"Foreigners Adopting More African-American Babies "-- VOA

[TexasLawyer]

Foreigners Adopting More African-American Babies

By Kimberly Russell
Washington DC
01 March 2005


The U.S. State Department says the number of couples adopting American babies from other countries has more than doubled over the last decade. At the same time some Americans don't adopt babies from other countries, saying there's a lack of babies up for adoption in the United States. But in reality, there are plenty of American babies who need a home. Most of them are African-American.

Allison Drake and Earl Stroud wanted to adopt a child. For a White baby, they would have had to wait for several years. Allison and Earl live in Ottawa, Canada. They did not have to wait to adopt Ethan, who is from Chicago, Illinois, where more than 80 percent of babies available for adoption are Black.

Increasingly, Black children are finding homes in Germany, France and especially Canada, which puzzles Earl Stroud. "I just don't understand why American couples go to China and Romania and places like that, when they have kids in their own backyard," says Mr. Stroud.

Michelle Hughes, an adoption attorney, says the main reason is racism. "And parents will actually say, 'I'll take anything but an Africa-American child'," says Ms. Hughes.

Margaret Fleming runs an agency that specializes in finding homes for Black children. She helped Earl and Allison adopt Ethan. And Margaret has adopted five, herself. "At the very top of the adoption hierarchy are White, blue-eyed blonde-haired girls, and unfortunately, at the very bottom of hierarchy, are African-American boys," says Ms. Fleming.

<snip>

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-01-voa1.cfm

[burrowowl]

1. This is Voice of America saying this!

Michelle Hughes, an adoption attorney, says the main reason is racism. "And parents will actually say, 'I'll take anything but an Africa-American child'," says Ms. Hughes.

Racism alive and well in the U$, amazing!

[Hello_Kitty]

2. Gee, where are all the 'pro-lifers'?

How come they aren't opening their Christian homes and hearts to these babies since they're all about saving the babies. Oh yeah, silly me, I forgot it's only the WHITE babies they care about. :mad:

[Kimber Scott]

52. Wouldn't it be nice to line up all the pro-lifers at one of their

demonstrations and force them each to adopt one baby without regard to race, sex, national origin, health, or drug addiction? What a shameful bunch these people are. I wish I could be a fly on the wall at "Judgement Day." If there was one. I can imagine what God would say to these people, "Shameful. Shameful. Shameful. Now, go to hell!"{

[Erika]

3. I posted this on a right-wing site and was banned

and called racist.

Bushies pretend there is no racial divide but the stats aren't there to prove it.

[maxsolomon]

34. MENTIONING race IS rascism to the RW

didn't you know?

also, what is sauce for the goose is NOT sauce for the gander.

[WildClarySage]

4. How sad.

[progressivebydesign]

5. Wow.. that's hard to believe... I had no idea.

I think the adoption of African American babies, by Americans, was harmed by the fights in past years between adoption advocates and African American social workers that worked to forbid adoptions to non-African American families, for cultural reasons. I honestly believed that it was almost impossible to adopt an African American baby, if you are not African American. I think many people are misinformed, as I was.. until today.

[Erika]

6. Yes, Black babies are being shipped out to foreigners

They don't draw much of a demand here. They are the "cheapest" to adopt and the most available.

How sad for Americans and American Blacks. Putting a sales tag on the Blacks as if they were "marked down". And America thinks racism has ended?

[Bridget Burke]

13. How prevalent is this practice?

Do you have documentation showing that it's "almost impossible to adopt an African American baby"?

I had no idea that social workers were so powerful.

[Bunny]

48. Here is a link concerning this:

http://racerelations.about.com/library/weekly/aa121700a.htm


"Still, while federal law prohibits the consideration of race in placing adopted children with families by public agencies, the NABSW is so strongly against the adoption of black children by white families, that they recommend that adoption agencies do everything in their power to place children into same-race adoptive families. And, because current legislation still allows for placement agencies to use their discretion in determining the "best interests of the child," personal opposition to transracial adoption or ignorance of the information available on the effects of transracial adoption may lead to certain racial biases being employed at any rate. Metzenbaum claims, "Black social workers are so determined that white families not adopt black children that they're willing to keep them in foster homes ... rather than white families adopt the children."

[Love Bug]

43. I thought so, too

I had no idea. This is shameful.

[Mojorabbit]

58. This is true

We wanted to adopt and were willing to take an african american baby but they were not doing that at the time. This was in the eighties.

