Should Adoption be Colorblind or not?

This past week, an article appeared in the Washington Post entitled, Major changes urged in transracial adoption, (May 27th, 2008) that called for changes in recruiting minority families to adopt African-American children in foster care and requiring white families to undergo training on transracial adoption.

I support training on transracial adoptions, as many families who want to adopt transracial children already are required to attend a mandatory training by most of their adoption agencies. I believe we need to be careful to not single out white adoptive and foster parents. Adoptive and foster parents have to pass rigid homestudy requirements in order to be considered and recommended to adopt transracial children. These parents are committed to providing loving homes for these children. Parenting comes from the heart and not from the womb. A child's love is colorblind when it comes to healthy attachments between parents and a child.

According Dr. Barbara Okun, Ph.D., in her book, Understanding Diverse Families-What Practitioners Need to Know (1996), "one can't assume that the problems are due to adoption or multiraciality,but one can explore possible influencing factors." (P.297). Dr. Okun supports transracial families to be open to the discussion of race and racial differences within the family.

Adoptive and foster parents are open to educational resources, supports, and advocacy in providing the best home environment for their children. Let's hope that these child welfare groups don't limit or take away the right of white families who want to adopt transracial children. What is the alternative if these children are languishing in foster care and being unloved?

I urge mental health professions to increase their knowledge, skills, and self-awareness when counseling transracial families and to not use their biases and judgements to dissolve these loving families based on ethnic factors. Embrace the uniqueness and honor the differences in these families.



Robbin Miller, LMHC
Facilitator for www.therapistsforchange.blogspot.com