Benefits Of Transracial Adoption

Transracial adoption refers to the adoption of a child of a different ethnic background or racial appearance than the adoptive parents. This refers to many international adoptions as well as domestic adoptions of biracial children or Native American adoptees.

The benefits of transracial adoption include the placement of some of the hardest children to find adoptive families for due to the lack of diversity in adoptive parents. The majority of adoptive parents are Caucasian. In the foster care system, biracial children are sometimes listed as children with "special needs" because of the controversy that seems to have carried over from the past into today's post-racial society. It's illegal for case workers to allow race be a determining factor in the adoption placement process. However, with the identity issues that can sometimes arise in adoption and biracial children independently this concern may be somewhat warranted.

Many children of mixed birth parents are more likely to be placed with an adoptive couple of the minority race because it is believed to be the more prevalent identity for possible discrimination. Transracial can be a positive experience, especially if the child is being adopted from a third world country in which he or she would not have had the same benefits that come with American citizenship. It's important that adoptive parents work to help their adoptee adapt a positive self-image. This is achieved by being knowledgeable about their ethnic background, the culture, religious practices and lifestyle.