University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Adopting the China route

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Adopting the China route

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Content ADOPTING THE CHINA ROUTE by Tiffany Monroy A Professional Project Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS BROADCAST JOURNALISM May 2004 Copyright 2004 Tiffany Monroy R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. UMI Number: 1421781 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 1421781 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Script 1 Bibliography 17 1 1 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. ABSTRACT In 1992 China created and implemented the country’s first adoption law allowing foreigners to adopt Chinese orphans. Since then, China has emerged as a popular country from which American parents adopt children. Between 1995 and 1996, then again in 2000 to 2003 the highest mrmber of international adoptions by American parents was from China. Through interviews with adoption specialists, parents and one child, this documentary addresses why some parents ehoose international adoption from China over other options, how families taekle the eoneept of adoption and how they integrate Chinese culture into their lives. Ill R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Martha G. (03:41:28-52) ws of kids running around ms of Nora ws of girls running around ms Nora laughing On cam “She’s being raised as an all-American girl. I could do nothing else. 1 can’t try to raise her Chinese. I can expose her, I can try to have as many Asian friends as possible and we do. But I can’t suddenly become a Chinese household for her. She’s my little all-American girl who happened to be bom in China.” China map shot Nora baby picture Martha & Nora picture (Nora on Martha’s back) Track 1 NINE YEARS AGO MARTHA G. TRAVELED TO CHINA, MET TAI XIU, WHO SHE LATER NAMED NORA, AND THEY BEGAN A NEW LIFE TOGETHER AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. Martha G. (03:01:55-02:14) Martha & Nora picture (heads together) “I had had cervical cancer back in the 1980’s. A couple o f years after 1 was diagnosed, I had a hysterectomy so I could not carry a child.” ms of Martha & Nora’s looking at scrapbook Track 2 FOR TEN YEARS MARTHA G. THOUGHT ABOUT ADOPTING A CHILD. Martha G. (03:04:07-24) cu of Martha & Nora’s faces cu of scrapbook cu of Nora’s face On cam “During that time I really wondered about financial resources, emotional resources, being single, trying to be a parent, trying to be both parents to one child... And it really took me that kind of time to come to the conclusion that I could manage it.” Martha D. (07:00:39-49) Allison, Paul and Martha D. ws sitting, playing with bubbles cu of Martha D. laughing “W e’d been married for about 11 years and started to try to have children pretty much immediately and didn’t have much success.” R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Paul D. (07:23:21-28; 24:06-10) cu of Paul, Allison walks through cu of Allison, blowing a bubble “We bad always felt that we were going to adopt because Martha’s adopted... even if we could have children we would’ve adopted.”__________________ Martha G. and Nora looking at scrapbook ms National Adoption Information Clearinghouse homepage cu Immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the U.S. site page cu of number for 2003: “6,859...China” Text of Adoption Law of 1992, highlight words “Adoption Law of the People’s Republic of China” Flip through pages o f the law Track 3 THESE PARENTS ARE AMONG THOUSANDS WHO ADOPT FROM CHINA EACH YEAR. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ADOPTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE, PARENTS ADOPTED MORE THAN 6- THOUSAND CHINESE CHILDREN IN 2003.. .THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CHILDREN ADOPTED INTERNATIONALLY. CHINA EMERGED AS A POPULAR CHOICE IN THE M ID-I990’S. THAT’S WHEN THE COUNTRY CREATED AND IMPLEMENTED ITS FIRST LAW ALLOWING FOREIGNERS TO ADOPT CHINESE ORPHANS. Martha D. (07:05:07-36) ws of Allison and Martha w/tricycle On cam “The program is a very good, strong program. Each country does things different... And China is just the most organized. We felt and after all that we had gone through, with the heartache o f infertility in trying to build our family, we wanted something we could depend on.”