Family Adoption Research Paper

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Every time I think of adoption I think of a wonderful process that takes place. I think of a family being formed due to a birthmother’s wonderful, yet painful choice. I have never been in a birthmother's position but I can only imagine what they must be going through when they make the decision to make an adoption plan. We have couples that have been struggling with infertility for years. After being told multiple times they cannot have children, to receive that call from the adoption agency stating they have their child waiting for them or a birthmother would like to meet them. That is truly what social work is. Social Workers work with all three sides of the adoption triad. 6 in 10 Americans have had personal experience with adoption,…show more content…
Transracial adoptions are when a child is of a racial background different to that of the family that is adopting the child. Intercountry adoptions are those where a child is adopted from another country. Foster care adoptions are those where a child is removed from biological parents and placed into the foster care system. Once in the foster care system children might be open to adoption. There is also the foster parent adoption where those who have served as foster parents can adopt the child. Finally, there are the Kinship adoptions, where related family members can adopt the child when the parents’ rights have been terminated. Even though all of these adoptions options are available; they are not exempt of the problems that can arise especially when race is taken into account. In 1994 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families created the Howard M. Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA). MEPA "prohibits an agency or entity that receives Federal assistance and is involved in adoptive or foster care placements from delaying or denying the placement of a child on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the adoptive or foster parent, or the child involved." This meant children were not going to be placed on "hold" just because they could not find an adoptive or foster family that was the same race or ethnicity as

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