When you decide to become parents through adoption, you know you’ll have to go through extensive background screening before being approved to adopt. But, whether you adopt through an agency or search for an adoption opportunity independently, there will be one more step before you can begin your search: the adoptive family profile.
Adoptive family profiles are incredibly useful tools to decrease the amount of time you spend waiting for a birth mother match and to make you more attractive to prospective birth mothers. They can be in a physical or digital form, and they’ll be entirely unique based on your own family.
Like many adoption professionals, The Law Offices of Denise M. Bierly recommends prospective adoptive families complete an adoptive family profile to extend their reach to more potential birth mothers. There are plenty of adoption profile book examples offered up by adoption professionals, and these are a great place to start if you’re considering making an adoptive family profile.
You might be excited at the prospect of creating an adoptive family profile, but you also might have several questions about how to make an adoption profile book as well. We give you some answers here.
- What does an adoptive family profile look like?
Each family’s profile will be different based on what they wish to emphasize but, in general, an adoptive family profile is a print or online brochure or book that describes who you are and why you’re choosing adoption. It’s a detailed peek into your daily life for prospective birth mothers, so they can see what kind of family their adopted child could grow up in.
Some adoption profile book ideas to include are:
- Your personal background, your love story (if you’re married) and how you decided on adoption
- Your home and your community
- Your extended family and family traditions
- How you will tell your child about adoption as they grow up
- And more
Depending on what kind of adoptive family profile professional you work with, you could also create an online or video profile that will increase your reach to potential birth mothers. These profiles will include all the same details, but they will be presented in a multimedia way that may appeal to younger prospective birth mothers.
- What should I know about how to make an adoption profile book?
There’s no one “right way” to make an adoptive family profile. What you decide to include in your profile will be determined on what you think is most important for a prospective birth mother to know about you.
However, there are some common things to keep in mind when thinking about how to write an adoption profile:
- Respect the prospective birth mother and her rights. When a prospective birth mother is viewing adoptive family profiles, she is still in the process of considering adoption. Therefore, when you express your gratitude, make sure you use the phrase “considering adoption” instead of “choosing adoption,” and always refer to the unborn child as her baby, not yours.
- Be honest. While it can be tempting to portray your family in a way that you think prospective birth mothers would like, it’s more important to accurately represent yourself. Use photos of you in everyday clothes doing everyday things so a prospective birth mother will know what her child’s life would really be like in your family. Formal, overdressed photos do not give a good impression to prospective birth mothers looking for a loving, natural family. Pregnant women choose adoptive families for all kinds of reasons so, as long as you’re honestly putting yourself forward, you’ll find the perfect birth mother match for you.
- Be descriptive — but don’t write a novel. How to write an adoption profile can be tricky as you try to walk the line between too much and too little detail. Keep in mind: You’ll want the prospective birth mother to know enough to imagine her child’s life with you, but you don’t want to overwhelm her with lots of text.
- Talk about your feelings on adoption. Don’t be afraid to express your excitement and desire to become adoptive parents — this is perhaps the most important thing that a prospective birth mother looks for. You might be afraid of hurting her feelings by talking about a life with her child, but know that the first thing a pregnant woman wants for her child is a family who will love and embrace them. Sharing your true emotions is an important part of communicating that to her.
- Where can I make an adoptive family profile?
Many adoption agencies provide profile design services to adoptive families, so if you are working with a matching agency, they can likely help you complete this step or refer you to another professional who can.
If you’re willing to create your adoption profile design on your own, you can use programs like InDesign or Shutterfly. But, if you’re pursuing an independent adoption and looking for a professional to design your adoptive family profile, you could reach out to local graphic design companies or My Adoption Advisor.
This company not only provides adoption profile design services, but they can also give you adoption profile feedback and help you create online versions of your profile. Many adoption agencies provide the same services, so you’ll need to research to decide which option is best for you.
If you’re concerned about creating an adoption profile book on your own, remember that there are plenty of resources out there to provide you examples of adoption profile books. At The Law Offices of Denise M. Bierly, we can help refer you to some of those professionals, if need be. However, no matter how nervous you are, don’t overthink the process; by making the perfect adoptive family profile for you, the perfect match will happen.
To learn more about the entire adoption process in Pennsylvania, call The Law Offices of Denise M. Bierly today at 814-237-7900 or contact us online here.