An Introduction to Transracial Adoption

Transracial adoption is basically the process of matching children belonging to a particular race or ethnic background with parents who belong to another group or race. This may also refer to the process of adopting children from another continent, popularized by Angelina Jolie, but the process also involves adopting children of different races within the United States. 

There are many reasons people choose transracial adoption over conventional adoption. With the great demand for Caucasian children, adoption agencies find it hard to match applicants with white children. It is there a little bit easy to adopt a child of color and this is what a lot of applicants do if they believe that they might find trouble adopting a child at all. There are also some people who adopt children from different raises just because they want to take care of children, especially those who are least likely to get adopted. 

There are different scenarios in the transracial adoption scene and the stories vary from state to state and from agency to agency. There are some adoption experts who feel that it is best to match children with parents of the same race, others believe that at least one out of two parents of the same race should be enough. Others think that the race shouldn't be considered at all when adopting children since the primary purpose of adoption is to provide a home for children. 

To prepare for transracial adoption, a parent must carefully consider the following things:

1. The applicant’s own beliefs regarding ethnicity and race – obviously, a racist might not be fit to undergo transracial adoption. The applicant should have an open mind about race and ethnicity. Moreover, the applicant should be ready to accept that the family he or she is building will indeed be “different”. 

2. The lifestyle and environment should be conducive to raise a child of a different race. The adopted child would be entering practically every aspect of the parent’s life. The lifestyle of the parent should be appropriate to raise a child, especially one with color. 

3. If the applicant can afford raising more than one child, it would be a good idea to adopt siblings. Adopting siblings is usually a good idea as the presence of somebody related could add security. This is especially true for transracial cases because the children will be able to grow up with someone whom they can relate to easily. 

Transcracial adoption is one form of adoption that is relatively still uncommon. However many people consider it a noble act as it enables orphaned or abandoned children of color to have parents and families.

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