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Listening to Adoptees: Race, Foster Care, & Adoption

Listening to Adoptees: Race, Foster Care & Adoption is a self-paced course created specifically for child welfare professionals and anyone who cares deeply about the well-being of children in cross-racial placements or adoptions. This course helps participants learn how to better serve children and families in an equitable and culturally responsive way.

Across three dynamic sections, you’ll explore how racism and white supremacy shape child welfare systems and impact the lived experiences of transracial adoptees and fostered individuals.

Grounded in history, research, and lived experiences, this course connects systemic realities to everyday practice. You’ll uncover how laws, policies, and cultural narratives have shaped child welfare—and how those forces continue to influence outcomes today.

This course invites you to transform your professional and personal practices to create a child welfare system where every child and family can thrive.
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Course overview

Quick Overview

Module 1: Racial Histories and Narratives // The first module in the course dives into the often-overlooked racial history of child welfare and examines the origins of harmful practices that persist today. Through the voices and perspectives of BIPOC adoptees and former foster youth, this course evaluates racial and religious narratives that have shaped foster care and adoption.

Module 2: Injustices in Policies and Practice and Foster and Adoption Trauma //  The second module looks at current racial issues in foster care and adoption in more depth, including policies, illegal and unethical practices, and racial and adoption related trauma. Throughout this module, participants practice centering BIPOC adoptees and former foster youth as you consider the lifelong impact of cross-race foster care and adoption experiences.

Module 3: BIPOC Identity Development // The final module of the course focuses on BIPOC identity development and healing, and the roles that everyone can play in supporting transracially adopted or fostered individuals.  This module features practical tips for supporting BIPOC adoptees and foster youth and further learning resources for adoptees, former foster youth, first families, adoptive and foster parents and extended families, child welfare professionals and community leaders.

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate the ability to center adoptee voices and experiences when discussing adoption and foster care.

Evaluate the historical and systemic factors that influence adoption and foster care systems, with attention to race and power dynamics.

Critique adoption and foster care practices for ethical concerns such as coercion, profit-driven motives, and prioritization of adoptive parents over first (birth) families.

Identify examples of white saviorism in adoption and foster care and formulate strategies to approach adoption ethically and responsibly.

Explain the emotional and psychological impacts of adoption, including grief, loss, and identity struggles, and apply trauma-informed support strategies.

Assess the impact of severed family and cultural ties on adoptees, and propose ways to support connections to racial and ethnic heritage.

Analyze how racial identity development is shaped by adoption and foster care, and identify the unique challenges faced by adoptees of color in white families and communities.

Formulate actionable steps for social work professionals, parents, caregivers, and allies to create affirming, supportive environments for adoptees and foster youth, and to advance a more just and ethical approach to adoption and foster care.

Meet the Authors

Jade Henness is a transracial adoption educator and adoption researcher who brings her lived experienced as a domestic, transracial adoptee.
Gina Fimbel, LCSWA, CMSW, is a social worker and therapist with experience working in child protective services, foster care, and a shelter for women and children.
Testimonials

What our learners say:

I wish this course was mandatory for everyone! I know it is extremely important to surround an adoptee with people who are open to life-long processing of this information, but I feel this is also so important for everyone to think about their previous adoption narratives and biases (everyone has them regardless if they've been closely involved or not).

Jessene W. 

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