Should Adoptions Be "Colorblind"?

Child Welfare Groups Debate How To Best Serve Black Children In The Foster System

(AP)  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.

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 said. "If we want to do the best for the kids, we have to look at their realities."

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."

Pertman stressed that his institute and its allies were not opposed to transracial adoption.

"We want to see more kids in foster care get permanent homes, and we want to see the parents who raise those children be prepared to do so," he said.

Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, who directs the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard Law School, believes the concept of striving for color blindness is sound. She foresees problems if race once again becomes a key determinant.

"Giving social workers the chance to do that produced very rigid race matching," she said, referring to pre-1994 policies. "That's one of the reasons to say race can't be used at all - there's no other way to be sure it doesn't become the overwhelming factor."

Current policy allows standardized pre-adoption training, but wisely prohibits specific screening for parents seeking to adopt transracially, Bartholet said.

"What cannot be done is have a pass/fail test that turns on whether you give the politically correct answers," she said. "If social workers are allowed to use training to determine who can adopt, there's lots of experience showing they abuse that power."

She also questioned whether attempts to boost minority recruitment would succeed.

"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."

The Donaldson recommendations were embraced as "long overdue" by Michelle Johnson, a black woman raised by white adoptive parents near Minneapolis. Johnson now works on child-welfare matters for the court system there.

Her parents "were not the norm," she said. "They were exceptional in what they did for me... They were very humble in what they didn't know. There was lots of communication."

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.

"As a social worker who used to place children, I know very few families are ready to do this," Johnson said. "When families fail to realize they need assistance, it's dangerous."

Regarding recruitment, Johnson said child welfare agencies should strive to find permanent homes for black children among their extended families before placing them in foster care.

John Mould and Margaret Geiger, an Ambler, Pa., couple, have two white biological children and five black adopted children, now aged 15 to 23. Mould said transracial adoption is unquestionably challenging, but he worries about any changes that might make training and screening requirements too rigid.

"There are so many kids who need homes," Mould said. "The idea of trying to find the perfect matches - you're not going to find them."

His adopted children have encountered some difficulties over the years, Mould said, but he believes they've developed resiliency and maturity as a result.

His youngest son, Eric Jones, 15, said the family's makeup sometimes complicates his life, but he's convinced that transracial adoption can succeed.

"White or black doesn't matter," he said. "What counts is whether the parents are ready to take responsibility."

[keithle1]

What is it about "BIRTH CONTROL" that black folks don''t understand?

[kevzgrl]

And, so, in the interests of "color conciousness", we will make it harder for a white family to adopt that black child, who will then spend even LONGER in foster care, without roots or a permanent home. What a terrific idea!!! Encouraging more black families to adopt would be great, except, if they were interested and/or able to adopt, wouldn''t they already be knocking on the door of the agency? Even if a black child is placed in a white family, at least they HAVE a family now, don''t they?
I have a great-nephew and great-niece who are bi-racial, and one time, my niece said something about "such and such black girl and such and such white girl..." I asked her, "Hannah, what color is your skin?" She responded "brown" I then asked, "What color is MY skin?" She responded, "kinda brown" Then I asked her "So, we are both different shades of brown, right?"
No one is BORN a bigot, we are MADE that way by our raising and by stupid policies that PUT the emphasis on color over all.

[what4454]

This is stupid. As a normal person can tell there are dumb people on this page with a ignorant way of thinking and the woman who said he husband was colored. Who refers to people as colored? You should be able to adopt any child you want and I''m sure that there are plenty of white couples that will take any child they can get. Oh yeah and gay couples should also be able to adopt also. The children need home''s. If people were not as stupid on some of these people on this site it would not even be a issue. Some of you need to retire the white sheets and the pointed cone hats.

[michellem99-2009]

I am glad I can''t see people''s faces. I am an aunt to mixed teens. My sister''s oldest is graduating high school. I am proud. Amrica is the melting pot. The father and son look so happy in the pic. Whitey want to hate.

