The quality of your prospective adoptive parent profile can either boost or hinder your chances of expecting parents to place their child with you. Here’s a list of five key points to remember when creating your prospective adoptive parent profile:

1) Letter to Expecting Parents

Think of this letter as the first time you and your partner introduce yourselves. First impressions are very important, so make sure to describe your true character in the letter.  Expecting parents want to know about your faith, education, family life, hobbies, town, occupation and etc. Also above all else, why do you want to adopt?

It is critical that you pay special attention to the language you use in the letter to expecting parents. Remember that the men and women who read the letter have not picked you yet, nor have they 100% decided on adoption. Do not start the letter with “Dear Birth Mother” or “Dear Birth Father,” at this stage they are simply “expecting parents.”

2) Relationship Status

If you are in a relationship share the story of how/when you and your partner met. Don’t worry , your relationship story does not have to sound like your favorite romantic comedy movie. Just be honest about your love story and how you and your partner bring out the best in each other. Have your spouse write a specific paragraph describing what they admire about you and vice versa.

3) Tackling Parenthood

“How are you prepared to raise and nurture my child?” “What moral values will you be instilling in my child as they grow?” “Will you both be equally present in my child’s life?” Expecting parents will understandably have a never-ending list of questions for you. This is why it is important to accurately describe how you see your self as a parent. For instance, if you are already raising a child you should include this in the profile. An expecting parent may like the fact that their child will grow up with a sibling. How hectic is your work schedule? An expecting parent may want to get an idea about how demanding your work schedule is and if you are willing to adjust once you become parents. There is NOTHING wrong with being a working parent, expecting parents just want to be sure their child will get an adequate amount of one-on-one time with their parents.

4) Future of Openness

Literally be “open” about what you want from an open adoption relationship. Open adoption can mean something different among different families. Some families who adopted through AFTH have an open adoption relationship that consists of just yearly updates and pictures to their child’s birth parents. There are also adoption triads who go beyond just pictures and letters where everyone meets up a couple times a year to do things to get dinner, go to the movies and etc. No one is here to judge you when it comes to your comfort level in communication with a birth parent, just be direct about what you expect from the open adoption. Being upfront about what you want from this open adoption relationship will help an expecting parent determine what families would be good for them and their child in the long run.

5) Pictures

Although this is cliche, it is true, a picture is worth a thousand words. The pictures of you and your partner should embody who you are as individuals. For instance, if you mention you summer at your family’s house in the Catskills, include some pictures of you all having a great time up there. Candid and close-up pictures of yourselves show the most personality.  When it comes to close-ups just be sure not to oversaturate your profile with selfies, make sure there is a variety of pictures. Lastly, every photograph should be accompanied with a BRIEF caption.

 

These are all just the basics for creating a phenomenal prospective adoptive parent profile. AFTH social workers are always here to answer your questions about your profile to make it look equally incredible and memorable.