Prepared by Melvin E. Gonnerman Jr.

Center for Social and Behavioral Research University of Northern Iowa

Prepared with funding from University of Northern Iowa Office of Sponsored Projects

Seeds Grant Program

May 2012

A Pilot Study of Pastors' Attitudes and Church Practices

Related to Adoption

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For further information, contact: Melvin Gonnerman Jr., Ph.D. Center for Social and Behavioral Research University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50613-0402 319-273-6506; mel.gonnerman@uni.edu

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Table of Contents Section Page Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... v

Section 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1

Section 2: Study Implementation .............................................................................................................. 3

Quantitative Questionnaire Data Collection Methodology .......................................................... 4

Qualitative Interview Data Collection Methodology .................................................................... 6

Section 3: Main Findings: Quantitative Questionnaire ............................................................................. 7

Section 4: Main Findings: Qualitative Interviews .................................................................................... 23

Emergent Themes and Summarization ....................................................................................... 23

Selected Quotes from Church Leaders ....................................................................................... 24

Section 5: Summary & Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 25

Key Findings from the Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 25

Key Findings from the Interviews ............................................................................................... 27

Synthesis ..................................................................................................................................... 27

References ............................................................................................................................................... 30

Appendix A: Technical Notes ................................................................................................................... 31

Quantitative Questionnaire Formatting and Instructions ......................................................... 31

Quantitative Study Sample Efficiency ........................................................................................ 32

Appendix B: Frequency Tables ................................................................................................................. 33

Appendix C: Qualitative Interview Guide & Summary of Responses ...................................................... 47

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A Pilot Study of Pastors' Attitudes and Church Practices Related to Adoption:Executive Summary

Prepared by Melvin Gonnerman Jr. Center for Social and Behavioral Research, University of Northern Iowa

April 2012

Background & Methodology

• This research project was conducted by the Center for Social and Behavioral Research (CSBR) at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) with funding from a Seed Grant through the Office of Sponsored Programs at UNI.

• This project was designed to collect data from pastors, priests, and church leaders in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls communities to address the following questions:

o What are the attitudes of Christian pastors towards adoption? Do attitudes vary depending on the perceived motivation of why the people want to adopt (e.g., infertility versus humanitarian)?

o What advice, counseling, or service referrals do pastors give to people considering adoption?

o What adoption-related financial assistance do churches provide? How are decisions made about the amount and mechanism (e.g., benevolence fund, appeal to members) by which money is provided for adoption assistance?

o How informed do pastors feel about the adoption process? Do pastors identify knowledge or efficacy gaps (e.g., education, information, training, resource materials) related to adoption?

• Invitation letters were mailed to 111 leaders of churches with addresses in Waterloo or Cedar Falls resulting in 44 completed questionnaires. The field period for data collection was November 17 through December 23, 2011.

• A subgroup of those who completed the quantitative questionnaire was contacted for follow-up qualitative interviews. A purposive sampling technique was used to provide representation based on denominational affiliation and church size. Telephone-based qualitative interviews were conducted with 5 respondents between February 9 and February 20, 2012.

Key Findings from the Questionnaire • About two-thirds of church leaders said they had been asked for their advice or counsel

about adopting a child.

• Overall, the vast majority of church leaders said they would support or strongly support all of the following types of adoptions: adoptions from the foster care system, domestic adoptions (non-foster care), international adoptions, adoptions of infants or young children, adoptions of children 12 or older, and adoptions of children with special needs.

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• A majority of church leaders said they felt unprepared to help people select a reputable adoption agency and to help them work through the adoption process. The majority, however, said they felt prepared to help people with the decision to place a child for adoption and the decision to adopt.

Preparedness as church leaders to help people with various aspects of adoption. (% Prepared = Very Prepared plus Prepared responses, % Unprepared = Unprepared plus Very Unprepared)

• The most commonly mentioned resource that would be most helpful to church leaders was to have a packet or brief document listing the step-by-step process in an adoption that includes a list with contact information for reputable adoption agencies in the local area.

• The most important sources of information for church leaders about adoption were: (1) adoption agencies, (2) social service agencies and community organizations, (3) family and friends, and (4) people who attend their church.

• About 1 in 5 churches included in this study held a special event or took a special collection during the past 12 months to help families with adoption-related expenses. About 1 in 3 churches made a financial gift to help families with adoption-related expenses. Yet, only about 1 in 20 churches had money in this year’s budget designated to help families with adoption related expenses.

• The majority of church leaders said they believed children adopted from other countries were equally as likely as other children in the United States when it came to the likelihood of having emotional problems (as children or adults), physical health problems, to be happy, to be well-adjusted as adults, and academic performance. Emotional well-being was the area with the greatest perceived difference. Specifically, about 1 in 4 church leaders said they believed children from international adoptions were more likely than other children to have emotional problems as children, and 1 in 6 said they were more likely to have emotional problems as adults.

46%

34%

60%

73%

54%

66%

40%

27%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Select AdoptionAgency

Work ThroughAdoptionProcess

Decision to PlaceChild forAdoption

Decision toAdopt

Prepared Unprepared

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• When asked about the extent to which they would encourage or discourage a husband and wife from adopting in a variety of situations, there were noticeable differences in the level of encouragement based on reported motivations for adopting.

o More than one-half of the church leaders said they would strongly encourage adoption to: (a) start a family if the couple is unable to have biological children due to infertility, (b) adopt from the foster care system so the child could have a family, (c) adopt a relative’s child if they are unfit to care for the child and parental rights had been terminated.

o About one-third of church leaders said they would strongly encourage the couple to adopt: (a) a child with special needs from another country, and (b) a child from another country to give the child a better life in the United States.

o Less than one-fourth of church leaders said they would strongly encourage the couple to: (a) adopt a child so their biological child could have a sibling, and (b) start a family by adopting if they were able to have biological children. Moreover, about one-fourth said they would discourage a couple from adopting to give their biological child a sibling, and about one-tenth said they would discourage a couple to start a family by adopting if they could have biological children.

• More than three-fourths of church leaders said they thought churches in the United States should be doing more when it comes to taking care of the needs of orphans around the world. About two-thirds thought churches should do more to encourage church members to adopt children from the foster care system, and about one-half said that churches should do more to encourage church members to adopt children from other countries.

Key Findings from the Interviews

• Generally, the pastors said their congregations responded positively when they talked to them about orphan care and adoption. How often these topics are discussed in services or in church communications varied from (a) only when there was a specific need within the church, (b) an annual sermon, and (c) regularly because several families in the church have adopted and so the importance of orphan care and adoption are visible and ongoing.

• Lack of awareness and financial limitations were reported as key barriers preventing church members from being more actively involved in meeting orphan care and adoption needs.

• Adoption is an expensive and complicated legal process. Many pastors said they feel more comfortable giving people advice and counseling them on the spiritual, emotional, and relational aspects of adoption than they are with the practical steps involved with an adoption. Many said they would find it helpful to have brief documents with (a) recommendations of reputable adoption agencies in the area, (b) step-by-step guide to the adoption process, and (c) contact information about resources (e.g., financial assistance) for adoptive families.

• Although churches do not typically have funds designated for adoption assistance, most probably would be able to help members seeking financial assistance in the process of adopting a child through benevolence (or similar) funds.

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Summary What are the attitudes of Christian pastors towards adoption?

Church leaders surveyed in this study generally reported positive and favorable attitudes and opinions towards adoption.

Do attitudes vary depending on the perceived motivation of why the people want to adopt (e.g., infertility versus humanitarian)?

Overall, church leaders expressed strong levels of support for various types of adoptions including foster care, domestic, international, infants and young children, older children, and children with special needs. However, the reason for a couple wanting to adopt was related to the extent to which church leaders said they would encourage or discourage a married couple from adopting in various hypothetical situations. Three tiers of support levels emerged.

o The highest tier of encouragement was observed (a) if the couple was unable to have children due to infertility, (b) for foster care adoptions to give a child a family, and (c) for familial adoption of a relative’s child who has been determined unfit to care for the child and whose parental rights have been terminated.

o The second tier of encouragement was for (a) adopting a child with special needs and (b) adopting a child from another country to give them a better life in the United States.

o The lowest levels of encouragement was expressed for (a) adopting a child so a biological child could have a sibling, and (b) starting a family by adopting if the couple is able to have biological children.

How informed do pastors feel about the adoption process? Do pastors identify knowledge or efficacy gaps (e.g., education, information, training, resource materials)?

Adoption is an expensive and complicated legal process. Many pastors feel more comfortable giving people advice and counseling them on the spiritual, emotional, and relational aspects of adoption than they are with the practical steps involved with an adoption. Many would find it helpful to have brief documents with (a) recommendations of reputable adoption agencies in the area, (b) step-by-step guide to the adoption process, and (c) contact information about resources (e.g., financial assistance) for adoptive families.

What adoption-related financial assistance do churches provide? How are decisions made about the amount and mechanism (e.g., benevolence fund, appeal to members) by which money is provided?

The church leaders felt that their congregations were generally supportive of adoption and had positive attitudes regarding both domestic and international adoptions. Churches do not typically have funds designated for adoption assistance, most probably would be able to help members seeking financial assistance in the process of adopting a child through benevolence (or similar) funds.

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What advice, counseling, or service referrals do pastors give to people considering adoption?

Generally, the church leaders said their congregations respond positively when they talk to them about orphan care and adoption. Not surprisingly, there was considerable variability in how often these topics are discussed in sermons and in church (formal and informal) communications. The topic may be addressed only when there is a specific need within the church. In other churches, there is an intentional effort to have at least one sermon annually on the topic. Yet, in other churches, the importance of orphan care and adoption are highly visible and ongoing because several families in these churches have adopted children.

