Changes Urged in Transracial Adoption
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Several leading child welfare groups Tuesday urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, arguing that black children in foster care are ill-served by a “colorblind” approach meant to encourage their adoption by white families.
Recommendations for major changes in the much-debated policy were outlined in a report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
“Color consciousness—not ‘color blindness’—should help to shape policy development,” the report said.
Groups endorsing its proposals included the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the Child Welfare League of America, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the National Association of Black Social Workers.
At issue is the 1994 Multi-Ethnic Placement Act—and revisions made to it in 1996—governing the adoption of children from foster care.
More minority parents needed?
One part of the law directs state agencies to recruit more adoptive parents of the same race as the children. The new report says this provision hasn’t been adequately enforced and calls for better funded efforts to recruit minority parents.
The more contentious part of the legislation prohibits race from being taken into consideration in most decisions about adoption from foster care. For example, white parents seeking to adopt a black child cannot be required to undergo race-oriented training that differs in any way from training that all prospective adoptive parents receive.
A key recommendation in the new report calls for amending the law so race could be considered as a factor in selecting parents for children from foster care. The change also would allow race-oriented pre-adoption training,
“We tried to assess what was working and what wasn’t, and came to the conclusion that preparing parents who adopt transracially benefits everyone, especially the children,” said Adam Pertman, the Donaldson Institute’s executive director.
“The view that we can be colorblind is a wonderful, idealistic perspective, but we don’t live there,” Pertman [Adam Pertman, the Donaldson Institute’s executive director] said. “If we want to do the best for the kids, we have to look at their realities.”
High number of black children
At the heart of the debate is the fact that the foster care system has a disproportionately high number of black children, and on average they languish there nine months longer than white children before moving to permanent homes. The latest federal figures showed 32 percent of the 510,000 children in foster care were black in 2006, compared to 15 percent of all U.S. children.
Of the black children adopted out of foster care, about 20 percent are adopted by white families. The Donaldson report said current federal law, by stressing color blindness, deters child welfare agencies from assessing families’ readiness to adopt transracially or preparing them for the distinctive challenges they might face.
“There is a higher rate of problems in minority foster children adopted transracially than in-race,” said the report. “All children deserve to be raised in families that respect their cultural heritage.”
{snip}
“Black people are significantly poorer than white people and less likely to be in a position to come forward,” Bartholet said. “Recruitment efforts bump up against that fact.”
‘Long overdue’
{snip}
Too many white adoptive parents, she said, underestimate the enduring presence of racism in America and don’t get training that would help them raise a black child.
{snip}
[Editor’s Note: The report “Finding Families for African American Children: The Role of Race & Law in Adoption From Foster Care,” by Susan Smith, Ruth Mcroy, Madelyn Freundlich, Joe Kroll, can be read on-line, with its executive summary, here.]
(Posted on May 27, 2008)
Comments
Yeah, when I was attending Arizona State University in the 1990’s we were all told that “race” was a “social construct.”
Hooray Diversity!
Posted by at 6:57 PM on May 27
The real problem hare is that there are way too many black children that their parents cannot or will not raise. They have babies, then expect “society”, really meaning Whitey, to do the work of raising them to adulthood. What needs change is the end to rewarding them for having babies without them having to be responsible for them afterward.
Posted by Peejay in Frisco at 6:58 PM on May 27
I think black children belong with black parents….and whites with their own as well…because it is bad enough that blacks are confused in the first place….look at obama the muslim..if he’s not confused, I don’t know anyone who is….he even pushes his wonderful grandparents aside and hardly mentions them….how ungreatful he is as well!! After they sacrificed and raised the idiot!!
Posted by lydia at 7:24 PM on May 27
I knew as soon as I read this:
Report: People should adopt children of thier own race.
that the only object of concern would be blacks. And the first paragraph confirmed my prediction. Translated from urinalist-speak: to hell with white children.
I should be more forgiving, perhaps; it’s not as if blacks have much of a role in the adoption process, except in filling the orphanages.
