– Recruitment of Foster and Adoptive Families in Virginia: Market Segmentation Analyses

Finding adoptive families that ensure long-term connections and back up for children in foster care who cannot return to their biological families has been a longstanding goal in the child welfare field. The Multiethnic Placement Human activity (MEPA) of 1994, as amended past the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of the Minor Business organisation Job Protection Act of 1996, was intended to reduce the time children spent in foster care awaiting adoption. At the fourth dimension, Black children and some other racial groups were overrepresented in foster care and spent more than time in foster care compared to other groups. Some advocates believed that at that place was discrimination in the placement process and that efforts to place children with adoptive families of the same race and cultural backgrounds were delaying and denying family opportunities for those children and potential parents of different backgrounds. The two laws tried to clarify the part that race and groundwork should play in placement decisions. The laws afflicted child welfare policy by:

1. Prohibiting state child welfare agencies from refusing or delaying foster or adoptive placements considering of a child's or foster/adoptive parent'south race, color, or national origin;
2. Prohibiting land child welfare agencies from considering race, color, or national origin as a ground for denying approval of a potential foster or adoptive parent;
3. Requiring state child welfare agencies to human activity diligently to recruit a diverse group of foster and adoptive parents who reflect the racial and indigenous makeup of children in out-of-home care.

Concern almost these bug remains relevant more 25 years after as child welfare agencies try to residue the dual goals of supporting the healthy development of children's racial and cultural identities and assuring their rapid placement with a loving family. Further, today the field understands more virtually how disparities on the forepart end of the organisation – in adverse circumstances, maltreatment reports, investigations, substantiations, and foster care placements – influence which children come into foster care, how much time they spend in care, their likelihood of reunification, and whether children experience termination of parental rights and are placed with adoptive families. Race plays a role at each phase of the child welfare organization, and we are withal struggling as a field with how to accost these issues in ways that maximize children's interests.

In response to an Executive Order issued in June 2020 titled Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America's Children, the Office of the Banana Secretary for Planning and Evaluation within the U.S. Department of Health and Human being Services conducted a study of the implementation of the MEPA requirements. This article describes the study and its major findings. For those interested in the total study, a serial of written products may be institute here: https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/multiethnic-placement-act-transracial-adoption-25-years-later.

The study included three components:

1. Assay of trends in adoption and transracial adoption based on data from the federal Adoption and Foster Intendance Analysis and Reporting Organization (AFCARS) which contains annual data on every child in foster intendance in the United States;
2. Content analysis of the Diligent Recruitment Plans each state submits to the Children's Agency every 5 years as function of their state programme documenting how they spend money from federal child welfare programs;
3. Interviews with country adoption officials and stakeholders in 3 states – Arizona, Oklahoma, and Oregon – about their implementation of MEPA and their electric current experience with its requirements.

This written report did non focus on adoption trends for American Indian children considering many adoptions of American Indian children autumn nether the authority of the Indian Child Welfare Human activity, the requirements of which are quite unlike from those under MEPA, making direct comparisons misleading.

Trends in Adoption Generally and Transracial Adoption Specifically

Context on Disproportionality and Disparity. As in many other fields, central to discussions well-nigh race in the kid welfare system are the concepts of disproportionality and disparity. Disproportionality refers to the overrepresentation or underrepresentation of a racial or indigenous group compared to its pct of the full population, while disparities refer to differential outcomes by race or ethnicity. In the U.Southward. child population overall (ages 0 to eighteen), 50 percentage are non-Hispanic White, 26 per centum are Hispanic, 14 pct are not-Hispanic Black, v pct are Asian, four percent are multiracial, and i percentage are American Indian or Alaska Native. These figures are provided as context for the statistics on foster care and adoption presented beneath. In the figures below, Hispanic children regardless of race are referred to as Hispanic, and the Black and White categories include not-Hispanic persons in those racial groups. Within the child welfare system overall, White and Asian children are consistently underrepresented, while Black children are consistently overrepresented. American Indian children are usually overrepresented except in some information on maltreatment reports. Statistics for Hispanic children are more complex and vary depending on the topic.

