“This is a worthwhile endeavor for all of us.  Exposing and building the capacity of individuals interested in minority adoption issues will benefit this field for years to come.  Innovative ideas and pilots have been brought to the table.” MALDI Participant

The Need
Minority children and youth are over represented in the child welfare system and are over- represented in the population of children and youth whose parent’s rights have been terminated.  While the presence of minorities in leadership roles in adoption services does not ensure that minority children and youth will be adopted, that presence can facilitate greater openness on the part of minority adults/communities to trust the child welfare system and assist it in identifying and overcoming barriers to adoption faced by minority individuals and families.

The Program
The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Adoption (NCWRCA) has established a Minority Adoption Leadership Development Institute to provide and enhance the leadership skills of 20 potential and emerging minority leaders from across our nation over a four year period.  These leaders will be selected from the top 20 states that have the greatest number of children of color awaiting adoption and high disproportionality rates.  Also, these emerging leaders will be provided mentors from the National Association of State Adoption Programs (NASAP) who will work with the participants as they complete 12 months of job-related project assignments (Action Research Projects) that increase their technical expertise as well as their leadership capacities with concurrent structured mentoring. 

The Participants
Participants in the MALDI will be selected from the states with the greatest number of minority children/youth awaiting adoption who are overrepresented in the child welfare system.  Mentors will be recruited from the current members of NASAP and from the “mentees” resident state.  These mentors will be provided training in effective mentoring and coaching and will be supported by NCWRCA staff throughout the mentoring process. 

The Institutes
The MALDI will run in two phases over a two year period.  Each phase will involve two On-site learning institutes, running two and a half days over a two year period.  These institutes will cover the following topical areas:

• Leadership in Adoption – Change from the Middle
• Preparing for Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities in Child Welfare
• Cultural Competence, Responsiveness, and Class
• Overcoming Barriers to Minority Adoption/Disproportionality
• Permanency in the Courts
• Executive Leadership
• Database Decision Making & Evidence Based Adoption Practice
• Working with your State Legislature
• Kinship Adoption 

The Expert Faculty
Faculty for the Institutes will be prominent leaders in the adoption field from the Children’s Bureau, universities, public and private adoption agencies, legal/judicial organizations, and national advocacy organizations.