Posted by Svigor at 7:30 PM on May 27
Blacks once again become the tail that wags the American dog — in this case a story about “trans-racial adoptions” which quickly degenerates into “poor blacks have it so very, very bad!”
Black children make up 32 percent of all the 510,000 American children in foster care? By the way, notice how the writer craftily misstates the facts by adding, “compared to just 15 percent of all U.S. children.” What does that mean? Nothing — it’s meaningless. What percentage of the foster children are White? What Asian? What Hispanic? Nothing. The writer has fiddled with the statistics, hoping to fool us into seeing nothing but “32 percent of all black children.” Sob! Sob!
The writer talks of “race-oriented pre-adoption training.” Presumably that means teaching White couples to explain to their little sable adoptee how horribly racist and biased the U.S. still is.
In another place, the article states that there has proven to be “a higher rate of problems in trans-racial than within in-race adoptions.” Well, duh! Now what would a sensible person conclude from that? That children should be adopted by parents of their own race? Naaah — that would be RACIST!
Fewer black adoptive parents? I’ve got news for the writer: It’s not just because blacks are “significantly poorer” than Whites. It’s because in a majority of cases, there is no “couple,” and also the fact that they just don’t care as much as Whites or other ethnicities do about their children.
Finally, John Mould and Margaret Geiger may be well-intentioned, but why in God’s name would a White couple adopt FIVE black kids after having two of their own? If they’ve had “problems” with them, whose fault is it? Oh, yeah, I forgot: White Society.
Posted by Wayne Engle at 7:31 PM on May 27
The article doesn’t address it, but what exactly is the ‘problem’?
Are white adoptive parents harming black children? Are these black children not “black enough” (meaning that they behave themselves, obey the law, study, etc.)?
Pray tell, what “special training” does one need to undergo to raise a black child?
Posted by kitty at 7:43 PM on May 27
Blacks are notoriously less charitable than whites or any other race for that matter. If they really cared about their children they would start spending more money on them rather than flashy clothing, cars and jewelry.
Posted by Spartan24 at 7:50 PM on May 27
i agree, keep the blacks away from the whites at all cost!!
Posted by thecelt at 8:07 PM on May 27
“Color consciousness—not ‘color blindness’—should help to shape policy development.”
Damn straight. That goes for everything, not just adoption.
Posted by Joe at 8:16 PM on May 27
Sounds like a good idea to me to stop transracial adoption. All you casual race mixers out there take note, even the social workers recognize now that mixed race families are bad for children.
Posted by Enough at 8:19 PM on May 27
Uhm, hello, is LIBERAL RACIAL DENIAL DEAD YET? Now for the NEIGHBORHOODS, and the SCHOOLS!
Posted by at 8:59 PM on May 27
As a 35 year old Black woman who was raised by a White upper class family who loved me dearly and have provded me with oportunities that I probably would have not had otherwise, I learned early on that although we do live in a race conscious society, that it is the love and suport that children receive from their parents is what counts the most, not the race of the parent.
Posted by Angela at 9:01 PM on May 27
Although this article is ripe for ridicule on many levels, the funniest thing about it is how the Nanny-State agents behind these types of studies and organizations have come full circle, and basically admitted the innate, undeniable incompatibility between White and African values in the USA.
Of course, this article would not be complete without solely blaming Whites for the “enduring presence of racism in America”, but it’s still ironic to see the leftist social engineers condemning, and even prohibiting, these naive fools from playing “It’s A Small World After All” with wards of the state.
Talk about the “color blind” leading the “color blind.”
Posted by ZKR at 9:42 PM on May 27
I love it. After all this hysteria by mentally and emotionally disturbed whites to adopt non-whites at all costs, finally it’s dawning on some that inter-racial adoptions aren’t so great after all.
Remember the article outlining the fact that science is in the process of proving that there’s a very real difference in the races, and that we are seeing instances and trends where some on the left are beginning to jump ship, because they see the handwriting on the wall that tells them their mindless contentions are on the verge of being exposed as farces?
Well, now it’s inter-racial adoptions. And, upcoming will be the recognition of a difference in intelligence and ability that Dr. Watson spoke of, plus tribal differences in how the races handle impulse control. Eventually, those things will be hard to ignore also.