The number of children in foster intendance declined. Our study examined data on foster intendance entries and exits in three-twelvemonth groupings, beginning with 2005-07 and ending with 2017-19. During this period, the number of children in foster care declined by fourteen percentage, due both to declining numbers of foster intendance entries and higher rates of foster care exits.  Every bit shown in Figure 1, declines in the foster care population were more than pronounced amid Black children than for White or Hispanic children. The number of children in foster care affects the number of children potentially available for adoption.

More adoptions and fewer reunifications, particularly for White and Hispanic children. Since 2005-07, both the number and proportion of children exiting to adoptions and guardianships each increased, while the number and proportion of children reunified with a parent or caretaker and exiting to a relative without guardianship both decreased. These changes were much more than pronounced in the White and Hispanic populations than among Blackness children. Increases in the number of adoptions occurred primarily amongst White children (+41 percent) and Hispanic children (+36 per centum), while the number of adoptions of Black children decreased substantially (-22 percent), in part because of decreasing numbers of Black children in foster care.

College proportion of transracial adoptions, especially of Blackness children. As shown in Tabular array i, the proportion of transracial adoptions also increased during this time bridge, primarily for Black children. Transracial adoptions increased from 23 percent to 28 percentage of all adoptions overall and from 21 percent to 33 percent for Black children. Transracial adoptions of Hispanic children declined from 49 per centum to 46 percent. Transracial adoptions of White children remained quite rare just increased from 4 percent to 6 percent. Overall, 90 percent of transracial adoptions involved children of colour adopted by parents of a different race.

Table 1. The Vast Majority of Transracial Adoptions Involve Children of Color
	Pct of Adoptions That Were Transracial
	2005-2007	2017-2019
Adoptions of Black Children	21%	33%
Adoptions of Hispanic Children	49%	46%
Adoptions of White Children	4%	6%

Disproportionality has eased somewhat, but Blackness children continue to remain in foster care longer before being adopted. As foster care populations declined through most of the years we looked at, the disproportional representation of Black children in foster intendance nationally eased somewhat. Between 2005-07 and 2017-19, the proportion of children in foster care who were identified every bit Black declined from 35 percent to 23 percentage, while the proportion identified as White increased from 41 percent to 45 pct and those identified every bit Hispanic increased from 18 per centum to 21 percent. Children of other races or multiracial increased from 6 percent to 11 percent. However, a child'south race remains associated with time spent in care prior to adoption. Black children adopted between 2017 and 2019 spent the longest time in foster care prior to adoption, with a median of 33 months in intendance before adoption, compared to a median of 27 months for White children and 28 months for Hispanic children. Equally shown in Figure 2, Blackness children spend longer in care prior to adoption than do White or Hispanic children in all age groups, though the difference was much lower among youth ages 13-17.

Similar trends in most states. While there were differences among states, 28 states saw increases in both the number of adoptions overall and the proportion of those adoptions that were transracial. In simply 7 states the proportion of transracial adoptions decreased, 5 of those in the context of increased adoptions and ii in the context of decreased adoptions. There were 13 states in which adoptions decreased overall during this period; in eleven of those the proportion of transracial adoptions increased all the same. These statistics are shown graphically in Effigy 3.

Effigy 3. Most States (and the District of Columbia) Increased the Proportion of Transracial Adoptions and the Number of Adoptions Overall

* New York, Maine, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Washington are not included given bereft race/ethnicity data across time periods.

