For the thousands of children in foster care, adoption means being part of a family. Adoption means the possibility of being loved, desired and cared for properly. Every year thousands of children enter the foster care system. In 2010 alone, 245,375 children entered foster care, of which more than 61,000 were Black. In 2010, as many as 30,812 black children were awaiting adoption (AFCARS). With so many children in need of homes, it would seem that adoption is open to all loving families, but this is not necessarily the case. Transracial adoption, which traditionally refers to Black children placed with white families, is fraught with difficulties. While transracial adoption can be a successful solution, there are many obstacles at every stage of the process. Prior to the 1990s, adoption guidelines dictated that race be used as a deciding factor in adoptions. It was generally considered “best practice” by social workers to place a child based on physical characteristics, including skin color, as well as expected intellectual abilities, social status, and religious preferences (Kennedy 450). It wasn't until 1994 that the Multiethnic Placement Act was passed. This law prohibits agencies that receive federal funding from delaying or denying the placement of a child based on the race, color, or national origin of the child's adoptive or foster parent involved. . The MEPA Act was amended in 1996 with provisions on interethnic placement (Long 6). The intentions of the revised MEPA-IEP were to reduce the time children wait before being adopted and to facilitate the recruitment of both adoptive and foster parents who can meet the specific needs of those waiting children… middle of paper… …CC. Network. 11 November 2011. .Espejo, Roman. Adoption: opposing points of view. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2002. Print.Hansen, Mary E. “Transracial and Transcultural Adoption.” Information portal on children's well-being. American University Washington, June 2006. Web. November 11, 2011. Kennedy, Randall. Interracial intimacies. New York: Random House, 2003. Print.Long, Jane K. “Information Package: Domestic Transracial Adoption.” Www.hunter.cuny.edu/socowork/nrcfcpp. Network. November 11, 2011.McManus, Maureen. “Issues in Transracial Adoption.” Umbc.edu/~mmcman1/. Network. November 11, 2011. .Silverman. “Transracial Adoption.” http://statistics.adoption.com/information/interracial-adoption-statistics.html. 1993. Network. November 11. 2011.