Approximately
542,000 children were in the United States' foster care system in
September 2001, according the United States Department of Health's
latest figures. Of these, 126,000 were eligible for adoption.
Nearly half of them were Black.
According
to a 1998 study, children who grow up in foster care often have
difficulty as adults. The study found that after aging out of foster
care, 27% of males and 10% of females were incarcerated within12 to18
months, 50% were unemployed, 37% had not finished high school, 33%
received public assistance, and 19% of females had given birth to
children.
Despite
the consequences of not finding a family for every child, adoption
agencies denied African-Americans adoption services for most of the
twentieth century says the National Association of Black Social Workers
(NABSW). That left Blacks dependent on informal systems.
"That
might help explain why my parents never officially adopted me,"
explained Tim Murphy, pharmacist at Capitol
Hill Care Pharmacy in Washington, D.C. Murphy didn't learn
about his adoption until he was an adult, rumbling through his
seriously-ill mother's legal papers. "I found a handwritten
notarized paper that indicated that my parents adopted me at birth," he
recalls.
It
wasn't until around the1950s that U.S. adoption agencies began
recruiting non-White couples to become adoptive parents. "You
don't have to be a Joe Louis or a Jackie Robinson to adopt children,"
declared one radio spot for the Citizens' Committee on Negro Adoptions
of Lake County (Gary), Indiana.
There
were also programs like "Operation Brown Baby," that started in1944 in
Portland, Oregon, that encouraged Whites to adopt Black children.
Coupled with the courts declaring segregation illegal in 1954 and the
outlawing of interracial marriages in 1967, the adoption of Black
children by White couples steadily increased. In 1972, the NABSW
adopted its position against "the placement of Black children in White
homes for any reason."
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Meet Evander
Thirteen-year-old Evander likes to play video games
and listen to rap music. He would do well with a one or
two-parent family, perhaps with other children, either older or
younger.
Adopting
children out of the foster care system is priceless, but it is not
expensive. Parents do not need to earn a specific amount of
income or own their own homes. If you are interested in having
him or any of the other waiting children light up your world contact
the National Adoption Center.
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Pharmacist Tim Murphy
learned that he was adopted after he became an adult.
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J.
Toni Oliver,
NABSW spokesperson, said their position is not to deny Black children
families, but to preserve African-American families and culture, and
increase the chances that the children will learn how to cope with
racism. Oliver, who also heads the Atlanta-based adoption agency
RootsAdopt.org, said their goal, "is the development of healthy
self-esteems and racial identity for African-American children."
Since
1996,
Federal law has prohibited adoption agencies receiving federal funds
from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. The
law
voided a Minnesota law that gave preference to Black families wanting
to adopt Black children.
However,
because
of treaties between the U.S. and Native Americans, it did not void the
Indian Child Welfare Act. The Act promotes the "stability and
security" of Native Americans by giving preference to Native American
families wanting to adopt Native American children.
Each
state also
has its own adoption laws. Florida, for instance, prohibits
adoption
by gay and lesbian individuals and same-sex couples. The District
of
Columbia does not. Unlike in the past, most agencies now welcome
singles. The NABSW supports single-parent and kinship adoption,
but
has no position on gay and lesbian adoption.
"Kids
are not so
bent on the fact that they have two dads versus having a dad and mom,
or a single parent. They are looking for a loving environment,"
says
Dr. Alvin B. Williams. Williams and his partner Nigel Simon head
Gay
Men of Color Adoptive Families, and has adopted a son.
Legal
changes
have increased the pool of adoptive parents. However, many
states
still place Black children in the "special needs" category, along with
those with physical and/or mental limitations, because of the inability
of agencies to find a family for every child.
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