Strengths and Weaknesses in States' Diligent Recruitment Plans

Diligent Recruitment Plans (DRPs) are intended to ensure that states seek foster and adoptive families reflecting the characteristics of children who demand care. Federal guidance directs states to include these viii components in their plans:

1. A description of the characteristics of children in foster intendance needing adoptive families;
2. Specific strategies to attain all parts of the community;
3. Diverse methods of disseminating both general and kid-specific information;
4. Strategies for assuring that all prospective parents have access to the dwelling house study procedure;
5. Strategies for preparation staff to piece of work with diverse cultural, racial, and economical communities;
6. Strategies for dealing with linguistic barriers;
7. Non-discriminatory fee structures;
8. Procedures for ensuring a timely search for prospective parents pending a child.

The federal monitoring procedure known as the Kid and Family unit Services Reviews (CFSRs) includes an cess of the capability of each state's DRP. We reviewed states' ratings on this item in the nearly recent round of CFSRs which were conducted between 2015 and 2018.  In improver, we reviewed the content of states' DRPs which are a component of their larger Child and Family Services Plans that currently cover the v-year period from 2020 through 2024.

Xvi states received a "strength" rating on the particular in the CFSR relating to diligent recruitment and 34 states received a rating of "area needing improvement." For the states rated as needing improvement, common issues included picayune monitoring or oversight taking identify between states and counties and a lack of sufficient data systems in some counties to track race and ethnicity of potential adoptive parents. For instance, some states did non accept systems gear up to track race/ethnicity data, had poor quality systems, or had not trained staff to use the system effectively. Additionally, many states noted that the puddle of foster parents was too small and they found it difficult to retain existing foster parents. Many of usa either did non assess changes in their racial and ethnic demographics or did not have a systematic process in place to review and monitor data. In improver, some states that nerveless the relevant information did not draw how they used it to improve recruitment efforts. Moreover, some states did not have the capacity to meet the linguistic communication needs of foster children, particularly for Spanish-speaking children. Finally, some states decentralized recruitment efforts, making local departments responsible for finding resource families. In these cases, recruitment efforts could vary greatly throughout the land, making the statewide plan less cohesive.

Our review of the content of DRPs found that three states included very sparse information which included few of the expected elements. Among the remaining states, the information almost likely to exist missing included:

• Strategies for ensuring that all prospective parents accept access to the dwelling house study process
• Strategies for grooming staff to work with diverse cultural, racial, and economic communities
• Strategies for dealing with linguistic barriers
• Nondiscriminatory fee structures

Each of these elements was missing from between 13 and 17 states' plans. While the efforts described in states' DRPs vary, several themes emerged.

Virtually all states described characteristics of children waiting to be adopted. Demographics in nearly plans included children's race, ethnicity, age, and gender. Some states likewise provided information on the number of children with special needs. Some states described how they used this information to seek adoptive families suited to meet the needs of waiting children.

Many states described outreach efforts to reach diverse communities. Some plans included maps or reported needs by region. Others described networking with community partners including religious organizations and grassroots groups. Some partnered with media outlets or used social media to reach underrepresented populations. And many participated in a range of events and festivals pop with populations they were trying to reach. For case, some states highlighted trying to reach families of particular racial or ethnic groups through community festivals while others sought LGBTQ+ families at Pride events. Hotlines, media outreach, and participation in local events were all used by multiple states. Through these efforts and others, such every bit websites, states sought to ensure that people knew how to inquire nearly becoming a foster parent.

Child-specific recruitment efforts are disquisitional. States increasingly rely on child-specific recruitment strategies and forming partnerships to advance this work. Forty-three states mentioned child-specific efforts including Wendy'due south Wonderful Kids, the Centre Gallery, Wed's Child, AdoptUSKids, and the Adoption Resource network (run into sidebar).

Preparation helps staff work finer with diverse cultural, racial, and economic communities. States used both preservice and in-service grooming on working with diverse populations. Common training topics included cultural sensitivity and competency, implicit bias, and working with families that vary in socioeconomic condition and/or sexuality.