_______ R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Martha, Paul, Allison outside ws Track 4 THE COUPLE FIRST CONSIDERED DOMESTIC ADOPTION. Paul D. (07:25:11-20) On cam “We actually started with domestic and really didn’t have a good experience with the domestic process.” Allison playing w/toy, Martha in background, ms Allison’s face cu Track 5 PAUL AND MARTHA D. WENT THROUGH A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION THAT MATCHED THEM WITH A 15-YEAR-OLD MOTHER. PaulD. (07:25:52-26:06) Shot from floor looking up at Allison playing Cu of toy “Her father wanted to have total visitation rights, pretty much come and go as he wanted and I just said that there were so many strings attached to the whole process.” Martha D. (07:01:41-56) Allison playing ms On cam “We were willing to have an open adoption and were willing to share pictures and keep the parents up to date on what’s going on... But we didn’t want to have this dual parenting thing going on.” Martha and Nora trying noodles, ws Track 6 PARENTS ALSO TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THE EXPERIENCES OF THEIR FRIENDS. Martha G. (03:04:49-05:22) Martha testing noodle ms Martha serving Nora ws Plate cu On cam “A very close friend of mine had had a troublesome experience with domestic adoption. She took all of the right steps, hired the right lawyer and the woman who was going to be the mother of the child she was going to adopt lied about drug or alcohol abuse. And the child was bom quite impaired and died within just a few months.” R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Paul D. (07:26:06-;26) On cam Allison walks w/bubbles in hands Allison’s chest and bubble bottle, ms “Every single person that we know that has adopted domestically, they’ve been successful... But they’ve all had a baby taken away from them, either at the last minute, where the birth mom decided ‘oh. I’m not going to give it up for adoption’ or as late as 3 or 4 months and the birth mom changed their mind.”__________________ cu ofNAIC “Adoption Numbers and Trends” Graphic reading; “In the 1990s, there were approximately 120,000 adoptions of children each year. This number has remained fairly constant in the 1990s. (National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, from Flango and Flango, 1994)” Graphic: “Domestic public agency adoption: zero to $2,500 Domestic private agency adoption: $4,000 to $30,000 plus (National Adoption Information Clearinghouse)” Track 7 BUT MORE DOMESTIC ADOPTIONS TAKE PLACE EACH YEAR THAN INTERNATIONAL ONES. ACCORDING TO THE N-A-l-C, MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND CHILDREN ARE ADOPTED YEARLY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES THROUGH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS. ADOPTING THROUGH A PUBLIC AGENCY COULD COST UP TO $2,500 WHILE ADOPTING THROUGH A PRIVATE AGENCY COULD COST MORE THAN $30,000. PAUL AND MARTHA D. CHOSE THE CHINA ROUTE. Paul D. (07:27:36-28:07) ms Paul kneeling to play with Allison cu o f Allison blowing bubble brief reveal ms o f Allison walking to Paul w/bubble wand ms o f Paul blowing bubbles___________ “The girls are really healthy. There’s fetal alcohol syndrome in Eastern Europe and rv drug use and there’s really none of that among the babies that are orphaned in China so the only risk was potentially hepatitis and that’s a very small risk. We wanted a healthy baby.” R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. cu o f “problems specific to China’' Journal of Law and health cu o f text “hepatitis B” Shot of Hepatitis B virus, courtesy of Hepatitis B Foundation cu of Martha G.’s face cu of Nora’s face Track 8 HEALTH IS AN ISSUE. ACCORDING TO A RECENT ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF LAW AND HEALTH, MANY CHINESE INFANTS CARRY HEPATITIS B, A VIRUS THAT ATTACKS AND EMFECTS THE LIVER. CARRIERS ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THE DISEASE, BUT ARE ABLE TO SPREAD IT. EVEN SO, MARTHA G. SAYS ADOPTING FROM CHINA PRESENTED AN IDEAL OPPORTUNITY. Martha G. (03:02:51-3:00) On cam cu o f noodles twirled on fork “Single, older mothers were welcomed in China and that seemed to me the perfect solution.” ms of Martha G. taking a bite o f pasta ms of Martha G. and Nora at table Track 9 PERHAPS THE PERFECT SOLUTION, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE QUICKEST OR THE CHEAPEST. THE PROCESS COSTS BETWEEN 15 AND 20 THOUSAND DOLLARS AND TAKES ABOUT 18 MONTHS TO COMPLETE. Marcia Jindal (05:45-50) On cam “Basically it’s telling the families you have to be patient; this isn’t going to happen quickly.”