Blacks are less likely to adopt than whites.
Why Black Couples Should Think Twice About Adoption
by Mark Anthony Neal | TheLoop21
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend always holds a special place for me. Eight years ago, on the Friday after Thanksgiving my wife and I got word that we would be adopting our second child. The anniversary of my youngest daughter’s adoption coincides with National Adoption Month, a month set aside to raise awareness about the status of children in the Foster Care system.
According to statistics provided by the Administration for Children and Families, there are nearly a half-million children currently in Foster Care. Thirty-one percent of those children within Foster Care are Black, representing a percentage that twice that of the Black population in the United States.
The reasons why Black kids populate the Foster Care at such a high percentage are varied, including the fact child welfare offices often disproportionately direct Black children in Foster Care, instead of showing more patience in dealing with the struggles of Black families. As NPR’s Michel Martin noted in his story about Foster Care last year, very often child welfare workers bring negative opinions about Black families into their sense of what would be in the in best interests of Black children.
But the issues that send Black children into Foster Care is just one part of the narrative. Black children are also disproportionately represented in Foster Care because Black adults do not adopt children at nearly the same rates as their White peers. As recently as two years ago, the federal government embarked on an ad campaign to encourage Black adults to adopt Black children.
Read the Full Essay @ theLoop21
Why Black Couples Should Think Twice About Adoption
by Mark Anthony Neal | TheLoop21
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend always holds a special place for me. Eight years ago, on the Friday after Thanksgiving my wife and I got word that we would be adopting our second child. The anniversary of my youngest daughter’s adoption coincides with National Adoption Month, a month set aside to raise awareness about the status of children in the Foster Care system.
According to statistics provided by the Administration for Children and Families, there are nearly a half-million children currently in Foster Care. Thirty-one percent of those children within Foster Care are Black, representing a percentage that twice that of the Black population in the United States.
The reasons why Black kids populate the Foster Care at such a high percentage are varied, including the fact child welfare offices often disproportionately direct Black children in Foster Care, instead of showing more patience in dealing with the struggles of Black families. As NPR’s Michel Martin noted in his story about Foster Care last year, very often child welfare workers bring negative opinions about Black families into their sense of what would be in the in best interests of Black children.
But the issues that send Black children into Foster Care is just one part of the narrative. Black children are also disproportionately represented in Foster Care because Black adults do not adopt children at nearly the same rates as their White peers. As recently as two years ago, the federal government embarked on an ad campaign to encourage Black adults to adopt Black children.
Read the Full Essay @ theLoop21
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