accepting parents of LGBT foster youth and because of the large number of waiting children in general, lesbian and gay prospective adoptive parents of older children and teens are critically needed. Gay and lesbian parents bring different perspectives and experiences to parenting. Because of discrimination they themselves may have suffered in their lifetimes, lesbian or gay parents can be particularly empathetic to the pain of children who have been removed from their biological families through no fault of their own. Lesbian or gay parents may know more than some about feeling isolated or marginalized—feelings that so many older children and teens in foster care unfortunately experience. When lesbian or gay people or couples parent an adoptive child, that child may experience a sense of love and acceptance he or she never knew before. Gays and lesbians may confront barriers to adopting an older child internationally. The United States and other Hague-accredited nations allow gays and lesbians to adopt, but several nations have laws prohibiting adoption of children by gay or lesbian individuals or couples. According to Beth Brindo, LISW, “There was a time when many agencies held a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ attitude toward adoptions by gays and lesbians. Today, reputable agencies are not willing to turn a blind eye to falsification of sexual preference. In fact, the applications required by some countries actually ask prospective parents if they are gay or lesbian.”
Thus, older child adoption through an American public or private agency may be a lesbian or gay prospective parent’s best option. Still, prospective lesbian or gay parents may need help navigating older child adoption due to their sexual orientation and marriage status. More agencies are developing specific resources and supports for lesbian or gay applicants. It is highly recommended that prospective lesbian or gay adoptive parents research which public and private agencies are open to working with gay and lesbian applicants and choose an agency with which they feel comfortable. Find out which agencies are accredited through The Human Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org). Lesbian or gay singles and couples considering adoption should also join adoptive parent discussion forums and local in-person support groups geared toward the lesbian and gay parenting community to get inside information and advice from those who have already gone through the process.
An increasing number of public and private agencies are becoming sensitized to lesbian and gay prospective parents’ needs and many are even actively recruiting lesbian or gay foster or adoptive parents. The following statistics and information about the adoption of older children by gays and lesbians have been reported:
• Gays and lesbians are more likely to adopt children of a different race or culture, or special needs children, as compared to heterosexual adoptive parents. Fifty percent of adoptions by gay and lesbian parents are through the public child welfare system.8
• According to Gary J. Gates et al for The Williams Institute, same-sex couples raising adopted children are usually older, more educated and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents.9
• Legal victories allowing gays and lesbians to marry and changing social attitudes have contributed to the increase in adoptions by gay and lesbian couples since 2000.10 According to the 2010 census, same-sex couples are raising over 22,000 unrelated adopted children.11 Most recent estimates hold that gays and lesbians are raising approximately 4 percent of all adopted children.12
It is important that lesbian or gay prospective adoptive parents research and understand local laws and practices that will impact their effort to adopt, prior to starting the process. Only two states in the United States, Utah and Mississippi, legally prohibit single and coupled gays and lesbians from adopting. While some states expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in adoption practice, most states do not, leaving much to the courts to decide. Even though a state may not expressly prohibit gays from adopting, unmarried persons may not be legally permitted to adopt jointly. As such, only one partner may be able to adopt a child. Laws governing same-sex second partner adoption are rapidly changing, so look into the laws in your state.
PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS LIVING ABROAD AND NON-US CITIZENS
American citizens living abroad may adopt domestically or internationally. There are several agencies that specialize in working with US citizens living abroad who wish to adopt. It is critical that prospective adoptive parents living abroad research the adoption process and find an agency sensitive to their needs. These families should know that the US Department of State has advised US citizens living abroad who wish to adopt to follow the “adoption laws and procedures” of the country where they reside. This requirement pertains to families adopting US or foreign-born children, according to the National Council for Adoption.13
State laws govern the citizenship and residency requirements of adoptive parents. Most states allow lawful permanent residents to adopt an American child. Permanent residents of the United States must be very careful when adopting a foreign-born child, because there are legal restrictions on non-citizens adopting internationally. The US Department of State stipulates that either the non-citizen must be married to a citizen to adopt internationally or must meet certain criteria to be able to legally bring a non-US citizen child into the United States.14 US citizens living abroad, non-US citizens wishing to adopt American-born children and foreigners wishing to adopt a US-born child should work with an agency that can meet their needs and consult an immigration attorney knowledgeable about adoption.
PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS OF COLOR
There is a disproportionate number of African-American children in the US foster care system. In 2011, while representing only 14 percent of the total population, 27.5 percent of children in out-of-home care were African-American. There also is a slightly disproportionate rate of Native American children in foster care nationally and, according to Alicia Summers and associates for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in five states Latino/Hispanic children are overrepresented in the child welfare system.15
Researchers and child welfare professionals have a number of theories about why certain groups are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system. Some believe that racial discrimination influences the number of African-American children removed from the home. Others believe Caucasian-dominated agencies may not make adequate efforts to work with communities of color to address higher reported and substantiated rates of maltreatment. Additionally, staff may not be “culturally competent”—that is, they may not be educated about culturally specific parenting practices or problems in communities different from their own, leading to biases in how they handle cases and work with families. A Caucasian child protection services professional may have difficulty obtaining treatment and other services for a Latino family due to language barriers or being unfamiliar with the local community and services offered.
Others argue that disproportionality has more to do with corollary factors that increase the rates of child maltreatment in communities. They argue that higher rates of abuse and neglect do not occur in these communities because parents are of a certain race or ethnicity, but because of the prevalence of factors that have been linked to higher rates of child maltreatment such as poverty combined with substance abuse. Families living in poverty may have less access to preventive services that can help keep families together and quality therapeutic services to address addiction, domestic violence or mental illness.
The reasons for disproportionality are complex and continue to be studied. A number of organizations are working toward addressing the problem through staff training, advocating for preventive services and other measures.
Not only are there more African-American children in the system, but older children of color also are more difficult to place. Reasons include a smaller pool of prospective adoptive parents of color and greater hesitation among Caucasian prospective adoptive parents to adopt older children of color, possibly because they don’t want the child to be a minority in a largely Caucasian community, prejudice, racism or concerns they hold about adopting transracially.