___________________ R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Jindal typing at typewriter ms ws of “Vista Del Mar” sign cu o f Jindal’s face cu o f paper in typewriter cu of Jindal’s hands typing cu o f paper titled “China Center of Adoption Affairs” Martha D. w/ Allison plajdng w/train tracks Martha D. ms Tracks interlocking ms Track 10 MARCIA JINDAL IS A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER WITH VISTA DEL MAR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES. SHE HELPED DEVELOP THE INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION PROGRAM THERE. PAPERWORK USUALLY TAKES 4-6 MONTHS. ONCE THIS IS SENT TO CHINA IT COULD TAKE ANOTHER 12 MONTHS FOR THE CHINESE AGENCY TO MATCH PARENTS WITH CHILDREN. STILL, JINDAL SAYS, THERE ARE THINGS PARENTS CAN DO IN THE MEANTIME. Marcia Jindal (05:03:55-4:10) On cam “Start preparing yourself for how you’re going to present the culture within your family, how you’re going to introduce that culture within your family. We have a wonderful support group and I always encourage them to go to that support group.”______________________________ Families with Children from China book cu o f FCC insignia Track 11 THAT GROUP IS CALLED FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FROM CHINA, OR F-C-C. Jeri Floyd (02:02:41-51) Families With Children from China On cam “Our chapter’s specific mission is to provide a nurturing community for adoptive families, to celebrate our children’s Chinese heritage and to support prospective parents.”______ R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Jeri carrying/playing with Jacqueline at table ms Dan carrying both girls in arms ms Track 12 JERI FLOYD IS THE CO-CHAIR PERSON OF F-C-C SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SHE AND HER HUSBAND ADOPTED TWO DAUGHTERS FROM CHINA. Jeri Floyd (02:03:19-40), (02:03:45- 56),(02:04:20-35) Children taking part in LACMA activity ms o f 2 girls working w/clay cu o f one girl’s face cu o f girl’s hands working w/clay cu of other girl’s hands painting clay cu of girl w/glasses “We have, in any given month, two or three activities going on through different parts of Southern California. We typically have a general meeting. We have speakers or entertainers or potluck dinners. And sometimes families just gather together in a family’s back yard and have social time so that kids can get to know each other, make friends, and parents can also enjoy each other’s company.” Dr. Marlou Russell (06:16:08-28) On cam Kids at table ms Girl drinking from cup ms Another girl eating snack ms One more girl ms “I think it’s cmcial for adoptive families to have support groups and what is wonderful now, is there are groups like Families with Children from China who do get together and do know each other so the adoptee has other families around that look like them.” Dr. Russell getting out o f car and going to office, ws Hand opening door ms Track 13 DR. MARLOU RUSSELL IS A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AND FAMILY THERAPIST WHO SPECIALIZES IN ADOPTION. Dr. Marlou Russell (06:16:36-54) Ws o f kids playing bingo Cu of bingo shuffler “The family support group gives them a safe place to he like everybody else and to see that they’re like everybody else and to feel like everybody else and that’s the best thing that adoptive parents can do is have support groups for their families.” R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Martha G. (03:38:15-35) Guy picking up a bingo piece, call out number Tight shot of Nora, Willow, Gwen Cu of Gwen’s face “We have so many friends and Nora has knowledge of all these children who have similar circumstanees, similar family structure and so that reinforces the idea that ours is a legitimate family.”