When counseling unmarried couples about whether they should consider placing their child for adoption, social support consistently emerged as an important factor to consider. As one pastor stated, “Well, I think the first thing I would want to ask them about is their support system. Do they have a support system that can help them if they choose to keep their child—parents, grandparents, family… the resources of being able to still get an education, to work. The other thing that I remind them, as someone who’s been on the other side of that, is the most loving thing you can do for your child is provide them an opportunity for a loving environment. And if this isn’t something that you can provide right now, it is not giving up, it is giving out. And so it’s really an individual, personal thing, that each one is different.”

When counseling couples who are considering adopting, there was generally greater encouragement (and perhaps compassion or empathy) for couples who were planning to adopt because they were unable to have biological children of their own. One theme that emerged as an important factor to consider when adopting is the motivation – to meet the couple’s needs or to meet the child’s need. One pastor articulated it this way:

“I think we really have to be careful for adoptive parents that we are adopting for the right reasons. We’re not just adopting to fill missing gaps in our own lives. Children aren’t easy, especially older children aren’t easy. It won’t be a cake walk; it’s not a fairytale. It’s real life and I think preparing people for the difficulty of just children, in general, is difficult enough. If they are coming out of a difficult situation that even adds more difficulty to the mix.”

Another pastor expressed a similar sentiment: “And the one message that I continually remind parents who are considering adopting, or who have adopted, is that it’s not about your need to love some child; it is about that’s child’s need to be loved unconditionally. And that’s a big challenge, I think, in some places.”

Another component of pre-adoption counseling is to prepare couples for the unique challenges of bringing children (especially older children) into families. As one pastor shared from personal experience,

“In our experience, I think the biggest challenge was to adapt, you know, to some of the brokenness that was in the child that we adopted, and learn how to really serve their needs, not to get them to change to meet our needs, but to really serve their needs and really draw them in. Make them real family members, you know — really, truly family. A part of our family. I think that for us that was the great challenge.”

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What is the “take home” message?

The findings from this study of church leaders in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls community suggests that there is a generally positive attitude among church leadership and church members when it comes to orphan care and adoption. This was evident for international, domestic, and foster care adoptions. Most of the church leaders indicated that the churches need to be doing more in terms of taking care of orphans and providing homes to children in need of being adopted. In order to accomplish this, there needs to be (a) increased efforts at making church members aware of the need, (b) more opportunities for them to be connected with orphanages and adoptive families in ways that establish long-term relationships, (c) easier access to simple, accurate, and reliable information for pastors about the adoption process, and (d) more financial resources for families so that the cost of completing an adoption is not a barrier that keeps children from having loving families.

Contact Information For further information, contact: Melvin Gonnerman Jr., Ph.D. Center for Social and Behavioral Research University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50613-0402 319-273-6506; mel.gonnerman@uni.edu

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SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION

Adoption is an important but under-researched topic in the United States. There are more international adoptions of children into families in the United States than any other country (Tarmann, 2003), and the number of foster care adoptions within the US has increased (U.S. Children’s Bureau, 2010). Much of the literature on adoption has examined (a) differential physical and psychological outcomes of adoptive children, and (b) policy issues concerning family structure (e.g., interracial adoptions, adoptions by single parents or same-sex couples) (Palacios & Brodzinsky, 2010). Unfortunately, little is known about the general population’s attitudes towards adoption, and even less is known about the attitudes of pastors or the type of advice or assistance they offer to prospective adoptive parents.

Attitudes Towards Adoption. There have been only a few large-scale research studies of community attitudes towards adoption (Wegar, 2000). In the Benchmark Adoption Survey (Princeton Survey Research Associates, 1997), adoption served a useful purpose in society according to 95% of respondents. The 2002 National Adoption Attitudes Survey was conducted by Harris Interactive to follow-up the 1997 Benchmark Adoption Survey. The percentage of adults who said they had “very favorable” opinions about adoption was 56% in 1997 and 63% in 2002. In the 2002 survey, most adults said they thought parents get the same (57%) or even more (29%) satisfaction from raising adopted children as they would from raising children born to them. When asked what first comes to mind when thinking about people who adopt children, the most common responses were as follows: caring/compassionate/giving (35%), loving/love children (23%), generous/helpful/unselfish (12%), and unable to have children (9%). In a 2007 study, 72% of respondents expressed a favorable opinion of adoption (Harris Interactive, 2007).

These generally positive survey responses are in contrast with the stigma adoptive parents may experience in day-to-day interactions with others (Miall, 1987). Adoptive parents may hear comments such as “When are you going to tell them you aren’t their real parents?” and “I just don’t think I could love a child as much as I do the ones I gave birth to.” Adoptive children often get asked, “Do you want to look for your real mom and dad?” This pilot project extends the existing literature by assessing the attitudes of church leaders towards adoption and by determining how they counsel parents and children regarding the positive and negative aspects of adoption.

Reasons People Adopt. There are two main motivations for adoptions: (1) the parents are unable to have biological children of their own (e.g., infertility), and (2) altruism or humanitarianism (e.g., give a child a better life). In a non-random sample of more than 1,000 adoptions completed in California between July 1988 and June 1989, more than two-thirds of parents said they adopted because they were unable to have children (i.e., infertility issues) and slightly more than one-fourth said they adopted because of religious or humanitarian reasons (Berry, Barth, & Needell, 1996). In the 2002 National Adoption Attitudes Survey conducted by Harris Interactive, members of the general public were asked what they thought was the most important reason why parents adopt children. With young children, the majority perceived the adoptive parents’ primary motivation to be creating a family for themselves. With older children and children in foster care, the majority thought the parents’ primary motivation was to provide a good home to a child in need. Although 39% of adults said they had considered adopting a child (Harris Interactive, 2002), most of those who consider adoption will, for a variety of reasons, not actually complete the adoption process and make a child part of their family.

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Sources of Advice When Considering Adoption. Respondents in a general population study were asked where they would turn for information or advice on how to go about adopting if they wanted to adopt a child (Harris Interactive, 2002). Almost one-half said they would seek information or advice from their place of worship. Specifically, respondents said they would seek advice from a local foster care agency (57%), local social welfare agency (55%), place of worship (48%), friends and family (41%), the Internet (29%), popular media (17%), and other sources (5%). Although nearly one-half of people said they would turn to their place of worship for information and advice about adoption, there is a lack of data on clergy’s attitudes towards adoption or on the advice and financial support they might offer to people.

Barriers to Adoption. Financial cost is one of the major factors people cite as a barrier to adoption. Fees for adoptions of children from foster care range from $0 to $2,500 (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2004); however, the cost of private and international adoptions can be considerably higher (Vandivere, Malm, & Radel, 2009). For example, the fees listed on a respected adoption agency’s website ranged from $13,550 to $27,215 depending on the child’s country of origin (Holt International, 2011). There are often other additional adoption-related expenses (e.g., travel, medical exams, and visa fees). In the National Survey of Family Growth (National Center for Health Statistics, 2004), about one-third of female respondents who said they had started but then discontinued the adoption process said they did so because the fees were too high. Likewise, 54% of respondents in the National Foster Care Adoption Attitudes Survey (Harris Interactive, 2007) said being able to pay for an adoption of a child from within the US foster care system would be a “major concern” for them if adopting.

Although the cost of adopting is clearly important to potential adoptive parents, there is a marked absence of scholarly information available on the mechanisms by which the cost barrier affects potential adoptive parents, how this topic is addressed in pastoral counseling, and how churches help people overcome the financial barrier to successfully adopt. Information online about how to pay for an adoption typically includes references to government tax credits, links to a few non-profits that provide grants for adoption, and general fundraising ideas such as having a garage sale, getting a newspaper route, or asking family and friends to contribute. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is common for church members to receive at least some financial assistance with adoption expenses directly from the church budget and/or indirectly either through a group collection or appealing individually to fellow church members. Research is needed to identify what types of practical advice, financial services referrals, or financial assistance pastors and churches provide to people who are considering adoption. Moreover, does the advice and financial assistance vary depending on whether the potential adoptive parents are doing so (a) because they are unable to have biological children or (b) if they already have their own biological children?

The Current Study. The current research project is a mixed-method, community-based pilot study of church leaders. In the first phase of the study, paper-and-pencil, quantitative questionnaires were mailed to pastors, priests, and church leaders in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls communities in Iowa. Questionnaires were sent to 111 church units and 44 respondents returned completed questionnaires between November and December 2011. Respondents who completed the questionnaire could indicate if they were interested in being contacted for a follow-up interview. In the second phase of the study, qualitative telephone interviews were conducted in February 2012 with 5 respondents from Phase 1. This study makes an incremental advance in the scholarly research by developing and testing an interview protocol that may be used in a larger scale study of church leaders in the future. At the community level, the findings are useful in (a) assessing the attitudes towards adoption of church leaders in the community, (b) determining what advice, counsel, or referral services people receive about adoption from church leaders, and (c) identifying resources church leaders might want to feel better equipped to assist people who are considering adopting or who are in the process of adopting.

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SECTION 2 STUDY IMPLEMENTATION

Who funded the project? The study was funded by a competitive Seed Grant Program through the Office of Sponsored Programs at the University of Northern Iowa.

Who conducted the study? The study was conducted by the Center for Social and Behavioral Research (CSBR) at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). All research activities were approved by the UNI Institutional Review Board to protect the rights of human research participants.

What was the primary purpose of the project? The primary purpose of the study was to collect data from pastors, priests, and church leaders in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls communities to assess their attitudes about adoption and to identify the ways in which churches may be assisting adoptive parents.

What were the main research questions? The research questions addressed were:

(1) What are the attitudes of Christian pastors towards adoption? Do attitudes vary depending on the perceived motivation of why the people want to adopt (e.g., infertility versus humanitarian)?