But verification that we were right all along will be too little, too late. We’re already beyond the point of no return. Multiculturalism has done enough damage that it has placed us on the brink 24/7, and the only change we can now expect, regardless of what is revealed, is a change for the worse.
Posted by Ranger at 10:05 PM on May 27
“Color Consciousness”…Hmm… Now that sounds like some nonmenclature that I can wrap my pre-frontal lobatamized etymological brain around.
Posted by Flaxen-headed Strumpet at 10:05 PM on May 27
What about children who are of more than one race? Must they only be adopted out to people of the same ethnic mixture? Isn’t it better (for instance) for a black/mixed-race child to be adopted by white parents than to never be adopted at all? Sheesh.
Posted by at 10:17 PM on May 27
Good news, for once.
Posted by at 11:28 PM on May 27
“As a 35 year old Black woman who was raised by a White upper class family who loved me dearly and have provded me with oportunities that I probably would have not had otherwise, I learned early on that although we do live in a race conscious society, that it is the love and suport that children receive from their parents is what counts the most, not the race of the parent.”
Posted by Angela at 9:01 PM on May 27
Good for you, Angela. It sounds like your adoptive, white parents were loving and well-grounded. There are white people like that who adopt.
But that’s not the case with the average inter-racial adoption. Many of these white people offer nothing useful to a child, and they make such an adoption, because it makes them feel morally superior.
It’s very natural for ANY person of ANY race to want to have children like themselves. The majority of the ones who do not, are those who are beset with emotional problems, and in some cases are bogged down with mental disabilities. Love has nothing to do with the decision of these people to adopt outside their race.
Posted by at 12:07 AM on May 28
“Report: People should adopt children of their own race. “
I agree!
However, by reading the article, I am afraid they want more non-White adoptive parents more for White children to be adopted by the Blacks, than for Black children. The article makes it sound like a disparity setting, but the codemessage is: We need more Black adoptive parents, to increase the number of White children raised by Black parents. I agree Black children should be raised by Black parents, as they will be in a better position for empathy. And likewise for White children and White parents. It’s in a child’s best interest to be raised by parents of the same race.
Parents might subconsciously love children of their race more than those of another race. I can’t prove the last statement, but it’s a hypothesis.
Posted by EA (European American) Steve at 12:28 AM on May 28
Maybe it is best, after all, for people to adopt children who resemble them racially.
But isn’t it better for a child to be adopted by parents of a different race, than never to be adopted at all?
Are you trying to state that it’s better to be a ward of the state than to never have any chance at loving parents?
Posted by at 3:24 AM on May 28
“People should adopt children of their own race.”
I really wish this movement would stop wasting so much of its time worrying about transracial adoption and miscegenation.
In fact, I think we should support both of them.
We need to get rid of whites who are (genetically) prone to this type of behavior; just as we need to get rid of criminals and idiots.
Remember, we’re race patriots, not race BABYSITTERS.
Posted by Mean Gene at 5:02 AM on May 28
Adoption, charity and volunteerism are all white things. Even East Asians don’t do them.
Posted by Godzilla Pimp at 6:50 AM on May 28
I tend to agree with the poster suggesting Blacks are confused enough without being adopted by White foster parents. Angela’s story notwithstanding.
I have good friends… who spent over $30,000 to adopt… a White Russian orphan. Why? Because they were uninterested in adopting a mixed breed, or a mentally or physically impaired unwanted kid from American sources. The message? You want to raise a kid like yourself, your own relatives. Not the accidental result of a mentally screwed up White teenager or young White woman, determined to ‘prove’ she is not biased!
Forget the claptrap dogma put out by the liberals… ‘it just ain’t so.’ This is the REAL WORLD, and mixed race adoptions generally end up as dismal failures. For White parents AND their adopted Black kid(s).
Posted by Fed Up at 7:52 AM on May 28
Posted by Ranger earlier:
“And, upcoming will be the recognition of a difference in intelligence and ability that Dr. Watson spoke of, plus tribal differences in how the races handle impulse control. Eventually, those things will be hard to ignore also.”
