Let’s take a second to talk about adoption profiles and why they’re so important in your process. A profile is a visual document prospective adoptive parents create to introduce themselves to expecting parents considering adoption placement. It typically includes information about the prospective family’s lifestyle, values, and hopes for the future. In an open adoption, birth parents and adoptive parents have ongoing contact after the adoption finalizes, so the profile is an essential tool for building a relationship prior, as it is the expecting parents’ first introduction to who you are as individuals and as a couple (if adopting as a pair).
When creating an open adoption profile, it’s vital, to be honest, respectful, and open-hearted. It’s important to remember that once expecting parents are at the point of looking through profiles, they are looking for someone they can trust to raise their child with love and care, just as they would’ve, so focus on building a connection rather than trying to sell yourself. Agencies typically have multiple profiles that they present expecting parents. Unlike past methods of adoption placement, open adoption agencies, like Adoptions From the Heart, allow expecting parents to choose their adoptive families. Creating a thoughtful and meaningful profile can increase your chances of finding the right match and building a solid and lasting relationship with your child’s birth family.
Some of the best ways to connect through profiles is by providing genuine glimpses into your life. Include photos and stories that show who you are and what kind of life you can provide for a child. Hand them a stethoscope because, as mentioned before, your profile is an informal introduction to you. You may not be there to say hello or give a snug hug, but you can do it through our words. If you’re the family comedian, one might talk about how they’d advocate for boots in the summer and wearing princess dresses to school. If you’re the family cook, you might share some of their favorite recipes to cook or why you fell in love with the art in the first place. Adoption placement planning is the most challenging decision many men and women will ever make. Going the extra mile to share your story of who you are and how you came to be is the best gesture you can give.
Most importantly, share as many photos as your pages will allow. In addition to sharing who you are through words and stories, visuals are important because they enable expectant families to put things, places, and faces into the stories told. Expecting parents choose prospective families for a plethora of reasons, not necessarily for reasons one might assume like finances, neighborhoods, looks, etc. Some expectant parents’ only request is that their child be placed with families with children or pets or who have big families. There’s no way to know precisely, so share. Make it personable. Telling your entire story allows expecting families to make the best choices for their born and unborn children.
Aside from the paperwork involved in an adoption placement, profiles are among the most challenging parts of adoption planning. However, if you think prospective parents have a hard time deciding what to put in them, imagine what expecting parents go through, having to sift through an entire list and choose only one. We owe it to them to show our best, most authentic versions of ourselves. If you need help, contact your adoption social worker or counselor. They are there to answer any questions you encounter each step of the way, beginning to end.