(2) What advice, counseling, or service referrals do pastors give to people considering adoption?

(3) What adoption-related financial assistance do churches provide? How are decisions made about the amount and mechanism (e.g., benevolence fund, appeal to members) by which money is provided?

(4) How informed do pastors feel about the adoption process? Do pastors identify knowledge or efficacy gaps (e.g., education, information, training, resource materials)?

What type of research design was used? The current research project is a sequential mixed-method, community-based pilot study of church leaders. A quantitative mail-back questionnaire was administered in Phase 1 with qualitative telephone-based interviews in Phase 2. Studies using a sequential mixed-methods research design benefit from the relative strengths of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms and are better able to compensate for the relative respective weaknesses associated with using each design alone (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). The sequential approach affords the benefit of being able to use the qualitative interviews to help understand, clarify, and contextualize the findings from the quantitative questionnaire. Combining the statistical rigor of quantitative measures with the descriptive richness of qualitative interviews enables researchers to draw conclusions based on both types of data.

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Quantitative Questionnaire Data Collection Methodology

How were churches selected and respondents recruited? The sample frame was primarily created by using the yellow pages in the local phonebook, with supplemental information obtained from Internet searches to identify Christian churches with Waterloo and Cedar Falls (Iowa) mailing addresses. The goal was to identify the senior pastor, priest, or church leader by name and mail them an invitation letter and questionnaire. When possible, this information was obtained from church websites. When the contact information could not be determined from the website or no website could be located, telephone calls were made to the church offices asking for the name of the senior pastor, priest, or church leader. Three call attempts were made for each church to obtain contact information. Excluded from the sample frame were: satellite churches if the main campus was in Cedar Falls or Waterloo, church plants that were in progress but not officially holding services, home churches, and non-Christian religious organizations or parachurch organizations. The final sample frame included 111 church units of which 86 were addressed to an individual and 25 were addressed generically to “Senior Pastor.”

How were respondents contacted? The pastor, priest, or church leader was mailed an invitation letter, paper questionnaire, and business reply envelope (see Appendix A for technical details about the questionnaire’s formatting and instructions). Questionnaires were mailed to the church address and not to the respondent’s personal residence.

Follow-up telephone calls were made to the church office approximately two weeks after the questionnaires were mailed. A minimum of three call attempts were made for each number with the goal of either talking to the respondent, the “gatekeeper” (e.g., secretary, receptionist, office manager), or leaving a message on the respondent’s voicemail. Respondents were offered the opportunity to complete the questionnaire over the phone if that was more convenient for them.

When were the data collected? The field period for data collection of the quantitative questionnaires was from November 17 through December 23, 2011.

How many questionnaires were completed? A total of 44 respondents completed questionnaires either online (n = 42) or via telephone (n = 2). The goal for the project was to receive 40 completed questionnaires (see Appendix A for additional information about sample efficiency).

What were the demographic characteristics of respondents? For the qualitative questionnaire, the demographic characteristics of the 44 respondents and their churches were as follows:

• 27% were adopted or someone in their immediate family was adopted

• 82% were men (16% women, 2% no response)

• Slightly more than one-half were between the ages of 50 and 64 o 7% were 18-34 years old o 25% were 35-49 years old o 57% were 50-64 years old o 11% were 65 or older

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• About three-fourths held Master’s degrees or higher o 2% had a high school diploma o 4% had an Associate’s degree o 16% had a Bachelor’s degree o 64% had a Master’s degree o 14% had a Doctorate degree

• There was a wide range of years of experience as the church leader

o Mean = 12.5 years; Median = 8.5; Range = Less than 1 year to 40 years o 12% less than 1 year o 29% 1-4 years o 17% 5-9 years o 14% 10-19 years o 29% 20 or more years

• Typical church attendance was most commonly between 100 and 249 people

o 9% fewer than 50 o 16% 50 to 99 o 39% 100 to 249 o 18% 250 to 499 o 7% 500 to 749 o 0% 750 to 999 o 11% 1,000 or more

• The two most common denominational affiliations were Lutheran and Baptist

o 25% Lutheran o 18% Baptist o 11% Methodist o 11% Non-denominational o 7% Catholic o 7% Presbyterian o 4% Reformed o 2% Pentecostal/Charismatic/Full Gospel o 0% Episcopal o 14% Other

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Qualitative Interview Data Collection Methodology

How were respondents recruited and selected for interviews? One of the items in the questionnaire asked respondents to indicate their interest in being contacted for a follow-up telephone interview (15-20 minutes long) to explore in greater depth some of the major issues, challenges, and opportunities regarding child adoption and the church. Respondents who said “definitely yes” were treated as the sample frame for the qualitative interviews.

A purposive selection protocol was implemented to increase the sample’s representativeness on several key variables: (a) denominational affiliation, (b) church size, (c) gender of church leader, (d) years of experience as the church leader, (e) education level, and (f) personal experiences with adoption. Two church leaders were selected from small, medium, and large churches with replacement when the initially selected church leader was unable to complete the interview after four call attempts or 10 days from the initial contact.

How and when were respondents contacted? Respondents who were selected for the qualitative interviews were contacted by telephone to schedule an appointment to do the interview. The field period for data collection of the qualitative interviews was from February 9 through February 20, 2012.

How many interviews were completed? Five qualitative telephone interviews were completed and transcribed. The goal was 6 interviews; however, only five interviews were able to be conducted during the available field period. Research staff attempted to contact eight pastors who said they were interested in participating in follow-up interviews. Five interviews were completed. One pastor was no longer with the church. Three pastors were unable to be reached to complete the interview during the field period. A minimum of four call attempts were made to schedule an interview time.

What are the characteristics of the respondents and their churches? In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 5 church leaders with the following characteristics: (a) Protestant (n = 4) and non-denominational (n = 1) church affiliations; (b) congregations with typical attendance: fewer than 100 (n = 1), 100 to 499 (n = 2), and 500 or more (n = 2); (c) all five interviews were completed with men despite efforts to have better gender balance; (d) the years of experience ranged from 2 to 30 years as the church leader; (e) education levels: bachelor’s degrees (n = 2) vs. master’s or doctoral degrees (n = 3); and (f) personal family experience with adoption: yes (n = 3) vs. no (n = 2).

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SECTION 3 MAIN FINDINGS: QUANTITATIVE QUESTIONNAIRE

Last Time Asked For Advice or Counsel About Adoption

Question: When was the last time someone in your church asked for your advice or counsel regarding adopting a child? Key Finding: About one-third (37%) of church leaders were asked by someone in their church to give advice or counseling regarding adoption during the past 12 months.

Figure 1. Last time asked for advice or counsel regarding adopting a child.

During past 12 months

37%

More than 12 months ago

26% Never 37%

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Preparedness to Help People with Adoptions Question: Overall how prepared or unprepared do you feel as a church leader to help people with each of the following?

• Select a reputable adoption agency • Work through the adoption process including application forms and home studies • Decide whether or not to place a child for adoption • Decide whether or not to adopt a child

Key Finding: The majority of church leaders said they felt unprepared to help people select adoption agencies or to work through the adoption process, but most church leaders said they felt prepared to help people with making the decision about placing a child for adoption or about adopting a child.

Figure 2. Preparedness as church leaders to help people with various aspects of adoption. (% Prepared is the sum of Very Prepared and Prepared responses, % Unprepared is the sum of Unprepared and Very Unprepared responses)

46%

34%

60%

73%

54%

66%

40%

27%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Select AdoptionAgency

Work ThroughAdoptionProcess

Decision to PlaceChild forAdoption

Decision toAdopt

Prepared Unprepared

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Importance of Information Sources Question: How important are each of the following as a source of information about adoption for you?

• Books • Articles in magazines or newspapers • Websites and other online resources • Religious programs (radio, podcasts, TV) • Seminary or pastoral training • Church leaders you know personally • Adoption agencies • Social service agencies/community organizations • People who attend your church • Family and friends

Key Finding: Of the 10 possible information sources assessed in this study, adoption agencies and social service agencies were most frequently rated as very important sources of information about adoption. In addition, about one-half of church leaders also said that other people, especially family and friends and people at the church were very important sources of information.

Figure 3. Importance of various sources of information about adoption. (% who said Very Important)

2%

14%

14%

26%

27%

38%

49%

50%

52%

64%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Religious Programs

Articles

Books

Online

Seminary

Other Church Leaders

People at Church

Family and Friends

Social Service Agencies

Adoption Agencies

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Adoption as a Topic During Education Question: Was adoption a major topic covered in any of the classes you took during seminary or post-secondary education? Key Finding: Less than one-tenth of church leaders said that adoption was a major topic in any class they took during seminary or in their post-secondary education.

Figure 4. Adoption was a major topic in any class during seminary or post-secondary education.

Yes 9%

No 91%

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Interest in Receiving Information from Adoption or Social Service Agencies Question: If an adoption or social service agency invited you to attend a free informational session on adoption, how interested would you be in attending? Key Finding: If an adoption or social service agency were to invite church leaders to attend a free informational session on adoption, one-fifth said they would be very interested in attending.

Figure 5. Interest in attending a free informational session on adoption if invited by an adoption or social service agency.

Very Interested

21%

Somewhat Interested

57%

Not Very Interested

21%

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Interest in Receiving Information from Adoption or Social Service Agencies (continued) Question: How interested would you be in having a staff member from an adoption or social service agency visit you at your office to answer questions you might have about the adoption process? Key Finding: There was less interest in having staff visit them at their office, with only 14% saying they were very interested in such a visit and one-third saying they were not very interested in such a visit.

Figure 6. Interest in having a staff member from an adoption or social service agency visit the church leader’s office to answer questions about the adoption process.

