NEW YORK, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Transracial adoptions, mostly of white couples adopting black children, are becoming increasingly common in the United States.

There are a number of reasons for the shift, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported, including the increasing number of foreign adoptions -- which has made racially mixed families more common and acceptable -- and the emphasis on getting children out of foster care.

A relatively recent change in federal law bars adoption agencies from considering race as a factor in deciding on parents' fitness.

In 1998, 2,200 black foster children were adopted by white couples -- about 14 percent of the total adoptions of black children from foster care. In 2004, there were 4,200 children in transracial adoptions, or 26 percent of the total.

The National Association of Black Social Workers still favors same-race adoptions. But the organization has dropped a statement that calls cross-race adoptions "cultural genocide."