Transracial Adoption

The following post is directly from AdoptUSKids, but I am all about not recreating the wheel.  The do a really good job of providing resources for families on Trans-racial Adoption.  Having a child in your family from a cultural identity/racial identity more different from yours can be a gift and a challenge.  

The greatest gift you can give your family is to arm yourself with knowledge and to understand that your family is on a unique journey, all your own.  It is important that you acknowledge this and that your experience is yours.  It is essential that you prepare your family for the life of being a multicultural family which can be invaluable to everyone. In the following resources from AdoptUSKids and myself--you can arm yourself to parent and continue parenting your adopted child.  

There is a great documentary worth watching called Closer that follows Angela Tucker on her journey of self-discovery.  Angela is a trans-racially adopted child (now a grown articulate and beautiful woman) from Washington State.  Learn more about it at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1885614069/closure-adoption-documentary(See the end of this post for more resources by me).

AdoptUSKids Post:

Transracial Adoption and Foster Care Many children in foster care are placed at some point — either for foster care or adoption — with a family that is of a different race. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has compiled multiple resources on transracial foster care and adoption that can be helpful to agencies as well as to families. The Gateway Web page on cross-cultural issues in foster care provides resources on issues of race and culture in out-of-home care, including parenting tips to enhance child development. Another Gateway website section contains materials on supporting transracial and transcultural adoptive families, including state and local examples and a collection of articles and publications designed for use by families. More Resources for Transracial Foster and Adoptive Parents To help foster and adoptive parents meet the needs of their children, several agencies and organizations have created or collected resources that offer practical advice and parenting strategies. Examples that can be explored as a starting point include: Transracial Parenting in Foster Care & Adoption - Strengthening Your Bicultural Family (PDF – 524 KB) is a guidebook developed by the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association (IFAPA). The guide is designed to help parents and children in transracial homes learn how to thrive in and celebrate their bicultural family, and to help children gain a strong sense of racial identity and cultural connections. The New York State Citizens’ Coalition for Children offers materials including personal essays from adoptees and non-adopted siblings; articles from professionals offering guidance for people raising (or considering raising) children in multicultural families; and a selection of online resources on multiethnic adoption and parenting issues. What My White Parents Didn't Know and Why I Turned Out OK Anyway, by April Dinwoodie and Barry Chaffkin, can be found online in the Fall 2013 (PDF – 659 KB) issue of the Adoptalk newsletter, published by the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC). NACAC also makes available other resource materials to help current or prospective parents think about the role of race in children's lives and help build their children's sense of racial or cultural identity. Pact has created a large number of articles on many aspects of transracial parenting that include day-to-day parenting tips as well insight on the experience of transracial adoption. On Nov. 12 the organization is hosting a webinar on the topic: Transracial Adoption — Should We Consider It, Are We Prepared?

Other Resources:

The National Institute of Health: The Transracial Adoption Paradox; The Transracial Adoption Paradox History, Research, and Counseling Implications of Cultural Socialization by Richard M. Lee http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2366972/     

Casey Family Programs "Knowing Who You Are...a guide to helping youth in care know who they are" developing cultural and racial identity http://www.casey.org/knowing/     this is a curriculum for professionals, but really great!

Adoptive Family Magazine “The Color of Life” http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/transracial-adoption.php            A list of resources for families who have adopted children from specific racial groups.

NACAC (North American Counseling on Adoptable Children) Adoption Talk article “Transracial Adoption: Love is just the beginning.” http://www.nacac.org/adoptalk/TransAdoption.html      

Child Welfare Information Gateway article on Transracial & Transcultural Adoption https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_trans.cfm

The American Fertility Association article on Transracial Adoption:  It will change your family forever http://www.theafa.org/article/transracial-adoption-it-will-change-your-family-forever/          

Huffington Post article by Darren Smith, PHD “Can love overcome race in transracial adoption?  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darron-t-smith-phd/can-love-overcome-race-in_b_2769278.html  

 

 Books:

Inside Transracial Adoption: Strength-based, Culture-sensitizing Parenting Strategies for Inter-country or Domestic... by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (May 28, 2013)

In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories by Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda (Jul 6, 2000) 

Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent's Guide To Raising Multiracial Children by Donna Jackson Nakazawa (Mar 31, 2004) 

Transracial Adoption and Foster Care: Practice Issues for Professionals by Joseph Crumbley (Aug 1999) 



http://time.com/the-realities-of-raising-a-kid-of-a-different-race/   

  

Paulette Caswell, LICSW
Branch Director of Pacific Northwest
Bethany Christian Services Of Washington

1501 N. 200^th St. Ste. 103 Shoreline, WA 98133  
O – (206) 367.4604  F – (206) 367.1860 Direct (616) 254-7719

www.bethany.org/washington

 pcaswell@bethany.org