Pact, An Adoption Alliance - Project Building Understanding

Project Building Understanding

We need your help!

Can you help us recruit more families?

Would you like to fill out our first form online?

We are working on an important project called Building Understanding, a federally funded research study that seeks to examine the experiences and challenges of transracial and inracial adoptive families like your own. We would like to invite you to be a part of this project. This research study is one of the first of its kind. The information, based on families' personal experiences, will contribute to an increased understanding of what it means for children of all races to grow up adopted. Once completed, the results will be made available to all participants and professionals.

Help make the information about families like yours be based on real experiences rather than assumptions. To date, adoption and foster care research has not looked at enough children and families of color. Help us broaden the research pool to include families of color. Please contribute to a broadened understanding of what it means for children of all races to grow up adopted. We are hopeful that the process of filling out the questionnaire will be thought provoking and educational for you as an adoptive parent as well.

If you agree to participate in the study, we will need you to complete two forms. The first is a simple form gathering demographic information about your family and children. After receiving that information, we will send you a questionnaire to complete and return to us. We will provide you with self-addressed stamped envelopes to return both the demographics form and the questionnaire. Although the questionnaire will take different amounts of time for different people, we expect that it will take most people one to two hours to complete.

It is important that you know that your confidentiality will be maintained at all times. We will not share the information you provide us with anyone else and your completed questionnaire will be assigned a Building Understanding ID# to protect your privacy. Participating is entirely voluntary, you can decline to answer any questions you choose and you can stop being part of the study at any time.

As soon as we receive your completed questionnaire, we will send you a comprehensive reference guide to books for children and adults about family, adoption and race, and a $15.00 gift certificate for books You do not have to buy anything to use the gift certificate - it is a small token of our appreciation for your time and effort.

Thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of adopted children and families of the future by telling us about your own experiences as an adoptive family. The participation of as many families as possible will make a real difference in the success of the study. Please give us a toll-free call (800-750-7590) if you have any questions about the project.

Thank you!

Beth Hall & Gail Steinberg