________ Tight shot of Nora, she makes a face Track 14 EVEN WITH ALL HER SUPPORT SYSTEMS, MARTHA G. SAYS THERE ARE STILL MANY ISUSES TO CONSIDER. Martha G. (04:00:22-46), (03:23:58- 24:24), (03:24:26-35) Tight shot of Kyla, she gets bingo Backlit shot: pan from computer to Nora On eam Nora shrugs Then Martha on cam “The adoption issue was a real whammy for me because, here I thought I was doing everything right, had FCC, we were very active in the organization. I thought what more could I be doing? And then I found out, I could be doing a lot more. Back when she was about 7, 7.5 I guess, her little blonde friend Katherine, in her school looked at me, looked at Nora, looked at me, looked at Nora and said is that your mom? And Nora said, “Em adopted.” And that was the night that Nora came home and everything seemed fine, but as we were going to bed that night, Nora burst into tears. You’ve maybe forgotten it, but I remember it extremely well, and you said, “You know mom, it really hurts my feelings when people say we don’t look alike.” Jane Brown picture Jane Brown artiele, “Like Manna from Heaven” Ws of article Track 15 THAT’S WHEN MARTHA G. ENLISTED THE HELP OF JANE BROWN, AN ARIZONA SOCIAL WORKER, ADOPTION EDUCATOR AND ADOPTIVE MOTHER. R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Martha G. (04:08:55-9:18) Jane Brown returns article On cam “She talked to me about these ideas about, I don’t think this was her term, but I’ll use it though, about these children having a hole in their soul because they have so many questions and it stands to reason that at some point this would all come out and spill out and they’d have to start addressing it.” Dr. Marlou Russell (06:04:16-42) Sequence of Primal Wound book Ms o f Russell and bookshelf Cu of primal wound On cam Ws of children coloring at table Cu of Nora’s face “Whenever you separate a child from their mother, from their birth mother, there’s going to be a wound. There’s just no way that you cannot have that. A child is with their birth mother for nine months and then there’s nothing. So effectively, for the adoptee if they’re taken away from their birth mother, their birth mother has died in their eyes and their soul.” Martha G. (04:11:35-04) Cu of Nora’s hand w/marker Ms o f Nora coloring On cam “Jane has the children do artistic quilts and each of them will do a drawing about a facet of the adoption and Nora’s drawing was about saying good bye to the birth parents. And it had these two people in China and a little child and they were all spewing tears and it just broke my heart to think of her saying goodbye to her birth parents.” Willow coloring, ms Cu of Willow’s face Track 16 JANE BROWN ALSO CREATED A PROGRAM FOR ADOPTED CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES CALLED ADOPTION PLAYSHOPS. Nora G. (03:08:30-47) On cam Show strings, braided exercise “She shows us it’s good to be adopted and stuff and she did a white egg and brown egg and when you break them, they look exactly the same inside. And we did little braided strings.” R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Cu of Nora looking down at strings Track 17 DR. RUSSELL SAYS THE THREE STRINGS ARE SIGNIFICANT. Dr. Marlou Russell (06:00:49-1:09) Cu o f strings Nora fingers each one individually On cam “In adoption there’s always a triad. There’s always an adoptee, the person who’s adopted, there’s always a birth parent and there’s always an adoptive parent or parents and those three people are connected no matter what, even if they never meet each other.” Nora brushing cat ms Track 18 CHILDREN ALSO USE OTHER METHODS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ADOPTION. NoraG. (03:12:54-13:09) Tighter shot of cat getting brushed Another can laying on bed “I know what it means. Say, like we found her down the street (Martha off cam: she, being Noodle) and then we found Scooter in a shelter and we adopted her.” Marcia Jindal (05:23:50-24:05) On cam Cu o f tuna scooped into bowl Cu of cat’s head eating from bowl Ms o f cat eating “They welcomed a cat into their family and she was welcomed into the family. Now she’s part o f the family. The cat’s part of my family. If that cat disappears or something happens to it, it’ll be a great loss to me. Just like if something should happen to me, my parents care about me.” Jeri Floyd (02:18:36-19:09) On cam Picture of little Rachel w/baby Jacqueline Ws of stuffed animals Cu of some stuffed animals Cu of other stuffed animals Jacqueline patting baby doll on back “My oldest daughter, who’s now 7 V 2 went with us hack to China when she was 4 V 2 to adopt her little sister. So she acted what the whole adoption process was all about with her stuffed animals. So she would bring them into me as the new mommy and she would run out of the room and come back as the big sister and that’s how she helped herself to understand what adoption was all about.” 