Race In Adoption

The Consideration of Race in Adoption
Should adoption social workers first try to place a child within a family of the same race and culture? It is this that makes it almost impossible for a black family to adopt a white child (Maxwell). Adoption is a legal process by which people take a child who is not born to them as their own son or daughter. Most adoptions take place when children are young. According to Adoption and Race, “Overall, however, adoptions are declining. Instead, more children are being placed in foster care these days, due to the foster care grant. The department also lacks accredited social workers,” (“Adoption and Race”). Families considering adoption first need to agree (particularly the mom and dad) that it is something

For these reasons, many adoption agencies offer incentives to families willing to adopt black children, including subsidies to make the process more affordable (Dunham). No family should be given a ‘subsidy’ for adopting a black child. If they cannot adopt a black child, then they are not ready to be parents. The outcomes for children adopted by parents of a different race are positive. With affordable and easier adoption processes, more children will have lovely adopted parents more quickly. There is a significantly higher amount of ethnic, or non-white, children that need to be adopted. This creates a win-win situation for both the parents and the child because the child can be placed with their new family much faster. Whites who understand the significance of race, and who are otherwise qualified, should be permitted to adopt black children (Maxwell). If a white family is willing to learn and understand what it means to be a certain race, then they should be allowed to adopt black children. If whites could just adopt black children, then the interracially adoption will be quick and black children will have homes quicker. Some prospective parents wait three years or more for children of the same race (“Adoption and

The more awareness that intercultural adoptive parents have, as well as a willingness to act on behalf of their child, the better prepared the growing child will be to live as an adult in a society where heritage still matters (Ramos). When a family adopts a transracial child, it helps them open to the racial issues around them. Interracial adoption gives homeless children a better home and family. In 1994, Congress passed the Multiethnic Placement Act, or MEPA, to ban race matching, thereby barring agencies from routinely presuming that same-race placements are in the best interests of children (Wagner). Adoption agencies should focus on the interest of the child and getting the child a happy home. Race matching in adoption delays the adoption processes. Even worse, some agencies continue to race-match even when it means pulling children away from different-race families to whom they have bonded (Wagner). White parents can learn to deal with racism, especially if it concerns their child. It’s crazy to think that instead of trying to find a child the perfect home, agencies are focused more on finding families of the same