This proposed study is significant to the field of social work because assessing and gaining a better understanding of MSW students’ beliefs and attitudes toward transracial adoption will help in the development and implementation of the appropriate curriculum in social work education programs so that students are equipped with the proper skills to work in the field of social work, specifically in adoption, upon graduation. It is important that MSW students are taught these skills because they are the professionals who will be working in adoption, making it imperative that these professionals have received the proper education regarding transracial adoption, including the unique challenges that families face, the specific needs families have, …show more content…
Some doubt the ability of adopting parents to instill a positive racial identity in a child from a different race (Simon, 1978). Others argue that a permanent and loving home is clearly more desirable for every child compared to the temporary nature of institutional or foster care systems (Hollingsworth, 2000). Because there seems to exist no better or even viable alternative that would completely exclude transracial adoption, the solution should be better cultural education and increased support for transracial adopting families. As Carter-Black (2002) puts it, we should be “pursuing strategies to enhance the successful outcomes for adoptive families and their children” (p. …show more content…
It seems to have a positive trajectory. In the seventies the practice had some severe opposition. Many Black social workers of that era went as far as calling transracial adoption a “diabolical trick” (Carter-Black, 2002, p. 344) and “racial genocide” (Simon, 1978, p. 141). However, as time has passed, studies are showing an increased optimism toward transracial adoption. Fenster (2004) discovered that this shift in the transracial adoption debate is directly correlated to an increased optimism about race relations in younger generations. In 2003 Whatley, Jahangardi, Ross, and Knox found that the college students they surveyed had “overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward transracial adoption” (p. 2). And, most dramatically, Moos and Mwaba’s (2007) study of South African college students found that 87 percent supported transracial adoption. In a country with such a recent history of institutionalized racism it is fascinating that this South African study suggests that transracial adoption has increased tolerance and could be “the most convincing evidence of change regarding race relations” (p. 1118) in South Africa. If this is true in South Africa, perhaps the same could one day be true for
In today’s society where an abundance of resources exists, social workers are often the entry point for people to access services. Therefore, it is imperative for social worker professionals to have a clear understanding of themselves in relation to the client from a cultural perspective. While the social work profession has always focused on social justice and oppression, it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that there was a conscious shift in the social work pedagogy to focus the social service practice on race, racism, and training the workforce in cultural competences. Later in the mid 1980’s, the tone of cultural competence would shift from race and racism to a more inclusive language, which includes a more robust list of all types
Zlotnik, J. L. & Cornelius, L. (2000). Preparing Social Work Students for Child Welfare Careers:
The analysis explored in this document is implementing a program UNIT for parents adopting a different race from their own. Adopting outside of a race is a life altering decision because of regulating mechanisms that condition people to accept or reject individuals based on their appearances. There are not any programs that guide transracial adoptions after they occur. Society as a whole has its own prejudices. The adoptive parents should know about their children’s cultural backgrounds. Society is not very conscience of prejudging it is just something that is a part of life. This is unfortunately one more issue dealt with by adopted children.
... into the United States. In spite of such good deeds being taken in action by some people, the problem still exists. Since the majority of these parents who adopt cross racial lines are white, concerns about differences between white perceptions of
In present day, now that racism prejudice and segregation is something that children learn about in history books, there is a new issue surrounding adoption. It is now considered controversial when a couple of one race wishes to adopt a child of another race. Transracial adoption is a topic that must be confronted and dealt with so that all children in need of a permanent home can get the best family possible.
Reinoso, M., Juffer, F., & Tieman, W. (2013). Children's and parents' thoughts and feelings about adoption, birth culture identity and discrimination in families with internationally adopted children.Developmental Psychology, 18(3), 264-274. Retrieved from http://ejournals.ebsco.com.logon.lynx.lib.usm.edu/Direct.asp?AccessToken=9IIIMIJ8X5D5KEREZM4EMUQ4D9PK8X5QIX&Show=Object
During a foster parents training, they are taught to parent children with mental illness. This is good training, no doubt about that. Even so, this training needs to include how to treat race issues, sexuality, and gender. Not all foster parents are equipped with the knowledge on how to parent a transgender child. One article by Cassandra Chaney and Meghan Spell says, "African American children are more likely than Caucasian, Hispanic, and children of other racial/ethnic groups to be poor and thus be reported to public child welfare agencies at twice the rate of Caucasian children" (2). This proves that foster parents with no background in race relations, should take a class. This would overall help the quality of life of foster children who already feel ostracized because they are in foster
...ike. Abandoned children have no background information and it is often impossible to find biological parents. Adopting a transracial child is not for everyone. A lot of patience and love is needed to handle the criticism. There is a high monetary cost, but the reward in the end is priceless. A person must be completely non-bias for the relationship to work in a biracial family. A parent must be able to deal with a sometimes troubled or physically challenged child.
For the purpose of this paper the social worker interviewed is Ronnita Waters, MSW, RCSWi; she is currently an operations manager at the Center for Family and Child Enrichment (CFCE). The issue or area where her advocacy skills are practiced is within child welfare. Mrs. Waters mentions to the interviewee “I always wanted to work with children, then eventually for children.” when asked what developed her interest in this area of social work. Furthermore, before she became an operations manager, the social worker was an adoptions supervisor, overseeing adoption case managers and ensuring the proper implementation of policies such as the sibling placement policy and adoption policy. In addition, before achieving the role of supervisor, she was
Getting an education is essential to becoming a good social worker. Social workers need cultural competency in working with every type of population including people of different ethnicities, race, gender, sexually identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We also need enough education in order to advocate and be comfortable advocating for our clients. Our LGBT clients go through obstacles that straight people will never have to go to such as fighting for the right to marry, getting picked on in school and trying to prove to people that their sexual orientation is a real thing. The following paragraphs include how articles about the lack of social work education have affected my views about my education and my career.
Many people grow up in loving families and cannot imagine not having their parents and siblings around, but each year, 18,000 or more American born babies are put up for adoption (Newlin Carney). That means at least 18,000 children face the harsh truth of maybe not having a family to grow up in. Childhood is a very important part of one’s life and helps shape who one is. These children that are eligible to be adopted just need loving parents, good homes, and stability. And who is to say the high price of adopting is not ho...
Note: This paper has a very long Annotated Bibliography. In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms.
It is more common for these adoptive families to be transracial. Therefore there are two different races within the family. Families of transracial adoptions have many unique qualities because they have two different cultures under one roof. The problem with transracial adoption is the cultural difference between the parents and the child. The family is not prepared to understand the child’s background or the child’s culture. Relatability is also something that the child needs in the household and this would something that this family would lack. Like we talked about in class the child would suffer because they do not have anyone in their family to relate to. A child’s self-esteem would most likely be lower than a child growing up in a same race family. The child does not see anyone in their family that looks like them so they feel as if they are not good enough. It is hard for a child to fully understand as to why they are different from their families and why they were not blessed to look like their family. This creates self-identity issues for the child because they do not know who they should identify with and cannot tell where they fit in. Promotion of acceptance amongst the family would be something that could help the child’s self-esteem and
Social work practitioners can use the information from this study to document activities that MSW graduates engaged in relevant to cultural competency. The study will provide current and future social workers with specific details and strategies that they can employ to assist them on their journey toward culturally competent practice. In addition, this research study will offer examples of what social workers can do to build their knowledge, skills, and values.
Another reason I am interested in social work because it allows me to be an advocate. This is something that I took seriously on a personal level in high school. Growing up in rural Southeastern Idaho, many LGBT members of m...