Transracial Adoption And What To Know Before Placing Your Baby for Adoption
The primary concern is always making sure that your child is placed with the best family possible when considering adoption. However, in a country and time period where race is a controversial topic with many nuances, giving up a baby for adoption may involve more consideration than in the past. Birth mothers now, specifically racial or ethnic minorities, have an obligation to consider certain factors when placing their child up for adoption. Some questions that should be asked are: Do I want my child to be raised by people of their own race? How important is the preservation of culture to me? Would I like adoptive parents of a different race to celebrate my child’s culture? With the frenzy that the adoption process can often cause, it is not uncommon for questions like these to slip a birth mother’s mind, but the impact of having considered them and even potentially acted on them can’t be understated.
At Adoption Choices of Colorado, we want every birth mother to feel confident in who they choose to place their child with, and we understand that there may be a variety of reasons that birth mothers decide certain adoptive parents aren’t a good fit for them. Our job is to help you consider all these factors so that you can make the best possible choice for you and your child.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
What is Transracial Adoption, And Why is it So Common?
Transracial adoption, otherwise referred to as multiracial or interracial adoption, is an adoption where a birth mother places her child with adoptive parents of another race. While this can also apply to international adoptions, transracial adoptions do not have to occur internationally, despite a common assumption. Adopting children from different racial or ethnic groups has been common for some time but has only grown in popularity as time has gone on. One reason for this is that the United States is becoming more diverse, so adoptive families are becoming more diverse. There is also the historical reasoning that many of the families who are both willing and able to adopt children are caucasian. Therefore, many of the children being placed for Colorado adoption come from minority backgrounds. So naturally, many children are adopted by families who share a different racial or ethnic background than them. There is nothing wrong with this because what matters most is that good people become adoptive parents. However, culture can play a large role in a child’s life, so it can be dangerous for the child not to have themselves be seen by their parents. This does not have to be a deterrent. Instead, it should be an opportunity for birth mothers to really consider how much their culture means to them and how they can best pass it on to their child even after placement.
The Realities of Being Raised Outside Your Race
As we’ve already mentioned, there are many realities to being raised by a family of a different race or ethnic group, and this is an opportunity for birth mothers to really tackle the adoption process. Transracial adoptions can be a great way for birth mothers to give a child a life they would not have otherwise, especially if your child is coming from a country where there is an abundance of children waiting to be adopted. So to make sure that you can give your child the best chance at life while prioritizing their cultural identity, here are some common realities of looking out for:
- Ignoring the significance and difference in color: There is a common misconception that it’s better to “not see color,” and, while understandable, this is ultimately flawed. What this does is isolate the child and make them feel estranged from an aspect of their identity that is both prominent and relevant in their life as well as the lives of those from the same racial or ethnic group.
- Living in non-diverse areas: Another potential reality for children who parents adopt outside of their race is that they may live and attend a school in an area lacking diversity. This can be harmful because of how it separates kids from their culture by preventing them from seeing other kids who look like them and share a common background. Children can also be cruel and further isolate child from their peers at a young age.
- Not talking about differences: Similar to the first point listed above, not taking time to talk about racial or ethnic differences can have a wide range of effects. In some cases, a child may bottle their emotions up and not feel like their home is a safe space to discuss these topics if it’s never been modeled for them. In other cases, this may even be dangerous as a child may not fully realize their own differences and not fully understand how they should navigate the world.
Finding Adoption Services Near Me
There are many ways birth mothers can try and prevent some of these potential side effects of transracial adoptions, but all start with open conversations about your values and what you’d like for your child. Birth mothers may be able to discuss these values and outline some things they would like for their child, like different opportunities to embrace their culture and understand how that may affect their identity. Open adoptions can also be a great way to ensure you have an opportunity to instill these values within your child even after placement.
Adoption Choices of Colorado wants to see both you and your child succeed and be able to navigate and challenge the adoption process confidently may throw at you.
If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to learn more about your adoption options, contact Adoption Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.
Meet the author: David T. Garcia is currently a student at Syracuse University working towards his degree in English with a concentration in film. He is a resident of Northern New Jersey and spends much of his time in New York City, whether it be for business or pleasure. David is looking forward to graduation so he can begin his life and pursue his ambitions. He has dreams of moving out to New York City and working as a young professional in the content writing space while also working on his own screenplays. In his free time, David enjoys spending time with family as well as watching movies and reading books. He has a passion for travel and looks forward to new experiences.
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!