Online forum/ blog/ etc research

I have found a blog of a an african american girl who was adopted by a white family and is really connected to that story.  I found her on facebook and twitter and have tried to contact her for a possible interview via email or skype.  She is older and seems like a very reliable source if I can get ahold of her.  Secondly, I found a transracial adoption website that has forums and different tools for families in that situation.  I am very eager to continue to search for different conversations and threads on this topic.  I am also going to possible start one of my own on one of these host sites to see who will respond and what kind of responses i will get. This venue of research is proving to be very successful and helpful.

Adoption Glossary

Referral-

Custody-The care, control, and maintenance of a child which can be legally awarded by the court to an agency (in abuse and neglect cases) or to parents (in divorce, separation, or adoption proceedings). Child welfare departments retain legal custody and control of major decisions for a child in foster care; foster parents do not have legal custody of the children they care for.

Birth Parent- natural parent, first parent, parent who lost a child to adoption, parent

Closed Adoption- An adoption that involves total confidentiality and sealed records.

Open Adoption- An adoption that involves ongoing contact between birth and adoptive families, including visits.

Multi Ethnic Placement Act (MPEA)- A federal law enacted in 1994 and implemented through State policy. The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994, amended in 1996 to include the Removal of Barriers to InterEthnic Adoption (IEP), Section 1808 of P.L. 104-188 [42 USC 1996b], prohibits the delay or denial of any adoption or placement in foster care due to the race, color, or national origin of the child or the foster or adoptive parents by any agency or individual receiving federal funding, and requires States to provide for diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children for whom homes are needed. MEPA-IEP (as the full Act is known) does not apply to children covered under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

Legal Guardian- A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person who is incapable of administering his own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.

Interethnic Placement Provisions- Refers to Section 1808 of P.L. 104-188, Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption Provisions. Added to the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act in 1996, the IEP underscores the prohibition against delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or foster care on the basis of race, color or national origin of the foster or adoptive parents or of the child involved [42 USC 1996b]. MEPA-IEP (full acronym of the law) applies to those receiving federal funding, and (to the best of this writer's knowledge) does not apply to those covered under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).


Intercountry/ International Adoption- The adoption of a child who is a citizen of one country by adoptive parents who are citizens of a different country.

Dossier- A set of legal documents which are used in an international adoption to process a child's adoption or assignment of guardianship in the foreign court.

Consent To Adopt- Legal permission for the adoption to proceed.

Blended Families- families with biological and adopted children and or families with children of different races.

Intro to Research Paper

First Research Interview

1. Where were you adopted from and at what age were you adopted?
I was born in Taegu, South Korea and I was adopted when I was about 3 months old.

2. Did your adoptive parents tell you growing up that you were adopted?  How was it explained to you (i.e. how and why did they adopt you)?
My parents were always very open with the fact that I was adopted, although I don't think I could tell you exactly how it was explained to me. All I know is that for as long as I can remember, my parents told me I was adopted and never really asked about it.

3. Do you have any connection to your biological parents?  If yes, how would you describe that relationship?  If no, why not?
I don't have any connection to my biological mother now, and when I was adopted I had no connection to my biological father at all. I personally, don't feel any desire to try and reconnect with my biological mother if for no other reason than the fact that I wouldn't even know how to start that conversation.

4. Do you have any siblings (also adopted or biological to your adoptive parents)?
Nope, I'm an only child.

5. How did growing up with parents of a different race effect you socially, mentally and emotionally? (I know that may be a loaded question but feel free to interpret that however you wish)
I would say that being adopted has not really had any emotional or mental effect on me. I don't have severe abandonment issues or other psychological problems like some adopted children have. My parents are pretty well established so I would say socially I grew up in a fairly standard middle class home.

6. If I were to tell you that adopting children from other countries and other races was considered to be a "fad" what would you say in response?
Considering I just gave an informative speech about this very topic... haha I would have to disagree with that. Adoptions are almost 75% international rather than domestic. I don't think that it is a "fad" at all.

7. Would you ever adopt?  From another race?  Why or why not?
I would like to adopt one child eventually, I would definitely do it from another country, but I don't know which. It has had such a positive impact on my life, I would love to give another child the same opportunity. 

8. How many people have asked you what it was like growing up with parents of another race?  Why did they want to know?

Well I actually get asked what it's like having Asian parents more often because a lot of people don't know I'm adopted. People never really have specifics in mind when they ask me that qustion.

Dennis Vorreyer is a student here at Belmont who was adopted by a Caucasian family.  While he has no emotional, social or mental issues with adoption, being adopted and so forth, he is older, had a wonderful set of parents, grew up matched with parents of which the racial matchings aren't cliche and was always aware of his adopted status.  Not all cases are like this but it is necessary to hear all sides of one thought.  I wonder if his answers would have been any different if he had been younger or if others when he was growing up actively knew his parents were of a different race and he was adopted.  (He insinuated that it wasn't common knowledge in his answer to number eight).  I want to look at this culture from absolutely every perspective so his answers were greatly helpful.  Especially his take on foreign adoption being a "fad."  I was a little thrown off by his response because I tend to side with the notion of it being a "fad" but I have to rethink my standing as I hear that response coming from someone who experienced that "fad."

Easley visit #2

I helped a variety of different aged students this time.  I helped a few 3rd graders with their math homework and helped on of those same girls with a sheet asking cultural questions about her and her family.  That was a little awkward to try to explain to her as she was African American and I'm not.  I had to make sure the connotation I gave her in my explanation was not a negative one as that could frame how she sees different cultures and races.  She didn't seem phased by anything I was telling her though.  She was literally an open book and just went with the flow.  Maybe she didn't realize the importance of different cultures and races in this world.  Probably not...

One thing that threw me off was when a seventh grade boy asked me for help with his algebra homework.  I felt a wee bit incompetent when I had to tell him to give me a few seconds to look back through the book to figure out how to help him.  He was working on finding the slope of a line... something I haven't done in at least five years.  Of course, once I read up really quickly it all came back to me and I was fine.  I was certainly humbled by that incident.  You're never as smart as you think you are.  You better believe that.

Easley visit #1

I spent the majority of my time with two second grade girls who were basically copying words off of a page to learn spelling I assume.  They only have to write the word one time and I was pretty surprised when they told me they didn't know the meanings of them.  When I asked if they did, they said, "the teacher will tell us tomorrow."  To be honest, I don't believe that the teacher will.  I don't understand how to learn that way.  in order to remember how to spell a word, I would have to be able to read it and associate it with a definition and then I would associate that with the spelling I learned.  So, I taught them the definitions and gave them clues on how to remember them.  They could already read the words but just lacked their denotations.  They wanted to just play after, but we really spent a decent 30 minutes discussing the words.  I'm sure that wasn't their favorite thing to do, but I kind of made them do it anyways.  I would have felt awful if I didn't encourage that learning.