Child-welfare groups embrace study urging major changes in transracial adoption
May 28, 2008
Bonnie Miller Rubin - Chicago TribuneIssue date: 5/22/08 Section: Real News
CHICAGO _ Like most parents, Sharon Stone has had to have some frank discussions with her teenage son about everything from drinking to sex.
But she also must tackle another range of delicate topics that might not occur to her Highland Park, Ill., neighbors: "What do you do if you're followed by security at the mall?" or "How do you handle yourself if stopped by the police?"
That's because Stone and her husband, Robert, are white while her two children adopted as infants _ AJ, 14, and Brianna, 10 _ are black.
"People say we should walk through life colorblind," she said. "That is a lovely thought _ and I want roses to fall from the sky _ but that's just not the way our society works."
But under current law, child-welfare agencies that receive federal funds are prohibited from considering any race-related issues in adoption or foster-care placement _ a mandate that keeps them from best serving the needs of children of color, according to a report released Tuesday by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
The study, which has been endorsed by a wide range of child-welfare groups, calls for the "colorblind" legislation to be amended, permitting race to be a factor _ though not the sole factor _ in matching families and preparing parents.
"The status quo isn't working," said Adam Pertman, executive director of the New York-based non-profit institute. "And if we're going to be child-centered, we need to recognize reality and not what our ideal may be."
Among the study's recommendations: Overhaul the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and its 1996 amendment, the Interethnic Adoption Provisions, which made it illegal for federally funded agencies to address race.
The statute was designed to remove barriers and improve the prospects of finding permanent, loving homes for minority children.
But more than a decade later and despite its good intentions, equity has not been realized for African-American youngsters, who make up 15 percent of the U.S. child population but one-third of all children in foster care.
But she also must tackle another range of delicate topics that might not occur to her Highland Park, Ill., neighbors: "What do you do if you're followed by security at the mall?" or "How do you handle yourself if stopped by the police?"
That's because Stone and her husband, Robert, are white while her two children adopted as infants _ AJ, 14, and Brianna, 10 _ are black.
"People say we should walk through life colorblind," she said. "That is a lovely thought _ and I want roses to fall from the sky _ but that's just not the way our society works."
But under current law, child-welfare agencies that receive federal funds are prohibited from considering any race-related issues in adoption or foster-care placement _ a mandate that keeps them from best serving the needs of children of color, according to a report released Tuesday by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
The study, which has been endorsed by a wide range of child-welfare groups, calls for the "colorblind" legislation to be amended, permitting race to be a factor _ though not the sole factor _ in matching families and preparing parents.
"The status quo isn't working," said Adam Pertman, executive director of the New York-based non-profit institute. "And if we're going to be child-centered, we need to recognize reality and not what our ideal may be."
Among the study's recommendations: Overhaul the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and its 1996 amendment, the Interethnic Adoption Provisions, which made it illegal for federally funded agencies to address race.
The statute was designed to remove barriers and improve the prospects of finding permanent, loving homes for minority children.
But more than a decade later and despite its good intentions, equity has not been realized for African-American youngsters, who make up 15 percent of the U.S. child population but one-third of all children in foster care.
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