The joy and disappointment of the adoption process

November is commonly known as a fall month and a month commonly associated with Thanksgiving. November is also recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. Be that as it may, it brings a lot of discussion of raising a child versus choosing to place a child for adoption. Raising a child in an ever-changing and evolving economy can prove to be a daunting task.
Although many citizens are able to find viable and creative solutions, there are various options in place for those who cannot. One widely recognized option is adoption. Adoption is fairly common worldwide, with 4.5 million children being adopted in the U.S. alone. Unfortunately, it is a sad and grim fact that only a mere 23 percent of Black children are being adopted. The bigger question at hand, is what is the demographic of adoptive parents adopting Black children and what issues do they face?
White parents are the most common adoptive families seeking to adopt black children. Black families in general are less likely to adopt. One article reviewed was entitled, “Black Children Are Overrepresented In The Foster Care System. Why Aren’t We Adopting Them?” It stated “You almost never saw or heard about situations where Black adults like my mother were adopting Black children. Nearly three decades later, it’s still something of a rarity to see Black children being adopted and raised by Black parents.” There are only an estimated 18 adoptions per 10,000 Black families. However, up to 25 percent Black adult have seriously considered adopting, there are a number of barriers standing in their way. Barriers include but are not limited to racial discrimination in the foster care system, age, stage of life, finances, distrust in the foster system, work, and family situations.
One type of adoption that is particularly common among the Black community is kinship adoption, which is where adoption takes place amongst the family. That same article details the positive journey of a young Black woman at the age of 31 who fondly recalls her upbringing being raised by an educated, Black woman, Brennan Nevada Johnson says,“I had the unique privilege of having a Black mother not only love and embrace me, but also help me identify and interact with the world as Black person.”
In the early 1900s, there was an instance where a report of a White girl was found with a Black family and was deemed kidnapped and then rescued. It was later revealed that the child was Black and she was returned back to the Black family because according to an article entitled, “Cultural Stereotypes Die Hard: The Case of Transracial Adoption”, “It was not proper for the black child to be living with a White family.” In 1972, the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) argued that White families should never be able to adopt Black children. In 1994, the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) and then the Interethnic Placement Act (IEPA) were put into place.
According to an article entitled, “Black Families, Adoption and the Child Welfare System”, “Both acts banned discrimination on the basis of the race or national origin of the child or the prospective foster or adoptive parent and opened the way for non-Black parents to adopt Black children and other children of color without having to negotiate institutional barriers from adoption agencies who had previously prioritized matching children with same-race parents.” Part of MEPA’s goals in creating the acts was to assist culturally diverse and minority adoptive and foster families who could help the children needing placement become adopted. Many minority children were spending up to twice the amount of time in placement waiting to be adopted. Additionally, birth parents are not allowed to request specifics as to their children’s placements in regards to Race, Country National Origin (RCNO).
On the other hand, adoptive parents have the right to decide what ethnicity their child will be and to deny or object a child based on their race. According to the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) up to 21 percent of Black children were waiting to be adopted in 2022. According to an article entitled, “Transracial Adoption: Statistics and Social Challenges”, only a mere 9,588 Black children of a total of 57,881 children were adopted. Currently, transracial adoption has proven to be far more common. Transracial adoption is defined as the adoption of a child by a family of a different race and culture. Between the years of 2017-2019, up to 28 percent of all adoptions proved to be transracial.
Most transracial adoptions involve up to 90 percent of children of color being adopted by a different race. Of the parents that adopted, up to 73 percent were White. Black adoptees face a myriad of issues including but not limited to, developing racial identity, coping with discrimination, family conflicts, lack of cultural mirrors and implicit biases. Lydia Berkey works as a permanency worker at a child welfare agency and adoption counselor, shares beneficial information for white adoptive parents. She was a Black adoptee of White parents.
In an article entitled “What White Adoptive Parents Need To Know About Raising Black Children”, she offers advice to potential white adoptive parents. Berkey writes, “When a family adopts a child of a different race they become a multicultural family. It is important for White parents to adjust their lifestyle and family norms accordingly. Many transracial adoptees grow up isolated from their race of origin. I strive to emphasize to White adoptive parents the importance of transracial adoptees having a sense of belonging and identity when it comes to their race, which should begin in their early childhood years. I believe White adoptive parents can best serve their transracial adoptee through representation inside and outside the home.”
She goes on to state that it was difficult to develop her racial identity in a White family. She often felt disconnected from her parents as they were unable to relate. Berkey notes that as a young girl she recognized the difference between her and her parents’ skin tone. Berkey suggests that parents become actively involved in integrating Black culture into their lives by reading books, having a diverse set of toys, going to cultural events and interacting with people that look like them. In terms of how to better assist children, she encourages parents to give current day- to-day examples of racism Black adoptees may encounter. Examples include systemic racism, stereotypes, and microaggressions. Berkey also encourages White parents to educate themselves on current issues such as racism and how it impacts the community in which they live in and their families. She also suggests for White parents to empower their children to speak out when something racist occurs in their lives.
Berkey’s experience speaks to those of Black adoptees who share trials and tribulations while growing up in White families or families that do not mirror their own. Education is important and discussion is healthy for both the adoptee and potential adoptive parents and or family. Luckily there are many organizations put in place to help Black families adopt children and assist the Black community with providing helpful information regarding the adoption process. Organizations exist all throughout the United States such as, African American Adoption Program/ The Cradle and WAT! (We Adopt Too!).