These facts are not upcoming. They have been here for a while. If you get the chance, please read “The Bell Curve” by Herrnstein & Murray as well as the excellent volume by J. Philippe Rushton entitled “Race, Evolution and Behavior”. These are both enlightening, to say the least! :-)
Posted by Eichmann at 9:04 AM on May 28
“Color consciousness—not ‘color blindness’—should help to shape policy development,” the report said.
The more things change…
Naturally, blacks are so unique as a sub-species they deserve special attention and consideration. Just don’t frame it in those terms.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 9:06 AM on May 28
I find it hard to believe that any well meaning white adoptive parent could do more harm to a black child, than a bling bling wearing, ghetto acting, black teen-aged single mother. In my opinion MORE whites should be raising black children.
Posted by Kellie at 9:29 AM on May 28
All children, no matter the race, need the same basic things, love and stability. Blacks have a hard time supplying either.
Posted by at 9:31 AM on May 28
Black children are “illserved” being adopted by white parents?
Think about it. How could white parents possibly do a worse job than blacks raising children?
Posted by Dennis at 9:36 AM on May 28
I wonder if there have been any official-sounding objections raised about white couples adopting East Asian children. Somehow I rather doubt it, since these kids not only adapt successfully to their new environment but seem to thrive in it, excelling scholastically and personally.
Certainly all the adoptive parents of East Asian children whom I’ve known seem delighted with their decision and the long term commitment they’ve made.
To be fair about it, these kids don’t have to contend with black classmates who accuse them of acting white and taunt them if they do well in school. I strongly suspect that if black kids adopted by white foster parents weren’t thrown into a school environment in which other blacks try to destroy the work ethic and desire for success that the white adoptive parents try to instill that they’d do a lot better.
Posted by john at 12:40 PM on May 28
“Black people are significantly poorer than white people and less likely to be in a position to come forward,” Bartholet said.
Do the Bartholets of the world ever wonder why, since they are so poor, blacks insist on having so many kids? So many kids that they don’t even want? That grow up to be burdens on the rest of us, no matter who raises them, but especially if blacks raise them?
As was said, it’s hard to imagine how whites could possibly do a worse job raising kids than blacks. Perhaps it’s because some whites may be refusing to pump the little black tykes’ heads full of fantasy African history.
Posted by Michael T at 1:15 PM on May 28
“I find it hard to believe that any well meaning white adoptive parent could do more harm to a black child, than a bling bling wearing, ghetto acting, black teen-aged single mother. In my opinion MORE whites should be raising black children.
Posted by Kellie at 9:29 AM on May 28”
Wrongo. More whites should be raising WHITE children.
Posted by Brendan at 1:24 PM on May 28
“Adoption, charity and volunteerism are all White things. Even east Asians don’t do them.” Godzilla Pimp
The Chinese view on adoption has changed some. Since they are only allowed one child, adoption is a rare opportunity to get a second kid to support you in your old age. They’ve been lining up to adopt kids orphaned in this last big earthquake, but I’m not sure if they’re taking girls. Girls, you see, get married and help take care of their HUSBAND’S parents.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 1:40 PM on May 28
We checked into adoptions back in the 1980s… the agency(ies) tried their damnedest to push Black or mixed-race infants and older kids at us. I told them “thanks but no thanks.” We adopt a White kid or nothing! Of course we never head back from the agencies after that (no great loss).
The moral is that if you’re unable to adopt a White child, head for the local animal shelter. Adopt a couple of cats or dogs… the love you will lavish on your pets will be returned a HUNDRED-FOLD over the lives of those pets. Nor will they ever turn against you as is too often the case with trans-racial or mixed-race adoptions. We’ve read enough about those failures on AmRen in the not too distant past.
Posted by Fed Up at 1:43 PM on May 28
It’s not surprising that something as natural as adoption inside your own race is catching on. Children in need of adoption have enough of a time getting used to a new family without having some warped P.C. policy force them into a unnatural and potentially damaging environment.
