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If you are trying to adopt a newborn then you create a profile of your family. The purpose is to sell your family as the best choice to a potential birthmother. If you are adopting from foster care then you are trying to sell your family to an adoption worker. When you inquire on an available child over the internet, a form pops up and you must fill in information about your family. The worker may only read the first few lines before deciding to finish reading or toss the application in the circular file. Is there anything you can do to increase your family’s chance of being chosen?
Include one or more pictures. Yes, even if you are sending your homestudy to an adoption worker to apply for a child in foster care, send a photo. You have heard the saying; a picture is worth a thousand words. It is true; a picture can make your homestudy stand out above all of the others. Make the picture one of your family doing something you like to do often. If you have a profile somewhere or even a myspace page, include the URL under your photo with a “See more pictures here.”
Keep in mind that every birthmother or adoption caseworker has a perfect family in mind. You cannot become something you are not, so do not misrepresent your family. Be real, families need to be open and honest to catch a person’s attention. If you seem too perfect or too good to be true, the person looking will know that you are not being completely honest. Then you won’t have a chance of being chosen. Nobody, and no family is perfect, we all make mistakes.
Yes, it is necessary to tell about the members of your family, what you do for fun and entertainment, and to present your family in the best light possible. Somebody is looking for a family just like yours.