Adoption-Related Resources, Training, or Types of Information Question: What adoption-related resources, training, or types of information would be most helpful to you as a church leader? Key Finding: Having a brief document describing the steps involved in an adoption that also includes contact information for reputable adoption agencies in the area would be helpful for church leaders.

Top 2 Responses

• Single page outline (or packet) of the step-by-step process involved with adoptions (n = 5)

• List of reputable agencies in the area including contact information (n = 4)

Very Interested

14%

Somewhat Interested

52%

Not Very Interested

33%

13

Special Group Ministries in the Church Question: Does your church have any of the following special group ministries? Key Finding: Very few of the churches in the area reported having special ministries that are related to orphan care or adoption. Several church leaders commented that their denomination, rather than their local church, has programs focused on these areas.

Figure 7. Presence of group ministries within the church.

2%

11%

14%

18%

28%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Adoption

Orphan Care

Foster Care

Crisis Pregnancy

Single Mothers' Support

14

Church Assistance and Activities for Adopting Families Question: Did your church do any the following during the past 12 months? During the past 12 months…

• Were there any Sunday sermons encouraging people to consider adopting children? • Were there any mid-week services or adult education classes on the topic of adoption? • Did your church offer any support groups or small groups for families with adopted children? • Were there any special events held or offerings collected to raise money for families who were

in the process of adopting a child? • Did your church give any financial gifts to help families with adoption-related expenses from the

church’s benevolence fund or general budget?

Key Finding: Slightly less than than one-third of church leaders in the area said their church had made financial gifts during the past 12 months to families adopting children, and about one-fifth said their church held a special event or offering to support a family who was adopting. The results of this survey do not provide information on how many churches were approached by adopting families and did not offer direct or indirect financial assistance.

Figure 8. Church programs, activities, or assistance for adopting families during the past 12 months.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Note. A combined 35% of churches said they had (a) held a special event, offering, or (b) made a financial gift from church funds for adopting families, or (c) done both.

2%

7%

16%

19%

30%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Midweek/Adult Classes Encouraging Adoption

Support Groups for Adopting Families

Sunday Sermons Encouraging Adoption

Special Events/Offerings to Support AdoptingFamilies

Financial Gifts from Church Funds for AdoptingFamilies

15

Church Designates Money for Adopting Families Question: In this year’s budget, did your church designate money to help families with adoption-related expenses? Key Finding: The vast majority of church leaders in the area said their church did not designate money in their budget to help families with adoption-related expenses.

Figure 9. Churches that designated money in their budgets to help families with adoption-related expenses.

Yes 5%

No 95%

16

Perceived Attitude of the Church About Adopting Children From Other Countries Question: In your opinion, what is the overall attitude within your church about adopting children from other countries? Key Finding: The perception by church leaders in the area is that their churches’ attitudes about international adoptions are positive. Specifically, 77% rated their church as being positive or very positive when it comes to adopting children from other countries.

Figure 10. Perception of pastors about the overall attitude within their church about adopting children from other countries.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Note. Of those who expressed an opinion, 40% (very positive), 45% (positive), 12% (neither positive nor negative), 2% (negative), 0% (very negative).

Don't Know 9% Very Negative

0% Negative

2%

Neither Positive Nor

Negative 11%

Postive 41% Very Positive

36%

17

Support or Opposition to Adoption Question: Overall, how strongly do you support or oppose the following types of adoption?

• Adoptions from the U.S. foster care system? • Domestic adoptions (other than foster care)? • International adoptions? • Adoptions of infants or young children? • Adoptions of children 12 or older? • Adoptions of children with special needs?

Key Finding: There was a high level of support by church leaders for all forms of adoption assessed in this survey; more than one-half said they strongly support each of these types of adoptions.

Figure 11. Support of pastors for various types of adoptions. (% Strongly support and support)

51%

56%

57%

60%

60%

63%

49%

42%

43%

40%

40%

37%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

International

Children 12 or Older

Domestic (non-foster care)

Special Needs

Foster care

Infants or Young Children

Strongly Support Support

18

Encourage or Discourage Adoption Based in Various Situations Question: In general, do you think you would encourage or discourage a husband and wife from adopting in the following situations? A husband and wife want to…

• Start a family by adopting, because they are unable to have biological children due to infertility. • Adopt a child from another country to give the child a better life in the United States. • Adopt so their biological child has a brother or sister. • Adopt a child with special needs from another country. • Start a family by adopting, even though they are able to have biological children. • Adopt a child from the foster care system, so the child can have a family. • Adopt a child from a relative who is unfit to care for the child and whose parental rights have

been terminated.

Key Finding: The level of encouragement was related to the couple’s motivation for adopting. There was stronger support for couples to adopt to start their family if they were unable to have biological children (e.g., infertility) compared to if they could have biological children. Adoptions from within the family and foster care adoptions showed high levels of support from church leaders. The lowest level of anticipated encouragement was shown for adopting in order to give biological children siblings.

Figure 12. Encourage or discourage a husband and wife from adoption in various instances. (% of total sample who would Strongly encourage and encourage )

Note. A relatively high level of uncertainty was expressed on a few types of adoption motives and situations. First, 25% said they “didn’t know” if they would encourage or discourage a couple from adopting as a way to start a family if the couple was able to have biological children and 11% would discourage them from adopting. In constrast, 0% were uncertain and 2% said they would discourage couples who were unable due to infertility to have biological children to start their family by adopting. Second, 16% said they “didn’t know” if they would encourage or discourage a couple from adopting as a way to give their biological children siblings, and 23% said they would discourage the couple with this motivation from adopting.

16%

20%

30%

30%

46%

52%

52%

46%

43%

48%

57%

48%

41%

46%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Give Biological Child a Sibiling

Start a Family (Can Have Biological Children)

Child with Special Needs from Another County

Give Child from Another Country a Better Life

From Foster Care so Child Can Have Family

Child of Relative Who is Unfit to Care for Child

Start a Family (Unable to Have Biological Children)

Strongly Encourage Encourage

19

Hypothetical Adoption Scenario Question: Suppose a couple is unmarried, they don’t intend to get married, and the woman becomes pregnant. Which do you think would be the best decision in MOST CASES for them to make? The baby should….

• Live with the mother • Live with the father • Live with the unmarried couple (all live together) • Be placed for adoption • Something else* • Don’t know

Key Finding: Opinions were mixed regarding what is best in MOST cases for the baby when the female becomes pregnant and an unmarried couple does not intend to get married.

Figure 13. In most cases, what would be best for a baby born to an unmarried couple? Note. * The most common response from people who selected “something else” was that “it depends” and each situation is different.

No Response 7% Don't Know

16%

Something Else 23%

Be Placed for Adoption

16%

All Live Together

20%

Live with Father

0%

Live with Mother

18%

20

Perceptions about Children Adopted from Other Countries

Question: Do you think children adopted from other countries are more likely, equally likely, or less likely than other children in the United States to experience the following? Children adopted from OTHER countries are more, equally, or less likely than other children in the US to….

• Have emotional problems as adults • Have emotional problems as children • Be physically healthy as children • Be happy as children • Do poorly in school • Become well-adjusted adults

Key Finding: The greatest perceived difference between children adopted from other countries and other children in the U.S. was in the area of emotional well-being during childhood and adulthood.

Figure 14. Perceptions of the emotional, physical, and academic outcomes of children adopted from other countries compared to other children in the United States.

0%

23%

2% 7%

80%

52%

66% 70%

4% 2% 9%

4%

16% 23% 23%

18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Be Happy Have Emotional Problems Physical Health Problems Do Poorly in School

As Children

16%

0%

64%

77%

0% 4%

20% 18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Have Emotional Problems Be Well-Adjusted

More Likely

Equally Likely

Less Likely

Don't Know

As Adults

21

Church Assistance and Activities for Adopting Families Question: Do you think churches in the United States should be doing more, less, or are they doing about the right amount when it comes to the following? How much should churches in the U.S. be doing to…

• Take care of the needs of orphans around the world? • Encourage church members to adopt children from other countries? • Encourage church members to adopt children from the foster care system?

Key Finding: Most (80%) of the church leaders in the area said that churches should be doing more in terms of international orphan care. Slightly less than one-half (48%) said churches should be doing more to encourage international adoptions. Slightly less than two-thirds (61%) said churches should be doing more to encourage foster care adoptions.

Figure 15. Assessment of the church response to the needs of orphans and adoptions.

80%

48%

61%

18%

30%

20%

0% 2% 0% 0%

18% 16%

2% 2% 2% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Care for Orphans Around the World Encourage International Adoptions Encourage Foster Care Adoptions

Should Do More About Right Should Do Less Don't Know No Response

22

Interest in Follow-Up Qualitative Interviews Question: The second phase of this research project will involve conducting follow-up telephone interviews (15-20 minutes) with several pastors, priests, and church leaders. These interviews will allow us to explore in greater depth some of the major issues, challenges, and opportunities regarding child adoption and the church. Would you be interested in doing one of these follow-up interviews to further help us with this research? Key Finding: The level of willingness to participate in the second phase of this research project along with comments made from respondents are evidence of the perceived interest and importance of adoption issues among church leaders in the area.

Figure 16. Interest in participating in the second phase of this research project.

Definitely Yes 32%

Maybe 39%

Definitely No

30%

23

SECTION 4 MAIN FINDINGS: QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS

The findings in this section are based on qualitative telephone-based interviews conducted with 5 church leaders in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area.

Emergent Themes and Summarization

• The pastors said that their church congregations generally respond positively when they talk about taking care of the needs of orphans and about the importance of adoption. There is wide variability in how often these topics are discussed in services or in church communications. For example, these topics may be discussed only once a year or when there is a specific situation or opportunity arises within the church. Whereas, in other churches, several families have adopted, so the needs and importance of orphan care and adoption are more visible and ongoing.

