At Catholic Social Service, the open adoption process is the start of a life-long relationship between birth parents, adoptive parents and a child. Starting with your initial inquiry, through the adoptive process, and for many years thereafter, we are committed to providing you with expertise, experience, honest answers and the best support possible throughout your adoptive experience. Watch this short PowerPoint Video for tips on creating a ParentFinder Profile, and other marketing strategies, to promote your open adoption. For more information about the Adoption Services Program at Catholic Social Service, please call Angela Schawe at 620-792-1393, or visit us online at www.catholicsocialservice.org.

1. Using ParentFinder and
Other Marketing Strategies to
Promote Your Open Adoption

2. Using ParentFinder
and Marketing
to Promote Your
Open Adoption

3. 4 Reasons to create an online profile
• Spreads the word that you want to adopt
• Helps birth parents to find you
• Helps your agency present you to birth
parents
• Makes it easier for you to network with your
profile

4. ParentFinder

5. Creating your ParentFinder profile
• Be specific with your child preferences, make sure
they match what you told us as your agency.
• Under gender: mark all 3: male, female, and
either, because then you will show up in all 3
searches.
• Put in your “Dear Birth Parent” letter.
• Create a plan to update your profile and data
regularly (schedule time to do it, or it might not
happen).
• Update with what is going on in your life:
vacations, holidays, volunteering, etc.

6. ParentFinder Profiles with the
most views have:
• Videos
• Pictures
• Blogs
• Are updated frequently
• When people are looking at profiles they
usually look at things in this order:
videos, pictures, and then what is written.

7. Updates
• Update your ParentFinder (and Facebook)
profiles bit by bit.
• Don‟t do it all at once.
• This way it gives birthparents some snapshots
into your life.
• Updating your info is like having a
conversation.
• The more updates you have the more you will
show up on the ParentFinder front page and
the more you will probably be viewed.

8. Videos
• Profiles with videos get more views and
people spend more time looking at those
profiles.
• Doesn‟t have to be professional. Your video
can be as simple as reading the „Dear Birth
Mother Letter‟ while recording, or just a quick
video of the extended family at a get together.
• Can be as short as 30 second to a minute.
• Use a phone with video capabilities and upload.
• When making videos avoid license
plates, house #‟s, etc. (identifying info)

9. Pictures
• Avatar: this is the picture that shows up on the
main page.
• To add an avatar: go to photos tab (up top).
• Click on current avatar.
• “Add” new avatar (copy to profiles photo album).
• If you have more than 1 avatar, then your main
picture will rotate.
• Set up a schedule for when to post new pictures,
especially during busy times when it might fall
through the cracks.

10. Journaling and Blogging
• Can be something very short.
• Explain how you spend your time, how you
would spend your time with your child, or why
you would make a good parent.
• Journaling and blogging can be very
therapeutic.
• Your journal will be a great item to show to
child when they get older.

11. Befriending
• Befriending is a great way to have your profile pop
up on other areas of parent finder.
• You can befriend people you don‟t know; maybe
you really like what they have done with their
profile.
• You can befriend other agencies.
• To befriend: hold your cursor over their picture
and a box will pop up with some options. Click on
“befriend.”
• They will then have to accept your request.

12. Subscribing
• If you find a couple on Facebook that does a
lot of things you like, or makes lots of
updates, feel free to subscribe to them.
• You will then receive updates on when they
update or change anything.
• Then you can go in and get ideas for yourself.
• To subscribe: hold cursor over their
picture, then a box pops ups, click on
“subscribe” and you should start getting
updates.

13. Attend: Adoption Profile Training
• This is a class put on by a marketing guru for
adopting families.
• They have high rates of success when working
with families.
• This class is free with new ParentFinder Sign-ups.
• To sign up: go to the front page of ParentFinder,
scroll down past the profiles to the Public Events
box; it is in there. Click on it, and sign up.
• You will then receive an email on how to login and
take the course the week after you register.

14. Problems while trying to work on
ParentFinder?
• Contact the Help Desk (scroll to the bottom of the
ParentFinder page and click on “help desk” and
submit a ticket).
• Contact an Adoption specialist and they will call
you.
• A lot of people log on at night—you may get
voicemail, but they will call you back.
• Contact the adoption specialist by going to the
home page of ParentFinder. Click on „adoption
specialist‟ and put in your number.

15. Marketing Tips

16. Facebook
• Create a Facebook account specifically for
you as an adoptive couple (separate from
your personal one).
• Do not put identifying information. Put your
birth mother letter, and other items that you
would post on ParentFinder.
• Friend other adoption related users, in
particular ParentFinder.

17. Posting links to your Profile
• Put a link in your email signature and have a line
that reads “looking to adopt” followed by the link.
• Post links to your profile on Facebook sites like
Parent finder, and other agencies that work to
match birth mothers with adopting families.
• Ask friends to do the same and share your profile
link.
• It is best if it is a friend, because they then act as
a reference for you.

18. Cont…
• Post to pregnancy sites and adoption sites.
• Ask your church to list your interest and/or
profile in their Bulletin or newsletter.
• Some people even talk to all of the churches
in their area; regardless of denomination.

19. Outreach
• Create business cards with links to your profile.
• Include information like: „wanting to adopt,‟ a
picture, „wanting an open adoption,‟ and a link to
your profile. You can even put the agency contact
information.
• Send letters to hospitals, doctors, OB‟s, etc….but
be aware that a lot of families do this, so find a
way to make a personal contact and/ or make
yours stick out.
• Visit your local crisis pregnancy center. Make
contacts there and share your profile.

20. Outreach Cont.
• Hang flyers in public places, and community
bulletin boards.
• Advertise in the college/high school paper.
• Most important: Tell everyone you know that
you want to adopt…..Networking is key!

21. Marketing
• Use a variety of marketing approaches.
• Be creative! Avoid using headlines or titles
that are common, make yours stand out.

22. Thank you for watching this
Catholic Social Service Presentation.
For more information,
please call Angela Schawe at 620-792-
1393,
or visit www.catholicsocialservice.org