[messiahx4eve]

RingADing3, are you talking from personal experience or just trying to make up for no social life whatsoever? Are you from San Angelo or perhaps just some wannabe perv with stains all over the screen of his little screen

[frankbowers]

Some of the brightest one seem to forget there is but one race so transracial is not a word in my world there is a word he could have used that would make sense and tha it transnationality.
These people are suppose to be christians and a good christian knows God only created one race the human race and many nationalities.
Rember the Tower of Bable where he struck it down by crating the many languages and no human could understand what the other said.
THINK BEFORE EXPOSING YOUR IGNORANCE.
lOOKS AS IF THE AP REPORTER PROTECTED HIS IGNORANCE BY NOT LISTING HIS NAME.
FRANK BOWERS OF AUSTIN, TX

[lvdragonlady-2009]

It is about time that this is done. How many kids have been deprived of a family because of the b.s.?

[nvorr]

The world does need more people like Osama. What it doesn''''t need is more people like you DingALing.

I meant Obama.

[nvorr]

The world does not need more half breeds like Osama!

Posted by RingADing3 at 04:48 PM

Bad enough that fat ugly white women choose to make half breeds with blacks, why subject more children to ridicule?

Posted by RingADing3

The world does need more people like Osama. What it doesn''t need is more people like you DingALing.

[nvorr]

These negative comments are proof-positive that racism is alive and well in America. Am I wrong? These are children in need of love, kindness and nurturing. Adoption agencies won''t place even place caucasion children with non-white families, but they will do the reverse. Providing a loving and stable environment is what''s fair for these kids, not being pushed through the system, then kicked out of it at age 18.

[randynason]

Bad enough that fat ugly white women choose to make half breeds with blacks, why subject more children to ridicule?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by RingADing3

Better fat or ugly than severely lacking in intelligence. Personally, I''d feel ashamed to be showing everyone how ignorant I am, saying such things even with a cowardly fictitious name.

[randynason]

Adoptions should be colorblind AND androgynous. What''s the alternative? Leave the kid in the orphanage or foster home until eighteen? Leave prejudice in the evangelical/fundamentalist church where it belongs and get on with the art of governing and child rearing.

[jetlizhan]

if a loving white family wants to adopt a black child, they should have that right; same with a loving black family to a white child. what does color matter as long as the adopting couple truly want the child and want to give it all the love and happines they possible can?? i don''t get it.

[zorar-2009]

No! not fair to the child

[ccdsswrkr08]

I agree preference should be applied ... and then where the parents live should be taken into account.
Sadly, no matter how well intentioned the adoptive parents may be, there are many many places in this country where a child that is a different race than its parents would face an uphill battle socially.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by cyberus at 03:58 PM : May 27, 2008


So what to you is worse, being in adopted into a multi racial family, or floundering in foster care for the rest of their lives with no permanent home?

[cyberus-2009]

-----
Preference should be given to same race parents, but beyond that, adoptions should be colorblind. I don''''t think the kids waiting to be adopted are too worried about the race of the parents willing to adopt them. Love has no color.

Posted by bfenerty
-----

I agree preference should be applied ... and then where the parents live should be taken into account.
Sadly, no matter how well intentioned the adoptive parents may be, there are many many places in this country where a child that is a different race than its parents would face an uphill battle socially.

[blackyowe]

Kids should be given the best chance they can get for happiness and if that means mixed race families I am all for it. In the end our society benifits by kids who grow up in a good home. That is what really matters in the long run. It seems to me with each passing decade race matter less and that is a very good thing for us all. It also matters the kids get adopted fast that sometimes mean being colorblind.

[bfenerty]

Preference should be given to same race parents, but beyond that, adoptions should be colorblind. I don''t think the kids waiting to be adopted are too worried about the race of the parents willing to adopt them. Love has no color.

[porkchop1954]

The love between a parent and child conquers all social aberrations. My wife and I both Caucasian, have adopted and raised four transracial children (one Native American / Caucasian mix, two full Hispanic and one African American / Caucasian Mix - two boys and two girls). They have all grown to be well adjusted and socially productive adults giving their mother and me seven wonderful grand children. Over the years our kids were subjected to some closed mined people from time to time. However, their personalities and positive sense of belonging to a solid family has bolstered their self-stem. They are likely stronger adults today having overcome small minded xenophobic types. Policies impacting transracial adoptions should be molded by those of us who have walked the walk and not those who have close minded and untested opinions.

[credibility2]

If race is going to matter in adopting an unwanted or orphaned child, then bi-racial marriages shouldn''t be allowed either. The black population doesn''t seem to care about adopting there own, which is why there are so many of them in need of loving and caring homes. If whites are willing to open their heart and homes to them unconditionally, then it should be encouraged and allowed. Those who oppose this issue usually have racist issues against whites.