As a prospective adoptive family, you may have come across transracial adoption in your research. Transracial adoption, in a nutshell, is any adoption where a family adopts a child of a different race — and it’s more common than you might think. In fact, recent studies show that 77 percent of Americans are open to adopting a child of a different race, and plenty of the adoptive families that we work with take this path.
Choosing an interracial adoption might be the best decision for you. When you contact Thompson Dove Law Group at 864-573-5533, we’ll talk with you about your adoption situation and preferences and help you decide which of our programs would work best for you.
If you’re considering a transracial adoption in South Carolina, read on for helpful information about adopting a baby of a different race.
How You Can Complete a Transracial Adoption with Our Firm
At Thompson Dove Law Group, we have two different private domestic adoption programs within our adoption matching program through which you can adopt a baby. To learn more about our adoption matching programs, contact our office today.
By splitting our adoptions into these two programs, we’ve been able to offer a larger variety of potential adoptive families to the birth parents who contact our office and make sure that those who may enter into a transracial adoption are fully prepared for the unique joys and challenges ahead of them.
What You Need to Know About Transracial Adoption in S.C.
Deciding to pursue a transracial adoption is not a choice you should make lightly. It’s important that you do extensive research to find out what it would really be like to raise a child of a different race to make sure you’re doing what’s best for an adopted child and your family.
First off, know that there are no additional legal requirements to complete an interracial adoption. Your adoption process will be the same, but your home study might require more preparation. When a social worker approves your home study, they will also approve the races of children you’re cleared to adopt — so you will need to be prepared for questions about how you would raise a child of a different race, how you would preserve their heritage and culture, and more.
How to Prepare for a Transracial Adoption in South Carolina
Before you decide that a transracial adoption is right for you, you should ask yourself these questions:
- Is my neighborhood and community diverse enough to raise a child of a different race? If not, am I willing to diversify my lifestyle to include my child’s heritage and culture?
- Am I prepared for perhaps well-meaning but potentially insensitive comments from friends and strangers about my adoption?
- Will I be able to find same-race mentors, role models and peers for my child?
After you find out the race of your adoptive child, you’ll need to take steps to prepare yourself for your transracial adoption. Here are some common tips:
- Learn about your child’s race and culture and find ways to incorporate those aspects into their life.
- Talk with the birth family, if possible, about any special traditions or cultural customs that they grew up with and would like your child to grow up celebrating.
- Discover if (and how) your child’s physical and health needs might be different from your own. For example, white parents adopting an African-American child will need to understand how to properly care for African-American hair and skin.
- Understand how racism may affect your family, and decide how you will talk to your child about any racism they encounter. It’s far healthier to address these sensitive issues earlier than to pretend they don’t exist.
- Surround your family with as much diversity as possible, and don’t just limit it to your child’s race. Be open and welcoming of all races and cultures.
- Create a sense of pride and belonging in your child’s adoption story from the beginning. Although you may look different from them, emphasize that your differences make your family stronger.
- Take part in homeland tours (if you adopted internationally) or transracial adoption culture camps to expose your child to the traditions, customs and stories of their race or culture.
Getting Started with Your Transracial Adoption
While a transracial adoption in South Carolina may come with some unique challenges that a same-race adoption may not, many parents who adopt through our law firm find that a transracial adoption is the perfect fit for their family.
If you’re not sure whether a transracial adoption in South Carolina is right for you, we encourage you to do extensive research to learn what to expect from this kind of adoption. It might be a good idea to participate in transracial adoption support groups to learn more as well as do some online research with organizations like CreatingAFamily.org
As always, please feel free to contact our law firm to learn more about our transracial adoption process and how you can get started with us today.
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