A new study out of Baylor University has intentionally included the voices of women who have placed a child for adoption, in order to more fully understand and effect change in the counseling services and options provided by adoption agencies and other adoption professionals.

Over the course of two years, an assistant professor in Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, named Elissa Madden, Ph.D., led the research team. They studied the responses gathered via surveys and interviews with birth mothers who had placed a child for adoption and with adoption professionals who work with expectant parents. The study was conducted in two phases and was funded by The Donaldson Adoption Institute’s Lynn Franklin Fund and was in partnership with the School of Social Work at The University of Arlington.

“We were very intentional about this study from the very beginning,” Dr. Madden said. “We wanted to make sure that we would be able to capture different perspectives – birth mothers who have lived this experience as well as adoption professionals who work with expectant parents each day and understand that side of the process.”

For a summary of the study, including the description of the two phases, the findings and the resulting recommendations that came out of the research, read this story. For the full text of the actual study, go to this Donaldson Adoption Institute page.