States have developed strategies for dealing with linguistic barriers. Amongst the most common approaches to addressing linguistic barriers are translators and/or translation and estimation services. Many states translated documents and recruitment materials into Castilian and advertised on Spanish linguistic communication radio. Some states also offered services in other languages depending on local needs. These languages included Hmong, Russian, Somali, and Vietnamese. Some states also made sign language interpreters bachelor every bit needed.

Retention is disquisitional to ensuring a sufficient supply of foster and adoptive families. Diligent recruitment efforts in many states included improving the retention of existing foster parents. For example, States did this by highlighting the positive work of foster parents in newsletters, conducting surveys to assess foster parent satisfaction, offering ongoing grooming and back up for foster parents, and offer mentors to foster and adoptive parents, including after adoption. Retentivity efforts are cardinal to maintaining enough licensed foster parents for children in many states.

Perspectives of Adoption Officials and Stakeholders in Iii States

Interviews with state adoption officials and stakeholders were intended to gain insights into how staff implement the MEPA requirements. In selecting states for the interviews, nosotros sought a pocket-size sample of states that differed by geography, size, and some key adoption indicators. Officials in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Oregon agreed to speak with the written report team virtually their practices. The findings described below reflect the experiences of these states merely may not represent the practices and circumstances in other states.

Between six and eight individuals were interviewed in each state, in a combination of individual and pocket-size grouping interviews, all held virtually. Interview guides included questions well-nigh how states recruit foster parents from various backgrounds, how they support adoption matches, how they make up one's mind which families are considered for adoption matches, whether or how race is considered in placement decisions, and the practices they have in place to foreclose discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.

Although Arizona and Oklahoma have both seen dramatic increases in adoptions over the past two decades, Oregon was i of merely a few states that saw a subtract in the rates of both adoption and transracial adoption. Children in Oregon also appeared to wait in intendance longer than they did in well-nigh other states.

The vast bulk of children adopted from foster care are adopted by their foster parents or relatives. State officials reported that about children were adopted by someone already associated with the kid. AFCARS data for 2019 confirm that 88 percent of children adopted from foster care that yr were adopted past either their foster parents (52 percent) or relatives (36 percent). States emphasized the importance of and focus on leveraging children'due south existing connections for finding foster and adoptive parents, and prioritized kid-focused recruitment for locating adoptive families for waiting children without prospective adoptive parents. Just while over half of children adopted from foster care were adopted by foster parents, the initial matching of children with foster parents was far less systematic than the advisedly consider adoption matching processes described by states for children without identified adoption resources.

States rely heavily on information to appraise the need for foster and adoptive caregivers. States reported categorizing the demand for resource families by children'due south demographic characteristics, including race. Each of the states used "recruitment estimators" or similar data direction systems that helped to track progress toward recruitment targets. States so used targeted marketing campaigns to help increase the number of foster and adoptive families for children who were harder to place, such as adolescents and children of colour. Staff in Arizona described efforts to close inactive foster home licenses to become a more accurate count of new resources families needed. Oklahoma regularly used data on the race and historic period of children in need of intendance to focus its recruitment strategies. Geographically focused strategies were described in both Arizona and Oklahoma as part of efforts to keep children near their communities and social networks.

Partnerships and marketing efforts are important tools for recruiting foster and adoptive families. States partnered with private, community-based, and religious groups to connect with a broad range of foster and adoptive families. Often these partnerships focused on a particular racial or ethnic grouping or community underrepresented in the bureau'due south existing resource pool as compared with the children in intendance. Oklahoma worked with One Church building One Child to behave full general recruitment and with The Heart Gallery for child-focused recruitment. All 3 states besides worked with Wendy's Wonderful Kids and with a range of adoption websites. Marketing campaigns similarly used market segmentation to heave foster parent licensing among underrepresented groups. Strategies included mailers, postcards, and refer-a-friend campaigns, likewise every bit using social media and outreach at customs events.

