How Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Class and Diversity Impact the Adoption and Guardianship Experience and Mental Health Needs of Children 

In Module 4, participants will learn how race, ethnicity, culture, class, and diversity may impact a child's experience of adoption or guardianship and the mental health issues that may occur. Lessons focus on understanding challenges in various types of diverse families: single parent, transracial/transcultural, families with children or parents who are LGBTQ, children with special needs and kinship caregivers; understanding the development of racial identity and using skills to have and promote courageous conversations about race/ethnicity/culture in transracial and transcultural placements; strategies for addressing microaggressions, bullying and discrimination; the challenges experienced by and strategies for supporting LGBTQ youth and families headed by LGBT parents.