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Transracial/Transnational Parenting (Building Community Across Cultures) |
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If you are planning a transracial adoption, we work to fulfill our ethical obligation to the child who will be joining your family by providing you with education about what to expect and how to prepare. One of the reasons families choose to work with Pact is because of the emphasis we place on careful parent preparation; we hope that you will see this as a benefit rather than an impediment to your adoption plans. Pact has created the Building Community Across Cultures (BCAC) program for families who are considering transracial or transnational adoption as well as those who are already parenting children of a different race. If you have been wondering exactly how to bring more diversity into your family's circle, we can help.
We urge pre-adoptive families to complete the BCAC program early in their adoption process, because we have learned from experience that once a family adopts a child, they tend to turn inward to "nest" for several years while they adjust to their new family life. Later, when they feel ready to make connections and address their child's racial and cultural needs, they find that they have already put into place many "building blocks" of community that can be difficult to change once they're established.
We offer versions of the BCAC program for both pre-adoptive and post-adoptive families:Is Transracial Adoption the Right Choice for Our Family?We offer you the benefit of our decades of personal and professional experience with the challenges and joys of transracial adoption. Through guided self-reflection, real-life exercises, and in-person or phone consultations with Pact staff, BCAC will help you decide whether or not transracial adoption is the right choice for your family. Should you do it? Are you prepared for what lies ahead? What race child are you best prepared to adopt and how do you decide? What issues do you need to consider if you're already parenting children who share your race? BCAC supports you as you assess your current lifestyle and community and your readiness to successfully parent a child of color. Prospective transracial adoptive parents find this process challenging, eye-opening, and immensely helpful.For the paperwork you'll need prior to scheduling your consultation, please download the forms below. If you have questions, please contact us at consult@pactadopt.org or (510) 243-9460. BCAC forms: Already Doing It - How Can We Do Better?This consultation will help you assess the cultural diversity in your family and community life, and what needs to change. What is going well? Where are your challenge areas? How has life changed since you adopted transracially? What connections do you already have with communities of color, and what connections do you need to create? The BCAC program involves self-directed assignments done at home to explore real-life scenarios, and helps you create a plan with specific tasks you will accomplish. You will have at least three meetings (in person or by phone) with Pact staff, as well as check-ins as needed to help your children become strong, proud and culturally competent adults of color.For the paperwork you'll need prior to scheduling your consultation, please download the forms below. If you have questions, please contact us at consult@pactadopt.org or (510) 243-9460. |  | |
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We believe transracial adoption (adopting across racial lines) can work beautifully if the parents are serious about helping their child build a positive racial identity. We don't subscribe to the "colorblind" or "love is enough" approach-we believe that race matters and that parents who are adopting children who don't share their racial identity must commit to making changes in their own lives to support their children. We are here to support you in that process.