10 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Jeri carrying Jacqueline at LACMA Ms of construction paper dragon hanging from string NAIC transracial adoption page, ws National Association of Black Social Workers website Graphic: “Nearly a dozen studies consistently indicate that approximately 75 percent of transracially adopted children adjust well in their adoptive homes. (The Future o f Children, 1993) ” Graphic: “Transracially adopted children may be prone to identifying with the majority Caucasian culture, and less likely to embrace their own race and culture. (Families In Society, 2003) ” Track 19 PARENTS WHO ADOPT CROSS- RACIALLY, OR WHAT EXPERTS CALL TRANSRACIALLY, ALSO HAVE THE ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF INTEGRATING THE CHILD’S CULTURE INTO THEIR FAMILIES. TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION HAS BEEN CONTROVERSIAL IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE 1970’S WHEN SOCIAL GROUPS OPPOSED THE PRACTICE. GROUPS LIKE THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK SOCIAL WORKERS SAID CHILDREN DEVELOPED BETTER WHEN RAISED BY PARENTS OF THE SAME RACE. BUT A NUMBER OF STUDIES CONCLUDED THAT TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION DOES NOT NEGATIVELY AFFECT CHILDREN. AT THE SAME TIME, STUDIES ALSO SHOWED THAT ASIAN TRANSRACIAL ADOPTEES USUALLY IDENTIFY MORE WITH THE DOMINANT CAUCASIAN CULTURE. 11 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Dr. Marlou Russell (06:06:49-07:04), (11:08-18) Ms of Kyla cutting paper Cu of scissors to paper Cu of Kyla’s face On cam “If we theoretically and ideally looked at what’s best for the child, is it really best for the child to be taken away from their culture and put into a new culture? If w e’re honest, Caucasian parents can’t teach a child from a different culture what that culture has because it’s not their culture. Why not go and live in the child’s culture?” Marcia Jindal (05:20:19-38) On cam Ms of Kyla’s hands pasting paper Kyla’s profile “In the best of all possible worlds we would probably like that. On the other hand, that’s not going to happen. The next best possible world.. .it’s nice if you live in a culturally diverse community where you see many different cultures and many different make-ups of families.” Zoom out of cards that Martha D. and Allison are playing with Track 20 CULTURAL DIVERSITY, PARTICULARLY A LARGE AND GROWING ASIAN POPULATION, IS ONE OF THE REASONS PAUL AND MARTHA D. SAY THEY MOVED FROM CHICAGO TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Martha D. (07:13:50-14:01),(07:15:27- 35) Ms of Martha D. lining up cards “Just being on the west coast, I think is a positive. There are so many more Asian people here. We wanted to live in an area we knew was diverse and so w e’re here and there’s blended families in her preschool.” Dr. Marlou Russell (06:01:46-02:08) Z line shot of Allison and cards On cam “When I talk with prospective adoptive parents who are going to adopt internationally or transracially I emphasize that they really need to do all they can to keep the culture and the race and the different pieces o f that person’s begiimings in their life and it’s their job to go and seek that wherever they can.” 12 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Martha G. (03:15:58-16:08) Chinese New Year sign cu Chinese books on sale ws On cam, both Martha G. and Nora “I talked about Chinese New Year and read books for her class and hired a dragon dance, lion dance team to come.” Jeri Floyd (02:07:15-33) On cam Girls making dragons at LACMA Ms of Jacqueline Cu o f Rachel “When we invite Chinese storytellers or performers to come to our different meetings, for me personally, what I hope my children will develop is a pride in their heritage and also that they feel a connection with the heritage o f their birth.” Article ws “FCC-SoCal’s Chinese Language Pilot Program” in newsletter Title cu Track 21 ONE WAY F-C-C SOUGHT TO STRENGTHEN THAT CULTURAL CONNECTION WAS THROUGH A CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CLASS FOR CHILDREN. Jeri Floyd (02:24:32-25:05) On cam Pilot class picture cu Pinyin class picture “We did a little five week pilot program to test out more of an American style preschool program that was done predominantly in English but introduced different vocabulary and aspects of Chinese culture to the preschoolers and the older children were taught using the pinyin system, which is with the ABC letters as opposed to a different phonetic alphabet.” 