Nona is a single woman who has the means and the love that is needed to create a loving, permanent home for an adopted child. Adopting has been her goal for several years, but she's still waiting - as are many others.

"A federal court has given D.C. two weeks to come up with a plan to fix its adoption system or risk it going back into receivership. Child welfare advocates demanded the court intervene, saying the system is broken."

Statistics seem to support those claims: The adoption rate decreased dramatically from 2005 to 2006, as did the placement of children with permanent guardians. The city won't comment on the state of its adoption system, or whether it intends to abide by the federal court's demand. Source: WJLA Channel 7 News

Labels: frustrations, adoption_system

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A major new report on U.S. adoption systems and laws says that the system is failing children from minority ethnicities. According to the report, black children in foster care are less likely to be adopted than are children from other races.

"The laws require training for parents adopting from another country but offer no similar help for parents adopting an American child transracially on the grounds it would conflict with the ideal of a 'colorblind' society that does not take race into account. But the debate over how to make transracial adoption serve a colorblind idea, while reasonable, should be framed around the best interests of the child..."

While current law doesn't prevent a child from being placed with parents of a different race, it does require that state agencies first try to place children with people of the same ethnic background. If families who fit that profile aren't available this policy can cause significant delays in the child's adoption process. Source: Reuters

Labels: adoption_system, minorities, US

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