Supporting and retaining foster parents is key to maintaining an acceptable and diverse supply of homes. In improver to recruitment efforts, states realized that minimizing the loss of current resource families eased their abiding cycles of catching up from shortages. Examples included "foster parent retention champions" in Oregon who provided leadership on how to work with specific populations. In Arizona, surveys of electric current foster families were used to seek data most their experiences and needs. This data was in turn used to provide grooming and supports in areas of identified need.

States reported that a range of factors get into identifying adoptive families for item children. Even when children indicated a preference for a family unit of a item race, states prioritized other foster parent characteristics (such every bit ability to see a kid's special needs or interest in adopting a teenager). All states noted that race was never a deciding factor in matching and placement, and that they considered many factors when placing children in adoptive families.

States reported efforts to prevent discrimination based on race, colour, or national origin . All iii states trained staff in the MEPA constabulary. When asked about how they avoided discrimination based on race, a common response was to depict how staff were trained to understand "cultural" needs of children in transracial adoptions rather than race or ethnicity, and to offer preparation to foster parents to help them nourish to children's cultural and ethnic needs.

Adoption is viewed inside the context of other permanency indicators. During interviews, some states discussed their adoption efforts in the context of other permanency efforts. It is important to note that the extent to which some states were focused on improving adoption rates could exist related to how they prioritized other permanency goals, particularly reunification, likewise every bit prevention of foster intendance placements.

Key Takeaways

The 3 components of this enquiry – quantitative analysis of AFCARS data, content assay of states' Diligent Recruitment Plans, and interviews with cardinal informants in three states – provide a range of information about how adoption practice and outcomes have evolved in the years since MEPA was initially implemented and the current issues in adoption practise that relate to the race, color, and national origin of children and resources families. The event of how children's race, color, and national origin are or should exist considered in foster care and adoptive placements remains relevant and has become more than fraught as the kid welfare organisation reconsiders the manner family unit separations – temporary and permanent – are entwined with bug of racial inequities.

In the years since MEPA and its amendments were enacted, the number and proportion of transracial adoptions from foster care accept increased substantially, with the vast bulk of transracial adoptions involving children of color adopted past White families. In improver, years of effort on the part of many within the child welfare system take resulted in somewhat reduced racial disparities in adoption, though substantial disparities remain. The number of Blackness children in and adopted from foster care annually has declined essentially, while the number of White and Hispanic children adopted has grown. The gaps in wait times before adoption are smaller than in the past and the likelihood of adoption versus reunification are more than similar between racial and ethnic groups than they once were. However, Black and American Indian children still wait longer than children of other races for adoption. Gaps are not equally large for Hispanic or Asian children.

States make a variety of efforts to recruit diverse foster and adoptive parents. However, the quality of Diligent Recruitment Plans varies widely. And while many states' plans aim to exist data driven, there are challenges to the availability and quality of data—particularly with respect to recruitment—that make it difficult to judge the success of intended recruitment efforts. Because about children are adopted either by their foster parents or past someone in their extended birth family or social networks, ensuring a diverse population of foster parents is especially of import. Additional attention is needed to ensure matches with foster parents are as carefully considered and purposeful every bit adoption matches so that the total range of children's needs are met.

Cardinal informant interviews revealed that there is still confusion in the field about what is and is not allowable in taking race into business relationship in adoption decisions, and in that location is some conflation of race and civilisation in this procedure. Renewed discussion of racial inequality throughout the U.S. has revitalized attention to racial disproportionalities in the child welfare system and how they might best be addressed. Child welfare agencies beyond the nation, along with the families they serve and advocates working from many perspectives, are engaging in reinvigorated debates about MEPA and its implications for children and families and the agencies that serve them.

This article is adapted from research conducted by Mathematica nether contract to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation within the U.Due south. Department of Health and Human Services. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions of the U.S. Department of Wellness and Human Services.

Originally published in 2021 by National Council For Adoption. Reprinting or republishing without express written permission is prohibited.

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Source: https://adoptioncouncil.org/publications/the-multiethnic-placement-act-mepa-analysis-and-trends-after-25-years/

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