ABSTRACT

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has now been actively implemented in the United States for 24 years and remains largely unchanged from its initial conception. Initial critiques of ASFA included questions around the ethics of its requirements and the efficiency of its proposed goals. Subsequent to the original adoption of ASFA into legislation, the National Association of Black Social Workers published a statement calling for its repeal due to the dire consequences experienced by Black communities. Although Black scholars and organizers continue to fight for the end of family separation, the call to repeal ASFA has garnered little attention from policymakers and child welfare researchers. This brief commentary reacquaints scholars with discussions around ASFA, highlighting the implications for Black communities and reiterating the importance of centering Black voices given recent calls for anti-racist practice, pedagogy, and research.

摘要

1997 年的《收养和家庭安全法》现已在美国积极实施 24 年，与最初的构想基本保持不变。最初对 ASFA 的批评包括围绕其要求的伦理问题和提出的目标的效率问题。在最初将 ASFA 纳入立法后，全国黑人社会工作者协会发表声明，呼吁废除该法案，因为黑人社区经历了可怕的后果。尽管黑人学者和组织者继续争取结束家庭分离，但废除 ASFA 的呼吁几乎没有引起政策制定者和儿童福利研究人员的关注。这篇简短的评论让学者们重新熟悉了围绕 ASFA 的讨论，