13 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Mother and daughter doing arts & crafts ws OTS of foil getting cut, ms Profile shot o f girls Nora looking at papers, cat walks in ws Track 22 WHILE PARENTS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN CONTINUING CLASSES, JERI SAYS THE PROGRAM NEEDS SOME REFINEMENT. IN THE MEAN TIME, PARENTS CAN LOOK FOR LOCAL, NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAMS. THAT’S SOMETHING MARTHA G. DID FOR NORA, BUT GOT A DIFFERENT RESPONSE. Martha G. (03:40:11-41) On cam Articles she’s looking at cu Nora petting cat ms “I did put her in mandarin classes and she hated it. She truly hated it. It was such hard work for her after a full day of school. I thought, oh she’s going to love this, it was so fabulous. And she just hated it and begged and pleaded to be taken out.” Nora’s face reading cu Track 23 MARTHA G. SAYS HER DAUGHTER’S REACTION MIGHT JUST BE A MATTER OF TIMING. Martha G. (03:40:46-41:02) On cam Nora and Martha looking at something ms “She doesn’t have to leam Mandarin right now. And I feel that when she is interested in it, she is kind of hard-wired for it from listening to it for 15 months in China.” Paul D. (07:32:07-30) On cam Picture of young Allison Cu on Allison’s face in picture “When we lived in Chicago, Martha and Allison were going to Chinese language classes, which she was really too young. She was only a year and a half and it really came down to Martha having to leam Chinese.. .So we’ll try to get her into some Chinese language classes eventually when she’s ready.”_________ 14 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Jeri Floyd (02:26:27-54) Girls jumping from rug to rug ws Tighter shot o f JJ jumping On cam “Mandarin is obviously a very difficult language to master, whether my girls decide that’s something they want to take on as a challenge is yet to be seen. I feel that of all the different aspects of Chinese culture, I personally want to make that language opportunity available for them.” Martha D. & Allison playing on floor ms Baby picture of Allison and caregiver Ticket stubs cu Referral picture o f Zoe Track 24 MARTHA D. SAYS SHE WANTS TO SHARE ALLISON’S CHINESE CULTURE WITH PAUL’S PARENTS. THEY WILL ALL TRAVEL TO CHINA IN JANUARY TO ADOPT ALLISON’S SISTER, ZOE. Martha D. (07:18:53-19:07) Confirmation letter ws Orphanage pictures On cam “We want to expose Warren and Shelly to that so they can see where they’re grandkids came from and see.. .get to understand the people and the culture and the way things work over there.” Paul D. (07:36:09-23) On cam Paperwok cu Zoe picture in walker “We had such a great experience that the first thing we did when we got back is sign up for it again and we started the whole paperwork process so that we can adopt a second.” Martha D. (07:08:10-17) Countdown to China cu Countdown ws On cam “W e’ve started this little game thing where I’m going to cross off the dates every day before we leave. We had just a positive experience that sometimes we even throw out that maybe w e’re not even done at this point. There might be a third, you never know.” Ws o f Martha G., Nora and cat on table Track 25 MARTHA G. AND NORA WILL ALSO RETURN TO CHINA THIS SUMMER. 15 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Martha G. (03:37:16-38), (04:03:27- 4:01) Nora and other kids in line for ice cream Nora playing with ice cream cone cu Ice cream put into cone cu Ws of kids eating ice cream outside Nora sitting on chair eating ice crea ms Cu o f Nora’s face Martha G. on cam “1 hope that our trip back to China will help give her some context for her existence, for her being. I’m just viewing it as so important to get back there for her to see some o f her heritage, some of her roots. She does not have to leam Chinese dance, she does not have to leam Mandarin. She does not have to leam Chinese cooking. She has so many cultures to draw from here and she can pick and choose her make up almost and to some extent. If our trip to China causes her to become interested in some of these things, I would love it. 1 would absolutely love it. But if she’s a tap dancer on Broadway, that’s okay too.. .whatever really makes her happy and complete as a person.”