Explores primary concerns of families that adopt transracially and outlines the components required for child welfare staff to prepare the families using the concepts of cultural competence. Numerous studies support transracial adoption, and federal legislation has reduced the barriers to transracial placement; however, professional research has not studied the support structures needed by these families. The primary concerns of the adoptive families are: (1) the visibility of a child of color, (2) the response of extended family members, (3) residence, school, and community factors, (4) racial identity conflicts, (5) heightened awareness of race and racism, (6) transmitting customs of the birth culture, (7) resistance/discouragement by social workers to transracial adoption, and (8) inadequate pre- and post-adoption preparation regarding racial issues. Social workers can instruct families in cultural competence by providing resource lists of books and media affirming the child???s race, offering or identifying classes and reference materials regarding the birth culture, developing a ???cultural mentor??? network, distributing newsletters to connect transracial families, creating classes to address transracial parenting issues, and advising how to combat racism within the family or community. The participant families counseled other couples considering transracial adoption to adopt more than one child to diminish feelings of racial isolation, to make connections with families of the birth culture, and to carefully consider the racial diversity of the family community and school. (IP)
