Cultural Competence in International Adoption

TaylorBirman

(ABC News, 2013)

One average, 17,955 international adoptions have occurred each year since 1999.

In the last 14 years, Americans have adopted over 233,934 children from different countries.

The majority of these children are from China, Ethiopia, and Russia, although they have been adopted from dozens of different countries.

The Affected Population:

Rainbowkids.com (2008)

Although adoption rates have been in decline for the last decade, the fact that thousands of children are being adopted internationally each year still remains.

International adoptions account for the majority of transracial adoptions that occur in the U.S. every year. •A transracial adoption is when parents and children of different racial backgrounds are joined together in adoptive families. (National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning, [NRCFCPP], 2002)

*About 14% of all adoptions in the U.S. are considered transracial.

(Vonk, 2001)

After placement, many challenges are faced by parents and children in transracial adoptions, specifically those in international adoptions.

* Not only do internationally adopted children have to adjust to a new family, but they have to adjust to a new culture. This means they have to grow accustomed to new foods, smells, tastes, sounds, sights, sleeping schedules, eating schedules, etc. (USDHHS, 2012)

*Not only do parents need to adjust to caring for the physical needs of their adopted children, but they need to learn how to be culturally competent and able to promote a positive ethnic identity for their child. (USDHHS, 2012)

AND…

What is the Issue at Hand?

Children of international, transracial adoptions face a greater crisis when compared to children adopted by parents of the same race. This is because transracially adopted children face “double rejection”- rejection from their birth mother and rejection from their race and culture (Steinberg & Hall, 2000).

*As international adoptees grow up, they are at an increased risk of facing ethnic identity crises. This can have great, negative effects on the psychological health of both parents and children.

“Identity is a concept of our age that should be used very carefully. All types of identities, ethnic, national, religious, sexual or whatever else, can become your prison after a while. The identity that you stand up for can enslave you and close you to the rest of the world.” 

- Murathan Mungan, Turkish Author

Why is this a problem?

- Negative ethnic and racial experiences can have major consequences for transracial adoptees (Cedarbald et. al, 1999).

- Race and discrimination may be the leading factors in social maladjustment and psychiatric problems among transracially adopted children (Hjern et. al, 2002).

Studies have found that perceived discrimination and ambivalence toward one’s ethnic identity can lead to:

1) behavioral problems 2) emotional distress3) low self-esteem

Current Child Welfare System Realities:

After any adoption, post-adoption services are in effect to help parents adjust to caring for their new child.

*Under certain conditions, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles parents to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave after the adoption of a child (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012).

*General support groups and counseling are available to parents (U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, 2012).

*Camps and social events are available for children (CWIG, 2012).

However, the child welfare system is lacking widespread cultural competence services for international adoptive parents.

Currently, there is a 3-day video-based training curriculum to develop cultural competence in foster and adoptive parents. This was developed by the National Resource Center for Adoption, and it seeks to do several things:

1. Define culture and cultural competence2. Assess how the participants’ cultural background affects their behavior3. Discuss a framework for engaging a culturally diverse community4. Provide training on the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Multiethnic Placement Act and Interethnic Act, and the Adoption and Safe Families Act5. Provide training sessions on African American culture and Hispanic/Latino culture, and on Asian/Pacific American culture and Native American culture.

Although beneficial, this program does not target adoptive families of children of all races. It is limited in that only African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific American and Native American cultures are addressed.

(USDHHS, 2000)

What can be done about this?

Adoption agencies can help parents promote a positive ethnic identity for their internationally-adopted children by creating programs and support groups that equip parents with healthy:

attitudes

skillsknowledge.

and

(Vonk, 2001)

Attitudes

An attitude of awareness needs to be cultivated.

- Adoptive parents, especially caregivers, need to be aware of the “white benefits” that permeate the American society. This will make it possible to understand the disadvantages that children of color face.

- It is helpful for parents to be able to identify racial biases in the media – television, books, and other sources – and talk about how they will respond to racism or unwanted attention that they may face as a transracial family. .

