Transracial and Intercountry Adoptions

This excellent book notes the increasing diversity in American families and will be a valuable resource for mental health practitioners, medical doctors, teachers, and child welfare workers. -- Malinda Seymore, Texas A&M University, School of Law Both evidence-based and accessible. The research reflects the authors' multidisciplinary backgrounds and the growing interdisciplinary nature of the field of adoption research and practice. -- from the foreword by Hal Grotevant, University of Massachussetts-Amherst Rowena Fong and Ruth McRoy, two leading authorities in the field of adoption, have assembled highly talented researchers and practitioners to explore the complicated issues associated with transracial and intercountry adoptions. Their timely and informative book covers a range of topics from a multidisciplinary perspective. It raises important questions about adoption policy, ethical adoption practice, adoptive parent preparation, and supporting healthy racial and cultural identity in adopted individuals. Practice guidelines, case illustrations, and discussion questions enrich each of the chapters, making this volume especially appropriate as an academic and professional training resource. Transracial and Intercountry Adoptions should be required reading for adoption placement professionals, researchers, and practitioners who work with families adopting across racial and cultural lines. -- David Brodzinsky, National Center on Adoption and Permanency This work draws on the extensive research experience and broad social work practice experience of coeditors Fong and McRoy, in combination with the expertise contributed to specific chapters by a veritable 'who's who' of other researchers and practitioners who are leading figures in the world of transracial and intercountry adoptions. -- Hal Grotevant, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Rowena Fong is the Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor in Services to Children and Families in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin and Member of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Ruth McRoy holds the Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Professorship at the Boston College School of Social Work and is a member of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction, by Rowena Fong, Ruth McRoy and Ann Schwartz 1. Overview of Intercountry Adoptions, by Rowena Fong, Ruth McRoy, and Hollee McGinnis 2. Legal and Policy Issues Impacting Intercountry Adoption Practices, by Karen Rotabi and Carmen Monico 3. Overview of and Legal and Policy Issues Impacting Transracial Adoptions, by Ruth McRoy, Amy Griffin and Hollee McGinnis 4. Interculturally Competent Practice with Gay and Lesbian Families, by Devon Brooks, Doni Whitsett, and Jeremy T. Goldbach 5. A Neurodevelopmental Perspective and Clinical Challenges, by Bruce Perry, Erin Hambrick and Robert Perry 6. Ethnic Identity Formation, by Ellen E. Pinderhughes, Jessica A. K. Matthews, Xian Zhang 7. Mental Health Issues, by Amanda L. Baden, Jonathan R. Mazza, Andrew Kitchen, Elliotte Harrington, and Ebony White 8. Medical Issues, by Dana E. Johnson and Judith K. Eckerle 9. School Issues, by Jae Ran Kim and Beth Hall 10. The Need for Adoption Competent Mental Health Professionals, by Debbie Riley and Ellen Singer List of Contributors Index