04 Apr Should I Choose a White Adoptive Family for My Black Child?
If you are a pregnant woman considering adoption, transracial adoption is one of your choices. Transracial adoption is simply adopting a child from another race. Cradle of Hope Adoption
Center is a private nonprofit adoption agency with offices in DC, MD and VA.
If you are a birth mother thinking about putting your child up for adoption, we can help answer your questions or concerns. You may feel scared, alone, and confused. Our adoption specialists
will meet with you in person in our offices or at a place near you. Our adoption center staff offer compassionate and non-judgmental support. We will sit with you and discuss all your options.
Qualities a birth mother might consider when choosing an adoptive family.
In adoptions today, the birth mother has many decisions to make when creating an adoption plan. One of these decisions will be choosing the right adoptive family for your unborn baby. There are all kinds of families — conventional families, same-sex families, biracial families, and even single parents. Cradle of Hope will walk you through all the variables when deciding on the
adoptive family. Would you prefer they practice a particular religion? Or share a child rearing philosophy similar to yours? Do you feel more comfortable with a married couple? Would you
like to place with a nearby family or would you prefer someone out of town?
What are the benefits of transracial adoption?
No matter what family you choose, your child will be cherished and loved first and foremost. Although the world has significantly changed regarding race, there are still stigmas to overcome. Adoptive families considering transracial adoptions most likely will understand the challenges that might come with this decision. You can choose a family, regardless of their race, where your child will grow up with support and security. Adopting a child of a different race or ethnicity presents challenges which adopting families have prepared for. They are required to take a course that helps families who are adopting a child of a different race or ethnicity than their own. In this course families will learn new skills for responding to hurtful and insensitive comments, how reactions and answers impact and teach your child, examine the diversity in their life and learn strategies to expand it, and share in the wisdom and collective experiences of adopted persons and adoptive parents with transracial families.
If you choose transracial adoption, your child will be raised in a diverse environment growing up in a unique setting learning about a variety of traditions, customs, and ways of life.
What comes next in the adoption process?
Cradle of Hope Adoption Center can help you with all of your adoption decisions. Once you decide on the type of family, you will review Parent Profiles on prospective adoptive families who are fully screened and have undergone background checks. All families wishing to adopt must provide criminal and child abuse clearances as well as birth certificates, marriage license, physician’s reports, letters of reference, documentation of their financial situation, and many more background documents.
Some birthmothers want to have contact with the adoptive family such as getting together before the baby is born, attending doctor appointments, or staying in touch through Zoom or phone calls. Other birth mothers want to choose the adoptive family, but that is all. And others leave it to Cradle of Hope to select the family, sometimes giving them specific criteria.
As an expectant woman or birth parent, to learn more about adoption, contact Cradle of Hope Adoption Center. You can call us at 301-587-4400, text us at 301-905-9999, or email us at info@cradlehope.org. We look forward to helping you through your adoption journey!