• Two barriers the church leaders mentioned that prevent church members from being more actively involved in meeting orphan care and adoption needs are (a) lack of awareness of the severity of the problem and need for adoptive families, and (b) financial limitations, especially in the current economic times.

• Adoption is an expensive and complicated legal process. Many pastors said they feel more

comfortable giving people advice and counseling them on the spiritual, emotional, and relational aspects of adoption (e.g., prepared to adopt, motivation for adoption, assessing social support system, best interest of the baby) than they are with the practical steps involved with an adoption. Because many church leaders lack familiarity and information about the process, brief documents containing the following types of information would be helpful:

o Recommendations of reputable adoption agencies in the area, o Step-by-step guide listing the adoption process, o Information about resources available to provide financial assistance to adoptive families.

• Although churches do not typically have funds designated specifically for adoption assistance, most

churches have some means of providing financial assistance to church members who are in the process of adopting a child. Church members often can request financial assistance which would come from various designated funds (e.g., human care fund, benevolence fund, community impact fund, mission outreach fund). In some churches, general funds will not be available, but special offerings may be taken for adoption assistance.

24

Selected Quotes from Church Leaders

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOUR NEED TO LOVE SOME CHILD “And the one message that I continually remind parents who are considering adopting, or who have adopted, is that it’s not about your need to love some child; it is about that’s child’s need to be loved unconditional. And that’s a big challenge, I think, in some places.” DON’T ADOPT TO FILL THE MISSING GAPS IN YOUR OWN LIFE “I think we really have to be careful for adoptive parents that we are adopting for the right reasons. We’re not just adopting to fill missing gaps in our own lives. Children aren’t easy, especially older children aren’t easy. It won’t be a cake walk; it’s not a fairytale. It’s real life and I think preparing people for the difficulty of just children, in general, is difficult enough. If they are coming out of a difficult situation that even adds more difficulty to the mix.” IT IS NOT GIVING UP, IT IS GIVING OUT “Well, I think the first thing I would want to ask them about is their support system. Do they have a support system that can help them if they choose to keep their child—parents, grandparents, family… the resources of being able to still get an education, to work. The other thing that I remind them, as someone who’s been on the other side of that, is the most loving thing you can do for your child is provide them an opportunity for a loving environment. And if this isn’t something that you can provide right now, it is not giving up, it is giving out. And so it’s really an individual, personal thing, that each one is different.” BEING WILLING TO STEP IN “You can’t encourage people not to get abortions if you’re not willing to step in and take the weight and seriousness of raising a child yourself.” COMPASSION FOR COUPLES “It would be the feeling of compassion. It’s just like, well, if you couldn’t have them, then I want to help you out even more [to] adopt.” THEY’RE YOURS “There are so many children that need homes. And I just think it’s a great option for people to exercise if they can’t have their own children, because once you bring those kids into your home and give them their name, they’re yours. And your heart is so connected with them. So, I just think there is such a great need for it.” OVERCOMING BROKENNESS BY MAKING THEM REALLY, TRULY FAMILY “In our experience, I think the biggest challenge was to adapt, you know, to some of the brokenness that was in the child that we adopted, and learn how to really serve their needs, not to get them to change to meet our needs, but to really serve their needs and really draw them in. Make them real family members, you know — really, truly family. A part of our family. I think that for us that was the great challenge.”

25

SECTION 5 SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS

Key Findings from the Questionnaire • About two-thirds of church leaders said they had been asked for their advice or counsel about

adopting a child during the past 12 months.

• Overall, the vast majority of church leaders said they would support or strongly support all of the following types of adoptions: adoptions from the foster care system, domestic adoptions (non-foster care), international adoptions, adoptions of infants or young children, adoptions of children 12 or older, and adoptions of children with special needs.

• A majority of church leaders said they felt unprepared to help people select a reputable adoption agency and to help them work through the adoption process. The majority, however, said they felt prepared to help people with the decision to place a child for adoption and the decision to adopt.

Preparedness as a church leader to help people with various aspects of adoption. (% Prepared = Very Prepared plus Prepared responses, % Unprepared = Unprepared plus Very Unprepared)

• The most commonly mentioned resource that would be most helpful to church leaders was to have a packet or brief document listing the step-by-step process in an adoption that includes a list with contact information for reputable adoption agencies in the local area.

• The most important sources of information for church leaders about adoption were: (1) adoption agencies, (2) social service agencies and community organizations, (3) family and friends, and (4) people who attend their church.

46%

34%

60%

73%

54%

66%

40%

27%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Select AdoptionAgency

Work ThroughAdoptionProcess

Decision to PlaceChild forAdoption

Decision toAdopt

Prepared Unprepared

26

• About 1 in 5 churches included in this study held a special event or took a special collection during the past 12 months to help families with adoption-related expenses. About 1 in 3 churches made a financial gift to help families with adoption-related expenses. Yet, only about 1 in 20 churches had money in this year’s budget designated to help families with adoption related expenses.

• The majority of church leaders said they believed children adopted from other countries were equally as likely as other children in the United States when it came to the likelihood of having emotional problems (as children or adults), physical health problems, to be happy, to be well-adjusted as adults, and academic performance. Emotional well-being was the area with the greatest perceived difference. Specifically, about 1 in 4 church leaders said they believed children from international adoptions were more likely than other children to have emotional problems as children, and 1 in 6 said they were more likely to have emotional problems as adults.

• When asked about the extent to which they would encourage or discourage a husband and wife

from adopting in a variety of situations, there were noticeable differences in the level of encouragement based on reported motivations for adopting.

o More than one-half of the church leaders said they would strongly encourage adoption to:

(a) start a family if the couple is unable to have biological children due to infertility, (b) adopt from the foster care system so the child could have a family, or (c) adopt a relative’s child if they are unfit to care the child and parental rights have been terminated.

o About one-third of church leaders said they would strongly encourage the couple to adopt: (a) a child with special needs from another country, or (b) a child from another country to give the child a better life in the United States.

o Less than one-fourth of church leaders said they would strongly encourage the couple to: (a) adopt a child so their biological child could have a sibling, or (b) start a family by adopting if they were able to have biological children. Moreover, about one-fourth said they would discourage a couple from adopting to give their biological child a sibling, and about one-tenth said they would discourage a couple to start a family by adopting if they could have biological children.

• More than three-fourths of church leaders said they thought churches in the United States should be doing more when it comes to taking care of the needs of orphans around the world. About two-thirds thought churches should do more to encourage church members to adopt children from the foster care system, and about one-half said that churches should do more to encourage church members to adopt children from other countries.

27

Key Findings from the Interviews

• Generally, the pastors said their congregations responded positively when they talked to them about orphan care and adoption. How often these topics are discussed in services or in church communications varied from (a) only when there was a specific need within the church, (b) an annual sermon, and (c) regularly because several families in the church have adopted and so the importance of orphan care and adoption are visible and ongoing.

• Lack of awareness and financial limitations were reported as key barriers preventing church members from being more actively involved in meeting orphan care and adoption needs.

• Adoption is an expensive and complicated legal process. Many pastors said they feel more

comfortable giving people advice and counseling them on the spiritual, emotional, and relational aspects of adoption than they are with the practical steps involved with an adoption. Many said they would find it helpful to have brief documents with (a) recommendations of reputable adoption agencies in the area, (b) step-by-step guide to the adoption process, and (c) contact information about resources (e.g., financial assistance) for adoptive families.

• Although churches do not typically have funds designated for adoption assistance, most probably

would be able to help members seeking financial assistance in the process of adopting a child through benevolence (or similar) funds.

Synthesis What are the attitudes of Christian pastors towards adoption?

Church leaders surveyed in this study generally reported positive and favorable attitudes and opinions towards adoption.

Do attitudes vary depending on the perceived motivation of why the people want to adopt (e.g., infertility versus humanitarian)?

Overall, church leaders expressed strong support for various types of adoptions including foster care, domestic, international, infants and young children, older children, and children with special needs. However, the reason for a couple wanting to adopt was related to the extent to which church leaders said they would encourage or discourage a married couple from adopting in various hypothetical situations. Three tiers of encouragement emerged.

o The highest tier of encouragement was observed (a) if the couple was unable to have children due to infertility, (b) for foster care adoptions to give a child a family, or (c) for familial adoption of a relative’s child who has been determined unfit to care for the child and whose parental rights have been terminated.

o The second tier of encouragement was for (a) adopting a child with special needs or (b) adopting a child from another country to give them a better life in the United States.

o The lowest levels of encouragement was expressed for (a) adopting a child so a biological child could have a sibling, or (b) starting a family by adopting if the couple is able to have biological children.

28

How informed do pastors feel about the adoption process? Do pastors identify knowledge or efficacy gaps (e.g., education, information, training, resource materials)?

Adoption is an expensive and complicated legal process. Many pastors feel more comfortable giving people advice and counseling them on the spiritual, emotional, and relational aspects of adoption than they are with the practical steps involved with an adoption. Many would find it helpful to have brief documents with (a) recommendations of reputable adoption agencies in the area, (b) step-by-step guide to the adoption process, and (c) contact information about resources (e.g., financial assistance) for adoptive families.

What adoption-related financial assistance do churches provide? How are decisions made about the amount and mechanism (e.g., benevolence fund, appeal to members) by which money is provided?

The church leaders felt that their congregations were generally supportive of adoption and had positive attitudes regarding both domestic and international adoptions. Churches do not typically have funds designated for adoption assistance; however, most probably would be able to help members seeking financial assistance in the process of adopting a child through benevolence (or similar) funds.

What advice, counseling, or service referrals do pastors give to people considering adoption?