[applegrove]

7. And Bushies don't want any more 'work' done on the racial divide thing.

At least not anything that might result in results like Affirmative Action.

***holes!

[fortyfeetunder]

8. Don't force Murkans to transracial adoption

Hey if Murkans want to get their kids from China, Romania, etc, let them. By their demonstration they can't deal with adopting transracially from within their own country.

[Liberty Belle]

9. Is there really a shortage here, or is Bush just trying to get rid

of future African-American voters (ie, likely Democrats)?

[JI7]

10. part of the problem is Americans fear losing their child to birth parents

because of the laws in this country.

that's why many go overseas to adopt.

those videos of adoptive parents having to return their crying adopted children to the birth parents are very powerful also. nobody wants to go through that.

[Samurai_Writer]

14. Most of the time when that happens...

it's the adoptive parents who have dragged the case out so long, in detriment to the child. Usually they know the parental rights are not terminated yet, and when the birth parent, who legally has the right to CHANGE HER MIND before termination of rights, decides to keep the child, the adoptive parents do everything they can do drag it on for years and years, so that they can build a case of 'the child has only known us as his parents'.

I am sick and tired of people bashing birth parents and making it seem THEY are the ones who are evil, uncaring bitches (or bastards). You try going through something as traumatic as surrending your own child for adoption and see if YOU wouldn't want to change your mind at the last minute.

[JI7]

16. even if that's true, the fact that birth parents have time to get kids

back probably adds to parents who want to adopt from adopting american kids and looking overseas instead.

[Bridget Burke]

19. Sure--take advantage of countries with fewer human rights.

And more poverty.

[JI7]

24. but i don't believe the parents view it in that way at all, to them it's

just about helping kids .

[prodigal_green]

42. isn't that what Germans, French and Canadians are doing

when they adopt a child out of this country?

[JI7]

59. well, i think those nations have low birthrates also

i assume they probably don't have a big problem with large number of kids who need to be adopted.

[shrike]

23. This is why I think a third party should take the child until the

cooling-off period is over. I knew a couple who adopted a baby boy from Catholic Charities. (Years ago). The little boy was a few months old, since he had been cared for in a foster home until the birth mother made her final sign-off. So when they took him home, he was legally free for adoption.

I know there are those who think it is harmful for a baby not to bond immediately with his/her future parents, and that a foster home has negative effects. But isn't a future legal custody battle far more harmful?

[JI7]

25. do you know how long birth parents have to get the kids back ?

what you describe is kind of what i was thinking of. maybe they can do something where the adoptive parents can visit . this way they do get to see the child but they don't have total custody so even if birth parents want to take the child back the pain isn't as bad.

i do think the law needs to be changed in some way because those who are most hurt are the many kids who are never adopted in the first place because of the fear of losing custody of them later on. even if this is likely to happen in just a few cases .

[shrike]

27. This was years ago, in Michigan, but I believe it was 3 mos. or 6 mos.

Something like that. Not too long of a wait. Apparently the Catholic Charities in that community had a standard practice for every child in its care: the waiting period must be over before the child is placed with adoptive parents. I think it was a good policy.

[LeftyMom]

33. It's really unhealthy for an infant to have mulitple caregivers

Babies really need a single consistent caregiver as soon after birth as possible in order to form a healthy attatchment.

[mutus_frutex]

38. Not to pick a fight, but

just a SINGLE consistent caregiver? Aren't you leaving someone out, "LeftyMom"?

[shrike]

49. It's even unhealthier for a child to go through a lengthy custody fight

Which was why I advocate a third party take the child until the waiting period is over.

[Samurai_Writer]

31. Each state is different...

The trend is to giving NO time for reconsidering when a parent signs termination papers. Most states are at a laughably short 3 days or so. And considering that most adoption agencies want the birthmother's signature ASAP after the birth, that means she is still going through post-partum at the time these papers are signed. Of course,that doesn't take into account the numerous unethical lawyers and facilitators who will have the mother sign while she's still in the hospital, or in some cases, even before the baby is born.

And I contend people go to foreign countries to adopt not mainly to 'help the children' but to 'not have to deal with the birthparents'. Most adoptions in the US are starting to be open or semi-open now. Most of the adoptive parents I've spoken to who have gone abroad are the ones who find open adoption horrifying and want a completely closed adoption.

There are exceptions, of course, but in my 13 years as an adoption educator and activist, this is the reason I have heard most.

