At Thompson Dove Law Group, one of our first priorities is making sure that prospective adoptive parents and prospective birth mothers find their perfect match based on their preferences. With that in mind, there is another important role you will play in this matching process: creating an adoptive family profile.
An adoptive family profile is a visual and written introduction to your family and home life. When a prospective birth mother chooses a family for her unborn child, she wants to visualize the life and family awaiting her baby. Using photos, letters and even videos, you can show a prospective birth mother just what kind of parents you will be — and why she should choose to place her child with you.
But, where do you start with an adoptive family profile, and how do you find adoption profile book ideas and examples? Don’t worry; our social workers will be with you every step of the way.
How to Make an Adoption Profile Book
Every family that uses our matching program is required to create three hard copy adoptive family profiles. The three profiles should not be different; we request copies so we can have your profile accessible throughout the state.
Many of our prospective adoptive families choose to create profiles through photo books or magazine-style brochures — what kind of format you choose is entirely up to you. We can show you examples of adoption profile books that other families have completed so you have a better idea of what a successful profile looks like. On request, our social workers can review your profile, although we prefer that a family completes the book on their own; you’ll always create a truer representation of your family than we can.
We will always provide helpful resources if you need more guidance, and you may wish to speak to your home study provider about your profile as well. We also offer you the chance to put your family profile on our website, which may give you more exposure to prospective birth mothers.
Your profile will be shown to a prospective birth mother with a social worker present. That way, if she has questions that aren’t addressed in your adoption profile, she can receive accurate answers right away.
Tips for Creating the Perfect Adoption Profile
Because every adoption profile is unique, it can be intimidating wondering how to make an adoption profile book from scratch. Many of our families use a service like Shutterfly, where they can easily upload written content and photos and design their profile in a visually pleasing way. You can also use computer programs like InDesign, or reach out to local graphic design companies to create your adoption profiles.
How to Write an Adoption Profile
When you create an adoption profile, you will likely want to include a description of your family, a letter to the prospective birth parent and a story of why you want to become parents through adoption. To start the written process, try compiling the following:
- A family summary: your love story (if you are married), why you want to become parents, etc.
- A description of your house, neighborhood and community and how that will influence how an adopted child will grow up
- An introduction to extended family members, how much of a role they play in your life and what kind of family traditions you have
- A letter to the prospective birth parents telling them why you chose adoption, why their choice is important to you and how you will honor their decision to choose adoption for their child
When you’re writing content for your adoption profile, it’s important that you are sensitive to the prospective birth mother’s point of view. Her adoption decision is not final until she signs the legal paperwork after the baby is born, so it’s important to use phrases like, “Thank you for considering adoption,” rather than “choosing adoption.” Avoid talking about money, even if you want her to know you can afford a child; she will have already been reassured of that by our social workers. .
How to Choose Pictures for an Adoption Profile
While letters and descriptions can give a prospective birth parent a good idea of what your family is like, pictures really are worth a thousand words. It’s important that you include a variety of natural, candid photos of your family, your house and your life to put a potential birth mother at ease and help her visualize the life she could choose for her child.
Make sure that you choose high quality pictures that are fairly recent, but don’t feel the need to dress up or pose in an unnatural way. In your photos, you should wear everyday clothes that give an honest reflection of your life. Most importantly, make sure your photos show you smiling and having fun; a prospective birth mother will want her child raised by loving and happy adoptive parents.
—
We know that each adoptive family is unique, so while we can provide you adoption profile book examples, your profile should reflect what makes your life special and what would make you good parents. Don’t overthink the adoption profile design process; there’s no secret formula for the “perfect” adoption profile. Just be yourself, and make sure that your adoption profile reflects that. If you do, your perfect prospective birth mother will find you.
To begin your adoption profile today by getting started with our birth mother matching program, please give us a call at 864-573-5533 or contact us online.