white-baby-boyQ: My wife and I are just starting our research into the adoption process. We came across your site through one of your podcasts. We are both Caucasian and have a son by birth. Our desire is to adopt a Domestic Caucasian Infant. An agency just informed my wife that we are ineligible to adopt a Domestic Caucasian Infant because we already have a natural born Caucasian child. I am hoping that this is a policy that is agency specific and does not apply to all adoption agencies. I just wanted to gather your thoughts on this.

A: Domestic adoption is governed by state laws and each state has different laws, but no state has a law restricting Caucasian families with a child by birth from adopting a child of any race domestically. This sounds like it is an agency policy, and not a good one at that. If you feel like you and your wife are best equipped to parent a Caucasian child, then by all means, that is the type of child you should adopt. Most agencies do not have this policy and most adoption attorneys do not have this policy. With almost all domestic infant adoptions in the US, the pregnant woman (and sometimes the biological father) decides who she wants to adopt her child. She may well want a Caucasian family and may well want her child to have an older brother. It is true that you may have a longer wait since more families are also looking for a healthy Caucasian baby. For more information about working with an adoption agency, check out some of our resources about domestic infant adoption and choosing an adoption agency.

 

Image Credit: Katie Tegtmeyer