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Multnomah professor Mike Gurney and his wife adopt baby

While students enjoyed spring break, Professor Gurney and his wife adopted Jacob Michael, an African-American baby. Dr. Scalberg and his wife recently took steps to adopt a second baby.

Mike and Anne Marie Gurney received a phone call on March 21 that changed their lives. Heritage Adoption Agency told them about the possibility of adopting a baby boy. A week after the phone call, the Gurneys flew to Houston, Texas, to get their son.

The Gurneys, married for almost 11 years, aren't able to have a baby. A little girl in foster care first sparked the Gurneys' interest in adoption. They met her through some friends. The Gurneys looked into adopting her, but this did not work out. Now, a year-and-a-half after they first started the adoption process, the Gurneys have a son, Jacob Michael. Jacob, born March 6 to a single mother, comes from African-American parents.

Jacob's mother requested a closed adoption, but the Gurneys told the adoption agency they are open if she chooses to contact them in the future.

Initially, Mr. Gurney, 38, and his wife, 32, considered adopting through the state. They submitted all the needed paperwork and completed four months of a required class.

The state places special-needs children who have suffered severe neglect or abuse. These children comprise the foster care system. For this reason, their caseworker recommended they not pursue adoption through the state. She argued that because Mr. Gurney plans to pursue a doctorate, he and his wife would not have the time or financial resources to care for a special-needs child.

In May of 2000, the Gurneys decided to pursue adoption through a private agency. They chose Heritage Adoption Agency on the recommendation of Mr. Gurney's colleague and friend, Dr. Dan Scalberg. Dr. Scalberg, 48, and his wife, Kimberly, 33, adopted their son Daniel through Heritage 28 months ago.

Unlike the state, Heritage works with newborns, both domestic and international. The Gurneys chose to adopt a domestic baby from an ethnic background. The demand for ethnic babies is lower and the adoption process less expensive.

The adoption process involves considerable paperwork. The Gurneys submitted tax forms, a financial report and references. Both the state and Heritage required a home-study questionnaire. This questionnaire, about 20 pages long, asks questions such as "What was your childhood like?" and "How did your parents deal with conflict?"

The Scalbergs recently updated their files with Heritage Adoption Agency. Now they would like to adopt a baby girl from African-American parents. "We decided we want a mirror for Daniel," Dr. Scalberg said. When the Scalbergs decided to adopt again, they submitted an updated family biography with photographs. This is "something you put together for prospective birth mothers so that they can get a feel for who you are and what you are like before they even express a desire to talk to you," Dr. Scalberg said. The birth mother may remain anonymous while she considers potential adoptive parents.

Once Heritage knows the adoptive parents' preferences and financial limitations, the organization makes the family biography available to birth mothers. "Sometimes people wait a long time because it's kind of out of your control once you fill out the paper work with all of your specific requests and preferences," Dr. Scalberg said.

At the Scalbergs' request, Heritage will begin searching for a child for them this summer.

Dr. and Mrs. Scalberg hope that a child will be found in 2002 when Dr. Scalberg is on sabbatical leave. How-ever, "you realize it's not anything you can predict," he said.

Professor Gurney described the adoption process as an emotional roller coaster. "It's an emotionally tenuous position to be in," he said. Last August, a birth mother expressed interest in the Gurneys but then suddenly disappeared.

"That just hurts, it hurts," Mrs. Gurney said.

The waiting time has allowed the Gurneys to prepare themselves. Mrs. Gurney read books on adoption and discussed them with her husband. Professor Gurney enjoyed talking to students who were adopted.

The Gurneys tried to prepare financially as well. Mrs. Gurney works as an administrative assistant for Pregnancy Resource Centers. In addition, she recently took on a home business, Partylite Gifts, which will provide an income and allow Mrs. Gurney to remain at home.

The adoption agency in Texas, Alternatives in Motion, is now trying to contact Jacob Michael's father. After 90 days, the courts may terminate the father's rights, based upon proof that the agency attempted to notify him. The finalization process for the adoption will take place in Oregon over a period of six months.

Meanwhile, the Gurneys are focusing on bonding with Jacob.