Transracial Foster and Adoption Placements: Assessing Prospective Parents for Fit with the Racial and Cultural Identity Needs of Youth in Care

Hosted by the Catalyst Center to continuing education credits to California mental health providers. Maintaining the racial and cultural identity of fostered and adopted youth of color in transracial placements is crucial to supporting their lifelong mental health, but it can be difficult to determine how those needs will be met by caregivers who do not share their racial or cultural background. This training will outline the Hierarchy of Racial and Cultural Identity Needs of Transracial Youth, a groundbreaking framework for understanding and defining the best ways to assess prospective caregiver readiness to parent transracially in a manner that communicates and centers the needs of transracial adoptees of color. General content areas to be assessed and specific interview questions for prospective parents will be explored.