Jeanne has conducted research and training on adoption and foster care issues for over 30 years, with a special emphasis on children adopted from foster care. She is a Professor Emeritus at Illinois State University, where she headed the Center for Adoption Studies for 15 years. Before coming to NCAP, she also served for almost a decade as the Research and Policy Director for the Donaldson Adoption Institute, researching and authoring numerous reports that have had a positive impact on adoption-related law, policy and practice.

Jeanne has co-authored books (After Adoption: The Needs of Adopted Youth published by the Child Welfare League of America, Preserving Troubled Adoptions published by Greenwood Press) and has published many articles and monographs on adoption-related issues. These include finding adoptive homes for older adopted youth, the need for and range of post-adoption services, policies and practices related to serving gay- and lesbian-headed adoptive families, the over-representation of African American youth in foster care, restoring access to birth certificates to adult adoptees, racial and adoption identity, and the impact of the Internet on adoption.

Jeanne also developed curricula and presented trainings on the needs of adopted children with special needs and their families, and has produced or co-produced three videos on Lifebook work with adopted children and on openness in adoption. She also served for many years on the editorial board of the journal Adoption Quarterly. Her work has been honored through receipt of the 2002 Excellence in Adoption Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an “Angel in Adoption” award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and the Chairman’s award from the Illinois African American Advisory Commission within the Department of Children and Family Services. She is available to train and consult on the use of Lifebooks to help children and youth heal from trauma and loss and to achieve positive identity.