Generally, the church leaders said their congregations respond positively when they talk to them about orphan care and adoption. Not surprisingly, there was considerable variability in how often these topics are discussed in sermons and in church (formal and informal) communications. The topic may be addressed only when there is a specific situation that arises within the church. In other churches, there is an intentional effort to have at least one sermon annually on the topic. Yet, in other churches, the importance of orphan care and adoption are highly visible and ongoing because several families in these churches have adopted children. When counseling unmarried couples about whether they should consider placing their child for adoption, social support consistently emerged as an important factor to consider. As one pastor stated:

“Well, I think the first thing I would want to ask them about is their support system. Do they have a support system that can help them if they choose to keep their child—parents, grandparents, family… the resources of being able to still get an education, to work. The other thing that I remind them, as someone who’s been on the other side of that, is the most loving thing you can do for your child is provide them an opportunity for a loving environment. And if this isn’t something that you can provide right now, it is not giving up, it is giving out. And so it’s really an individual, personal thing, that each one is different.”

When counseling couples who are considering adopting, there was generally greater encouragement (and perhaps compassion or empathy) for couples who were planning to adopt because they were unable to have biological children of their own. One theme that emerged as an important factor to consider when adopting is the motivation – to meet the couple’s needs or to meet the child’s need. One pastor articulated it this way:

“I think we really have to be careful for adoptive parents that we are adopting for the right reasons. We’re not just adopting to fill missing gaps in our own lives. Children aren’t easy, especially older children aren’t easy. It won’t be a cake walk; it’s not a fairytale. It’s real life and I think preparing people for the difficulty of just children, in general, is difficult enough. If they are coming out of a difficult situation that even adds more difficulty to the mix.”

29

Another pastor expressed a similar sentiment:

“And the one message that I continually remind parents who are considering adopting, or who have adopted, is that it’s not about your need to love some child; it is about that’s child’s need to be loved unconditionally. And that’s a big challenge, I think, in some places.”

Another component of pre-adoption counseling is to prepare couples for the unique challenges of bringing children (especially older children) into families. As one pastor shared from personal experience:

“In our experience, I think the biggest challenge was to adapt, you know, to some of the brokenness that was in the child that we adopted, and learn how to really serve their needs, not to get them to change to meet our needs, but to really serve their needs and really draw them in. Make them real family members, you know — really, truly family. A part of our family. I think that for us that was the great challenge.”

What is the “take home” message?

The findings from this study of church leaders in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls community suggests that there is a generally positive attitude among church leadership and church members when it comes to orphan care and adoption. This was evident for international, domestic, and foster care adoptions. Most of the church leaders indicated that the churches need to be doing more in terms of taking care of orphans and providing homes to children in need of being adopted. In order to accomplish this, there needs to be (a) increased efforts at making church members aware of the need, (b) more opportunities for them to be connected with orphanages and adoptive families in ways that establish long-term relationships, (c) easier access to simple, accurate, and reliable information for church leaders about the adoption process, and (d) more financial resources for families so that the cost of completing an adoption is not a barrier that keeps children from having loving families.

30

REFERENCES

Berry, M., Barth, R. P., & Needell, B. (1996). Preparation, support, and satisfaction of adoptive families in agency and independent adoptions. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 13(2), 157-183.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2004, June). Costs of Adopting. Retrieved on December 28, 2010, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/s_cost/s_costs.pdf

Harris Interactive Inc. (2002, June). National Adoption Attitudes Survey. Retrieved December 28, 2010, from http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/survey/adoption_attitudes_survey.pdf

Harris Interactive Inc. (2007, November). National Foster Care Adoption Attitudes Survey. Retrieved December 28, 2010, from http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/Our-Programs/Adoption-Attitudes-Survey

Holt International. (2011). Adoption fees overview. Retrieved January 4, 2011, from http://www.holtinternational.org/adoption/fees.shtml

Maill, C. E. (1987). The stigma of adoptive parent status: Perceptions of community attitudes toward adoption and the experience of informal social sanctioning. Family Relations, 36, 34-39.

National Center for Health Statistics. (2004, December). National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 6: 2002. Data tables retrieved on December 23, 2010, from http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Descriptions/NSFG02F.asp

Palacios, J. & Brodzinsky, D. (2010). Adoption research: Trends, topics, outcomes. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34(3), 270-284.

Princeton Survey Research Associates. (1997, October). Benchmark adoption survey report on the findings. Washington, DC: Author.

Tarmann, A. (2003). International adoption rate in U.S. doubled in the 1990s. Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved January 4, 2011, from http://www.prb.org

Tashakkori, A., Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed methodology: combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

U.S. Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children, Youth and Families. (2010). Trends in Foster Care and Adoption – FY 2002-FY2009. Retrieved on January 6, 2011, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/stats_research/afcars/trends.html

Vandivere, S., Malm, K., & Radel, L. (2009). Adoption USA: A Chartbook Based on the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents. Washington, DC: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

Wegar, K. (2000). Adoption, family ideology, and social stigma: Bias in community attitudes, adoption research, and practice. Family Relations, 49, 363-370.

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APPENDIX A TECHNICAL NOTES

Quantitative Questionnaire Formatting and Instructions

• The four page questionnaire was printed in color on tabloid size paper in booklet format.

• The introduction on top of the questionnaire was as follows: “You have been selected to participate in this study being conducted by the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of Northern Iowa. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the attitudes and experiences church leaders have related to domestic and international adoption. This brief questionnaire can likely be completed in about 5 to 10 minutes. Whenever possible, avoid using the “don’t know” option. You may skip any questions you do not want to answer. The results of this survey will be reported in aggregate form. The findings will be reported in a way that maintains your confidentiality and does not link responses to you or your church. If we do not receive a questionnaire from you within the next week or so, we will attempt to contact you by telephone to see if you have any questions about the study. If you have questions in the meantime, you may contact Dr. Mel Gonnerman by email (mel.gonnerman@uni.edu) or by phone (319-273-6506).”

• The closing at the bottom of the questionnaire was as follows “Thank you for your time and responses. Please return the completed questionnaire in provided business-reply envelope. If you no longer have that envelope, please mail this questionnaire to: Dr. Mel Gonnerman Center for Social & Behavioral Research, 200 CET University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0402”

32

Quantitative Study Sample Efficiency

40% of all questionnaires were completed and returned during the field period

• Questionnaires mailed = 111 • Completed questionnaires during the data collection period = 44 • Questionnaire completed and returned after the data collection closed = 2 • Questionnaires returned undeliverable = 3 • Told that the church leader would be unavailable during the field period = 2 • Selected respondent active refusal = 1 • Selected respondent passive refusal (did not return questionnaire) = 59

50% of all questionnaires addressed to the church leader by name were completed and returned

• Questionnaires mailed = 86 • Completed questionnaires during the data collection period = 43 • Questionnaires completed and returned after the data collection period closed = 1 • Questionnaires returned undeliverable = 2 • Told that the church leader would be unavailable during the field period = 2 • Selected respondent active refusal = 1 • Selected respondent passive refusal (did not return questionnaire) = 37

4% of all questionnaires addressed generically to “Senior Pastor” were completed and returned

• Questionnaires mailed = 25 • Completed questionnaires during the data collection period = 1 • Questionnaires completed and returned after the data collection period closed = 1 • Questionnaires returned undeliverable =1 • Selected respondent passive refusal (did not return questionnaire) = 22

___________________________________________________________________________________________ Note. The rate of return was 41% when excluding questionnaires that were undeliverable and respondents who were known to be unavailable during the field period.

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APPENDIX B FREQUENCY TABLES

1. When was the last time someone in your church asked for your advice or counsel regarding adopting a child?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

During the past 12 months 16 36% 37% More than 12 months ago 11 25% 26% Never 16 36% 37% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% --

2. Overall how prepared or unprepared do you feel as a church leader to help people with each of the following? Help people to…

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Select a Reputable Adoption Agency Very Prepared 7 16% 16% Prepared 13 30% 30% Unprepared 16 36% 37% Very Unprepared 7 16% 16% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Work through the adoption process including application forms and home studies Very Prepared 5 11% 12% Prepared 9 20% 22% Unprepared 19 43% 46% Very Unprepared 8 18% 20% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 2 04% -- Decide whether or not to place a child for adoption Very Prepared 3 07% 07% Prepared 23 52% 54% Unprepared 16 36% 37% Very Unprepared 1 02% 02% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Decide whether or not to adopt a child Very Prepared 4 09% 10% Prepared 26 59% 63% Unprepared 10 23% 24% Very Unprepared 1 02% 02% Don’t Know 2 04% -- No Response 1 02% --

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3. How important are each of the following as a source of information about adoption for you?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Books Very Important 6 14% 14% Somewhat Important 24 54% 56% Not Very Important 13 30% 30% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 1 02% -- Articles in magazines or newspapers Very Important 6 14% 14% Somewhat Important 22 50% 50% Not Very Important 16 36% 36% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% -- Websites and other online resources Very Important 11 25% 26% Somewhat Important 24 54% 56% Not Very Important 8 18% 19% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Religious programs (radio, podcasts, TV) Very Important 1 02% 02% Somewhat Important 17 39% 40% Not Very Important 24 54% 57% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% -- Seminary or pastoral training Very Important 11 25% 27% Somewhat Important 17 39% 42% Not Very Important 13 30% 32% Don’t Know 2 04% -- No Response 1 02% -- Church leaders you know personally Very Important 16 36% 38% Somewhat Important 17 39% 40% Not Very Important 9 20% 21% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% -- Adoption agencies Very Important 27 61% 64% Somewhat Important 11 25% 26% Not Very Important 4 09% 10% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% --