[American Renaissance]

40. that is 100% true, but...

it isn't an invalid reason either,

I know of a couple (african american) who adopted a child only to have the junkie mother, with the aide of some do-gooder social workers come after them (they aren't convinced the woman really cared either way). Apprently the idea was if the mother got the baby back, she would have something to live for and she would get clean for the good of the baby. They "won" by default when the mother died of a drug overdose before the matter was resolved.

They decided to adopt after losing three pregnancies because they couldn't take anymore emotional pain. Only to be subjected to an assult from the very same people who said they would be there to support them every step of the way during the adoption process.

They have since adopted two more children from Haiti because they didn't want to risk going through that again. The adoption process was completed in a matter of hours, they got on a plane and went home with THEIR children.

If you want to see people adopt, the adoption system has to be tailored to the needs and desires of the adopting parents, not the perceived rights of those who wouldn't/couldn't/shouldn't care for their own kids.

It certainly isn't a nice thing to say, but it is just about where things sit. In this sort of matter, the path most travelled is the path of least resistance.

[Samurai_Writer]

41. I disagree with this statement...

"If you want to see people adopt, the adoption system has to be tailored to the needs and desires of the adopting parents, not the perceived rights of those who wouldn't/couldn't/shouldn't care for their own kids."

WRONG... the adoption system has to be tailored to the needs and desires of the CHILDREN it is SUPPOSED to be serving. For every 'birthmother was a junkie' horror story I've heard, I have heard 100 stories of coercion and fraud against a birthmother who COULD have raised her child, with just a little help.

We are talking about newborn/infant adoption here. Adoption is a permanent solution to what in many cases is a temporary issue.

And btw, it's not "perceived" rights of birthparents (those who you say 'shouldn't/wouldn't/couldn't care for their own kids')... birthparents DO have legal rights in this country, like it or not. How would you like it if someone who made 10x your salary and was perceived as 'more stable' than you just came in and said, "I'm gonna take your kids, because I can't have any and I want yours?" I'm sure you would fight tooth and nail for YOUR CHILDREN. That is what people forget in adoption -- birthparents are PARENTS... they have all the rights and responsibilities of being a PARENT until they sign that termination notice.

Bella

[American Renaissance]

46. I agree with you, but this isn't a perfect world.

In a perfect world every child would be born to a perfect family and mothers would have infinite support available to them and everyone could raise their own kids ect.

But we don't live in a perfect world and we as a society have to look for solutions that are workable today. You can't put babies in the freezer and wait for a perfect social safety net to be established so their birth mothers can care for them.

[Bridget Burke]

15. The last adoption that was discussed here...

In which the child was going back to a birth parent--was not handled well, legally. Both parents had not signed the correct releases. If legal details are handled scrupulously, this would not be a problem.

But a country with fewer legal protections has cheaper kids. And what poor mother can afford to fight an international case?

[Walt Starr]

20. That's why my wife and I WILL NOT adopt in this country

We won't put ourselves through that possibility. No way!

We'll adopt outside this country, but NEVER within.

[mimitabby]

32. nope, sorry

that doesn't explain why white babies in the USA are getting
adopted and black ones aren't.

[Mist]

11. The silver lining is

those black children will probably do bettr outside of racist America.

[Demeter]

12. Frankly, In Today's Political & Economic Climate

ANYBODY would do better outside the good old US of A.

[gottaB]

17. It's immoral to create an artificial demand for babies

Bulgaria's Disturbing Baby Market

[Stuckinthebush]

18. We have neighbors who have adopted 5 Ukrainian children

which is admirable. Their belief is that they are called by their god to provide a home for these children. They are going to go for more.

It is hard to criticize this family for their generosity and compassion, but I always have wondered why they take a trip half way around the world to find a child to adopt when we have so many children in the US that need homes.

Of course, many of these children needing homes in the US are Black.

[NicoleM]

21. I've long considered adopting an AA kid but

I'm white and I live in Whitey McWhitesville, and I'm not sure I could adequately raise an African American child with a sense of who he or she is. (I have a cold and I'm all hopped up on the Robitussen, so I hope that makes sense.)

[mutus_frutex]

39. I really don't understand what the issue is.

Do parent that adopt chinese babies try to have them keep their culture or do they raise them adapted to American culture? The same goes for Ukranians or any other origin. Why are African American kids especial? Do black parents that adopt white kids have to raise them "white"?

I think we would be all better if we were truly color blind..

