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Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative

black baby laughing with black parents
adoptive parents of color support programs

Yes, we do adopt!

Pact’s Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative (APCC) centers our experiences as adoptive parents of color.

Join the community:  APCC creates spaces for people of color who have adopted or fostered children of color to build community, receive and provide peer support, and participate in educational activities with other families who share their experiences of adoption. Community members gain insight into the challenges, the triumphs, and the everyday, natural moments that make up the lives of families built by adoption led by people of color.

Children and families thrive when they are part of a larger community that reflects their unique experiences. Through the Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative, we are claiming our space, telling our stories, speaking our truths, and making our voices heard.

APCC programs for adoptive parents of color and their children:

Resources:

More ways to engage:

 

Adoptive Parents of Color Support Group (for parents of children ages 0 – 12, pre-adoptive parents welcome)

This monthly Zoom support group is exclusively for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) adoptive and foster parents. Yes, we do adopt! Join us to build community, receive support, and reflect on shared experiences.

Fourth Tuesday of each month, 4:00pm Pacific Time (7:00pm Eastern). Facilitated by Raquel Vivanco.

Register here.

To receive notices of upcoming meetings, complete the APCC interest form.

BIPOC Adoptive Parents of Teens & Young Adults Support Group

This monthly Zoom support group provides a safe space where BIPOC adoptive and foster parents of teens and young adults of color (usually ages 13-25) can talk about the parenting challenges.

Second Wednesday of each month, 4:30pm Pacific Time (7:30pm Eastern). Facilitated by Raquel Vivanco.

Register here.

To receive notices of upcoming meetings, complete the APCC interest form.

Family meet-ups for adoptive parents of color

Do you want to meet other families like yours: adoptive, foster, and kinship families led by people of color? APCC hosts periodic family meet-ups in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles area, and hopes to expand to other regions. To receive notices of upcoming meet-ups, complete the APCC interest form.

Webinars and Conferences

Every year, APCC/Pact offers multiple webinars specifically focused on the needs of adoptive parents of color and their families.

To receive notices of upcoming education programs, complete the APCC interest form.

Yes, We Do Adopt: Voices of Adopted Parents of Color

The APCC blog is a space for adoptive parents of color to share their stories and experiences.

Read Here

APCC Report: What do BIPOC adoptive and foster parents need?

In 2024, Pact’s Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative conducted a national survey of adoptive and foster parents of color. The APCC Survey had 114 respondents from across the United States.

Read our report What Do BIPOC Adoptive & Foster Parents Need? to learn more about who responded to the survey, what they told us, and how Pact/APCC plans to respond.

Adoptive Parents of Color Family Album

Yes, we do adopt! Adoptive parents of color are under-represented in images and discussions of adoptive families. Pact’s Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative created this online Family Album to celebrate and raise the visibility of adoptive families led by people of color. Click through to view some beautiful, diverse families led by adoptive parents of color.

Would you like to add an image of your family to the APCC Family Album? Submit here.

black woman hugging black man in graduation gown
three black people smiling outside
interracial family smiling on couch

APCC Team

Raquel Vivanco

Raquel Vivanco

Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative Director

Raquel Vivanco (she/her) is the Latin@ adoptive mother to two Latin@ persons. Raquel has been an active member of the Pact community for over fifteen years and is deeply dedicated to ethical adoption reform. She serves as director of Pact’s Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative and parent program manager. Previously, Raquel worked for the Tides Center & Foundation as a project manager and human resources manager, and launched two successful small businesses in Latin America. She has a BA in International Relations from Stanford.

Greetings from Raquel (PDF)

“I’ve been looking for a community of adoptive parents of color for years and didn’t find anything until now. It’s wildly isolating to try and talk about the nuances of being a person of color with an adoptive child of color in majority white support groups.”

–Adoptive parent of color

“Support groups are great, but Pact goes much deeper. Pact designates staff, funding, and time to create spaces, workshops, and camp sessions to explore the nuances of same-race and transracial adoption and fostering, with a focus on the challenges faced in the BIPOC community. Pact provides a space to discuss adoption and foster care subjects outside the white lens that permeates so much of the adoption world. This commitment is vital to BIPOC families seeking a welcoming space that acknowledges the issue of race in adoption, foster, and kinship care, rather than sweeping it under the rug.”

–Adoptive parent of color

Give to the APCC Fund