Closing a racial divide

Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

A report by a nonprofit adoption research and advocacy group says a federal law designed to make it easier for white parents to adopt minority children isn’t adequately preparing those families for the cultural differences that can arise later.

The report, released Monday by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, examines the impact of the Multiethnic Placement Act. Congress passed the law in 1994 after white families said they had been denied the opportunity to adopt minority children.

The law, which applies to adoption agencies that receive federal money, prohibits using race or nationality as a reason for denying or delaying a child’s placement in foster care or with an adoptive family. The law also calls for “diligent recruitment” of prospective adoptive parents who come from the same racial and ethnic backgrounds of children in foster care.

But in an effort to avoid being accused of “delaying or denying” placement on the basis of race, agencies covered under the law have virtually ignored race and ethnic backgrounds, the institute’s report says.

As a result, the report says, multiracial adoptive families are not receiving the counseling they need. Furthermore, states are not recruiting minorities, such as black couples, as adoptive parents — even though black children make up 32 percent of all children in foster care.

Transracially adopted children often have trouble coping with being physically “different” from their families, the institute’s report says. Some research has shown that minority children, especially those with dark skin, have expressed a desire to be white like their adopted parents. These families need counseling to help children adjust.

The institute, which says the 1994 law isn’t adequately enforced, has recommended that the law be amended to allow race to be considered when placing children in foster or adoptive homes.

We are not sure yet whether the law should be changed, but it is clear that there are problems in implementing it for adoption agencies. Congress should seriously consider the concerns raised in this report and make sure that the system is helping to provide the best possible homes to these children who so desperately need them.