The Multiethnic Placement Act requires the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive
families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the state for whom foster and
adoptive homes are needed. Therefore, The Child Welfare Professional providing adoptive
services may find themselves interacting with families from cultural backgrounds with which
they may have had little experience or exposure. There is a need to understand how the degree
of knowledge of the important differences and similarities of minority groups affect the ability of
the Child Welfare Professional to connect and sustain a relationship with a minority family.
Through this relationship, the Child Welfare Professional can support the family through the
adoption process and through the post-placement period. Coupled with this knowledge is an
awareness of how the attitudes and values of both the Child Welfare Professional and the family
can affect the relationship, and by extension, the success in recruiting and retaining minority
adoptive homes.