• MEPA: Multiethnic Placement Act
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• IEP: Interethnic Placement Provisions
  Title I, Subtitle H of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 contained provisions for adoption assistance through tax credits. Section 1808 of this subtitle contains the Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption, which amended the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994.

Resources

• A Guide to The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 As Amended by the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996
  A monograph from the American Bar Association written to assist states and child welfare agencies in their efforts to comply with federal mandates concerning the role of race, color, and national origin in foster care and adoptive placements. In addition to providing advice for determining precisely what the law does and does not require, the Guide contains practical suggestions for child welfare administrators and social workers who must implement MEPA-IEP in the best interests of the children they serve.

• Implementation of the Multiethnic Placement Act Poses Difficult Challenges
  A 1998 GAO report on efforts by federal, state, and local agencies to implement the 1994 act and 1996 amendment, and the challenges all levels of government faced to change placement practices.

• Transracial Adoption and The Multiethnic Placement Act
  This issue brief from the National Data Analysis System explores the legislation impacting transracial adoption as well as the outcomes of the children impacted. The experience of African American children is highlighted

• Transracial Adoption of Black Children: An Economic Analysis
  Based on an analysis of administrative data collected by the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the authors conclude that more vigorous enforcement of MEPA-IEP in adoption could result in significant gains to Black children. They find that Black children spend more time as legal orphans than children of other races and that transracial placement speeds their adoptions.

• The Multiethnic Placement Act
  To date, commentators who have examined MEPA have focused their attention on identifying and weighing the benefits and harms of transracial adoption for minority children and communities. In contrast, this article from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Working Paper Series examines foster care placement decisions.

• Minnesota: Clarifying Culture in Placement Decisions
  This bulletin reiterates the legal restrictions that govern the use of race and culture in decisions regarding recruitment and placement.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Last updated 09/04/07