[Samurai_Writer]

44. My sister adopted two girls from China...

because her husband was deemed 'too old' to go through the US adoption system (he was 47 at the time, anything over 40 is 'too old' for US adoption agencies, for the most part).

My sister and b-i-l do foster the chinese culture in their girls and talk about adoption openly. They are planning to take the girls to China when they are in high school, to show them their cities of birth.

Most agencies who deal with chinese adoptions have social programs, summer camps, and other activities for the kids to socialize together and learn about their culture and language. They also make the parents sign an agreement to keep the child's chinese name as either their first or middle name.

Foreign adoption CAN be a good thing when it is putting the needs of the CHILD first, not the adoptive parents.

[mutus_frutex]

51. That seems like a good approach..

Coming from a very homogeneous society with very few racial problems, this topic is a bit alien to me. That was the reason behind my first post.

Since I'm a multiculturalist in the sense that I consider that all cultures have some redeeming value (and NOT that all cultures are equally valuable), I'm very suspicious of any try to foment diversity just for the sake of it.

I think that a mixture of the culture of the parents and that of the children is probably the best approach. Otherwise you are either telling the parents that their culture is not good to raise their kids, or telling the kids that the culture of their biological parents is not good. Besides all this it is the facts that the kids must be adapted to the culture that they are living in.

Cheers..

[wicket]

22. 60 Minutes had a story on this a couple weeks ago...

Great episode,

[StuckinKS]

26. Years ago, there was a movement

to only place African-American children in A-A homes for cultural reasons. In 1993, Congress passed the Multi Ethnic Placement Act which clarified the rules. In a nutshell, social workers are prohibited from discriminating in adoptive or foster placements on the basis of race. There are some exceptions such as when an older child has developed a cultural identity.

My partner and I are white and have adopted two white children and one black child, H*. We will have to be very aware of racial issues as we rear H*, but as a dear A-A friend said, "There is no monolithic black culture. We are just as diverse as your are." We are lucky to have many close black friends to serve as examples of the larger world.

When we decided to adopt, we specifically ruled out international adoptions because we were aware of the number of children in need in the US. We also said that race was not a factor at all. My experience has been that most people who meticulously chose the characteristics of their prospective adoptive children were merely looking for a little image of themselves so that they could pose as a non-adoptive family.

[gottaB]

28. I remember reading Carol Moseley Braun's argument in favor of that

It endeared her to me.

Can you imagine if the law prohibited you from adopting H*? It's hard for me to fathom why people would want to substitute discrimination for love, and even put that discrimination into law or public policy.

[TexasLawyer]

29. I'm an adoptive mother of three

My husband and I adopted privately, starting 15 years ago. That was at the tail end of that movement to keep AA children in AA homes. My husband and I put ads in newspapers and we were prepared to accept the first situation that seemed on the level, that involved birthparents who could commit themselves to going through with an adoption, that didn't involve an unhealthy birth-mother, and other non-racial considerations.

We were ready to take a child of any race or racial mixture, since race seemed irrelevant to our real needs in the adoption. We are white, and we live in a very urban, racially mixed city (Houston, TX), where non-hispanic caucasians are actually in the minority. It ultimately turned out that we adopted 3 caucasian babies, but that wasn't because of any preference of ours.

I never fully understood the objection that white people were not qualified to raise a black or bi-racial child. For one thing, our cultures have melded so much that I don't see that huge a difference anymore. My sisters have married inter-racially, I love rap, blues and R&B music, I'm a Democrat, I laugh like a crazy person when I watch the Chappell Show, etc...

Plus, like your friend says, "There is no monolithic black culture." If a culturally-American Black adopts a black infant, couldn't that also be denying the baby a rich afro-Cuban heritage of music, history, food, etc...? It seems foolish to deny a baby a permanent home on this basis.

You sound like excellent and sensitive adoptive parents, and I bet your babies are very lucky to have such a caring home, no matter what your or their outside color is. It's what's in your heart that really counts.

[girl gone mad]

57. I have an African American cousin who was adopted..

into my mostly caucasian family (I'm also adopted).

I know that he and his parents and siblings faced a fair amount of discrimination, not just from whites but also from African Americans who didn't think it was right for a white couple to be raising a black boy. There definitely seemed to be a lot of resentment towards them from some in the black community.

The discrimination that I witnessed them go through would make me think twice before adopting an African American child, though I have absolutely nothing against it.