____________ 16 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aronson, Jane. “Alcohol Related Birth Defects and International Adoption.” Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, <http://www.rassianadoption.org/fas.htm> Brooks, Devon. Personal interview. 26 Nov. 2003. — . “The Impact of Transracial Placement on Racial Affiliations and Identifications: Self-Reported Experiences of Adult, African American, Asian and Caucasian Adoptees.” Paper submitted to Children and Youth Services Review. Brooks, Devon et al. “Adoption and Race: Implementing the Multiethnic Placement Act and the Interethnic Adoption Provisions.” Social Work. Mar. 1999: 167-178. DeYoung, Paul. Personal interview. 6 Dec. 2003. DeYoung, Martha. Personal interview. 6 Dec. 2003. Floyd, Jeri. Personal interview. 17 Nov. 2003. Frasch, Karie M. and Devon Brooks. “Normative Development in Transracial Adoptive Families: An Integration of the Literature and Implications for the Construction of a theoretical Framework.” Families in Societv: The Journal o f Contemporarv Human Services. Apr.-Jun. 2003: 201-212. Friess, Steve. “Foreign Adoptions Fraught with Unforeseen Problems.” USA Today. 9 June. 2003:D8. Gifford, Rob. “Tim Baker runs Chinese orphanage for babies abandoned due to physical defects.” Morning Edition. Natl. Public Radio. II Sept. 2003. LexisNexis. 30 Sept. 2003 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com> Groves, Martha. Personal interview. 23 Nov. 2003. Groves, Nora. Personal interview. 23 Nov. 2003. Inskeep, Steve. “Changing Rules Complicate Overseas Adoptions.” NPR: All Things Considered. 14 Nov. 2003 <http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_I478980.html> 17 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Jenista, Jerri Ann. “A Letter to Families with Children from China from Jerri Arm Jenista, MD.” Medical Column. 10 Dec. 2003. <http://fwcc.org/healthconcems.html> Jeffreys, Darya P. “Note and Comment: Intercountry Adoption: A Need For Mandatory Medical Screening.” Joumal of Law and Health. 1997. Jindal, Marcia. Personal Interview. 4 Dec. 2003. Miller, Laurie C. and Nancy W. Hendrie. “Health of Children Adopted From China.” Pediatrics. June 2000. Marcucci, Michele R. “Berkeley Couple Find Happiness in China.” Oakland Tribune 15 Dec. 2002. —. “Livermore Couple Happy with Adoption from China.” Tri-Valiev Herald [Pleasanton, CA] 15 Dec. 2002. Russell, Marlou. Personal Interview. 5 Dec. 2003. Saiman, Lisa, et al. “Prevalence of Infectious Diseases Among Intemationally Adopted Children.” Pediatrics. Sept. 2001: 608-612. Silverman, Arnold R. “Outcomes of Transracial Adoption.” The Future of Children: Adoption. Spring 1993: I04-II8. Torassa, Ulysses. “Adoptive Parents Say SARS Won’t Stand in Way.” San Francisco Chronicle 5 May 2003: A l. United States. National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. Transracial Adoption. 13 Nov. 2002. <http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/s_trans.cfm> —. National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. Cost of Adopting. <http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/s_cost.cfm> —. State Department on Intercountry Adoption, Office of Children’s Issues. Immigrant Visas Issued to Orphans Coming to the U.S. 2003. National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. II Mar. 2004 and 30 Sep. 2003. <http://travel.state.gov/orphan_numbers.html> 18 R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Monroy, Tiffany (author)

Core Title Adopting the China route

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Broadcast Journalism

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag journalism,OAI-PMH Harvest,sociology, individual and family studies

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor [illegible] (committee chair), [illegible] (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-315897

Unique identifier UC11336855

Identifier 1421781.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-315897 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 1421781.pdf

Dmrecord 315897

Document Type Thesis

Rights Monroy, Tiffany

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA