There are many factors to take into consideration when adopting a child, such as income and stability. However, the majority of people will agree that the most important ingredient for embracing an adopted child is unconditional love. Some people believe that the basic element of love is not adequate enough to raise a well-balanced child, especially if a child is of a different race than the adoptive parent. Interracial adoption has become a controversial issue because innocent children are being denied a home due to the emphasis placed on racial matching. According to the National Counsel for Adoption in 1994, "40 percent of adoptable children are black, and statistics show they wait twice as long for parents"(Jones 10). One reason black children wait so long is that only 31% of black people adopt versus 67% of white people. The problem is not only that black families do not adopt as frequently, but that white families willing to adopt minority children are rejected by!

social workers who discourage racial mixing. People who disapprove of interracial adoption often pose the question concerning the child's psychological welfare. Do interracial adoptions rob children of their cultural heritage leaving the child confused about their identity or does it give a lonely child a loving home to grow in? Clearly stated, the question is whether race-matching is more important than a caring family.

People who support same race adoption generally focus their argument on the child's emotional stability and how the child will function as adults in society. They are concerned is that white adoptive parents are embracing adoption to look like "do gooders" in the community. They want white parents to be aware that there is more to adopting minority children than just love. The children need to have constant exposure to their heritage. If a parent has to constantly explain that relationship, it becomes a perpetual reminder that he or she does not belong naturally. Consequently the ultimate goal, the state of belonging, is continually being challenged.

In 1972 the National Association of Black Social Workers compared interracial adoption to "cultural genocide." They believe that the widespread practice of interracial adoption destroys the racial identity of black children, and that racial and cultural needs should be considered more. Thus, the NABSW doubt that white people can raise children to be proud, confident African American adults. There are concerned that their ethnicity is not being preserved (Jones 10). There is a difference in the way that whites and blacks rear children. Racism, white supremacy, etc. all affect white and black people's attitudes. The NABSW believes that interracial adoption dooms kids to confusion and alienation as they grow up because " . . .only a black family can equip a black child with the psychological armor needed to fight racial prejudice"(Brophy 72). White parents cannot raise black children to cope with a racist society. Placing a black child with a white family tears them from!

their culture and leaves them unprepared to face life as an African American.

Others view trans-racial adoption as a selfish act by prospective white parents who get double benefits from the adoption. White adoptive parents appear virtuous to others because they are rescuing a child from "orphanhood" and racial disadvantage, when in fact their motives are not always sincere. It appears that whites are adopting to extend a hand to a poor victimized black child. Their actions are "liberal rescue at its most generous- and its most dangerous"(Howe 17). Some consider trans-racial adoption an attempt to atone for past and present discrimination against children of color by providing them with the benefits of permanency. Choosing the same r