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3. How important are each of the following as a source of information about adoption for you?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Social service agencies/community organizations Very Important 22 50% 52% Somewhat Important 16 36% 38% Not Very Important 4 09% 10% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% -- People who attend your church Very Important 21 48% 49% Somewhat Important 20 46% 46% Not Very Important 2 04% 05% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 1 02% -- Family and friends Very Important 22 50% 50% Somewhat Important 15 34% 34% Not Very Important 7 16% 16% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% --

4. Was adoption a major topic covered in any of the classes you took during seminary or post-secondary education?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Yes 4 09% 09% No 39 89% 91% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 1 02% --

5. If an adoption or social service agency invited you to attend a free informational session on adoption, how interested would you be in attending?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Very Interested 9 20% 21% Somewhat Interested 24 54% 57% Not Very Interested 9 20% 21% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% --

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6. How interested would you be in having a staff member from an adoption or social service agency visit you at your office to answer questions you might have about the adoption process?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Very Interested 6 14% 14% Somewhat Interested 22 50% 52% Not Very Interested 14 32% 33% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% --

7. What adoption-related resources, training, or types of information would be most helpful to you as a church leader? (n = number of comments) Single page outline (or packet) of the step-by-step process involved with adoptions (n = 5) List of reputable agencies in the area including contact information (n = 4) Information or pamphlets discussing who is responsible for each aspect of the adoption (e.g., home visits, “jumping through legal hoops”) (n = 3) Information on how to advise families on adoption (“it seems most go overseas to adopt”) including list of questions prospective parents should ask themselves and information about costs (n = 3) Information about what concerns adopted children have, stages of growth, and problems as they grow older (n = 2) Information about current policies for foster parenting and adoption agencies (n = 1) Information about the rights of adoptees, the birth family, open vs. closed adoptions, and problems that arise with adoption procedures (n =1) Websites (n = 1) General information (n = 1) Financial assistance for couples who desire to begin the adoption process (n = 1) Information about the qualifications for adoptive parents (n = 1) Information about a Social Service Agency (n = 1) Don’t know because have never dealt with an adoption (n = 1) No Response (n = 29)

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8. Does your church have any of the following special group ministries?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Foster care Yes 6 14% 14% No 38 86% 86% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adoption Yes 1 02% 02% No 42 96% 98% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 1 02% -- Orphan care Yes 5 11% 11% No 39 89% 89% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% -- Crisis pregnancy Yes 8 18% 18% No 36 82% 82% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% -- Single mothers support Yes 12 27% 28% No 31 70% 72% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 1 02% --

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9. Did your church do the following during the past 12 months? During the past 12 months…

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Were there any Sunday sermons encouraging people to consider adopting children? Yes 7 16% 16% No 36 82% 84% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Were there any mid-week services or adult education classes on the topic of adoption? Yes 1 02% 02% No 43 98% 98% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% -- Did your church offer any support groups or small groups for families with adopted children? Yes 3 07% 07% No 40 91% 93% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Were there any special events held or offerings collected to raise money for families who were in the process of adopting a child? Yes 8 18% 19% No 35 80% 81% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Did your church give you any financial gifts to help families with adoption-related expenses from the church’s benevolence fund or general budget? Yes 13 30% 30% No 30 68% 70% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% --

10. In this year’s budget, did your church designate money to help families with adoption-related expenses?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Yes 2 04% 05% No 41 93% 95% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% --

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11. In your opinion, what is the overall attitude within your church about adopting children from other countries?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Very Positive 16 36% 40% Positive 18 41% 45% Neither Positive Nor Negative 5 11% 12% Negative 1 02% 02% Very Negative 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 4 09% -- No Response 0 00% --

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12. Overall, how strongly do you support or oppose the following types of adoption?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Adoptions from the U.S. foster care system Strongly Support 26 59% 60% Support 17 39% 40% Oppose 0 00% 00% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Domestic adoptions (other than foster care) Strongly Support 24 54% 57% Support 18 41% 43% Oppose 0 00% 00% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 2 04% -- No Response 0 00% -- International adoptions Strongly Support 22 50% 51% Support 21 48% 49% Oppose 0 00% 00% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adoptions of infants or young children Strongly Support 27 61% 63% Support 16 36% 37% Oppose 0 00% 00% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adoption of children 12 or older Strongly Support 24 54% 56% Support 18 41% 42% Oppose 1 02% 02% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adoptions of children with special needs Strongly Support 26 59% 60% Support 17 39% 40% Oppose 0 00% 00% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 1 02% -- No Response 0 00% --

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13. In general, do you think you would encourage or discourage a husband and wife from adopting in the following situations? A husband and wife want to…

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Start a family by adopting, because they are unable to have biological children due to infertility Strongly Encourage 23 52% 52% Encourage 20 46% 46% Discourage 1 02% 02% Strongly Discourage 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adopt a child from another country to give the child a better life in the United States Strongly Encourage 13 30% 32% Encourage 25 57% 61% Discourage 2 04% 05% Strongly Discourage 1 02% 02% Don’t Know 3 07% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adopt so their biological child has a brother or sister Strongly Encourage 7 16% 19% Encourage 20 46% 54% Discourage 9 20% 24% Strongly Discourage 1 02% 03% Don’t Know 7 16% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adopt a child with special needs from another country Strongly Encourage 13 30% 34% Encourage 21 48% 55% Discourage 4 09% 10% Strongly Discourage 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 5 11% -- No Response 1 02% -- Start a family by adopting, even though they are able to have biological children Strongly Encourage 9 20% 27% Encourage 19 43% 58% Discourage 5 11% 15% Strongly Discourage 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 11 25% -- No Response 0 00% -- Adopt a child from the foster care system, so the child can have a family Strongly Encourage 20 46% 49% Encourage 21 48% 51% Discourage 0 00% 00% Strongly Discourage 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 3 07% -- No Response 0 00% --

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13. In general, do you think you would encourage or discourage a husband and wife from adopting in the following situations? A husband and wife want to…

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Adopt a child from a relative who is unfit to care for the child and whose parental rights have been terminated Strongly Support 23 52% 56% Support 18 41% 44% Oppose 0 00% 00% Strongly Oppose 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 3 07% -- No Response 0 00% --

14. Suppose a couple is unmarried, they don’t intend to get married, and the woman becomes pregnant. Which do you think would be the best decision in MOST CASES for them to make? The baby should….

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Live with the Mother 8 18% 24% Live with the Father 0 00% 00% Live with the Unmarried Couple (All Live Together) 9 20% 26% Be Placed for Adoption 7 16% 21% Something Else 10 23% 29% Don’t Know 7 16% -- No Response 3 07% -- Note. The other responses that were provided were as follows: it dependents/lots of variables/every situation is different (n = 6), live with unmarried couple separately via joint custody (n = 2), live with the father or mother who will bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (n = 1), and child stays with the most able and stable parent who has family support (n = 1).

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15. Do you think children adopted from foreign countries are more likely, equally likely, or less likely than other children in the United States to experience the following? Children adopted from OTHER countries are more, equally, or less likely than other children in the US to…

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Have emotional problems as adults Adopted are More Likely than Other Children 7 16% 20% Equally Likely 28 64% 80% Adopted are Less Likely than Other Children 0 00% 00% Don’t Know 9 20% -- No Response 0 00% -- Have emotional problems as children Adopted are More Likely than Other Children 10 23% 29% Equally Likely 23 52% 68% Adopted are Less Likely than Other Children 1 02% 03% Don’t Know 10 23% -- No Response 0 00% -- Be physically healthy as children Adopted are More Likely than Other Children 1 02% 03% Equally Likely 29 66% 85% Adopted are Less Likely than Other Children 4 09% 12% Don’t Know 10 23% -- No Response 0 00% -- Be happy as children Adopted are More Likely than Other Children 0 00% 00% Equally Likely 35 80% 95% Adopted are Less Likely than Other Children 2 04% 05% Don’t Know 7 16% -- No Response 0 00% -- Do poorly in school Adopted are More Likely than Other Children 3 07% 08% Equally Likely 31 70% 86% Adopted are Less Likely than Other Children 2 04% 06% Don’t Know 8 18% -- No Response 0 00% -- Become well-adjusted adults Adopted are More Likely than Other Children 0 00% 00% Equally Likely 34 77% 94% Adopted are Less Likely than Other Children 2 04% 06% Don’t Know 8 18% -- No Response 0 00% --

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16. Do you think churches in the United States should be doing more, less, or are they doing about the right amount when it comes to the following? How much should churches in the US be doing to…

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Take care of the needs of orphans around the world Should Do More 35 80% 81% Should Do Less 0 00% 00% Are Doing About the Right Amount 8 18% 19% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 1 02% -- Encourage church members to adopt children from other countries Should Do More 21 48% 60% Should Do Less 1 02% 03% Are Doing About the Right Amount 13 30% 37% Don’t Know 8 18% -- No Response 1 02% -- Encourage church members to adopt children from the foster care system Should Do More 27 61% 75% Should Do Less 0 00% 00% Are Doing About the Right Amount 9 20% 25% Don’t Know 7 16% -- No Response 1 02% --

17. Are you or is anyone in your immediate family adopted?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Yes 12 27% 27% No 32 73% 73% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% --

18. You are… Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Male 36 82% 84% Female 7 16% 16% No Response 1 02% --

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19. To which age group do you belong? Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

18-34 3 07% 07% 35-49 11 25% 25% 50-64 25 57% 57% 65 or Older 5 11% 11% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% --

20. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

High School Diploma 1 02% 02% Certificate or Ministry Training Program 0 00% 00% Associates Degree (e.g., AA) 2 04% 04% Bachelor’s Degree (e.g., BA, BS) 7 16% 16% Master’s Degree (e.g., M.Div) 28 64% 64% Doctorate Degree (e.g., DD) 6 14% 14% No Response 0 00% --

21. How many years have you been the pastor, priest, or leader of this church?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Less than 5 years 17 39% 40% 5-9 years 7 16% 17% 10-19 years 6 14% 14% 20 or more years 12 27% 29% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 2 04% -- Note. Respondents gave the actual number. Categories have been shown above for ease of interpretation. The minimum reported was less than one year and the maximum was 40 years (Mean = 12.5 years, Median = 8.5 years). There were 5 respondents who reported being the church leader for less than one year.

