JCICS sent out the following request:

The University of Maryland, Department of Family Science is collaborating with The Center for Adoption Support and Education, (C.A.S.E) to conduct a national survey of transracial adoptive families, examining the extent to which parents’ attitudes and practices impact the adolescent’s sense of self and racial identity. Joint Council asks its member organizations to distribute the [linked] flyer to their families, so they may have the opportunity to participate.

The proposed study attempts to further an understanding of transracially adopted minority adolescents by examining their own assessments of their overall well-being, self-esteem, and racial identity. Additionally, parents of these youth will be surveyed in an effort to identify family and community characteristics that contribute to successful adjustment and racial identity development in these adolescents. The study will involve approximately 350 adopted racial minority youth and at least one of each youth’s adoptive white parents. Adolescents must be between the ages of 13 and18, and must have been adopted or placed with the family by age 3. All efforts will be made to have a relatively equal number of male and female adoptees, as well as international and domestic adoptees. Adoptees and their families will be recruited nationally and will need to have lived in the United States for the majority of the adolescent’s life. The surveys will be completed on-line and should take about 20 minutes to complete. A $10 iTunes card will be mailed to all teens who participate.

Please assist the Department of Family Science at UMD and C.A.S.E. with this study by distributing the [linked] flyer to your families.