“…Adoption has points of controversy that are not surprising, given the interplay between race, social issues, cultural values, and adoption practice. Recent writings have focused on several controversial themes: (a) the role of class, race, and religion in adoption (Cahn, 2002;Carp, 2002), (b) the preference for blood ties and the stigma of adoptive ties in dominant American culture (Bartholet, 1999;Leon, 2002;Wegar, 2000), and (c) the increasing "marketplace" approach to adoption that emphasizes consumerism and economics, especially in the context of international adoption (Carp, 2002;Henderson, 2002;Lee, 2003 [this issue]; Mansnerus, 1998). While the formal practice of adoption is tied to child welfare reform efforts in the 1800s (Carp, 2002;Cole & Donely, 1990), some writers have argued that efforts to help children reflected values and biases of those implementing reform and affected which children were identified to be in need (e.g., more often poor, immigrant, Catholic, or Jewish) (Gordon, 1988) and what placements were deemed to be good and wholesome (e.g., Protestant farm families) (Carp, 2002).…”