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22. How many people (include adults and children) attend church services on a typical Sunday?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Fewer than 50 4 09% 09% 50 to 99 7 16% 16% 100 to 249 17 39% 39% 250 to 499 8 18% 18% 500 to 749 3 07% 07% 750 to 999 0 00% 00% 1,000 or more 5 11% 11% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% --

23. Which best describes your church? Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Baptist 8 18% 18% Catholic 3 07% 07% Episcopal 0 00% 00% Lutheran 11 25% 25% Methodist 5 11% 11% Non-Denominational (Independent, Other) 5 11% 11% Pentecostal/Charismatic/Full Gospel 1 02% 02% Presbyterian 3 07% 07% Reformed 2 04% 04% Something else 6 14% 14% No Response 0 00% --

24. The second phase of this research project will involve conducting follow-up telephone interviews (15-20 minutes) with several pastors, priests, and church leaders. These interviews will allow us to explore in greater depth some of the major issues, challenges, and opportunities regarding child adoption and the church. Would you be interested in doing one of these follow-up interviews to further help us with this research?

Number of Respondents

Percent of Total Sample

Subgroup Percent

Definitely Yes 14 32% 32% Maybe 17 39% 39% Definitely Not 13 30% 30% Don’t Know 0 00% -- No Response 0 00% --

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APPENDIX C QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW GUIDE

& SUMMARY OF RESPONSES

Hello, my name is [INSERT NAME] and I am calling from the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of Northern Iowa. A month or so ago, you completed a questionnaire about adoption issues and indicated that you would be interested in being contacted for a follow-up interview. Are you still willing to help us by answer a few questions over the phone? This could be done now or we can schedule a more convenient time to talk.

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this follow-up qualitative interview. For most people, we expect this interview will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Your participation is voluntary and you are free to end this interview at any time or skip any questions you do not want to answer. There are no foreseeable risks to your participation, nor are there any direct benefits to you. If you have questions about this research project or interview, you can contact the lead researcher, Dr. Mel Gonnerman, at 273-6506 or by email at mel.gonnerman@uni.edu or the IRB Administrator, Anita Gordon, at 273-6148 or by email at anita.gordon@uni.edu. This interview will be recorded so a transcript can be produced for use by our research team for this and future studies. We will not include your name or the name of your church or denomination in the transcripts which will be reported in a manner to protect your confidentially. If it is okay with you, I’m going to begin recording and ask you to verify that you understand and give your permission to have this call recorded.

Okay. I’m starting the audio recording now. First, I need you to confirm that I have read to you the informed consent disclosure and have your permission to record and transcribe this interview. Is that correct?

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COUNSELING AND RESOURCES

Question 1: In the first phase of the study that you already took part in, there were 44 pastors, priests, and church leaders in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area who completed and returned questionnaires. One thing we noticed when looking at the results was that 1 in 3 church leaders said they had never been asked by someone in their church to give advice or counsel regarding adoption. Is that value higher, lower, or about what you would have expected?

Summary of Responses: Lower than expected (n = 3), about what expected (n = 2), and higher than expected (n = 0)

Question 2: In the questionnaire, we asked what types of information or resources about adoption would be most helpful to church leaders. The most common response was a one-page summary or brief packet explaining the steps involved in an adoption and including contact information for reputable adoption agencies in the area. Do you have a document like this that you use as a resource?

Summary of Responses: Yes or similar information (n =3), no (n = 2) Follow-Up Question if necessary: If no: Is this something that would be useful to you? If yes: Is this something you would be willing to share with us and other pastors? (Give them the P.I. contact information after the interview is complete.)

Summary of Responses: Two respondents indicated interest in sharing materials, but no materials were received for review. Question 3: What things come to mind when you think about what makes an adoption agency “reputable” or not?

Summary of Responses: • Integrity • Respects values of the families • Experience handling adoptions/legal issues (n = 2) • Certification/DHS approval (n = 2) • Longevity/History/how long been doing adoptions (n = 3) • References (n = 2) • Statements of faith or position on key values/issues • Website

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Question 4: One interesting thing we found in the study was that most of those surveyed said they felt prepared to help couples to make decisions about adopting or placing a child for adoption, HOWEVER most felt unprepared to help couples work through the adoption process or to select an adoption agency. Why do you think that is?

Summary of Responses: • Don’t know • Lack information/lack familiarity with such a complicated process (n = 4) • Feel more comfortable with discussing the issues like mercy, justice, overarching will of God rather

than the practical aspects of the process

Question 5: If you could ask a director of an adoption agency any question you have about adoption or the adoption process, what would you ask them?

Summary of Responses: • None because regularly talk with the director of an adoption agency • What steps do you take to help prepare a family to receive a new child • What is your mission and vision for why people should adopt or why adoption is a viable alternative • What are the real key factors (skill sets) in helping families be successful in adoption

CHURCH PROGRAMS AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE

Question 6: The next few questions are about church programs and adoption assistance to families. In our study, about half or more of those surveyed said that churches should be doing more to encourage both domestic and international adoptions. What types of reactions do you usually get from people in your church when you talk with them about adoption and encourage them to take action?

Summary of Responses: Positive or very positive reactions (n = 5)

Summary of Responses: • Doesn’t come up on a daily or weekly basis, usually when somebody struggling with infertility • Once a year we bring the church together with adoption as the topic • “You can’t encourage people not to get abortions if you’re not willing to step in and take the

weight and seriousness of raising a child yourself.”

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Question 7: What types of things are you or other church leaders in the community doing to encourage adoption?

Summary of Responses: • Information weekly in a church newsletter • Annually have a speaker on the topic (n = 2) • Not very much • Sometimes let agencies use our facilities • “Walk with” families through the adoption process • Recommend conferences on the topic • Teach on it at least once a year during church

Question 8: Very few of the church leaders in the survey said that their church had money designated in their budgets for helping adopting families. If a family was considering adopting a child, what would the process be at your church for them to go about getting financial assistance?

Summary of Responses: • We don’t have any designated funds but we have a human care/benevolence/community impact

/mission outreach fund that we can use funds from for this type of thing (n = 4) • Special offering

Follow-Up Questions if necessary: (a) How much discretion or control over the process and amount of money do you personally have as the church leader? (b) About how much could a family expect to receive in financial assistance from your church or congregation?

Summary of Responses: • Varies (general response) with some specific suggested amounts of $500 to $1,500 or few hundred

to $5,000-$6,000

Question 9: What are the biggest challenges or barriers you see in your church or in churches in this community when it comes to helping people, either financially or in other ways, with adoptions?

Summary of Responses: • Economy/people’s financial condition/competition for funds (n = 4) • Lack of education/information especially about funding (n = 2)

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Question 10: What, if anything, would you like to see your church or other churches in this community do to help children to be adopted who are living in foster care, orphanages, or residential group homes?

Summary of Responses: • Increase awareness/promote it (n = 4) • Have a designated fund for adoption expenses

OPINIONS ABOUT ADOPTION

Question 11: In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by adopted children and parents who adopt?

Summary of Responses: • Learning to cope with emotional pain (issues with attachment, anger, self-worth) (n = 2) • Adjustment period for the family (n = 4) • Medical issues • Adopting to meet the child’s needs not the parents’ needs (n = 3)

Question 12: In our study, one of the questions we asked was about what would be best for a baby who was to be born to an unmarried couple who did not intend to get married. If an unmarried couple came to you for counseling, what types of things would you talk about with them in order to help them decide what was best for the baby?

Summary of Responses: • Quality of their support system (n = 2) • Where are they at spiritually • Plans for their future (individual and couple) (n = 3) • Commitment to one another • Maturity (n = 2)

Question 13: One finding from our study was that there were greater levels of support to start families by adopting if the couple was not able to have biological children of their own than if they could have biological children. Do you have any insights into why this might be?

Summary of Responses: • More empathy for those who can’t conceive/compassion (n = 2) • Idea that if you have children your family is already complete • Uncertainty about motivation when adopting and already have children (e.g., government funds) • No – there is a great need

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ORPHAN CARE

Question 14: The last couple of questions are about orphan care around the world. In our study, most of those surveyed said that churches in the US should be doing more to care for orphans around the world. What types of reactions do you usually get from people in your church when you talk with them about the orphan crisis and encourage them to take action?

Summary of Responses: • Haven’t really spoken about it • Positive (n = 4) • Church gives to support orphanages and does mission trips (n = 2)

Question 15: What, if anything, would you like to see your church or other churches in this community do to address the needs of orphans around the world?

Summary of Responses: • We don’t separate orphan care from other missions opportunities but we sponsor orphanage

through general offerings • Increase awareness (n = 3) • Adopt an orphanage and then go there to visit and “build relationships” (n = 2)

FINAL COMMENTS

Question 16: Finally, before we finish this interview: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Summary of Responses: • “I’m just really excited that somebody is studying this. This is a great, great thing.” • “I’m just glad you guys are doing this research” • “I really appreciate your efforts there. I really do, I commend them.”

Okay. Well thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I’m going to end the recording now. Have a good day. [STOP AUDIO RECORDER]

For further information about this report or study, contact: Melvin Gonnerman Jr., Ph.D. Center for Social and Behavioral Research University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50613-0402 319-273-6506; mel.gonnerman@uni.edu