PAP/AP (I know)don't want to have this training is because they believe in and stand by "colorblind." A baby is a baby. As an AA woman, I noticed bias between the cc and aa over aa infants/toddlers, especially biracial infant/toddlers. I don't push the issue because I have 3 bio children and I know the special feeling of bringing home a newborn. I also experienced this through the foster-adopt program. I hope the children are finding their forever homes regardless of the problems with the system. One more thing, I think there should be a recruitment of AA social workers. This has been the hardest part of the process for me. Making sure my culture is understood and respected. Or I feel like I need to be PC professional all the time not my laid back self. Its hard to explain. I hope you understand. I watched an adoption show about a cc couple who adopted the "perfect 10" all aa children. The mom said we are raising them African style. The family was very mainstream so I was puzzled. She then stated "the older children take child of the younger children." This something we do in our family. Some people think this is not acceptable. Anyways... I just wanted to comment because I was so encouraged when this report came out.

[ocracoke]

Originally Posted by BethanyB

I can't really see why any transracial family would NOT want more education on the topic. I would welcome anything that would make me a better parent to my kids.

I agree. I have always welcomed the education. I read. I talk. I took the classes. I ask all the dumb questions. I live in a racially diverse area. I make a point that my child knows children of all races. She is young (3) so we are right at the beginning still. I want the education. My sister doesn't do any of those things. I don't dispute that my daughter needs more from me because I decided to adopt transracially. But if we are talking about the impact that growing up in a transracial family has on the child then I guess I would argue that my sister should have the same responsibility towards her daughter as I have to mine, adopted or by birth. Adoption and birth are separate things, I just wish I had an argument for my sister that she would listen to as to why it is going to be important to know more about race and culture for her daughter.

Sorry, a little off topic.
Samantha

[BethanyB]

ocracoke, I see what you are saying. You WANT your sis to be able to have that and give that to her child but at least maybe she can learn from you.

I just think it's a step in the right direction for those of us who are adopting a child who is not of our race. We can do something there and so that is where we should start.

[Cjmeck]

Thanks for the PACT interpretation of the report; I completely agree. I don't know if I would have agreed prior to becoming a transracial parent; but I can see the benefit in extra education now. Its funny, when we first started the adoption process, we were going to adopt from Korea. So we signed with this agency and they sent us a dvd about transracial adoption--called Eyes Wide Open or something like that. Basically, saying that the color-blind approach is not helpful for the child, ect... But then we switch gears, decide to adopt domestically, decided to be open to race, and guess what education the new agency provided?? None. They gave us a list of books to read on transracial adoption. But never in the homestudy did the social worker want to discuss the books or what we learned or how we planned to successfully raise an AA child. Now that we have a biracial child (AA/CC) we are encountering issues (see other thread) that we were not prepared for. It would have been nice to get some counseling. Thankfully, dh and I do have several AA friends who we've reached out to for guidance and advice in handling some issues. But the SW never even asked if we had any connection to the AA culture. We were surprised at how "hands-off" the agency was with regard to race. And now our placing agency (different from HS agency) doesn't even want to discuss it... I think a certain amount of education for anyone adopting transracially should be required.

[marcav]

But if we are talking about the impact that growing up in a transracial family has on the child then I guess I would argue that my sister should have the same responsibility towards her daughter as I have to mine, adopted or by birth. Adoption and birth are separate things, I just wish I had an argument for my sister that she would listen to as to why it is going to be important to know more about race and culture for her daughter.

I agree. The issue is enculturation, not adoption vs. birth. I would think that your sister would probably need more exposure to the issue by virtue of the fact that she did not adopt.

[CubanaYogini]

Samantha, I'm sorry that your sister isn't open to helping her daughter to embrace both of her birth cultures. Perhaps your daughter will help her cousin in some way because of the tools that you have given and will be giving her.

I agree that the transracial training isn't always offered. We didn't have it with our first adoption. But we had to take training to get our second homestudy completed.

The training was *wonderful* for us because we were so open to it. But I felt that it was less about training and more about scaring away the PAP's who had said that they were "open" to race but didn't have a clue about how to not be colorblind. Some of the couples had that "deer in headlights" look after the training.

Perhaps dissuading unprepared PAP's from taking on something that wouldn't be a good situation for the child(ren) is not a bad thing.

[joskids]

My husband and I are an interracial couple - he is AA, I am CC. We have adopted 4 children, one is full AA, the other 3 are biracial. (We never requested biracial, BTW, we were only open to minority race children and these are the children that came to us). We also belong to a group of interracial families that are generally CC parents of AA children. NONE of the families that we know from that group are uneducated about race in adoption. Because we live in a very racially diverse area, the issues of children being raised in a culturally diverse environment don't really exist here. We have had parents, though, who live in areas of our county that are less diverse and they have intentionally moved to areas with more diversity. What bothers me more is that many folks who adopt internationally don't seem to consider the diversity in their families. Somehow they feel that an Asian child is "more white"?? Or that a Guatemalan child is not adopted transracially. I think that is just as much a disservice to the child as if they had adopted a black child and remained ignorant. I can see where this report upsets some folks, particularly CC couples who wish to adopt and are not concerned about color, yet understand upfront that they will be responsible to be sure that their child understands his racial heritage. I also see the other side -- that children do need to know who they are, where they come from, and that they are taught pride in their ethnicity. Any CC parent who is not willing to provide same for their child, should definitely not be adopting a child of color. Turning a blind eye to the racial issues we still deal with in this country is plain ignorant. We only have to look at our current presidential candidates to see the ignorance and hatred that still exists in terms of race in this country. It's very sad to me that racial ignorance still reigns free and that some of us still accept it. We all need to take responsibility to be sure that each and every one of our children is raised to be strong and confident in who they are.

[CubanaYogini]

Any parents who ignore issues of race when they adopt an asian baby--or really any AP's adopting transracially who turn a blind eye toward issues of race--should read Jae Ran Kim's Blog