‘Colour blind’ adoption plan sparks mixed reactions
Juliana Lucas0 Comments

WORRY: Organisations have expressed concerns over new Government adoption plans
Concern race of couples will no longer be a factor in decisions for black and Asian children
CONTROVERSIAL NEW government plans that would give the green light for white couples to adopt black and Asian children has been greeted with mixed reactions from adoption groups. The new guideline, which is being drawn up in Whitehall
this week as the nation marks National Adoption Week, says that “race or cultural background should not be a barrier to adoption.” It comes as Children’s Minister Tim Loughton stated that, “there was no reason at all” why white couples should not adopt black, Asian or mixed-heritage children, following statistics that ethnic minority children usually wait three times longer than white children to be adopted.
But many organisations are concerned about the implications of the new approach. Chris Atkin, founder of national adoptee network the Transnational and Transracial Adoption Group, said while children need a loving, stable environment, policy makers should not have the simplistic view that love is enough. “Attention to the emotional, psychological, ethnic, cultural and religious needs of the child must also be taken into consideration when matching and placing a child with prospective adopters,” said Atkin, whose network links people adopted into families whose racial and cultural backgrounds are different from their own. “Social workers should and will continue to pay appropriate attention to meeting ALL the needs of a child, and wherever possible the race and ethnicity of the child should and will be reflected by the prospective adopters.”
Dr Perlita Harris, social work lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, and the editor of In Search of Belonging, which charts the experiences of 56 transracially adopted people, has hit out at the plans.
“What these personal accounts revealed was that despite having caring and loving adoptive families, as adults these adoptees were struggling with their sense of racial identity and their sense of belonging… The vast majority felt alienated from their cultural heritage and displaced from their community of origin.” She added: “Frequently, they did not feel they belonged or were fully accepted in the white community due to their experience of racism.”
However, Hugh Thornbery, director of Action for Children, which runs an adoption agency seeking ethnic minority adoptive parents, told The Voice: “It comes down to making the right decision.” He later reportedly said, “placing children with those who understand their background and can support the child leads to better outcomes… It is possible that parents of a different ethnic background can give a child a happy family environment if their social network and where they live is reasonably diverse.” Maxi Martin, cabinet member for children's services at Merton Council, in south London, which this week launched a campaign urging more black families to adopt black children, said they will watch the outcome of the proposal with interest because the borough has “hundreds of black and mixed-race children desperately in need of a permanent home.” About 30 percent of children referred to in its adoption register in 2007/2008 were black or mixed-race.
“There are many benefits to placing a child with a family that reflects the same cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and we will always try to provide this for a child where we can, but it is not the only factor that we consider when matching a child with a family,” said Martin. “What we would like is for more black and mixed heritage families to come forward and offer a safe and loving home to children waiting in care, but we will watch with interest to see what develops from these proposals.”