Transracial Adoption Policies and Practices

Abstract

The over-representation of African American children placed in out-of-home care and in need of adoption continues to be a major problem in the United States. Many believed that the passage of the controversial Multiethnic Placement Act and subsequent Interethnic Provisions would address the problem by increasing the number of African American children adopted. However, the problem still remains years later. Ruth McRoy and Amy Griffin examine the factors associated with US practice and policy initiatives, which aimed to increase the number of adoptions of minority ethnic (especially African American) children in care. The lessons from these experiences may be particularly relevant as the UK develops a new legal, policy and practice framework for transracial adoption to increase permanency for minority ethnic children.