Reproductive Justice in Adoption

Case Name: Foundational UX Research

Organization: Reproductive Justice in Adoption (RJiA)

TLDR: Conducting foundational UX research to inform the development of a information and direct service platform

Background & Goals

Summary: RJiA is a collective of people directly impacted by foster care and adoption working to create RJ-aligned information, resources, and support for pregnant people considering adoption. This platform's aims are to build community-based and peer-led resources to combat and reduce the misinformation, coercion, and harm routinely experienced by pregnant people in adoption, and to provide support and referrals so that people who want to parent or terminate their pregnancies are able to do so with sustainable safety and dignity.

Generative Research Goals: To understand more about potential user experiences, challenges, needs, and goals

Design Research Goals: Create mock-ups for rapid prototyping and user testing

Methods: Secondary research, survey, user personas, competitive analysis, in-depth interviews, guerrilla research

Tools: Airtable, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Canva, Zoom, Userforge

Key Learnings (ongoing):

100% of interview participants used a Google search as their first attempt at finding adoption information
100% of participants felt overwhelmed, scared, “panic stricken,” and/or “creeped out” at the results of their Google search for adoption information
67% of participants wanted abortions but were past the legal window of gestation in their state
100% of participants felt "less than informed" to "not informed at all" about the realities of the adoption process, the aftermath of relinquishment, their legal rights, and resources that could have helped them parent their child.
2/3rds of participants reported experiencing coercion.
Participants identified peer support, state-specific legal information and counsel, and cash assistance for parenting as major needs a comprehensive platform could provide, as well as information that is not too overwhelming.
100% of agency sites claiming to offer options counseling in adoption also ask pregnant people to look at profiles of "hopeful" parents straight away, before options have even been discussed.
Plannedparenthood.org is the only non-industry affiliated adoption information that consistently appears in first or second page of Google search results

For additional findings and learnings please contact elatty@gmail.com