Multiethnic Placement Act/Interethnic Adoption Provision (MEPA - IEP) 622-05-15-45

(Revised 2/15/2014 ML #3398)

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The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA) was amended in the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996.  The language of the 1996 provision is as follows:

 

A person or government that is involved in adoption or foster care placement may not –

  1. Deny to any individual the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent, on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the individual, or of the child involved; or
  2. Delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the adoptive or foster parent, or the child involved.

 

The purpose of MEPA/IEP is to promote the best interest of children by:

  1. Decreasing the length of time that children wait to be adopted.
  2. Preventing discrimination in the placement of children on the basis of race, color, or national origin; and
  3. Facilitating the identification and recruitment of foster and adoptive families that can meet children’s needs.

MEPA/IEP provides for diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the State for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed. (Refer to NDDHS 624-05 for the complete MEPA/IEP policy.)