Please note: adoption photolistings are usually secure sites. The information provided is limited and, at times, so are the pictures of the children. The majority of the sites require you to have a completed home study. From my experience, your foster care home study will work also. Either way, the sites will contact your adoption agency for verification. This is for the protection of the children who are waiting.

Adoption.com

This site has a great photolisting. Adoption.com has listings of children from across the nation and also has tons of other information that will be of great use to the foster care and adoption community. The site touches on all subjects, providing resources for adoptees, birth mothers, foster parents, and adoptive parents. Visit the site, and you will find tabs for their Reunion Registry, Professional Services Directory, and a place where birth mothers are able to create a profile to find families for their children. Hopeful adoptive parents are also able to create a profile on the site’s Parent Profiles feature. They also provide articles that focus on a variety of experiences and issues in the foster care and adoption world.

Heart Gallery of America

The majority of states have their very own Heart Gallery. The Heart Gallery features waiting children in your state who need adoption. The photos are beautiful and capture the personalities of children who are available for adoption. You can easily google your states Heart Gallery by typing in “Heart Gallery” then your state’s name.  

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Boy, do I love Wendy’s! Not only is this food delicious, but the dedication to helping children find forever homes is even more satisfying. Wednesday’s Child has profiled many of our children here in the United States which eventually helps them find permanent homes. Often, Wednesday’s Child has raised a child’s chances of finding a permanent home due to their stories being shared on a national media platform. The founder of Wendy’s, Dave Thomas, was adopted himself, which makes this mission extra special. The foundation also offers grant opportunities for other nonprofits who are here to serve the foster care and adoption community. Visit their site for more information.

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption | Foster Care Adoptionhttps://www.davethomasfoundation.org

Local Nonprofit Organizations

Many of the nonprofits in your area are responsible for their own photolistings of children they have been assigned in order to raise awareness of them needing permanent homes. While these organizations are raising awareness, they also provide children with many resources and opportunities throughout each year. It is for this reason that it’s important to give what you can when you can. For example, take Connecting Hearts based out of Richmond, Virginia. This organization was started by an adoptee by the name of Debra “Debbie” Johnston in hopes to bring more awareness to children in foster care who are in need of permanent homes in Virginia. Not only does her organization provide a photolisting, but it also provides different normalcy programs like birthday bags, Christmas toy drives, school supplies drives, and so much more in the name of providing for children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted. So support your local organizations as much as you can and donate to www.connectingheartsva.org if you can, to support Virginia’s children.

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So why use a photolisting website?

1. A visual connection with the child

There is something about the visual that connects us to people. That’s why Facebook and Match.com have been such a success! We, as humans, are more drawn to people if we can see their faces or see them in their natural environment. A photolisting is your first connection to a child that you wish to adopt. You can tell a lot about a child through one simple photo: the eyes, the smile. If an adoption agency is creative enough, they will use a variety of different backgrounds with the children engaging in a variety of different activities. The photo is supposed to help you get an idea of what the child likes or dislikes and may give you a taste of his or her personality.  

2. Taking the next step

After you narrow down the 2-3 children or sibling groups that you are interested in, the next step is finding out more about the child. Photolisting web pages only provide a small profile on the child such as what the child likes to eat, what extracurricular activities he or she enjoys, etc. You will need more detailed information and will need to ask questions like the following: what are his special needs? Will she do well with younger children in the home? Does he have behaviors that you need to be aware of? Was there any prior abuse or neglect? This information will not be listed in the profile. You will need to contact the child’s social worker for more detailed information. Your adoption agency or your attorney can assist in this area. Click here for a list of agencies and attorneys by state.

3. A good way to promote your own family

Lastly, a photolisting website is a great way to promote your own family! If it is a good website, they will help you create your own Parent Profile. On your page, you can post family photos, videos, and a short profile of your family. The purpose of promoting your family is to give the birth mother the power to be actively involved in placing her child in the family of her choice. This is incredibly empowering and takes away the fear of “giving up” a child to a total stranger. That barrier is removed with Parent Profiles.

A photolisting search can be fun. It can also be frustrating if there are unrealistic expectations.  But with the right guidance and with the correct information disclosed upfront, this process can turn from a simple photo to a placement in a forever family for a child.

The post 3 Reasons You Should Use a Photolisting Site appeared first on Adoption Photolisting | Foster Waiting Child, Sibling.