The Role of Race, Culture, and National Origin in Adoption

Download or read book The Role of Race, Culture, and National Origin in Adoption written by Madelyn Freundlich and published by CWLA Press (Child Welfare League of America). This book was released on 2000 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The controversies in adoption have extended across a spectrum of policy and practice issues, and although the issues have become clear, resolution has not been achieved nor has consensus developed regarding a framework on which to improve the quality of adoption policy and practice. This book is the first in a series to use an ethics-based framework for analyzing and resolving these complex challenges in adoption while avoiding the divisiveness that has heretofore impeded their resolution. This book considers critical questions regarding the role of race, culture, and national origin in adoption from the perspective of individuals served by adoption and from a broad policy perspective. Addressed in the book are unresolved questions related to the role of race, culture, and national origin in an adoptee's personal identity and the extent to which racial and cultural similarities and differences between adoptive parents and children should be taken into account. The book notes that these questions have been placed at the forefront of the policy debate as a result of recent changes in federal law. Also examined is the role of culture in the adoption of American Indian children, focusing on the debates related to the Indian Child Welfare Act. Finally, the book examines the role of race, culture, and national origin related to international adoption, highlighting the mandates of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. (Contains 356 references.) (KB)