The biggest new danger is the series of disasters in China, which may amplify the call for adoption of children made orpahans by the earthquakes, floods, etc. But they are, and should be, China’s to take care of and to encourage Chinese people to adopt them.
Charity, as important as it is, still begins at home. Let’s hope that those idiot Marxist social planners will shut up and do all kids a service by letting nature take its course.
Posted by at 1:45 PM on May 28
What about all of these Chinese baby girls that were being adopted like so many orphaned puppies a few years ago? Are these adoptions going well?
Posted by Spartan24 at 2:38 PM on May 28
‘Transracial adoptions’ have been in the news a couple of decades or so now with such statements like this always being made. Once again they overlook studies showning black children raised by whites do better. It doesn’t fit into their agenda that blacks are always victims and whites can never be, which is all this article is about, this twisted agenda.
Posted by at 3:14 PM on May 28
>>>Think about it. How could white parents possibly do a worse job than blacks raising children?
By teaching them to act like human beings… i.e., THINKING like White people. Not acceptable to the average Black self-pitying whiner, unfortunately.
Posted by Fed Up at 3:32 PM on May 28
Wayne said:
Black children make up 32 percent of all the 510,000 American children in foster care? By the way, notice how the writer craftily misstates the facts by adding, “compared to just 15 percent of all U.S. children.” What does that mean? Nothing — it’s meaningless. What percentage of the foster children are White? What Asian? What Hispanic? Nothing. The writer has fiddled with the statistics, hoping to fool us into seeing nothing but “32 percent of all black children.” Sob! Sob!”“
What I understood was that black kids are 32% of kids in foster care while they are only 15% of all kids in america.
Anyway, it’s always better to have good, loving parents than none at all - ALWAYS!
Posted by Come on at 4:14 PM on May 28
“What about children who are of more than one race? Must they only be adopted out to people of the same ethnic mixture? Isn’t it better (for instance) for a black/mixed-race child to be adopted by white parents than to never be adopted at all? Sheesh.”
This is a no brainer. Mixed race children look like the nonwhite parent. Mulattos look black. White/Asian children look Asian. There isn’t any combination of White with any non-Caucasian race that will produce a White child and black mixed with anything looks black.
This might seem trivial but there is a reason for this kind of thinking. I live in a small town and I noticed a White woman with a black child in her shopping cart at the store. The kid was making a scene, crying and throwing tantrums while the woman was trying to calm him. I knew exactly what was wrong with the kid. He felt alienated in that environment among all those White faces and he knew something was wrong. I’ve seen this kind of behavior before. The woman is traumatizing the kid and she doesn’t even know it. A White child among a sea of black faces would have the same reaction.
Posted by at 5:03 PM on May 28
“Pray tell, what “special training” does one need to undergo to raise a black child?”
Just from observation they appear to be difficult to control.
Posted by at 5:05 PM on May 28
There is of course a parallel here with organs; blacks are far less likely than whites to donate organs but more likely to need them; blacks produce many more uncared for children than whites and therefore are in greater need of adoption, but there are fewer blacks who are willing to adopt them.
What is the common denominator here is black selfishness.
Posted by at 5:40 PM on May 28
In my community the government agency searches the globe to place non-white children into white families. They have trained a woman to go abroad to non-white nations and orphanages to find children for inter-racial adoption purposes.
One issue not addressed here is the policy of the US government to discourage whites from adopting white children.
Posted by at 11:10 PM on May 28
Yeah, but will it meet the approval of Hollyweird? As we all know, it is now all the rage among that group to adopt an exotic child, typically from Africa or Asia. In fact just this week apparently Madonna was approved once again to adopt another black foreign child. And this means to “keep up with the Joneses”, we can expect to see Angelina Jolie running to INS to get their approval for another one… All of which of course means that by imitation of what their liberal left icons deem as cool, many pseudo-enlightened white couples also are getting African and Asian children.
Posted by Winston Smith at 1:06 PM on May 29
I just googled a picture of McCain’s adopted kid. I suppose the mark of a real neocon is having third world children either by adoption of marrying another race. Look at Jeb Bush.
Posted by at 1:46 AM on May 31