Should You Consider Adopting a Child of Another Race or Ethnicity?

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Should you adopt a child of a different race? What things should you consider? Join our conversation with Dr. Gina Samuels, an adult transracial adoptee and a Professor at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago. She is also the Faculty Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture. Her scholarly interests include transracial adoption and mixed-race and multiethnic identity formation. We are honored to have Dr. Samuels as the Chair of the Creating a Family Board.

In this episode, we cover:

• If you are a White parent, are there different issues you need to consider depending on the race of the child you adopt?
• Some families prefer to adopt a bi-racial child rather than a child who is all Black or all Latinx. What are the issues to consider?
• Is there a difference between transracial and transcultural adoption?
• What does it take to raise a child to have a healthy self and racial identity? How do they differ? 
• Unconscious overlap between self and racial identity for White people.
• What are some of the issues parents should think about to determine if they are a family that should adopt across racial or ethnic lines? 
• What should parents be prepared to do in order to help their children develop a healthy sense of self?
• Adoption is a family affair, so how should prospective adoptive parents prepare their extended family members for the adoption of a child of a different race or culture?
• How do you protect your child from family members who may not approve or are racist?
• What to do if you have someone in your family that you fear will not be accepting or will not treat your child fairly or is a racist?
• How do you find role models that racially mirror your child? 
• Politic of transracial adoption in minority communities. 
• What does the research show on how transracially adopted children are doing?
• What issues may come up with open adoption when adopting across racial lines?
• Preparation for transracial adoption goes beyond hair care; hair and skin care are important. What should parents know?

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