TRANSRACIAL

ADOPTION

WHAT IS TRANSRACIAL
ADOPTION?
Transracial adoption is when a child is adopted by a family that is a
different race than them. (also known as interracial adoption)
This type of adoption includes families from within a country
adopting children from that country as well as families from one
country adopting children from another.
Only 28% of adoptions in the U.S. are transracial adoptions in the
foster care system

WHAT COUNTRY DO MOST

ADOPTEES COME FROM?
A. Asia
B. The United States
C. Russia
D. Africa

THE ANSWER IS ASIA

American families adopt
children from Korea, China, the
Philippines, and India the most.
This is because Asians are
considered the ideal minority for
white families because they
resemble white people.

WHAT PERCENT OF INTERNATIONAL

ADOPTION PLACEMENTS ARE
TRANSRACIAL?
A. 32 %
B. 100 %
C. 84 %
D 51 %

The answer is C.) 84%

59% of these children are of Asian decent.

HISTORY OF TRANSRACIAL
ADOPTION

APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY BLACK AND

BIRACIAL CHILDREN WERE ADOPTED BY
WHITE ADOPTIVE PARENTS?
A. 40,000
B. 20,000
C. 50,000
D. 30,000

THE ANSWER IS 50,000

At the time, adoption of black children by white families was
thought necessary due to the increasing number of black children
in foster care and the seeming lack of black adoptive families.
The vast majority of children in the world who are adopted are nonwhite however 73% of these children are adopted by white parents

THE PRACTICE OF TRANSRACIAL

ADOPTION WAS SEVERELY CHALLENGED
IN WHAT YEAR?
A. 1960
B. 1972
C. 1965
D. 1962

THE ANSWER IS 1972

At the national conference of the North American Council on
Adoptable Children, the National Association of Black Social
Workers (NABSW) issued a formal position opposing transracial
adoption.
The NABSW had concerns that such placements comprised the
childs racial and cultural identity.

THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION

New contraceptive technology like the pill, legalized abortion after
Roe v. Wade, and the sexual revolution all decreased the supply of
healthy white infants.
The result was that some white parents reconsidered their
preference for the same-race adoption.

WHAT PERCENT OF NON-WHITE

CHILDREN ARE ADOPTED BY WHITE
PARENTS?
A. 93%
B. 73%
C. 22%
D. 19%
The answer is C! Although the vast majority of children in the world
who are adopted are non-white many of these children are adopted
by white parents.

LAWS OF TRANSRACIAL
ADOPTION

1978 Indian Child Welfare Act

protects the best interests of Indian children and to promote the
stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the
establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of
Indian children from their families

Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994

mandated that adoption agencies receiving federal funds cannot
deny or delay adoptions based solely on racial difference, but it
could still be considered as a deciding factor. It also required that
states were to recruit more families of color to be foster families
and adoptive parents that represented the racial and ethnic
background of the child welfare system

1996 Interethnic Placement Act

race was not to be considered as a factor in decisions
about foster care or adoption placements.

WHAT ORGANIZATION
OPPOSED MEPA?
A. National Association of Social Workers
B. Association of Social Work Boards
C. National Association of Black Social Workers
D. Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners

THE ANSWER IS C. NABSW

1972 Position Statement of Transracial Adoption

IMPACTS OF TRANSRACIAL
ADOPTION

NABSW STANCE
Oppose transracial adoption
Improper socialization
Lose of childrens cultural identity
Self-esteem problems

PROPONENTS OF
TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION
Transracial adoption is not
detrimental

Transracial adoption is better

Children shouldnt stay in system

Higher IQs

Other factors besides race effect outcome

Better environment

Social Aspect

Better Education

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF ADOPTIONS

IN THE U.S. ARE TRANSRACIAL?
A. 50%
B. 28%
C. 47%
D. 63%
The answer is B!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT

TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION?
(OPEN DISCUSSION)