[kayell]

30. The kids are better off being adopted into a civilized country

rather than the bigoted, nasty, superstitiously rw religious banana republic we've become. Certainly the odds against African-American males in this country are more than anyone should have to bear.

[tom_paine]

35. I am glad for those Amerikan children, going to the Free World

They are infintely better off than their compatriots who will have to remain in the Tyrannical Imperial Amerika (at least it's a Kinder and Gentler Tyranny, for the moment).

At least until Amerika "Anschlusses" Canada, because Tyrannical Nations seldom tolerate Free Nations next door to them.

[noonwitch]

36. I don't have the words to express how I feel about this

But I'll try

I'm not surprised by this. I work in the abuse/neglect end of the child welfare system, so the kids I get have relatives who want them, or foster parents who will adopt them if their parents don't get their acts together.

This sounds more like it's the situations where women give up their babies at birth, for whatever their reason is. A couple will wait 5-10 years for a white kid, will pay thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles to adopt a kid from Russia, China or Korea, but won't adopt a black child from their own community? Racism doesn't surprise me anymore, but it still disgusts me. A baby is a baby, a little creation who needs people to love it. He doesn't care if they are white or black, it's too bad that so many potential parents care what color he is.

On the up side-go canadians! Adopt as many as you like, for their sakes. With this kind of racism in this country, maybe those children are better off in Canada or Europe. But it shouldn't be that way.

[Yavin4]

37. Well, I'm A 40 year old African American Baby and if any Foreigner wants..

to adopt me, then I'll go. I prefer a Swedish national female, and I still breast feed.

[Logansquare]

45. LOL--that reminds of that old Richard Pryor routine

where he regresses back 10 years for every article of clothing his date removes.

[Huckebein the Raven]

55. LOL. Me too.

[Logansquare]

47. My best friends (white) adopted an AA baby five years ago

It was a semi-open adoption, with an agreement that the birth mother can meet her when she was grown, and they send a letter to the birth mom once a year. The wife has AA female friends who taught her about hair and skin care; she's become one of the most expert braiders I've ever see. They have sadly become newly introduced to open racism, most of it from white people directed at their little girl; however, they have had a couple of weird encounters with black hostility. In most cases, AA people who meet the family seem cautiously positive.

[Samurai_Writer]

50. Sorry, that's not a 'semi-open' adoption...

That's a 'limited contact' adoption. A letter once a year is in NO WAY 'open adoption'. Especially if that letter is sent through the adoption agency, with all indentifying information blacked out, which is a common practice. Also, the adoptive parents are under no legal obligation to send that letter once a year. And, the adoptee can decide for herself if she wants to meet her birth family, anytime after her 18th birthday. So putting it in an agreement that the birthmother can meet her 'when she was grown' and have letters from the aparents once a year is worth as much as a piece of spit-wad paper. Now, I'm not saying your friends would not honor this 'agreement', but I know many aparents who do not.

[Logansquare]

53. I have never adopted a child, so you'll have to excuse my ignorance

on the legalities involved. From what I understand, this is a voluntary agreement through the agency involved; I didn't mean to imply that it was a legal contract.

[deadparrot]

54. I'd rather them find a good home abroad rather than rot

in our orphanages.

So very sad that the supposed "pro-lifers" don't seem to give a shit about kids after they're born, especially if they're not white or not in perfect health.

[rinsd]

56. What about same race placement?

Don't most adoption agencies in this country give a priority to same race placement?

I could be wrong but I thought that was standard policy.

[TexasLawyer]

60. Most private agencies will shoot for same-race placement

but will bend their policies to accommodate harder to place sibling groups or to deal with a shortage of AA adopting families coinciding with the availability of AA children.

That is usually true for state-placed babies and children, as well. Usually, though, state adoptions involve some period of foster care, even for newborns. There have been times when white foster parents tried to adopt their AA foster child, even one where the baby was 2 or 3 and had lived with the white family since birth. But the adoption was over-ruled by social workers who put policy over human compassion and ordered the baby removed into a permanent AA adoptive family.

I don't think that happens in Texas anymore, but it might happen elsewhere.

[StuckinKS]

61. It might still happen

but it would be illegal under federal law if it did. Anyone knowing of such flagarant disregard for MEPA (Multi Ethnic Placement Act of 1993) should ask for an investigation by their local federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

There are many federal memos and documents which make it very clear that there are only very few instances where race may play a part in the state's placement of foster or adoptive children.