Transracial Adoption Essay Research Paper Transracial Adoption

Transracial Adoption Essay, Research Paper

Transracial Adoption Many adoptions are being taken place in America today. These adoptions are not always of the same race, transracial adoption is very popular among eager couples who are willing to adopt. Transracial adoption is the adoption of a child of one race by a couple of another race. Adopting children from different races has brought up many controversies and the government has had to step in. There are mixed views on the case of transracial adoption, some believe it is culturally damaging to the child while others believe there is nothing wrong with it. The primary goal of adoption officials must be to place the child into a home as quickly as possible which will, in turn, minimize the effects that it will have on the child , whether it be a white or black family that it is adopted by. There is nothing wrong with transracial adoption a child can be loved by anyone who is willing to love it because love is colorblind.

There are many minority children who are without permanent homes in the United States, crossing the color bar is frowned upon by many people. The debate over transracial adoption is whether or not it is in the best interest of the child. The problem in today’s society is that foster care is preferred over transracial adoption. The reason being the children and youth services would rather put a black child in foster homes of that race instead of letting a white couple adopt it because they are white. They believe that putting a black child in white family would culturally damage that child, that they would grow up not knowing their heritage. They believe that a parent of a different race is not as equipped to educate a child about issues of their racial identity(McNair 1). They do not realize putting a child through years of moving from foster home to foster home would damage them because they would have no sense of family or love. Letting the white couple who are willing to adopt the child would be in the best interest of the child because they would give it a home, family and love.

Transracial adoption has a long history with many controversies. Beginning in 1968, a law was passed permitting families to adopt outside of their race. In 1972, an almost unknown black nationalist group called the National Association of Black Social Workers became famous when they spoke out against the practice of transracial adoption. They branded this type of practice was “cultural genocide”(Republic 6). Even though the law passed in 1968 was never changed, in only one year the number of transracial adoptions was cut in half to 1,569. By 1975, it had been drastically cut down again to only 800 (6). Another law regarding transracial adoption was passed in 1980 stating that the Department of Health and Human Services is required to monitor adoptable foster care children every six, twelve, and eighteen months. However this practice is never enforced(6). We realize that the government has recognized that this is problem and in 1994 President Clinton passed the Multiethnic Placement Act(Multi 1).

The Multiethnic Placement Act(MEPA) was proposed by Senator Howard Metzenbaum, it was designed for many reasons. For one is was to prevent discrimination in the placement of children on the basis of race, color of natural origin(Multi 1). It stated that any agency that uses race as a factor in deciding adoptive placements would be denied federal financing(Republic 6). The major goal of the act was to increase the number of children adopted because too many children were waiting too long. A recent study revealed that in a three month period in New York City 262 children were legally adopted, out of those more than fifty percent had lived in foster care for at least six years(Christ 2). Many of those children were held back from being adopted because of racial considerations. How can one hold a child for that long in foster care when there are willing parents ready to adopt. Consider four couples who were willing to adopt four black children who have spent time in the foster care system: one a ten year old boy with severe learning disabilities, a two year old girl with fetal alcohol system, a mildly retarded three year old boy with cerebral palsy and a four year old boy who is one fourth black who was born drug affected and was sexually abused. Each of the four couples who were willing to adopt these children of their dreams were denied adoption permission because they were white(Christ 1). It doesn’t matter if the parents are of a different race because studies have showed that children raised by parents of different race have had normal culturally aware lives. Sandra Illionga, a black woman who was adopted by a white family waited ten years before being adopted she states “What were they doing during those ten years growing my ideal black family from scratch”(Christ 2). So we see these children who wait are put through a lot of stress from moving around to foster homes. The government has realized that there was a problem that is why they passed the MEPA act. MEPA will help by preventing discrimination that can cause delays in or denial of adoptive placements due to race or color.

Today there is split opinion on the adoption of children by a couple of a different race. Many people are beginning to realize that color doesn’t matter. There are many organizations out there that support transracial adoption and are h