- Open communication in regards to racial issues should be encouraged in the home.

- There needs to be an awareness of the roles that race and ethnicity play in the lives of others, along with the importance of a positive racial identity.

- Parents need to examine their own attitudes and stereotypes about their child’s race and birth culture.

(NRCFPP, 2002).

Skills

To help their children develop positive racial identities, parents needs to be equipped with specific skills .

. -Active promotion of the adopted child’s culture is linked to more positive racial/ethnic identity development, and therefore better psychological adjustment. (Lee, 2008).

-Making a concerted effort to teach children about their birth culture and heritage is essential. (Carstens & Julia, 2000).

-Parents’ active promotion of their child’s race also leads to positive outcomes. (DeBerry et al., 1996).

- Parents need to be active listeners to their children and proactive in antiracist activities. (NRCFCPP, 2002).

Knowledge

Knowledge is necessary for an accurate understanding of internationally-adopted children in transracial families.

. - The culture and history of their adopted child’s country of origin needs to be understood by parents. (NRCFCPP, 2002).

- Parents need to have knowledge about their children’s needs in order to help them develop pride in their racial identity. (NRCFCPP, 2002).

- Parents should teach their child and encourage them to learn about their birth culture. (NRCFCPP, 2002).

In Conclusion

*With thousands of international adoptions occurring annually in the U.S., there are over 200,000 children living in families with parents of a different race.

*Unique challenges are faced by international adoptees who often struggle to find a positive ethnic identity.

*Current cultural competence services for adoptive parents are lacking in that they only address a select group of cultures and don’t fully equip parents with the skills necessary for being parents of international adoptees.

*Adoption agencies need to create longer-term programs and parental support groups that train parents with the proper attitudes, skills, and knowledge to help shape a positive ethnic identity for their internationally-adopted child.

ABC News (2013). International adoption rates plummet in U.S. Around the World with Christina

Amanpour. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/around-the-world-abcnews/international

adoption-rates-plummet-u-124106055.html.

Carstens C., Julia M. (2000). Ethnoracial awareness in intercountry adoption: U.S. experiences. International Social

Work. 43(1), 61–73.

Cederblad M., Hook B., Irhammar M., & Mercke A. (1999). Mental health in international adoptees as

teenagers and young adults: An epidemiological study. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied

Disciplines. 40:1239–1248.

DeBerry, K.M., Scarr ,S., Weinberg, R. (1996). Family racial socialization and ecological competence:

Longitudinal assessments of African-American transracial adoptees. Child Development. 67,2375–2399.

Hjern A., Lindblad F., & Vinnerljung B. (2002). Suicide, psychiatric illness, and social maladjustment in

intercountry adoptees in Sweden: A cohort study. The Lancet. 360, 443–448.

Lee, R. (2008). The transracial adoption paradox. Counseling Psychology, 31(6), 711-44. doi:

10.1177/0011000003258087

References…And for more Information:

National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning (2002). Information packet: domestic

transracial adoption.

Osborne, M. (2008). Adoption 2008: The future of international adoption. Rainbow Kids. Retrieved from

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=549

Steinberg, G., & Hall, B. (2000). Inside transracial adoption. Indianapolis: Perspectives Press.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (2000). Cultural

competence for foster and adoptive parents: Trainer’s guide. Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Retrieved from http://library.childwelfare.gov/cwig/ws/library/docs/gateway/Record?r pp=10&

upp=0&m=1&w=+NATIVE%28%27an%3D%27%27cd-43693%27%27%27%29&r=1

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (2012).

Finding and using postadoption services: Factsheet for families. Child Welfare Information Gateway. Retrieved

from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_postadoption.cfm

U.S. Department of Labor (2012). Family and Medical Leave Act. Wage and Hour Division. Retrieved from

http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs (2012). Intercountry adoption statistics. Retrieved from

http://adoption.state.gov/about_us/statistics.php.

Vonk, M. E. (2001). Cultural competence for transracial adoptive parents. Social Work, 46(3), 246-55.