You’re in Good Hands
Creating Your Profile
Your Profile is the booklet that that Licensees and Agencies will be presenting to birth parents choosing the adoptive family for their child.
LETTER OF INTRODUCTION
Write from your own perspective; do not try to guess what the birth parents are thinking.
ABOUT US
Include a page or two for each of you including education levels, what you do for a living, some description of your personality, special interests and abilities, something about your family background, ethnic origin, family celebrations or traditions you like to incorporate into your own family life.
OUR RELATIONSHIP
When and how you met, what you like about your partner, what do you like to do together, how you spend you holidays.
HOME & COMMUNITY
Rural or urban lifestyle, including photos of your home and neighbourhood.
THOUGHTS ABOUT ADOPTION
In this section you can talk about how you plan to discuss adoption and your willingness to include the given birth name in the adopted child’s name
VALUES & BELIEFS
This section should talk about your values and your ideas on parenting—what kind of attitudes you wish to instill, your hopes and dreams and any expectations you may have for children, what you will teach them, what you would like to do with them, dad/mom activities. Ideas on discipline should be in this section as well.
RELIGION
Can be a separate section or included in the section on yourselves—state your affiliation, if any, and how you plan to raise a child. This is an important part of your life; you may also include this in your values and beliefs section.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU
This is the section where you talk about open adoption—about the contact you plan to have with the birth family through email, photos, visits.
IN CONCLUSION
End with a final paragraph to conclude your profile and speak directly to the birth parents.
We encourage you to have your adoption practitioner review this with you to see if it reflects who you are as individuals and as a couple. We will also review a draft copy of your profile with you at the time you come in to the office for a Consultation at Beginnings. The completed profile should be professionally printed, ideally using one of the available online “self-publishing” services.
HERE ARE SOME POINTERS TO REMEMBER WHEN WRITING YOUR PROFILE
- Use a clear and relaxed, close up photo and do not use a wedding or formal photo. Photos of your wedding are fine inside your profile, as this is an important life milestone. Choose flattering photos throughout the profile.
- Put your first names only on the cover page.
- Remember that you are writing to birth parents of all ages, education levels, and backgrounds.
- Use simple writing style, a readable font size, and include a variety of photos that reflect your lifestyle, your home, yard, community and the important people in your life.
- Keep it non-identifying with no last names or specific company you work for, to give you some privacy until you decide to share more when you meet the birth parents.
- Refer to the child as “your child” not “our” child.
- Try to be conversational, this is not a resume.
- A note about SIZE: if your profile is too big, it will not fit in filing cabinets and briefcases, and will not be easy to mail. There is a maximum size of 9” x 12″.